Here's What Happens if You Max Out a Credit Card

"Push it to the limit" isn't a good strategy with your credit cards.

Maxing out a credit card occurs when you reach its credit limit. For example, if your card has a $5,000 credit limit and a $5,000 balance, then it's maxed out. This is something you want to avoid whenever possible, because it can cause several issues for you. To understand the potential repercussions, here's what happens if you max out a credit card.

Additional transactions will be declined

Since you've reached your card's credit limit, you won't be able to keep using it until you pay down the balance. If you're unfamiliar with how credit cards work, they're what's known as a revolving line of credit. You can keep borrowing from them and reusing them, as long as you pay back what you borrow.

Let's say you max out your credit card with a $5,000 limit. Then you make a $3,000 payment. That brings your balance down to $2,000 and frees up $3,000 in credit you can borrow from again. Keep in mind that it's normally better to pay off your full balance, though, to avoid paying interest charges.

There are, however, a couple of situations where you could keep using your card:

• You may be able to opt into over-the-limit transactions, in which case you could go over your credit limit. These transactions almost always have an additional fee.
• Some credit cards are flexible spending cards. These allow you to exceed your credit limit on a case-by-base basis, without a fee.

Your credit score will drop

Your credit score is a measure of your creditworthiness. One of the factors used to calculate it is your credit utilization ratio, or the amount of your credit that you're using. For example, if your card has a $200 balance and a $1,000 limit, that would be 20% credit utilization.

Lower credit utilization is better for your credit score. A popular guideline is to stay below 30% credit utilization. There are two types of credit utilization that are important:

• Overall: The combined credit utilization across all your credit cards. This is calculated by dividing all your cards' combined balances by their credit limits.
• Individual: The credit utilization on each card you have.

If you max out a credit card, you'll have 100% credit utilization on that card. This can have a big negative impact on your credit score. It will be even more significant if that's your only credit card, since that means you'll also have high overall credit utilization. High credit utilization can drop your credit card as much as 50 points, according to Rod Griffin, senior director of consumer education of Experian.

You could end up in credit card debt

When you use credit cards, it's extremely important to be careful about your spending. If you overspend and can't pay off your balance, you'll have to deal with credit card debt. Unfortunately, many consumers end up in this situation. The average amount of credit card debt held by consumers is over $5,000, according to recent credit card debt statistics.

Maxing out your credit card doesn't guarantee you'll end up in debt. After all, you may still be able to pay off the balance in full by the due date. But many people who max out their cards can't do that and instead carry around a hefty balance from month to month.

That's what you want to avoid. Credit cards tend to have high interest rates, and their interest rates even recently hit a record high. The best approach is to spend only what you can afford to pay back.

There are a few things that can happen when you max out a credit card, and none of them are good. Be aware of your credit limit and aim to avoid maxing out your credit card. You'll be able to keep using your card, and you won't need to worry about your credit score or credit card debt.