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.
It gives 1% cash back on all purchases. It's good to note that $500 is just the minimum credit limit on these cards. If your credit score and income are high, and your debt is low, you can qualify for a higher starting limit. And you can always ask for credit limit increases over time.
THUMBS UP = A $1,000 credit limit means you're using 30% THUMBS DOWN = A $500 credit limit means you're using 60% It's always a good idea to keep your credit card balance as low as possible in relation to your credit limit.
Every lender has its own criteria for determining how much credit to extend, but there are two common reasons why you might have a low credit limit: Your credit scores may have been low while applying for a specific credit card or loan. You may be relatively new to credit and haven't built up a long credit history yet.
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. What qualifies as a good credit limit differs from person to person, though.
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.
Credit cards are issued with credit limits, or maximums that dictate how much a cardholder can spend on the card before needing to pay the card's balance. According to a recent report by Experian, the 2020 average credit limit for Americans across all credit cards was $30,365.
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.
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.
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.
Your first credit limit may be as low as $100 if your first credit card is from a retail store, but you might be approved for a slightly larger credit limit up to $500 if your first credit card is issued by a bank or credit card company.
No matter the reason, lowering your credit limit likely won't be a good move for your credit score. If you're going to apply for an important loan, such as an auto loan or mortgage, you might want to hold off in case lowering the limit negatively impacts your credit utilization rate and scores.
Average Recovery Time
The good news is that when your score is low, each positive change you make is likely to have a significant impact. For instance, going from a poor credit score of around 500 to a fair credit score (in the 580-669 range) takes around 12 to 18 months of responsible credit use.
It usually takes about three months to bounce back after a credit card has been maxed out or you close an unused credit card account. If you make a single mortgage payment 30 to 90 days late, your score can start to recover after about 9 months.
Your score falls within the range of scores, from 580 to 669, considered Fair. A 600 FICO® Score is below the average credit score. Some lenders see consumers with scores in the Fair range as having unfavorable credit, and may decline their credit applications.
It's possible to get a car loan with a credit score of 500, but it'll cost you. People with credit scores of 500 or lower received an average rate of 13.97% for new-car loans and 20.67% for used-car loans in the second quarter of 2020, according to the Experian State of the Automotive Finance Market report.
Keep your balance below 30% of your credit limit
A good rule of thumb is to avoid spending more than 30% of your credit limit, to keep your utilization low. For example, on a card with a $200 credit limit, do not carry more than a $60 balance at any time.