# What’s a typical credit card limit?



## Adelie (11 Aug 2022)

Just curious what would be a typical credit card limit e.g. relative to salary. I am switching my KBC card to AIB and they said the minimum limit is 5k but I can ask for anything I want above that but it might be refused. So I went with 5k because I just want to get it sorted and I can always apply for a higher limit later. But I’ve no idea what’s typical. Unlike say a mortgage where they tell you  up front an estimate of what you could be approved for.


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## Brendan Burgess (11 Aug 2022)

Hi Adelie

I am surprised that their minimum is so high! Are you sure? 

Look back at your recent history. Have you used €5k at any stage? 

But your strategy is right. Get the card.  Get the limit and if and when you need it apply to have it increased.

Brendan


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## Brendan Burgess (11 Aug 2022)

The Corporate cards have lower limits


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## Blackrock1 (11 Aug 2022)

there isnt any cost to you to having a high limit, so as long as you arent tempted to use it having as high as you can get is a handy source of liquidity should you ever need it.


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## Adelie (11 Aug 2022)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Hi Adelie
> 
> I am surprised that their minimum is so high! Are you sure?
> 
> ...



That’s for  the platinum card. I want the platinum card for the cashback. My limit at Kbc was 2.5k but that was too low. I have to make 2 payments some months when I have larger once off expenses to get balance back. I reckon though 5k would be plenty


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## Brendan Burgess (11 Aug 2022)

OK, their website says nothing about that. 

But there could be a limit on the Platinum card,  I suppose.

Brendan


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## ryaner (11 Aug 2022)

In my experience the limits they give out have become lower over the years. 15 years ago I knew more than a few people who had 15-20k limits of salaries in the mid 50k range. These days I know people who have been refused credit cards while having 100k salaries with no liabilities.

In my own case my current limit I was given is lower than it was on my last card even though my salary is higher.


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## Pinoy adventure (11 Aug 2022)

BOI is 3500 for personal customers,which can be increased if needed with payslips.


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## vandriver (11 Aug 2022)

My wife switched from her UB card(2.5k limit) to an avant card and they gave her a 12k limit!
In case you all think Mrs Vandriver earns a huge salary...no! Mid 40's


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## IrishHusk (12 Aug 2022)

vandriver said:


> My wife switched from her UB card(2.5k limit) to an avant card and they gave her a 12k limit!
> In case you all think Mrs Vandriver earns a huge salary...no! Mid 40's


Same with me. Moved from UB and got a 12k limit with avant. Had a 10k limit with UB though.


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## Odea (12 Aug 2022)

ryaner said:


> In my own case my current limit I was given is lower than it was on my last card even though my salary is higher.


I have an Ulster Bank credit card with a 3k limit on it.  It's a good figure, I can pay my yearly health Insurance for myself and my wife during the one renewal.
Ulster Bank is closing. I rang the AIB where I had also opened a new current account a few months previously. I asked for a €3k limit. Lots of number crunching and the less knowledgeable person dealing with me said that I am approved for €3k.
When the card was posted to me it had a limit on it of €2.5k.

I was annoyed because I had toyed with the idea of opening a new credit card separate to the place where I had my current account.

Just one of the many problems I have had, and still have, when I started the process of opening accounts with the AIB.

When I have the energy, I will contact them again and see if I can get the limit increased to the €3k that I wanted and was told that I would get.

It's draining dealing with the AIB.


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## huskerdu (12 Aug 2022)

I  have an AIB platinum card,. I had to really dig around to find my CC limit. The only place I could find it was on the PDF of a bill on the app. 

OP . I don't know if there is an average. It depends how you use your CC. Mine is €5600 . Hasnt changed in over 20 years, since I rang to ask for it to be increased so I could book an expensive holiday.


