The Ultimate Guide to Credit Cards
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

6 Tips to Increase Your Credit Limit Today (March 2024)

How To Increase Your Credit Limit
Ashley Fricker

Written by: Ashley Fricker

Ashley Fricker
Ashley Fricker

Ashley Fricker has more than a decade of experience as a finance contributor and editor, and has specialized in the credit card industry since 2015. Her credit card commentary is featured on national media outlets that include CNBC, MarketWatch, Investopedia, and Reader's Digest, among many others. She has worked closely with the world’s largest banks and financial institutions, up-and-coming fintech companies, and press and news outlets to curate comprehensive content and media. Ashley holds a bachelor's degree in multimedia journalism from Florida Atlantic University.

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Edited by: Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro
Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to the CardRates team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct journalism instructor at the University of Florida. Today, Lillian edits all CardRates content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

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Advertiser Disclosure

Are you interested in learning how to increase your credit limit? First and foremost, ask yourself why you want to increase your credit limit. If it’s to go on a shopping spree or purchase things you can’t afford without credit, stop right there. You’ll need to have proven to yourself and the bank that you know how to use credit responsibly in order for them to approve you.

This means that you’ve exemplified yourself as a good customer for at least 6 months. If your cards are maxed out, you’ve been late making payments, or you’ve even missed payments, your chances of approval are slim to none.

With that said, if you are indeed one of the wise consumers who’s followed the golden rules of credit card usage, here are 6 tips for getting your credit limit increased:

1. Apply for a New Card with a Higher Credit Limit

Sometimes, applying for a new card altogether is the simplest option, as each individual card can have its own credit limit cap depending on its target demographic.

You can choose a credit card company, apply, get your new card and be done — or you can apply for a new card with your current lender and, once approved, reallocate a portion of your new credit line to the card you originally wanted to be increased. Yes, you can do this, assuming you have better-than-average credit, and it can get you significantly more than you originally requested.

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2. Pick an Existing Card to Request an Increase On

Pick a card in your wallet you want to have the limit increased on. Don’t assume if you ask all of your credit issuers that your chances of being approved are greater.

Choose one card to request an increase on.

When you request an increase, the issuer will need to pull your credit history to see if you’re creditworthy.

This credit pull will be noted on your credit report and will slightly lower your credit score. If multiple issuers are pulling your report, it won’t be so slight. Not only that, the issuers will be able to see that other issuers are reviewing you as well, meaning you’ll come across as desperate for money. This is a red flag in the eyes of credit companies and can easily hurt your chances for approval.

Remember: Banks like to loan to people who don’t really need money. This leads us to our next tip:

3. Plead Your Case, But Don’t be Desperate

If you call the credit issuer crying that you have an emergency and think your sob story will make them empathize with your situation and increase your credit limit — think again.

Don’t tell them why you need it, tell them why you deserve it. Here are some good reasons why:

  • You’ve been a loyal customer for X years/months and have never missed a payment. (Don’t ask for an increase if you’ve been a customer for less than six months.)
  • You pay your balance in full each month or
  • You always pay more than the minimum balance
  • You’re utilizing 30% or less of your current limit
  • Your payments are always on time
  • Your income has recently increased

And remember, being kind to the person on the other end of the phone can also help — they’re just doing their job, so don’t take your financial frustration out on them. Not only will being rude be unlikely to help your case, but yelling or cursing at a representative can give them the right to hang up on you, guilt free.

4. Don’t Be Greedy When Requesting an Increase

Asking for too much of an increase can be seen as yet another red flag, which may cause you to be denied and you’ll have to wait a few more months to reapply.

Expect an increase of 10-25 percent.

Don’t ask the representative how much you should request, either. Credit card companies prohibit their employees from providing this advice to you. There’s a not-so set-in-stone standard that says 10 to 25 percent is a good percentage to aim for, so if you have a $1,000 limit, expect to see up to an additional $250 or so made available to you.

This is not a hard and fast rule, however — those with good credit histories can receive substantially more and every situation is different. If you do receive considerably more, don’t let the new credit limit entice you into overspending.

5. Entice Them with a Balance Transfer

Banks love balance transfers like Joanie loves Chachi. If you don’t know how balance transfers work, all it means is you’re transferring your balance from one credit card to another.

These can be a pretty sweet deal, as many credit issuers nowadays offer zero percent interest on transfers for up to a year or longer. That means you stop paying interest for that time period if you move your balance from Card A to Card B. It’s actually a pretty smart move, financially speaking. This can save you hundreds of dollars.

See Our Favorite 0% Interest Balance Transfer Cards

So what’s in it for them?

  • A balance transfer fee. Check if there is one and the amount to see if it’s worth it. If the fee equals the same amount you’d save, it’s not such a sweet deal after all.
  • If you don’t pay the amount in full by the time the no-interest period is over, the new issuer gets to make the money from the interest they’re now charging you that would have gone to your previous issuer.

If you tell your issuer you want an increase so you can transfer your balance, they’ll likely want to make this work, assuming they can trust you to make the payments (i.e., having a decent credit history).

6. Wait For an Increase to Occur Naturally

Credit issuers review accounts generally every six months, and those in good standings will naturally receive limit hikes periodically. Continue to be a good customer by always making payments on time, and if you can swing it, pay the balance in full each month. Be patient, grasshopper — good things come to those who wait!

Enjoy Higher Spending Power

You’re now prepared to request the credit limit increase you’ve earned by being a responsible consumer.

Understand that a higher limit can easily tempt you to charge more and lead you down a dangerous road. Don’t change your spending habits on a false sense of increased wealth. Continue to use credit for emergencies only, or if you know you can pay the balance in full each month, and always keep your credit utilization ratio under 30 percent.

Following those guidelines will go a long way toward maintaining a healthy credit score.

Advertiser Disclosure

CardRates.com is a free online resource that offers valuable content and comparison services to users. To keep this resource 100% free, we receive compensation for referrals for many of the offers listed on the site. Along with key review factors, this compensation may impact how and where products appear across CardRates.com (including, for example, the order in which they appear). CardRates.com does not include the entire universe of available offers. Editorial opinions expressed on the site are strictly our own and are not provided, endorsed, or approved by advertisers.