- The Ascent
- Best Credit Cards for February 2020
- Best High Limit Credit Cards
Best High Limit Credit Cards for February 2020
Matt is a Certified Financial Planner® and investment advisor based in Columbia, South Carolina. He writes personal finance and investment advice, and in 2017 he received the SABEW Best in Business Award.
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These are the highest limit credit cards we've come across, according to reported credit limit data. A little shopping around will turn up some U.S. credit cards with big limits -- even $100,000 and above. With that in mind, find out which high limit credit cards, some of which are from our partners, are right for you.
The Ascent's picks for best high limit credit cards:
- Travel rewards: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Cash rewards: Discover it® Cash Back
- Unlimited 1.5% cash back and no annual fee: Chase Freedom Unlimited®
- Travel rewards: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Balance transfers and cash rewards: Discover it® Balance Transfer
- Bonus category cash back: Chase Freedom®
- Students and diverse cash back program: Discover it® Student Cash Back
Great for: Travel rewards Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.
Rewards
2x points on travel and dining, 1x points on all other purchases. 25% more points for travel booked through Chase's portal.
Annual Fee
$95
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Ongoing APR
17.49% - 24.49% Variable
Bonuses & Perks
60,000 points after spending $4,000 within three months -- worth $750 of travel redeemed through Chase
Highlights
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel
- Get unlimited deliveries with a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on orders over $12 for a minimum of one year on qualifying food purchases with DashPass, DoorDash's subscription service. Activate by 12/31/21.
- Earn 5X points on Lyft rides through March 2022. That's 3X points in addition to the 2X points you already earn on travel.
Great for: Cash rewards Discover it® Cash Back
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.
Rewards
Earn 5% cash back in rotating quarterly categories you activate ($1,500 quarterly spending cap), 1% back on all else
Annual Fee
$0
Intro APR
Purchases: 0%, 14 months
Balance Transfers: 0%, 14 months
Ongoing APR
13.49% - 24.49% Variable
Bonuses & Perks
Double cash back in the first year -- that's worth up to 10% back, FICO score for free
Highlights
- INTRO OFFER: Discover will match ALL the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year, automatically. There's no signing up. And no limit to how much is matched.
- Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, select rideshares and online shopping, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate.
- Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases - automatically.
- Redeem cash back any amount, any time. Rewards never expire.
- Use your rewards at Amazon.com checkout.
- Get an alert if we find your Social Security number on any of thousands of Dark Web sites.* Activate for free.
- No annual fee.
Great for: Unlimited 1.5% cash back and no annual fee Chase Freedom Unlimited®
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.
Rewards
Unlimited 1.5% cash back, no minimum to redeem, rewards don't expire
Annual Fee
$0
Intro APR
Purchases: 0%, 15 months
Balance Transfers: 0%, 15 months
Ongoing APR
16.49% - 25.24% Variable
Bonuses & Perks
$150 after spending $500 within three months, free credit score monitoring
Highlights
- Earn a $150 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
- 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 16.49 - 25.24%.
- 3% intro balance transfer fee when you transfer a balance during the first 60 days your account is open, with a minimum of $5
- No annual fee
- No minimum to redeem for cash back
- Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open
Great for: Travel rewards Chase Sapphire Reserve®
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.
Rewards
3X points on travel immediately after earning your $300 travel credit. 3X points on dining at restaurants & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. $0 foreign transaction fees
Annual Fee
$550
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Ongoing APR
18.49% - 25.49% Variable
Bonuses & Perks
50,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Worth $750 redeemed for travel through Chase, up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓®
Highlights
- Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- 3X points on travel immediately after earning your $300 travel credit. 3X points on dining at restaurants & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. $0 foreign transaction fees.
- Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 50,000 points are worth $750 toward travel
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Access to 1,000+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select
- Up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓®
- One Year Complimentary Lyft Pink ($199 minimum value). Complimentary DashPass subscription from DoorDash after activating by 12/31/21.
Great for: Balance transfers and cash rewards Discover it® Balance Transfer
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.
Rewards
Earn 5% cash back in rotating quarterly categories you activate ($1,500 quarterly spending cap), 1% back on all else
Annual Fee
$0
Intro APR
Purchases: 0%, 6 months
Balance Transfers: 0%, 18 months
Ongoing APR
13.49% - 24.49% Variable
Bonuses & Perks
Double cash back in the first year -- that's worth up to 10% back, FICO score for free
Highlights
- INTRO OFFER: Discover will match ALL the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year, automatically. There's no signing up. And no limit to how much is matched.
- Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, select rideshares and online shopping, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
- Redeem cash back any amount, any time. Rewards never expire.
- 100% U.S. based customer service.
- Get your free Credit Scorecard with your FICO® Credit Score, number of recent inquiries and more.
- Get an alert if we find your Social Security number on any of thousands of Dark Web sites.* Activate for free.
- No annual fee.
Great for: Bonus category cash back Chase Freedom®
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.
Rewards
5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate, 1% on all else
Annual Fee
$0
Intro APR
Purchases: 0%, 15 months
Balance Transfers: 0%, 15 months
Ongoing APR
16.49% - 25.24% Variable
Bonuses & Perks
$150 after spending $500 within three months, free credit score monitoring
Highlights
- Earn a $150 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
- Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Enjoy new 5% categories each quarter!
- Unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases - it's automatic
- 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 16.49 - 25.24%.
- 3% intro balance transfer fee when you transfer a balance during the first 60 days your account is open, with a minimum of $5.
- No annual fee
- Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open and there is no minimum to redeem for cash back.
- Free credit score, updated weekly with Credit Journey℠
Great for: Students and diverse cash back program Discover it® Student Cash Back
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.
Rewards
Earn 5% cash back in rotating quarterly categories you activate ($1,500 quarterly spending cap), 1% back on all else
Annual Fee
$0
Intro APR
Purchases: 0%, 6 months
Balance Transfers: 10.99%, 6 months
Ongoing APR
19.49% Variable
Bonuses & Perks
Double cash back in the first year -- that's worth up to 10% back, FICO score for free
Highlights
- INTRO OFFER: Discover will match ALL the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year, automatically. There's no signing up. And no limit to how much is matched.
- Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, select rideshares and online shopping, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
- Good Grades Rewards: $20 statement credit each school year your GPA is 3.0 or higher for up to the next 5 years.
- No annual fee. No late fee on first late payment. No APR change for paying late.
- Get 100% U.S. based customer service & get your free Credit Scorecard with your FICO® Credit Score, number of recent inquiries and more.
- Freeze It® on/off switch for your account that prevents new purchases, cash advances & balance transfers in seconds.
- Get an alert if we find your Social Security number on any of thousands of Dark Web sites.* Activate for free.
- 0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months, then the standard variable purchase APR of 19.49%.
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Which credit card will give you the highest limit?
Chase Sapphire Preferred® offers the highest credit limit of the offers on this list with its $100,000 credit line, according to several reports. This offer may be tantalizing, but keep your expectations in check, whether applying for this card or any other just to secure a high limit. Just because a card offers a high credit limit doesn't mean you'll secure the full amount. For example, cardholders with high credit scores can be approved for the limits nearing $100,000, but only a small proportion of cardholders actually have credit limits above $20,000. In most cases, cardholders will receive limits considerably lower than the high potential limits noted.
Here are our picks by potential credit limit:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® (up to $100,000)
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® ($10,000 minimum)
- Discover it® Cash Back (up to $15,000)
- Discover it® Balance Transfer (up to $25,000)
- Chase Freedom Unlimited® (up to $24,000)
- Chase Freedom® (up to $24,000)
- Discover it® Student Cash Back (up to $3,500)
How to get the highest possible limit
Other factors than your credit score -- such as income and debt -- determine your credit line and here's how to ensure you are approved for the biggest credit card limit:
1.) Keep your credit utilization low -- The less debt you have the better. Card issuers want to minimize their risk when lending you money. Your debt divided by available credit (known as credit utilization) is one factor that can help improve your chances of securing a higher limit.
2.) Pay bills on time -- Paying bills on time signals to issuers that you can be trusted to manage debt balances smartly. Again, the less you are perceived as a lending risk to issuers the better your chances to get a high credit limit.
3.) Increase your income -- The higher your income the greater your potential credit limit.
If you're not happy with your current credit cards' limits, you have some options. You might, obviously, apply for a card with a higher limit right now. You might also plan to do that, but wait for some months or a year, while you increase your credit score. That's because you often need a high credit score in order to qualify for the best credit cards. And the higher your score, the higher your credit limit will tend to be, too.