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## Peanuts20 (12 Aug 2022)

BOI gave me 7k as part of switching from UB. That was what I had with UB also


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## tallpaul (12 Aug 2022)

huskerdu said:


> I  have an AIB platinum card,. I had to really dig around to find my CC limit. The only place I could find it was on the PDF of a bill on the app.
> 
> OP . I don't know if there is an average. It depends how you use your CC. Mine is €5600 . Hasnt changed in over 20 years, since I rang to ask for it to be increased so I could book an expensive holiday.


To be honest, the first place I would look to see what my limit is would the bill!!!!

Mine is €5,200 with UB and this is a rounding up from punts when the currency changed. In hindsight, I must have had a large-ish limit in the 1990's when I got my credit card initially.


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## huskerdu (12 Aug 2022)

In the olden times, 


tallpaul said:


> To be honest, the first place I would look to see what my limit is would the bill!!!!


In the olden times, yes, but its seemed a bit odd that given the amount of info on the app, the PDF of a bill was the only place I could find it. 
I  use the app to check transactions, payments etc so I havent looked at a bill in a few years.,


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## Laughahalla (12 Aug 2022)

Having a high limit on a credit card can be vanity. Possibly dangerous if you use it all. Paying back 20k at 17% is no fun. A moment of madness could happen.
If you are disciplined then might be ok but lots of people are not disciplined.


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## PGF2016 (12 Aug 2022)

ryaner said:


> These days I know people who have been refused credit cards while having 100k salaries with no liabilities.


Hmmm... I find this hard to believe. 

5k limit for us and rarely make a purchase for more than a few hundred euro. What do people with 12k limits use them for?


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## Brendan Burgess (12 Aug 2022)

Odea said:


> When I have the energy, I will contact them again and see if I can get the limit increased to the €3k that I wanted and was told that I would get.



You can apply online or through the App. Not too much energy required - dealing with people can be draining. 

Brendan


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## tallpaul (12 Aug 2022)

huskerdu said:


> In the olden times,
> 
> In the olden times, yes, but its seemed a bit odd that given the amount of info on the app, the PDF of a bill was the only place I could find it.
> I  use the app to check transactions, payments etc so I havent looked at a bill in a few years.,


I suppose it is my inner orderliness that would help me. I (rather sadly, I suppose) diligently download each month's pdf statement and file it electronically in year order. But I do that for all my utilities, bank statements etc.


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## huskerdu (12 Aug 2022)

tallpaul said:


> I suppose it is my inner orderliness that would help me. I (rather sadly, I suppose) diligently download each month's pdf statement and file it electronically in year order. But I do that for all my utilities, bank statements etc.


Actually, Im the same. I love a bit of filing, used to keep my CC bills for years , but I've let go.  Its very freeing


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## IrishHusk (12 Aug 2022)

PGF2016 said:


> Hmmm... I find this hard to believe.
> 
> 5k limit for us and rarely make a purchase for more than a few hundred euro. What do people with 12k limits use them for?


Avant just gave me a 12k limit based on our salary's. I never spend that much but this month I paid for a holiday which will be maybe 5k. Maybe they give high limits so some may overspend. I always pay off in full and I get the 12 euro reward


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## Mousehelp (12 Aug 2022)

BofI limit is 8.5k. Paid off in full every month.  My Bill can go up to 5k some months with holidays and college/school fees in August/September. I never asked for this but I remember they wrote to me a few times telling me they were upping the limit. That’s a few years ago though.


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## Zenith63 (13 Aug 2022)

Peanuts20 said:


> BOI gave me 7k as part of switching from UB. That was what I had with UB also


This is important for those switching from UB/KBC. If you do a switch BOI carry your limit over.

I didn’t know that so setup a new BOI credit card, asked for a limit of €6k (same as I had with KBC) but was given €2k and told you can only ask for an increase every 6 months so I just have to wait. Bit of a pain as I’m used to using our credit card to keep day-to-day spending separate from DDs etc in our current account. BOI do let you overpay the credit card so you can have more than the €2k credit available however.


