Credit card - 'standard' limit

[Sew3stitch]

I currently have an old student credit card with £500 limit with Natwest and they won't increase the credit limit as it is a student card. I graduated over 10 years ago and could do with a higher limit so I can use a CC for extra protection buying holidays (when allowed) and the like.

Not sure if relevant but I'm a higher rate tax payer with a good credit score. Ironically my score on credit karma "could be better" as my credit limit is so low that whenever I purchase something for a couple of hundred pounds it considers I'm using a high proportion of my available credit.

What would be considered a standard credit card limit that I should aim for? I was wondering whether 3k / 5k is considered the norm but unsure.

Can you not just get a new credit card from a different provider or get a different card from Natwest that isn't a student card

Yes of course - speak to NatWest about changing to a standard card. I'd say they mostly have at least £2500 as available credit

Yes that's what I plan to do but wasn't sure what credit limit I should aim for when picking a card.

Or does the provider accept you for a card and tell you what limit they're willing to give you?

They tell you the limit they will offer you

Our NatWest are both £20,000, taken out a couple of years apart and so that may indicate something about Natwest rules?

The highest in the UK is I believe £30,000 for new accounts as rules changed a while ago.

They tell you the limit when you apply. MSE has a prechecker tool which is quite good. Natwest is on there. But our Natwest came through an offer on the app?

Or does the provider accept you for a card and tell you what limit they're willing to give you?

This is exactly how it works. They do a credit assessment and decide how much they are willing to give you. Limit will rise, fall or stay the same depending on how you use the card.

Why have you still got a student credit card though? This should have been changed years ago.

I was in a similar situation with NatWest, they let me keep my student credit card after graduation but the limit couldn’t be extended past £500.

I applied for an American Express card as I wanted to make the most of their points scheme. You could request a limit, or you could let them decide for you. I let them decide and was astounded to get a limit of £15k! I thought it would be £2-3k max.

3-5k sounds like a reasonable expectation, but a provider will determine what they offer you.
M&S offered DH £500 - can only assume this is because he is not on the electoral roll.
On the other hand, Virgin then offered him £15k and American Express £30k.

Amex use different rules and eligibility to other companies.
My Amex is £30,000.

I don't know if it's changed recently but whenever I've taken a new credit card the provider has told me what my limit is, I didn't know you could request your own limit at the start

Thanks everyone, very helpful.

@yankeedoodledandee I've just never needed to spend more than that on a credit card as we've paid for things outright. I think in hindsight that was risky and should have used a CC for the extra protection. My husband has a card too but I noticed it was potentially affecting my credit score so need to do something about it!

I have lots of credit cards because used to I exploit the zero percent offers to make money, before interest rates dropped.

It's not really worth doing any more, so I'm now winding this down, but the cards I have came with limits of £8-12k and I earn £40k.

I'm surprised NatWest haven't offered you a standard card, but I'd aim to get a card with a limit of £5-10k and use it every month for some or all of your normal spending and set up a direct debit to pay the balance off in full every month. Hugely beneficial to your credit rating. Look for one that does cashback. If you spend well in Marks and Spencer or John Lewis that would be a good choice, otherwise I think you can get 0.5% cashback. Look on money supermarket or money saving expert, but don't worry too much about credit scores or eligibility calculators as I've found them quite inaccurate.

Forgot to say, you could just apply for a card that suits you, see what limit they offer and if it's not enough, use it for a few months and then ask for it to be reviewed.

Mine is 3.5k. I've never tried to change the amount, I've had it years so maybe I could increase it but I don't really need to. It's HSBC.

I'd definitely try and start with at least a 3-5k limit and use it for a few months then try and up it slightly.

I have a 40k limit on my Amex and 15k on my Barclaycard. I don't ever keep a balance on them but I do use them regularly and they are useful for large online purchases/holidays etc