Here's How to Get Approved for a $50,000 Credit Card Limit

The average American has just under $30,000 in total available credit (across all their credit cards), per Experian. But when it comes to individual card limits, there's a huge range.

Some people are capped at a few thousand, while others can unlock $50,000 or more on a single card.

While a $50,000 or higher limit is very difficult to be approved for right off the bat with any credit card, here are the factors and strategies that can unlock those higher levels.

Build a mature, excellent credit score

The starting place for a high credit limit is an excellent credit score. Generally, a FICO® Score of 740 or higher or a VantageScore above 781 puts you in the ideal range for a high-limit credit card.

Here are some important factors that make up your credit score:

• Credit age: Older accounts show you've handled credit responsibly over time, which builds trust with lenders and boosts your credit worthiness.
• Low credit utilization: Best practices say to keep your usage under 30% of your total available credit. But honestly you'll want to be way below that (think under 10%) to demonstrate strong credit management.
• No late payments: Even one missed payment can hurt your score and signal risk to lenders.

Show heavy, responsible usage

Before requesting a higher limit, show the bank you can handle one.

Personally, I put around $4,000 to $5,000 on my rewards card each month (and I pay it off in full, always on time). So when I asked recently for a limit increase to $30,000, it felt reasonable and was approved right away.

But if I were only spending $500 a month, it'd be a stretch to request a $30,000 limit. The bank just wouldn't see a strong need to grant that much credit.

Remember, banks aren't just looking at your income and credit score. They're watching your behavior over time. There's little reason for them to approve a high limit to users who don't show the need for one -- or folks that don't pay the full balance each month.

Looking for a great rewards card that matches your monthly spending habits? Compare the top credit cards here and find one that rewards you highest.

Request increases at the right time

Most banks will let you request a credit limit increase every six months. But each issuer is different, so you'll want to check their rules.

Timing your requests can matter. Here are a few times when you may appear more worthy for a limit increase:

• When your income has increased
• When your credit score has improved
• If you haven't recently asked for increases or applied for new cards

Pro tip: Some issuers (like American Express and Chase) offer soft pull limit increases. This means requesting an increase won't ding your credit score. You might even find a "Request a credit line increase" button in your banking app which saves you a phone call.

Consolidate limits across cards

This is more of an issuer-specific hack. If you have multiple cards with the same issuer, like Chase, you may be able to shift credit limits from one card to another.

I've done this before by simply calling up customer service and asking. Since both my cards were with Chase, they moved $10,000 of available credit from one card to the other within a few minutes. Super easy.

Here's an example of what credit limit consolidation might look like shuffling limits across three cards:

If your total available credit doesn't increase, banks have an easier time granting a higher limit on one specific card. This is how users with extremely high limits ($100,000 and up) report getting approved.

Looking for a high-limit card? Our experts reviewed over 260 credit cards to find the best high-limit options. Compare them all here and pick the one that rewards you most for your spending.