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## garbanzo (13 Aug 2022)

With Avant Card myself; formerly MBNA for donkeys years. I’d a €15k limit with them for years. Never went near those heights. They reduced it to €12k a few months ago following ‘a review’. Doubt I’ll ever get to that ceiling either TBH. It’s plenty…

g


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## BigPineapple (15 Aug 2022)

PGF2016 said:


> Hmmm... I find this hard to believe.
> 
> 5k limit for us and rarely make a purchase for more than a few hundred euro. What do people with 12k limits use them for?


I have an AIB Platinum for a few years now, started off in the low 5K region I think, every half year or so I request about 1K-1.5K increase. Right now up to 9.5K. Will keep on doing it for another while, probably until it reach 20K or so.

The way I see it, it is using Bank's money interest free for up to 56 days and can sometimes get you out of a jam in emergency. 

Somewhat like mortgages (where overpayment and maintaining the same term is more beneficial as you as the borrower because you cannot extend terms later on) but in a slightly different way. If I might need a once off slightly higher limit and I ask the bank adhoc, the bank won't give it to me come the time I needed it, therefore I apply regularly to increase the limit just in case I might need it some day. It is a nice to have, it doesn't cost me anything and I'm taking full advantage of the service that comes with it.

The big caveat is that the user need to be vigilant and pay off every month in full. I have always paid in full and only spend on things I know I can afford. (None of those crazy spending without thorough thought).


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## Concrete (15 Aug 2022)

PGF2016 said:


> What do people with 12k limits use them for?


I push all my day to day spending, including health insurance, etc. through it (clearing in full each month), so then for car rental (where the company often locks a fairly high amount as deposit), I need a fair bit of headroom.  I don't quite have 12k but pretty high and it's useful.


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## OrangeLavender (23 Aug 2022)

I have an AIB current account and Platinum credit card with over 6k limit I think. I just pay for everything except direct debits from credit card to avoid the transaction fees and get the (small) cashback. Then I pay off in full every month. At the beginning I was a little hesitant to have what I consider a high limit as I had a student card for years with a 500 EUR limit but it's working well so far!


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## icb (27 Aug 2022)

AIB Platinum allow you request increase every five months online up to a maximum of €15,000 

After this you must call to a branch and justify the requirement to have a limit increase considered. 

This has been my experience with it.


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## smndly (30 Aug 2022)

I have a BoI credit card and might ask for a limit increase soon to have in case of a rainy day. Does anyone know are there any issues with your credit rating if you get refused a limit increase?


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## Steven Barrett (30 Aug 2022)

Brendan Burgess said:


> The Corporate cards have lower limits
> 
> View attachment 6496


Personal director guarantees required on corporate accounts too...well at least for small companies. 

I've been with Avant for decades. Limit has been €7,500 for as long as I can remember. They tried to increase it as one stage but I don't need it any higher so declined their offer.


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## Johnno75 (30 Aug 2022)

IrishHusk said:


> Maybe they give high limits so some may overspend.


That’s precisely why Avant gives high limits. They’re banking (pardon the pun) on the customer overspending and paying the 22% (APR) interest rate on the outstanding balance.

I have a €25k limit with Avant. I make sure my monthly balance is nil.


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## Komori (30 Aug 2022)

I have an AIB credit card for over 20 years, my initial limit was €2000. Their internet banking had a button where you could request an increase every now and then, so I kept doing it to see how irresponsible they would be. Got it up to €14000 over a few years and then the button disappeared.
Still have that limit to this day, luckily my bills are in the 100’s and I pay it off every month.


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## Knuttell (25 Sep 2022)

Used to have 15k limit with Avant Platinum which they recently reduced to 12k.


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## Ryan (3 Jan 2023)

Mine is €1500 with Avant.
They refused a recent request to increase to €2000


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## masterboy123 (3 Jan 2023)

I have AIB Platinum card. Monthly limit is €6500. And I pay by direct debit every month so there are no interest rate charged.


