Credit card companies use various methods to determine the credit limit they will offer to a potential customer. Here are some things you should know about how your credit score is used and how that affects the amount of money you can borrow.
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What is your income?
Even if you have a perfect credit history and a long-standing relationship with your bank, the lender will still want to see that you have sufficient income. A high income is one of the factors banks use to determine how much credit they are willing to lend.
According to SoFi experts, “The average credit limit increases with the age of the credit history. Generally, the longer someone has had credit, the more likely they are to use it responsibly. That’s why credit companies may be more likely to offer a higher credit limit to applicants with an older line of credit and a higher credit score.”
If you have a relationship with the bank
If your credit card application is approved, one of the factors that can help determine how much you’re approved for is your relationship with the bank.
If you have a good history with the bank and are known to pay your bills on time, they may be willing to extend more credit to keep you as a customer. But, at times, it’s important to remember how much money has been lent and who made those decisions!
Your recent credit activity and payment history
Credit card companies will look at your payment history and recent credit activity when determining your credit limit. For example, if you make payments on time, pay off your full balance each month or have never missed a payment, this positively affects your score.
Additionally, if you’re regularly using the card to make and pay off those monthly purchases, it shows that you are responsible with money management skills. The more positive behaviors lenders see in an applicant’s application package, the higher the credit limit they can be approved for.
Your credit score
Your credit score is a number between 300 and 850 that’s calculated based on your credit history. Your credit score indicates how likely you are to pay back your debts and can be used to determine what interest rate you will pay. Lenders use credit scores to evaluate potential borrowers, so you must work on improving your score if yours isn’t where it should be. One way to improve your score is by maintaining a low balance on revolving debts like credit cards, which lets creditors see that you consistently pay off the amount owed each month.
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How much have you left in your current credit limit?
The second thing they look at is how much of your current credit limit you have used. If you’re using all of it, even if it’s a small balance, the bank could be wary about giving you a higher limit because there may not be enough money in the account to cover whatever payments come up in the future. So, for example, a high amount of unused credit can indicate that you are paying down debts responsibly or living within your means, both good signs for lenders.
It’s important to understand how banks determine your credit card limit. Hopefully, this article helped you get a better understanding of it.
