Does the Discover Secured Card give credit increases?

You may be eligible for 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:

1. Always pay all your bills on time.
2. Pay off the card you want the higher limit on fully each month.
3. Update your income on the credit card company’s website/app.
4. 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.

Requesting a credit limit increase will likely trigger a hard inquiry and cause a short-term decrease in your credit score. Receiving an automatic credit limit increase (i.e. your issuer increases your credit limit without you asking) will not hurt your score. No matter how you receive a credit limit increase, it will provide long-term credit-score benefits to responsible users.… read full answer

A credit limit increase will give you access to more available credit to use. As a result, you will get a better credit utilization ratio, assuming your spending does not increase, too. The lower the ratio, the better your credit score. If you continue to spend and maintain a high balance on your account, you will see a negative impact on your credit score. A credit limit won’t help your credit score if you just max it out immediately.