“In the abstract, a higher credit limit should help your credit score because it will lower your credit utilization ratio as long as how much you owe remains constant or goes down,” says Rossman. But, “if there's any chance you'll view a higher credit limit as an excuse to get deeper into debt, you should avoid it.”
Whether or not you should accept an offer from your lender depends on the nature of the offer. If your lender will increase your credit limit with no strings attached, go ahead and accept. But make sure that the offer is yours for the taking. If you need to “get approved” or “qualify,” think twice.
Increasing your credit limit can lower credit utilization, potentially boosting your credit score. A credit score is an important metric lenders use to determine a borrower's ability to repay. A higher credit limit can also be an efficient way to make large purchases and provide a source of emergency funds.
A higher credit limit can lead to more debt if not used responsibly. If the extra capacity to spend money is there, the temptation may be irresistible. Be sure to follow the number one rule of responsible credit card spending and only make purchases you'll be able to pay off in full by the end of your grace period.
As long as you don't increase your spending by too much and keep making payments on time, your credit score shouldn't be negatively affected by a credit limit increase. And that's because a higher credit limit can lower your overall credit utilization ratio.
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.
Overall, though, I would accept it if I was offered it. At the end of the day, the more available credit you have, generally speaking, the higher your credit score due to your credit utilization being lower. If you don't need it, why you accept it.
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.
Requesting a credit limit increase can hurt your score, but only in the short term. If you ask for a higher credit limit, most issuers will do a hard “pull,” or “hard inquiry,” of your credit history. A hard inquiry will temporarily lower your credit score.
Determine How Much Credit to Ask For
A good rule of thumb is to stick to around a 10% to 25% increase when you make your request. For example, if your current credit limit is $4,000, you might consider asking for a new limit as high as $5,000.
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.
Credit card preapprovals are usually a good sign since they show you have met basic criteria like having good credit or a history of employment. With that being said, you may not want to go after the first prequalified credit card offer you receive. That's because, by and large, preapproved doesn't always mean best.
Not only will your credit score sink, but your cosigner will be legally responsible for taking over the debt. Unless they pay the loan, their credit score will also drop, making future loans more difficult for them to land.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Your FICO® Score falls within a range, from 740 to 799, that may be considered Very Good. A 750 FICO® Score is above the average credit score. Borrowers with scores in the Very Good range typically qualify for lenders' better interest rates and product offers.
The credit scores and reports you see on Credit Karma should accurately reflect your credit information as reported by those bureaus. This means a couple of things: The scores we provide are actual credit scores pulled from two of the major consumer credit bureaus, not just estimates of your credit rating.
The best-known range of FICO scores is 300 to 850. Anything above 670 is generally considered to be good. FICO also offers industry-specific FICO scores, such as for credit cards or auto loans, which can range from 250 to 900.
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.