Everything You Need to Know About the Self Credit Card Limit

If you’ve heard about the Self Visa^® Credit Card but aren’t sure how the Self credit card limit works exactly, read on to learn:

• What’s the minimum Self credit card limit?
• What’s the maximum Self Visa Credit Card limit?
• How do you get a Self Visa Credit Card limit increase?
• How having a higher credit limit could help your credit

Let’s break these down…

What’s the minimum Self credit card limit?

The minimum credit limit for the Self card is $100. To reach this limit at Self, you first have to:

• Open a Credit Builder Account.
• Make at least 3 monthly payments on time.
• Have your account in good standing.
• Have $100 or more in savings progress after interest and fees.
• Satisfy income requirements.

If you meet the eligibility requirements, you can use the money you already paid into your Credit Builder Account (minus interest and fees) as the security deposit for your credit card with Self. This criteria is subject to change.

Note: How quickly you become eligible for the Self credit card also depends on the payment plan you choose. A higher monthly payment helps you reach the $100 minimum sooner, but pick a plan you can afford to pay.

What’s the maximum Self Visa credit card limit?

As of January 2021, the maximum secured credit limit available on the Self card is $3,000 for eligible customers. That means the maximum amount you can move from your Credit Builder Accounts to the Self card over time is $3,000.

How do you get a Self Visa Credit Card limit increase?

Here are three ways you could potentially increase your Self credit card limit.

1 - Pay into your Credit Builder Account

Each time you add $25 to your Credit Builder Account (after interest and any applicable fees) you could increase your card deposit by $25. Since interest is taken out of your payment each month, if you’re on the $25 plan, you won’t qualify for a credit limit increase after each payment.

We’ll hold onto this deposit as long as your Self card is open. So choose carefully how much money you want to go to your card vs. how much you want to get back when your Credit Builder Account ends.

There may be times when you choose to lower your credit limit and get some of the money refunded to your Credit Builder Account, but be mindful of the impact this could have on your credit utilization, which is a major factor in your credit score.¹

Download the Self app to start building.

2 - Open another Credit Builder Account

After you finish one Credit Builder Account, you are welcome to apply for another one, though you may only have one active account at a time. A second account could help you build more payment history (35% of your credit score!)¹ while adding to your Self credit card limit.

To help you build positive credit habits, there’s a limit to how many Credit Builder Accounts you can open within a certain time period, and a $3,000 maximum limit for secured credit at Self.

While it’s not a good idea to open multiple Credit Builder Accounts and pay them off quickly to increase your credit limit at Self, using your accounts responsibly and slowly increasing your credit limit over time may help your credit score.

3 - Gain access to unsecured credit on your Self card

Once you’ve had your Self card for at least six months (and met other requirements) you could gain access to an unsecured credit limit increase on your existing Self secured credit card.

What does that mean?

If you paid $300 into your Credit Builder Account, and set aside $200 for your secured card deposit, your credit limit on that card is $200.

Once unsecured credit is added to the card though, your credit limit will be higher than your security deposit. So you could have a security deposit of $200 but a credit limit of $275, for example.

Learn more about the Self unsecured credit limit here.

How having a higher credit limit could help you

Credit utilization means how much you owe divided by the maximum amount you can borrow, especially on credit cards. It’s also a major factor impacting your credit score.¹

For example:

If you have a $1,000 credit card balance and a $2,000 credit limit, you have 50% utilization, which is pretty high.

There are a few ways to lower your credit utilization:

1. Pay down your credit card balances
2. Increase your credit limit(s)
3. Do a combination of both

If your credit limit increases, and you keep your balance the same (or even better – pay it off!) you lower your credit utilization, which may increase your credit score.

Bonus? “Graduating” to more unsecured credit with Self, which you then use responsibly, could signal to lenders that you can reliably manage multiple different types of credit – from installment credit to revolving.

By increasing your credit limit and maintaining good credit habits, you could be well on your way to building a good-looking credit report.

Are you eligible for an increase with Self? Login or download the Self app today to check your progress.

About the author

Lauren Bringle is an Accredited Financial Counselor® and Content Marketing Manager with Self Financial – a financial technology company with a mission to increase economic inclusion by helping people build credit and savings so they can build their dreams. Connect with her on Linkedin or Twitter.

Sources

https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/whats-in-your-credit-score

All Credit Builder Accounts made by Lead Bank, Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender, Sunrise Banks, N.A., Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender or Atlantic Capital Bank, N.A., Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. Subject to ID Verification. Individual borrowers must be a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident and at least 18 years old. Valid bank account and Social Security Number are required. All loans are subject to ID verification and consumer report review and approval. Results are not guaranteed. Improvement in your credit score is dependent on your specific situation and financial behavior. Failure to make monthly minimum payments by the payment due date each month may result in delinquent payment reporting to credit bureaus, which may negatively impact your credit score. This product will not remove negative credit history from your credit report. All loans subject to approval. All Certificates of Deposit (CDs) are deposited in Lead Bank, Member FDIC, Sunrise Banks, N.A., Member FDIC or Atlantic Capital Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. The Self Visa® Credit Card is issued by Lead Bank, Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender.