Average Credit Card Limit

Your credit limit is determined based on your credit history, income, debts and other payment obligations. Your credit history is comprised of the contents in your credit report, which serve as the basis for your credit score and indicate to credit card issuers whether you're a responsible borrower. Your disposable income tells them how much additional credit you can comfortably afford.

1. How Income Affects Credit Limits
2. How Your Credit History Impacts Your Credit Limit
3. The Importance of Profitability
4. Transparent vs. Shadow Limits
5. Your Credit Limit Can Always Change

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The best high limit credit cards offer spending limits of $10,000+ to the most creditworthy applicants. But each person’s definition of a “high” credit limit may differ depending on their credit score, income and expenses (some cards are from WalletHub partners). A high limit for someone with limited/bad credit, for example, will be far lower than a high limit for someone with good/excellent credit. With that in mind, WalletHub’s editors compared 1,500+ credit cards to find some of the best high limit credit card offers for different types of applicants.

Best High Limit Credit Cards of June 2023

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Your credit limit should be at least 3 times higher than your usual monthly spending. That's because your overall credit utilization ratio should stay below 30%. If your spending exceeds that, you risk damaging your credit score. That's why it's important to know what credit cards usually offer as a credit limit before applying for one.

What you should know about credit card credit limits:

• Credit card limits can be as low as $200. 
• Some high credit limit credit cards can offer limits starting with $5,000 and upwards of $10,000.
• High credit limit credit cards will generally be available only to applicants with good or excellent credit, and a high enough income to afford payments.
• On the other side of the spectrum, high limit secured credit cards are open to applicants with bad credit, as they allow higher-than-average security deposits that establish credit limits and serve as collateral.

How to manage your credit limits and spending:

Whenever your spending habits change and your credit utilization ratio grows, you should request a credit limit increase, or apply for a new credit card. Your credit utilization accounts for roughly 30% of your credit score, so both are viable options if your credit card spending goes up. 

In addition to a higher credit limit, a new credit card can also come with advantages, like extra rewards and better rates. It also enables you to adopt the Island Approach and compartmentalize the use of your cards to maximize rewards and minimize finance charges. Feel free to also check out WalletHub's guide on how credit limit is determined, to get a better sense of what you can expect.

The highest credit card limit you can get is over $100,000 according to anecdotes from credit card holders. But like most credit cards in general, even the highest-limit credit cards will only list minimum spending limits in their terms. The best high limit credit cards offer spending limits of $10,000 or more.

In order to get $100,000+ in spending power, you need a lot of assets and income, little debt, and a spotless credit history. Let's look at some of the most popular offers with high floors and, hopefully, even higher ceilings so you can see for yourself.

Highest Credit Card Limits of 2023

Again, keep in mind that most credit cards only disclose minimum credit limits, if that. So, your limit could be a lot higher based on your creditworthiness.

In order to have a better chance of getting the highest credit card limit possible in your situation, you should make sure to always pay bills on time, use 30% or less of your available credit, pay down your debts, save money for the future, and otherwise make good financial decisions.

The usual credit limit for a first credit card is between $100 and $500, depending on which card you get. It could be as low as $100 for store credit cards or up to $500 if your first credit card is issued by a bank or credit union.

You may end up being disappointed with your starting credit limit on your first credit card if you have little or no credit history and limited income. On the other hand, people who've built good credit with loans or as authorized users can expect higher starting limits. 

Here's what you should know about your first credit card limit:

• Average credit card limits: The average credit card limit for new accounts is $5,021, according to TransUnion data from 2022. But there is no exact data on the average/usual credit card limit for people that have limited credit history. 
• Get a higher initial credit limit: It is possible to get a higher initial credit limit by applying for a secured credit card. In this case, the security deposit will serve as your credit limit. And for some cards you can put as much as $1,000, or even higher. You can also get a higher credit limit if you're listed as an authorized user on a card with a stellar credit history.
• Get a credit limit increase: Many credit card issuers review accounts regularly and raise credit limits automatically if the account is in good standing. So, in order to get a credit limit increase, make sure you use your credit card responsibly. That means paying your bill on time every month and keeping your credit utilization below 30%. You may also request a credit limit directly with the issuer, usually after at least 6 months of opening the account. 

The initial credit limit that you will get depends on several factors, such as your credit score and income. So, if you have a limited credit history, it's hard to get a high credit line. But once you start building your credit, you will have a better chance at getting a higher credit limit. 

If you already have a mortgage or loan in your name, you may be extended a more generous credit limit.  But this will only happen if you've managed the previous accounts responsibly. If you'd like to know where you stand, you can check your credit score for free, right here on WalletHub. 

There are four ways to increase your credit limit on a credit card. They include requesting a higher limit from your credit card's issuer, waiting for your credit card company to automatically raise your credit limit, adding to a secured credit card's security deposit, and applying for a new credit card account.

1. Request a Higher Credit Limit Online
2. Wait for an Automatic Credit Limit Increase
3. Add to a Secured Credit Card's Security Deposit
4. Apply for a New Credit Card Account

Which option you choose depends on what type of credit card you have and whether you're looking for more spending power or a higher limit for credit-improvement purposes. One complicating factor is that each credit limit increase request can cause a small, short-term drop in your credit score. So, you need to be careful. With that in mind, we'll help guide you through your options below.

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The best credit card for good credit with a high limit is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which is rumored to have a limit as high as $100,000, though Chase has never publicly disclosed the maximum credit limit. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card also offers great rewards. You can get an initial bonus of 60,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months, plus 1 - 5 points per $1 spent on all purchases.

Best High-Limit Credit Cards for Good Credit in 2023

If you have good credit, you are far more likely to get a high limit credit card than if you have fair or bad credit. You can check your credit score for free on WalletHub, as well as learn how to improve your score.

As your credit starts to improve, your credit card's issuer may offer to increase your credit limit, or you can request an increase yourself.