What is a credit line?

Question

nordstrom gave me a credit line...

does that mean that's the amount of money i can spend?

Answer 1

Yes thats exactly what that means

Answer 2

Yes. That is the maximum you can spend on that card without getting penalized with an overdraft fee.

Answer 3

Yes, that is the max you can spend.  But I would like to give you some additional information on Nordstrom's and CC's.  They are the easiest credit card to get credit from (the freedom to use the credit card up to the line they have given you). If you are young and starting out it is a good way to build up your credit history - which you will need later on.  If you have not developed a lengthy credit history other credit cards are more difficult to sign up for and be approved for, i.e. Sears, possibly Mervyns. If you are young (20's) just keep in mind if you use the card to get in the habit of not spending more than you can pay off in 1 month. The reason is because credit cards from Nordstroms, Sears, etc. all have a whopping 23-25% APR which translates to spending a whole lot more for those cute jeans and shoes, then the price you paid. It is really easy to go and spend up to your credit line say it is $1000.  Then you cannot pay it back and they are making bucks off of your inability to pay your account off each month. Trust me, I have had thousands of dollars on CC's and unless you get some low interest way to pay it back all at once, you are paying forever on the account.  If you have one credit card and you pay it back monthly or sooner, then you can graduate to a Bank card with hopefully lower interest than 20% something, more like 8-9% and use it for all your purchases and get rid of your retail CC's.  Retail stores charge the most APR.  I hope this helped you.

Answer 4

You are correct.  You can spend up to the amount of your credit line. If they give you a credit line of $500, you can spend $500 on that card.  However, spending that much money, even if you intend to pay it off, is a terrible idea!!!!  Using a credit card, you will spend 12 - 18% more than you would using cash, and you will likely carry a balance for those on-sale items that you "need" and after paying all of the interest, they jeans you need will cost more than they would have if you would've paid cash for them.  Even though you probably won't listen to me, please think about this information before you use that credit card.

Answer 5

Yes. Credit line is the amount of money you have access to and can spend at your convenience.