According to data from the credit reporting bureau Experian, for example, the national average U.S. credit card limit was $8,071 a year ago. But limits varied widely by credit score. Here are the limits by score category:
| Credit Score Category | Credit Score Range* | Average Credit Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Super Prime | 781-850 | $11,357 |
| Prime | 661-780 | $7,593 |
| Non-Prime | 601-660 | $4,674 |
| Sub-Prime | 500-600 | $2,645 |
| Deep Sub-Prime | 300-499 | $1,834 |
*Data source: Experian. VantageScore model.
Clearly, having a steep score will net you higher credit limits -- because lenders don't want to be extending more credit than they're likely to be repaid, and a high credit score reflects someone who is a good risk, pays bills on time, and keeps debt levels under control.
It's also common for credit limits to be increased over time, as you prove yourself to be a dependable account holder. If you are a good customer and would like a higher limit, you might try just calling your credit card company and asking for an increased limit.
FAQs
-
A high limit credit card is a credit card with a high credit limit, which allows you to put more spending on the card. A credit card's credit limit marks the highest balance you're allowed to hold on that card at any given time. A low limit credit card might only let you hold a balance of $500 or $1,000, while high limit credit cards can come with credit limits as high as $100,000.
-
To increase the credit limit on your credit card, you'll need to request a credit limit increase with your credit card issuer either by phone or online.
Some issuers allow you to request a credit limit increase by logging into your credit card account online and clicking on the request link. Others will require you to make a phone call. You may also receive an automatic credit limit increase from time-to-time if you've demonstrated you can use credit responsibly.
It's worth noting that requesting a credit limit increase can impact your credit score. Some issuers will do a hard pull on your credit report, which is a type of credit check that shows up on your credit report as a new inquiry and can temporarily decrease your score by a few points. Other issuers don't need to do a hard pull on your credit in order to increase your credit limit, so your request will have no impact on your credit score and won't show up on your credit report.
If you're concerned about the impact on your credit, ask your credit card issuer whether or not they'll do a hard pull on your credit before requesting a credit limit increase.
-
Obtaining a higher credit limit may improve your credit score. This is because a significant factor in calculating your credit score is your credit utilization, which is largely determined by the ratio of your overall credit balances over your overall credit card credit limits, also known as your debt-to-credit ratio. You want this number to remain low. Increasing your credit limit will decrease your debt-to-credit ratio and potentially increase your credit score, especially if you tend to keep a high balance.
-
The average credit limit hovers at around $8,000. Average credit limits vary a lot by credit score, with higher credit scores typically receiving higher credit limits. Below is the average credit card limit by credit score:
- Super prime (781-850): $9,543
- Prime (661-780): $5,209
- Near prime (601-660): $2,277
- Subprime (500-600): $966
- Deep subprime (300-499): $509
To recap, here are the best high limit credit cards for February 2020
| Card | Credit limit | Great For… | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card |
|
Credit limit: Up to $100,000 |
Great For: Travel rewards |
| Discover it® Cash Back |
|
Credit limit: Up to $15,000 |
Great For: Cash rewards |
| Chase Freedom Unlimited® |
|
Credit limit: up to $24,000 |
Great For: Unlimited 1.5% cash back and no annual fee |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
|
Credit limit: $10,000 minimum |
Great For: Travel rewards |
| Discover it® Balance Transfer |
|
Credit limit: Up to $25,000 |
Great For: Balance transfers and cash rewards |
| Chase Freedom® |
|
Credit limit: up to $24,000 |
Great For: Bonus category cash back |
| Discover it® Student Cash Back |
|
Credit limit: Up to $3,500 |
Great For: Students and diverse cash back program |
About the Author
Matt is a Certified Financial Planner® and investment advisor based in Columbia, South Carolina. He writes personal finance and investment advice for The Ascent and its parent company The Motley Fool, with more than 4,500 published articles and a 2017 SABEW Best in Business award. Matt writes a weekly investment column ("Ask a Fool") that is syndicated in USA Today, and his work has been regularly featured on CNBC, Fox Business, MSN Money, and many other major outlets. He’s a graduate of the University of South Carolina and Nova Southeastern University, and holds a graduate certificate in financial planning from Florida State University.
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