Good credit: If you have good credit, you'll have a better chance at being approved for a higher credit limit than someone with fair or poor credit. But even with good credit, the average credit limit you can expect to get with a first credit card is generally between $500 and $1,000.
A good guideline is the 30% rule: Use no more than 30% of your credit limit to keep your debt-to-credit ratio strong. Staying under 10% is even better. In a real-life budget, the 30% rule works like this: If you have a card with a $1,000 credit limit, it's best not to have more than a $300 balance at any time.
If a borrower has a credit card with a $1,000 credit limit, and the cardholder spends $600, they have an additional $400 to spend. If the borrower makes a $40 payment and incurs a finance charge of $6, their balance falls to $566, and they now have $434 in available credit.
In 2020, the average credit card credit limit was $30,365, according to Experian data. This was a 3% decrease from the previous year's average. However, average credit card limits also vary by age range, and people who are new to credit or rebuilding their credit may have lower credit limits.
If you've avoided credit cards until now, a $500 limit (or something similar) is the perfect way to get your feet wet. Restricting yourself to a lower limit can be a great, low-pressure way to get started with credit cards.
The average credit card limit for a 25-year-old is around $3,000. To get to that number, it's important to know that the average credit score in that age bracket is 650, which is fair credit.
A good rule of thumb is to keep your credit utilization under 30 percent. This means that if you have $10,000 in available credit, you don't ever want your balances to go over $3,000. If your balance exceeds the 30 percent ratio, try to pay it off as soon as possible; otherwise, your credit score may suffer.
A good credit limit is above $30,000, as that is the average credit card limit, according to Experian. To get a credit limit this high, you typically need an excellent credit score, a high income and little to no existing debt.
A high-limit credit card typically comes with a credit line between $5,000 to $10,000 (and some even go beyond $10,000). You're more likely to have a higher credit limit if you have good or excellent credit.
Minimum credit limit is the minimum amount that the bank can approve you for, depending on some factors (e.g. credit score, ability to pay, etc.). It isn't the required amount of debt needed.
While having a higher credit limit may boost your credit score, be cautious when raising credit limits. The most obvious reason to avoid having too much credit available is that you could spend more, further increasing debt and actually hurting your credit score if you get in over your head.
Many credit scoring formulas look at credit utilization as a significant factor that affects your credit score, and a lower utilization is better. Having a higher credit limit gives you more ability to spend, which can translate into greater rewards.
The credit limit you can get with a 750 credit score is likely in the $1,000-$15,000 range, but a higher limit is possible. The reason for the big range is that credit limits aren't solely determined by your credit score.
If you have good credit, you should have high odds of getting approved for a credit limit around $5,000. With excellent credit, you may get a limit of more than $10,000. A high credit limit is good because using up most or all of your credit card's limit is bad for your credit standing.
(A good rule of thumb: Keep your balance under 30% of your available credit at all times.)
Increasing your credit limit lowers your credit utilization ratio. If your spending habits stay the same, you could boost your credit score if you continue to make your monthly payments on time. But if you drastically increase your spending with your increased credit limit, you could hurt your credit score.
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, experts recommend keeping your credit utilization below 30% of your available credit. So if your only line of credit is a credit card with a $2,000 limit, that would mean keeping your balance below $600.
Credit card issuers determine your credit limit by evaluating factors like your credit score, payment history, income, credit utilization and large expenses. By understanding what they're looking for, you can manage your credit responsibly and increase your odds of getting approved for a higher credit limit.
In general, you could get approved for a credit card with a $20,000 limit if you have excellent credit, a lot of income, and very little debt.
Once you've made a request, you should generally wait 6-12 months before submitting another. You can ask for another credit limit increase earlier if your financial situation changes, though. For instance, receiving a raise from your job is a great time to ask for an increase since you'll have more money to spend.
There is no specific number of credit cards considered right for all consumers. Everyone's credit history is different. Lenders tolerate different levels of risk, and different credit scoring formulas have different criteria. What one lender views as too many credit cards may not be the same as another.