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An increase in credit limit may not hurt your FICO score at all, in fact it might even help it.

If you can demonstrate that you have successfully gotten two or three unsecured credit cards, and have been able to keep them a few years that is considered good credit. Also, if you have a high limit but 30% or less balance owed, that is the strongest for FICO purposes.

Because FICO score incorporates averages, if you have more than 20-30000 of credit limit or more that might be seen as "higher" than average. 2 or 3 cards with low balance owed and about 20-30K balance is probably best.

More Information:

If the requested increase is more than 10%, the lender will probably request a copy of the customer's credit report from 1 or all 3 bureaus. This will cause an "Inquiry" to by added to the credit report and the FICO scoring system subtracts points from the score for these inquiries. Once the increase is granted, it may increase the score if it is not used (lowers credit utilization ratio).

This will vary for each person but understanding the details of how this effects your FICO score can help you make an educated determination.

If you must receive an inquiry for requesting a credit limit increase, keep in mind that generally these inquiries have a minor impact on your FICO score if you do not regularly make such inquiries. Also these inquiries fall off of your report in about two years.

A credit limit increase will make a more long term improvement on your debt to available credit ratio (so long as you don't use the newly available credit) which is a key factor in determining your FICO score. In many cases, this is a good strategy even if you receive a small point reduction initially for having the additional inquiry on your report. This is especially effective if you do not already have a good balance to available credit ratio.

If you already have an abundance of available credit and low balances, this may not improve your score at all as the available credit can also be looked at as 'potential debt'. Increasing your credit limits will best help your score if you can answer yes to the following questions:

- Does the amount of credit available to you seem low in comparison to what you can afford to make payments on?

- Are low credit limits making your debt to available credit ration seem higher than it should be?

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Q: Will asking for an increase in your credit limit affect your FICO score?
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Related questions

Form of sbi credit card limit increase?

For spending increase my credit limit


How can someone increase their credit limit on their credit card?

Someone may increase their credit limit by visiting the local bank branch and speaking with a bank teller. The individual can then ask for an increase in their credit limit on their credit card.


Increase credit limit for credit card?

If you want to increase your credit card limit, you should use it regularly and create a predictable credit card history. Pay your bills on time.


How do you increase credit limit on your credit card?

Contact your Credit Card company and ask Usally it can increase with better credit or higher income


Can an authorized user of a credit card increase credit limit without knowledge of card holder?

Short answer:It depends on the bank. Most likely though, no. Long answer:It depends on the bank and if the person asking the credit limit increase is a primary card holder. Most banks or credit card companies won't allow a secondary card holder to increase the credit limit. I just called and checked. The bank my credit card was associated with was MBNA.I am a secondary card holder (my name is on the card, but the primary responsibility to the account is under someone else's name).They told me the primary card holder needs to call in to modify the credit limit.So in my case, the answer is no. An authorized user of the card cannot increase the credit limit without the knowledge of the primary card holder.


If you reduce your credit limit on a credit card does it affect your credit score?

yes, it will lower your FICO score.


How do you increase my credit limit?

Pay more than your monthly minimum. Credit companies watch that.


Why can a credit card company lower your credit limit without your consent?

The CC Company may have seen an increase risk when they saw on an updated credit report/score. It could be a late payments, collections or any other derogatory item on your credit report that triggered it. The CC have the power to limit or increase your credit limit to lower their liability.


How does the ratio of credit limit to your balance affect your credit?

I know this much: Your balance-to-limit ratio is 30% of the criteria that credit bureaus use to generate your credit score. That's a large chunk.


Will having a credit card with a high limit affect your ability to get a loan?

if you obtain a credit card with a high limit it will not affect your credit as long as the card is in good standings .. however if the card is maxed out it could affect your credit score wich will intern stop you from getting a loan. although it may not stop you from getting your loan but it will affect your interst rates


How can I go about getting a credit limit increase on credit cards?

All you have to do is contact your credit card company & request your increase. The longer you have been doing business with them, the bigger the chance is that they will increase your limit for you. Also, this will happen with a higher probability if you are in good standing with your payments. As long as you have paid on time etc. Good luck!


Can a person increase the credit limit of a home equity loan over the phone or do you have to start the loan process all over again?

If it is a home equity loan, then it is much different than a credit card. You cannot increase the limit.