How to Increase Your Credit Limit (2024)

The amount you can charge to your credit card plays a big role in your purchasing power and credit score.

Known as your credit limit, this cap determines how much money a credit card issuer will allow you to spend on a specific card before your card becomes maxed out and you must begin paying off some of your outstanding balance.

While you can’t control the spending limit the credit card issuer applies to your card, you can request a change to your credit limit after you’ve become an established customer. Getting a higher credit limit boosts your borrowing ability and could improve your credit score if used wisely—as long as it doesn’t tempt you to overspend.

So before you seek a credit limit change, it’s important you understand just how the issuer decides your limit, the best ways to ask for an increase and the potential benefits and downsides of raising your credit limit.

How is your credit limit determined?

Credit card limits vary widely depending on the issuer, type of credit card and your financial personal situation. Some credit card users may find their spending capped at only a few hundred dollars while others can charge tens of thousands.

Every credit card company performs its own internal calculations to determine how large a credit limit to extend to a particular customer, but the most important factor is typically your FICO Bankcard score, a version of your FICO score that tells card issuers how likely you are to make a late payment in the near future.

Credit card lenders may also consider other factors like your income, payment history, account history, total outstanding debt, and whether you’ve ever filed for bankruptcy or had debt sent to collections. “If someone has a large income and a solid credit report and score, they’ll likely get a large initial limit,” says credit expert John Ulzheimer, formerly of FICO and Equifax.

The type of card you apply for and size of the credit card issuer may also play a role. Many financial startups or smaller credit unions and banks offer lower credit limits than larger, more established card companies because they have a smaller pool of customers and cannot take on as much risk

Certain types of credit card products, like retail credit cards and secured credit cards, also have much lower credit limits across the board than a standard credit card from a major issuer.

Ways to increase your credit limit

Credit limits often change over time. Lenders may raise or lower them at their own discretion or at your request. If you’re after a credit limit increase, there are four common, straightforward ways to achieve it.

Accept an issuer offer

If you’ve been making on-time monthly payments, using a fraction of your available credit and paying more than the minimum amount required, the card issuer may decide it’s time to raise your limit. Some card companies automatically do this, while others send a message asking if you’d like to have your credit limit increased by a preapproved amount. Simply agree to this offer and your limit will be stepped up.

Update your income information

Got a promotion or new job since you applied for the card? Telling your card company about any positive changes to your personal or household income could lead them to offer you a credit limit increase as they may feel you’re better able to repay larger balances now.

Credit card issuers typically don’t ask for proof of your new income or externally verify the information you share. But avoid stretching the truth as “they do check your income against specific algorithms they have to assess whether it seems reasonable,” says Gerri Detweiler, an author of several books on credit and other personal finance topics. If you’re caught lying, you could be charged with fraud and face hefty fines.

Make a request online

You don’t need to wait for your issuer to act first to get an increase. With most major credit card companies, you can ask for a credit limit change anytime by logging into your account either online or through the app and searching for the option to request a credit limit increase.

You’ll then need to answer a few questions or fill out a form detailing your current income information, the amount of additional credit you want, and the reason why you’re seeking it. Because this is a pretty automated process, you could have your answer in just a few minutes, says Detweiler.

Call customer service

You can also ask for a credit limit increase by phoning the customer service helpline found on the back of your credit card. Like with the online and app request process, you will need to provide some financial details and share why you want to extend your credit limit, but approval could take up to several days this way.

If you’re concerned your request will be rejected, calling may be the better option as you’ll have the chance to fully explain your situation and why you need the credit limit change.

Pros of a higher credit limit

A larger credit limit provides you with greater buying power and could improve your credit score.

Greater spending flexibility

The main perk of a higher credit limit: You can spend more on your card before needing to pay down the balance. This means you can make larger purchases or more fully take advantage of credit card rewards each month without worrying about maxing out your card or hurting your credit score with a high utilization ratio. A higher credit limit also means you’ll have a larger emergency backup option to cover a surprise necessary cost or help in the event of a job loss.

Lower credit utilization ratio

The amount of available credit you’re using plays a big role in your credit score. The higher that percentage, the more concerned lenders become that you’re overextended and likely to make late or missed payments.

Because of this, you want to keep your utilization at 30% or less, says Margaret Poe, head of consumer credit education at TransUnion. So by bumping up your credit limit, you could lower your utilization ratio and see your credit score improve. For instance, if you regularly spend $2,000 a month on your card, but have a $5,000 credit limit, your utilization ratio is a less-than-ideal 40%. But if your credit limit rose, to say $8,000, your ratio would drop to 25%.

To see a positive credit score change, it’s key to pay off your balance in full each month. Credit score issuers know that consumers who carry thousands in debt don’t become more creditworthy simply because they’ve secured extra borrowing capacity—and they typically won’t boost your score based on this alone. “Trying to game the system by increasing your credit limit without reducing your debt typically backfires,” says Rod Griffin, senior director of public education and advocacy for Experian.

Opportunity to do a balance transfer

If you’re working on paying off credit card debt, moving part or all of that outstanding balance to another card with a lower interest rate can help you get there faster and cheaper. But this other card must have a high enough credit limit to accommodate the transferred debt without becoming maxed out and hurting your utilization ratio. Otherwise the strategy could hurt rather than help you. So the larger a card’s credit limit, the more maneuverability you have to shift balances when needed.

Cons of a higher credit limit

While there are many perks to having a higher credit limit, it can lead to trouble for some users.

Possible credit check

Lenders may perform a “hard credit inquiry” or pull your credit file, reports and scores when considering your credit limit increase request. If they do, that inquiry typically lowers your FICO credit score by up to five points temporarily and remains on your credit file for up to two years.

Because lenders dislike seeing multiple hard inquiries on your report over a short period of time, avoid requesting a credit limit increase right before you plan to apply for a mortgage, loan or additional credit card.

Temptation to overspend

With a higher credit limit, you can charge more to your card. If you begin to buy more than you otherwise would, that overspending could lead you to accumulate debt and pay costly interest charges currently averaging more than 20%.

What to do if your request is denied?

When a lender refuses to raise your credit limit, your best move is to find out why you were denied, fix the problem and ask again. But if you need a higher credit limit urgently, you can try appealing their decision or going to another card company.

Credit card issuers must send you a letter explaining the reasoning behind their decision to deny your credit limit request and the red flags noted in your credit report. This document, known as an adverse action notice, will typically arrive via mail within seven to 10 business days of the denial and should serve as your road map to understanding what issues you need to improve, says Griffin.

Once you feel you’ve addressed those problem areas sufficiently, be it paying down debt, establishing a more consistent on-time payment history, or raising your credit score, you can make the request again. Just be sure to wait until your new data or lower balances have been reported to the credit reporting agencies, says Poe. “Your account information isn’t reported immediately; updates are typically provided by lenders once a month.”

If you have a solid credit report and low debt, you may have asked too soon. Credit card companies usually will not approve credit limit increases for accounts that have only been open for a few months as they are too new to be considered. Accounts that recently received a credit limit increase or decrease are also similarly denied consideration typically. After six months to a year, try again, says Griffin.

Consider an alternative option

You can also speak with the card issuer to see if they will reconsider. Sometimes explaining the circ*mstances behind your request, such as needing a higher limit to complete a balance transfer, can get them to change their decision. Or they may be able to come up with an alternative way to assist you. For instance, Detweiler says she was able to close one costly annual fee card and move its higher credit limit to another one she had with the same issuer.

Or apply for a new credit card with a different lender, maybe one with more relaxed qualification requirements or higher overall maximum credit lines, to get the credit amount you want.