Does the Discover Secured Card give credit increases?

Question

You have the best chance of getting a credit limit increase without asking after 6-12 consecutive months of on-time bill payments with a new credit card account. Credit card companies need evidence that you can handle your current spending limit responsibly before giving you the ability to borrow more.

Creditors will review your credit, income and payment history on a regular basis moving forward. If they feel you can afford an increase and refrain from abusing the added spending power, they may automatically grant a credit limit increase without you asking.… read full answer

If you get a credit limit increase without asking, it should help your credit score. To start off, issuers only use a soft inquiry (which does not affect your credit score) for this type of increase. If you ask them for an increase instead, they’re more likely to use a hard inquiry, which can cause a temporary drop in your score. In addition, getting any kind of credit limit increase adds to the total credit you have available, which can lower your credit utilization if you spend the same amount of money (or less) than you did before. Or, it can allow you to spend more without increasing your utilization.

If you want to increase the chances of a credit card company giving you a higher limit without you having to ask for it, there are a few steps you can take.

How to get a credit limit increase without asking:

Always pay all your bills on time.

Pay off the card you want the higher limit on fully each month.

Update your income on the credit card company’s website/app.

Keep your account open for at least 6-12 months.

These steps won’t guarantee you a credit card limit increase without asking. But they will certainly help your chances.

If your credit card’s issuer doesn’t grant you an unsolicited increase, you may want to just ask for an increase yourself. While your request will probably lead to a lower credit score, the damage will be small and temporary. And in the long term, a limit increase has the potential to bring your score higher.

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Answer 1 · 2020-04-16 09:00:58

Paddy Sullivan, Member

@PaddySully 04/16/20 This answer was first published on 11/19/17 and it was last updated on 04/16/20.For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.

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There are two ways to get a Discover Secured Card credit increase: 1) add money to your security deposit or 2) graduate to an unsecured card after consistent on-time payments. But depositing more money is certainly the easier and more immediate way to get a Discover Secured Card limit increase. You’re unlikely to graduate to an unsecured card (i.e. get your deposit back) for at least 7 months.

You can find more info on both options below, starting with the more accessible of the two.

Here’s how to get a Discover Secured Card credit limit increase:

1. Add to Your Deposit – Discover it Secured’s deposit can be as little as $200 or as much as $2,500. And your spending limit will equal whatever you put down. So if you deposited less than $2,500 at the start, adding to you security deposit will result in a credit limit increase. Specifically, your limit will increase by the amount you add.To deposit additional funds, you’ll need to log in to your Discover account or call Discover customer service at 1-800-347-2683. Bear in mind it’s possible that Discover could deny your deposit if you haven’t been paying on time.

2. Pay On Time for 7+ Months – Starting 8 months into your account, Discover will take a basic look at your credit and payment history. If they like that they see, Discover may choose to graduate you to an unsecured card. If that happens, they’ll return your security deposit and you’ll have an equal or higher unsecured credit limit.Exactly how high that credit limit will be depends on Discover’s evaluation of your credit. And if a year has gone by and you’ve been consistently paying on time but haven’t been contacted by Discover, there’s no harm in calling them up and inquiring about graduation.

Finally, you can always apply for another card from a different issuer. Your credit line will be separate, but you’ll have a higher amount of total credit.

Todd Briggs @todd_briggs
That's usually how it goes for any secured card, but if you've been keeping up with your bills for at least 7 months, you might get bumped to unsecured.

Answer 2 · 2018-01-11 10:49:32

Chris Parson, Member

@chris_parson 01/11/18 This answer was first published on 01/11/18. For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.

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Yes, to increase your credit limit for a secured credit card, you have to deposit more money. But you can also ask to get upgraded to an unsecured credit card if you have at least 6 months of paying your bills on time.

Answer 3 · 2020-06-05 19:34:53

akerleyc, Member

@akerleyc 06/05/20 This answer was first published on 06/05/20. For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.

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i have had my secured card for 7 months now and i deposited $200.00 at the time of Credit Card Opening, well they have graduated me to a Unsecured Card, and have increased my Credit LImit to $2,000!!!! Which is Awesome and i didnt even call or ask them to, it just happened

Charisse @cre8tivecb
Did you have a descent credit score when you received the increase?

Answer 4 · 2018-10-16 13:08:49

Roy Cox, Member

@optic42002 10/16/18 This answer was first published on 10/07/18 and it was last updated on 10/16/18.For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.

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my limit had never gone up at all even after consitent perfect payments

Answer 5 · 2018-10-08 08:21:54

Jesse Mann, Member

@jessem_162 10/08/18 This answer was first published on 09/28/18 and it was last updated on 10/08/18.For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.

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Yes it says to call them with your banking information

Does the Discover Secured Card give credit increases?

Paddy Sullivan, Member

Discover it® Secured Credit Card

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akerleyc, Member

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