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## Zion2022 (3 Jan 2023)

icb said:


> AIB Platinum allow you request increase every five months online up to a maximum of €15,000
> 
> After this you must call to a branch and justify the requirement to have a limit increase considered.
> 
> This has been my experience with it.



Any idea if the justification needs to be detailed/specific or is ‘because I want it and can afford it easily’ enough?

I was increasing my limit every 6 months until I got to €15k a few years back and haven’t been able to get a penny more since then (my income has more than tripled). Just gave up, but would like it to keep going higher so I could buy a car, a new bathroom etc, and harvest the full cashback.


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## murphaph1 (4 Jan 2023)

I have an old AIB Gold card that has had the same 10k limit for at least 15 years now, maybe even longer. I can't even find "Gold cards" on the AIB website so it must be just a legacy product? I don't really use the card much but I do like to have it as a backup to my main CC. My wife's CC is with the same bank as my main CC (joint account, though separate cards) so I am always a bit worried that we might be on holidays and that bank might experience an outage, leaving us both without funds, hence I like to have the fallback of a completely different card. Of course, both are Visa so if Visa has a big outage I guess we're screwed anyway!


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## nest egg (6 Jan 2023)

Komori said:


> I have an AIB credit card for over 20 years, my initial limit was €2000. Their internet banking had a button where you could request an increase every now and then, so I kept doing it to see how irresponsible they would be. Got it up to €14000 over a few years and then the button disappeared.
> Still have that limit to this day, luckily my bills are in the 100’s and I pay it off every month.


The button is back! Not quite so visible these days but it's there if you look, I just requested an increase, and it was immediately approved.


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## ThomasAquinas (8 Jan 2023)

Mine is 11k with BOFI never requested that amount though and salary is mid 60’s.  I put everything on my card and alway pay in full university registration for 2 kids pushed it up and at again healthcare renewal time its high.  Sometimes I worry about the limit being so high in relation to fraud.  I got stung for the first time on a dodgy site for trainers for the kids and although it was picked up by the fraud section of BOI i really did not see it.  I am pretty tuned in but was had that time and wonder how far it could have gone if it was missed, in terms of other charges brought on to the card.  I know there is protection in relation to charge backs etc bit as others have said dealing with the banks is excruciating.  The other point about high limits and high bill is that sometimes I make  different part payments while clearing a bill always before it is due however I miscalculated the total one month by a euro and interest is charged on the full amount regardless of part payments.  That is with BOI it was a hard pill to swallow and one I will never make again.


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## ClubMan (8 Jan 2023)

ThomasAquinas said:


> I put everything on my card and alway pay in full


Not always?


ThomasAquinas said:


> The other point about high limits and high bill is that sometimes I make  different part payments while clearing a bill always before it is due however I miscalculated the total one month by a euro and interest is charged on the full amount regardless of part payments.  That is with BOI it was a hard pill to swallow and one I will never make again.


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## icb (Tuesday at 2:39 AM)

Zion2022 said:


> Any idea if the justification needs to be detailed/specific or is ‘because I want it and can afford it easily’ enough?
> 
> I was increasing my limit every 6 months until I got to €15k a few years back and haven’t been able to get a penny more since then (my income has more than tripled). Just gave up, but would like it to keep going higher so I could buy a car, a new bathroom etc, and harvest the full cashback.



I asked in branch what limit could be requested, the lady said she has seen approvals for €20K, I asked could I get similar on the basis I’m mortgage approved and would like access to €20K to furnish/upgrade some parts of a property, she said it wouldn’t be a good use of a credit card limit increase. 

So I don’t know what you’d need to say to have them increase it. Above was over two years ago. 

€15K really seems to be the standard max


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## ThomasAquinas (Tuesday at 11:17 PM)

ClubMan said:


> Not always?


Well not intentionally it was once and by God it cost me!


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