Credit-line increases are becoming more common as companies dole them out to entice customers to spend more, which boosts their revenue, the Wall Street Journal reported. Higher limits tend to be followed by more spending, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Most people consider credit-line increases a gift, but the option to put more purchases on a card can be tough for many to resist. America’s total credit-card balance hit $1 trillion for the first time last month, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The nation’s largest banks raised limits on 18.4 million credit-card accounts in the first quarter of this year, up 22% from the same period in 2019, according to the Philadelphia Fed. As limits increased, so did spending, with consumers continuing to use roughly 8% of total available credit.
