A low credit limit is designed to keep you from spending beyond your means, which is a good thing. But a low credit limit also has the potential to drag down your credit scores, depending on how much you spend on your credit cards each month.
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.
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.
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.
If you are a new student or have a low family income, a $500 credit limit may seem just fine. However, most folks have access to a much higher credit limit.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Although a credit limit increase is generally good for your credit, requesting one could temporarily ding your score. That's because credit card issuers will sometimes perform a hard pull on your credit to verify you meet their standards for the higher limit.
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.
As a result, they usually have starting credit limits below $1,000. So, if you're assigned a credit limit of $750, that's probably a pretty good limit. If you applied for a regular cash back rewards card, however, that same $750 limit could be considered a low credit limit.
Average credit limits
“Those beginning limits have averaged between $2,000 to $2,500 during this same time period.” Because many consumers apply for store cards as their first credit card, your first credit limit is generally going to be on the low end.
Yes a $10,000 credit limit is good for a credit card. Most credit card offers have much lower minimum credit limits than that, since $10,000 credit limits are generally for people with excellent credit scores and high income.
What's considered a “normal” credit limit in the U.S.? While limits may vary by age and location, on average Americans have a total credit limit of $22,751 across all their credit cards, according to the latest 2019 Experian data.
“In the 700 club, your credit limit will likely be close to the average credit limit for a newly issued card, about $5,000,” says Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate. “That limit can vary based on income and other debt.”
The average FICO® credit score for those in their 20s is 660. Between the ages of 20 and 29, consumers are starting to build their scores. These consumers may have a low-limit student credit card and are making payments towards their student loans.
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.
To keep your scores healthy, a rule of thumb is to use no more than 30% of your credit card's limit at all times. On a card with a $200 limit, for example, that would mean keeping your balance below $60.
Credit Line Decisions
For example, a gold card might have a maximum credit line of $2,000 while a platinum card might have a $5,000 maximum. Your credit score and monthly income determine whether you qualify and where your line falls within these limits. Some companies set a credit limit according to your credit score.
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.
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.