What Is the Best Way to Get Your Line of Credit Increased?
- You need to do some preparation before asking for a higher line of credit because your credit card issuer will check your records before approving your request. Build up a 12-month string of on-time payments on all your credit cards, loans and other accounts. Get your credit card balances down below their current levels. The MyFICO credit score company explains that these actions improve your score. You bank will be leery of boosting your spending power if you are not paying your bills promptly or have maxed out all of your currently available credit, because these are potentially signs of financial distress.
- Perform a self-check on your credit bureau records before your credit card issuer does it in response to your credit line increase request. You get a free credit report copy from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion every year if you use annualcreditreport.com to place your order, according to the Federal Trade Commission website. Look for negative information that is being listed in error, and dispute all the mistakes through the appropriate forms on the credit bureau websites. Each bureau gets 30 days to either verify or remove the mistakes, so wait until your reports are fixed before applying for a higher credit line.
- Call your credit card issuer at its customer service number, which usually appears on the card back and on your statements. Ask to speak to someone with the authority to perform credit line increases. Ask that person for a higher credit line, and explain that you are a good customer with a timely payment record. The agent may be able to run a quick credit check and give you an immediate response, or you may have to wait for an answer. The Bankrate website advises that you may not even have to contact the credit card company. Many card issuers have automatic increase programs, so your credit building efforts might earn you a new credit line without asking.
- You generate a "hard inquiry" on your credit reports when you ask for a credit limit increase. Such inquiries show other lenders that you applied for additional credit, which hurts you if you make several requests within a short time frame. The MyFICO website warns that people with at least six hard inquiries within a year are eight times more prone to bankruptcy.