If you need more borrowing power and wish to approach your lender about it, you should wait a few months. That way, the lender can see if you are a person who can be trusted with a loan.
Lenders are more likely to approve a limit increase if the borrower has a history of making timely payments and has not gone over their set limit. However, if you have skipped payments or are now above your credit limit, it is highly unlikely that your request would be approved.
It’s possible that after a certain period of time with a given lender, you’ll be offered a raised limit automatically; but, you’re under no obligation to accept this if you believe it would tempt you to spend more than you can afford to repay.
Depending on your current financial situation, increasing your credit card limit might be either beneficial or detrimental. If you have a good track record of making on-time monthly credit card payments in the amount of your full balance, requesting an increase in your credit limit may be a good option for you. However, if you have a habit of going over your budget, a larger credit line can actually make the situation worse.
A higher limit can help your credit score if you are a responsible cardholder with good or excellent credit and keep your balances low. Use of available credit is an important component of credit scores. Use of credit resources that is low is an indication of living frugally, while use of credit resources that is large is an indication of the reverse.
Even if you pay off your obligations in full every month, damaging credit card debt can remain on your report for up to six months. As a rule of thumb, it’s best to use no more than 30 percent of your available credit across all of your cards at once.