Why was my Capital One Savor credit limit lowered?

Your Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card credit limit may have been lowered due to late payments, inactivity, or a change in your credit history. Capital One will periodically review how you’re managing your current credit limit and may lower it if it doesn’t think you can afford the full thing.

You can call Capital One the number on the back of your card to ask about the particular reasons why your credit limit was lowered. You can also learn more about the most likely causes and how to avoid future credit-limit decreases below.

Why Your Capital One Savor Credit Limit Might Have Been Lowered

• Missed payments: If you have a number of missed or late payments, Capital One may assume you are experiencing financial difficulties and reduce your limit to minimize its risk.
• High credit utilization: Your credit utilization is the ratio of the amount you spend on the card compared to your credit limit. If your balance is frequently close to your limit, Capital One may see you as risky, and it’s likely to limit how much you can spend – especially if other aspects of your credit profile seem shaky.
• Inactivity: If you aren’t using any of the limit that’s available to you, your issuer might eventually lower your credit limit accordingly.
• Changing market conditions: Capital One may have lowered your credit line to limit its risk in response to changes in the economic environment. Many people’s limits got lowered by credit card companies during the COVID-19 pandemic, for example.  

While your card activity might not always be the reason for a credit limit decrease, you can reduce the chances that your limit will be lowered in the future by using your card regularly and responsibly.

How to Prevent Your Capital One Savor Credit Limit From Being Lowered

• Never miss a due date. Missed payments are one of the main reasons why your Capital One Savor credit limit might get lowered. You should always pay at least the minimum amount required by your due date. Setting up automatic monthly payments from a bank account can help with this. You can see more tips about how to never miss a due date here on WalletHub.
• Use your card once a month. Capital One may reduce your credit limit due to inactivity, so it helps to make at least one purchase with your card each month to keep it active.
• Keep your balance low. Ideally, you should keep your balance below 30% of your credit limit in order to keep your credit score headed in the right direction and avoid seeming desperate to borrow. Maxing out your card could result in your spending limit getting slashed.

In most cases, Capital One isn’t legally required to inform you before it changes your credit limit. The exception is if your new limit would result in an over-the-limit fee, which you generally must opt-in for. In this case, Capital One must notify you 45 days before the limit change goes into effect, or it must waive the fee.

If your credit limit has already been lowered, you can try requesting a credit limit increase, especially if your account has been in good standing for several months.