10 Tips For Requesting a Reasonable Credit Limit Increase

There are a number of reasons why you would want a credit limit increase on your credit card. For example, you might want to start making bigger purchases using your credit card, which means a need for a higher credit limit. Alternatively, you might want to improve your credit rating without actually having to change too much about your spending habits, since a higher credit limit means that you will be using a smaller percentage of your maximum borrowing capacity.

Regardless of your exact reasons for making the request, getting a credit limit increase on your credit card is much easier said than done because it exposes your credit card company to more risk, meaning that you need to start preparing as soon as possible if you want to maximize your chances of success.

Use these 10 tips when requesting a reasonable credit limit increase:

* Making the right pitch can increase your chances of convincing your credit card company to give you a credit limit increase. Since an application comes with nothing but cold, hard facts that fail to represent the entire picture, you should consider calling your credit card company which will give you the chance to make your case to one of their customer care representatives, who will be much more amenable to persuasion.

* Your credit card company will review your information from time to time. If they think that they can make a profit, they might offer you a credit limit increase on their own initiative, which is something that needs neither time nor effort from you. Please note that the chances of your credit card company making such an offer are higher if your credit limit is relatively lower than if your credit limit is relatively high.

* The less risky that your credit limit increase is for your credit card company, the better your chances of getting it approved. As a result, you should make sure to ask for smaller credit limit increases. For example, you should be able to get a 10 to 25 percent increase on your credit limit so long as your finances can support it, but a doubling of your credit limit is extremely unlikely barring rare and unusual circumstances.

* On a related note, you should make sure to space out your requests for a credit limit increase as well. This gives you time to prove that you can be trusted with your credit limit, thus making it that much easier for you to get more and more increases. However, you also want to avoid seeming as though you are desperate because there is nothing that can shut off the flow of financing like desperation.

* If you are planning to request a credit limit increase on a particular credit card, you should start using that credit card more and more. Although this can come as an inconvenience, you should pay for more of your household costs using your credit card while also making sure to pay on time, which will prove that you are a profitable customer for your credit card company.

* You should never ask for more than one credit limit increase at the same time. This is because your requests will show up on your credit report, meaning that your credit card companies can see what you are doing. For obvious reasons, credit card companies tend to see a flurry of requests from someone for additional credit as a sign to not lend to said individual.

* Always make all of your payments on time. If you fail to do so, you will be labeled as someone who is bad at money management by your credit card company, which in turn, which makes it that much more difficult for you to get a credit limit increase out of them. However, you should never give up if you make a mistake, just wait until you have built up a respectable history of prompt payments before making your request.

* If you are just making your minimal payments each month, you are going to have a hard time convincing your credit card company that you can support a higher credit limit. As a result, while you should be making use of your credit card on a regular basis, you should also be paying off your outstanding balances on a regular basis, particularly since doing so will minimize your interest costs at the same time.

* The longer the time that you have spent as a profitable customer for your credit card company, the better your chances of getting a credit limit increase. This is particularly true if you willing to give off the impression that you are thinking about changing your credit card company, though it should be noted that this is a riskier decision, meaning that you should not resort to it unless you are willing to accept all of the potential consequences.

* Finally, it is worth mentioning that credit card companies are more willing to lend to those of financial means. As a result, while this can be much easier said than done, you can increase your chances of getting a credit limit increase by increasing your revenue, whether that comes from getting a raise, getting a second job, or some other source.

Further Considerations

It is important to note that different credit card companies have different criteria for increasing their customers’ credit limits, meaning that what seems persuasive to one credit card company might not seem so persuasive to another credit card company. As a result, if your request for a credit limit increase is rejected, you should not hesitate to contact your credit card company at your earliest convenience to ask their reasons for doing so as well as what would get them to change their mind. After all, they are the ones in the best position to understand what they want, which is why going to them as the source can be much more informative than guessing at their intentions,