There are many benefits that suggest if you can, you should increase your credit limit. But how do you do it? Here are some tips that will help:
– Call the credit card company – You will need to take the initiative and give them a call if you want them to help you out with an increased limit. Once you know what you are going to say, give them a call and ask.
– Be able to justify the increase – Have a good reason ready for why you are asking for this, because they will ask. Have a good reason, even if it is that you want to improve your credit score. If you are desperate, they will know.
– Don’t ask too quickly – If you have just opened the card within the past few months, it may be too soon. It is best to wait at least six months before you inquire about an increase.
– Don’t ask for the moon – This one is obvious…if you ask for too much and get declined, obviously you have missed your chance. But if you ask for too low of an amount, you might be turning down extra credit that you could have had. It is an obvious catch-22. A good rule of thumb is that you should ask for around 10-25% of your current credit limit.
– Pay all of your bills on time – It almost goes without saying that if you are consistently paying your bill late, the creditor will be less likely to increase your limit. If you help them by being a good customer, they will be more likely to help you. It is in their best interests to raise your limit, because that is just more money that you could spend with them. But if you look like you are risky at all, such as by making late payments, they won’t want to take the risk.
– Be convincing – Have your case ready, with all of the positives that you can think of for why they should give you an increase. Good reasons include any increase in income you have had, a long history of paying your bill on time, the length of time that you have had the card, a low overall credit utilization, and possibly the lack of other debt in your life (if you have just finished paying anything off). If they provide any pushback, you have to be able to clearly state why they are making a wrong decision.