How to Get a Higher Credit Limit

Credit card issuers reduced consumers’ access to debt during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, credit limit increases managed to reach pre-pandemic levels after mid-2021. This came as good news for several borrowers who were looking for higher limits to keep up with expenses.

Getting a credit line increase gives you access to more funds and brings with it the potential to improve your credit score. However, not using your credit properly can have the opposite effect too.

Some credit card providers offer credit line increases to borrowers based on how well they manage their credit as well as their creditworthiness. But this typically only happens six or more months after issuing a new card. If your card issuer doesn’t offer an automatic increase, requesting one on your own is usually an option. Alternatively, you can also apply for a new card.

• Wait for an automatic increase
• Request over the phone
• Apply for a new credit card

Bear in mind that card issuers all have different processes for granting credit limit increases. We provide you with all the information you need to submit a request.

• How to Increase Your Credit Limit
• Credit Limit Increases by Card Issuer
• What to Know Before Requesting an Increase
• What to Do if Your Credit Limit Request Is Denied
• Frequently Asked Questions About Credit Limit Increases

If you’ve held a credit card for some time and used it responsibly, the card’s issuer might offer an automatic increase in credit limit. If this doesn’t happen, you can submit a request on your own. Not all card providers follow the same guidelines, though. So knowing how to go about the process ahead of time is helpful.

Credit card issuers regularly will look at their customer profiles and history to see who they’re able to give credit limit increases to. Factors that a card issuer typically considers when offering a credit line increase include the age of your credit card account, payment history, spending patterns, credit score and income. Most card providers require your account to be open for at least six months before reviewing it for a higher credit limit.

Depending on your credit card issuer, you might be able to submit your request for a credit line increase via its website or over the phone. Some let you submit requests through their mobile apps too.

While making a phone call to submit a request might seem tedious, it gives you an opportunity to highlight specific aspects of your case that may improve your chances of success. Keeping your latest income details close at hand is a good idea. In addition, you’ll want to take a close look at your credit score and credit utilization ratio before submitting your request. The latter refers to the amount of credit you’ve used from your total available credit and should ideally be below 30%.

One way to increase your overall credit limit is to apply for a new credit card. The limit that a card issuer assigns to your card depends on multiple factors, including your creditworthiness, income and the card itself.

Applying for a new card may cause your credit score to drop by a few points because card issuers carry our hard credit pulls to determine the level of risk you pose as a borrower. However, many card issuers let you check if you might qualify for a card by offering pre-approvals that require just soft pulls. Examples include American Express, Capital One, Chase, Discover and Wells Fargo.

Getting a regular credit card without a hard pull is not possible, although this is not the case with secured cards. For example, you may apply for the OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card without worrying about a hard pull.

If you plan to apply for a new card, weigh your options and consider your specific requirements. This means looking at your new card as more than just a source of a higher credit limit. For example, a balance transfer card can help you save on interest charges by transferring debt from existing high-interest cards. Alternatively, you might benefit by getting a no-annual-fee card that offers rewards. In any case, it’s important to compare your options so that you get to pick the best from any given segment.

You typically need to wait six months after opening your account to get a credit limit increase, although that's not always the case. How you submit your request may also vary from one card provider to the next.

You'll want to consider a few different factors before requesting a credit limit increase. This is not just to increase the odds of your request's approval but also because these requests don’t turn out well in all cases.

A higher credit limit comes with both benefits and potential drawbacks. Increasing your card's limit gives you more purchasing power and can help reduce your overall credit utilization ratio. For the latter to happen, you'll need to use only a fraction of your total available credit.

One risk of getting a credit line increase is that it also increases your exposure to debt. If you end up borrowing more than you can repay in full each month, your outstanding balance incurs interest charges. Borrowing a significant portion of your total available credit harms your credit utilization ratio and, therefore, your credit score. Missing or making late payments will also hurt your credit score.

Unless specified by your card issuer, standard practice suggests you should ask for an increase that does not exceed your card's existing credit limit by 25%. For example, if you have a card with a $10,000 credit limit, you may request your issuer to increase it by $2,500 more.

The effect of a credit limit increase request on your credit score depends on your card’s issuer. Some credit card providers carry out hard credit inquiries when dealing with credit limit increase requests, whereas others make do with soft inquiries. If your card’s issuer performs a hard pull, your credit score will drop by a few points, but the effect is usually temporary if you have good habits. A soft pull has no such effect.

Credit limit increases with Capital One do not result in hard pulls. Chase, on the other hand, is prone to carrying out hard inquiries. While most such requests with American Express result in soft pulls, you might want to call and confirm in advance. Citi states that it might pull your report but does not specify if it carries out a hard or a soft pull, so it is recommended that you call and check before applying for an increase.

It’s common for most credit card issuers to inform you of their decisions straightaway. Once this happens, you get access to the increased limit immediately. However, some issuers may take longer, especially in certain scenarios, in which case you might have to wait for up to a month.

A credit card issuer may deny a credit limit increase request for various reasons. These include not using the card often enough, a dip in income, a drop in credit score, late/missed payments and a high credit utilization ratio.

If a card issuer rejects your request, you should receive an adverse action notice via email or regular mail. Once you take remedial measures, you can consider asking for an increase again. Getting a new credit card or a personal loan is also an option.

If a card issuer rejects your request for a higher credit limit because of your credit score, you’ll want to take steps to improve it before resubmitting your request. You can do this by making all your credit and utility payments on time, paying off your balances as quickly as possible, bringing your credit utilization down to under 30% and not applying for different forms of credit in quick succession.

If you have high-interest credit card debt, a balance transfer credit card can help you pay that off without incurring interest charges through an intro 0% APR offer. These typically vary in duration from 12 to 21 months. Getting a new balance transfer card will add to your overall credit limit and may help reduce your credit utilization ratio.

A personal loan does not factor in your credit utilization ratio because it’s not a revolving form of credit. However, if you use a personal loan to consolidate credit card debt, you may expect an improvement in your credit utilization ratio upon partially or completely paying off your credit card balances.

The balance transfer credit card vs. personal loan comparison leans more in favor of the latter if you can’t pay off your debt within the time frames made available through 0% APR offers. A personal loan might also work well for you if you’re looking at getting a large sum.