How To Get A Capital One Credit Line Increase (2024)

Credit card limits represent the amounts cardholders can spend on their cards. Regular monthly payments help bring down a card’s balance so you have room to make more purchases, but sometimes there isn’t enough credit to make a large purchase. Or maybe you want to lower your credit utilization rate. To request a credit limit increase from Capital One, you can log into your online account or call Capital One directly. Credit limit increases can help your credit score, provide more wiggle room for big purchases and make you look good to future lenders.

How to Increase Your Capital One Credit Limit

Requesting a credit limit increase from Capital One is as easy as logging into your online account and submitting an electronic form. Enter the “Services” tab and click on “Request Credit Line Increase.” Follow the steps to complete the request. If approved, the new credit limit will be available immediately.

Make sure to provide Capital One with accurate qualifying information like total annual income, employment status and monthly mortgage or rent payment. Capital One uses this information to determine whether a cardholder is eligible for a credit limit increase.

Credit limit increase requests may also be done over the phone. Call the number on the back of the card to speak to a representative and inquire about an increase.

Some Capital One accounts may be ineligible for a credit limit increase. New accounts opened within the last several months, secured credit cards or accounts that have recently received a credit limit increase (or decrease) may be automatically ineligible.

Do credit limit increases happen automatically?

Yes, credit limit increases can happen automatically if your information is kept up to date, like employment status and total annual income. Cardholders in good standing (e.g. good credit score, consistent on-time payments) may also receive an automatic credit limit increase once or twice a year.

If requesting an increase from Capital One, approval can happen immediately or could take up to 30 days to process. Capital One will send a letter explaining the details of its decision if the request is not approved immediately.

Capital One approves cardholders for the highest amount it can offer. Cardholders can either accept the highest amount or opt for a lower limit (this is especially useful if overspending is a risk).

Pros and Cons of Higher Credit Limits

Pros of Higher Credit Limits

Receiving a higher credit limit (automatically or not) means your account is in good standing with a credit card issuer.

Capital One considers good standing to include a history of on-time payments, frequent larger payments that pay down the balance, a good credit score and increased income reported to Capital One.

Having a higher credit limit comes with a few perks:

• Lower credit utilization rates. As long as cardholders maintain similar spending habits, a higher credit limit can lower credit utilization rates by increasing the total credit limit available to cardholders.
• Credit score increase. Credit scores can increase over time if cardholders have a low credit utilization rate, make on-time payments and practice good spending habits. These aren’t all the factors involved in calculating a credit score, however.
• More credit available for large purchases. A higher credit limit means there’s more wiggle room for large purchases like a brand new TV or appliance. Avoid high interest rates by paying off a large purchase right away or by making large payments over a few months.
• Improve standing for a new car loan or mortgage. Combining a better credit score with a history of on-time payments and a low credit utilization will put anyone in a good position to get lower interest rates on big loans.

Cons of Higher Credit Limits

Having a higher credit limit can be risky if cardholders are not responsible with spending.

• More available credit can lead to more spending. It can be easy to fall into a spending trap when more credit becomes available. Don’t spend more than can be paid off by the end of every billing cycle if you can avoid it.
• Greater risk of debt. As a result of spending more, cardholders become more likely to fall into debt with a cycle of unpaid balances and rapidly accruing interest.
• Hard credit inquiries. Card issuers may perform a hard credit inquiry to process a credit limit request (most likely if the increase is requested and not automatically given). Too many hard inquiries in a short period can negatively affect credit scores (compared to a soft inquiry with little to no effect).

What to Do If Your Credit Limit Increase Is Denied

Capital One will send a letter indicating reasons why a cardholder’s credit limit increase request is denied. Use this information to improve standing before making a new request.

Capital One’s review process considers a cardholder’s employment status, total annual income, payment history, balance, card activity and more. The best course of action after a denial may be to pay down the balance on a Capital One card, pay on time every month or report an increase in income or change in employment status.

Regardless of the reasons for denial, a cardholder could apply for a brand new Capital One card (or one from a different issuer) if the goal is to get more credit fast. Receiving a new card credit has, in many ways, essentially the same positive effects receiving a credit limit increase does. But apply for a new credit card only as a last resort—applying for credit cards results in a hard inquiry, which could lower a credit score if done several times in a short period.

Bottom Line

Requesting a credit limit increase from Capital One is as easy as logging into your online account to answer a few questions or calling the number on the back of the card. Requests may be approved automatically or they might take a few days to process. Keep your account in good standing and regularly update your information in order to see an automatic increase once or twice a year. Be careful not to overspend as it can easily result in increased debt.