Question: Can I Spend Over My Credit Limit? What Should I Do?

Jen’s question has a few key points to consider:

• Can she spend over the credit limit?
• This is her only card with Amex, so shifting credit from another card isn’t possible.
• Is it possible to get a credit limit increase, and if so what are the ramifications?
• How can she ask Amex for the things she wants?

Let’s address each of these in turn.

Can You Spend Over Your Credit Limit?

Mark recently addressed what happened when he spent over his credit limit and the statement closed. When that “over limit” posted to his credit report, his score dropped big time. So make sure you watch out for this.

As for American Express in particular, they have a section addressing this very question. If your payment history and credit history are good, they will allow you to temporarily go over your card’s limit. However, your required payment will go up, obviously. Additionally, they may prevent you from making any further purchases until you get back under the limit.

To see if you can go over your limit / how much is allowed with Amex, you can check the spending power tool at this link.

As for other banks, the answer is “it depends”. Some people may think that a way to get around this is to spend over the limit, pay down the bill (i.e., you’re back under the limit) and then spend more on the card. This is called “credit cycling”. Some banks will absolutely bring the hammer down on you for this. Others will let it slide once or twice. However, this is typically not allowed by most banks and is not recommended.

If you need to make a large purchase that may push you past the credit limit on your card, call the bank using the number on the back of the card. See if they’ll let you pass the limit for this occasion.

Shifting Credit from Other Cards

For Jen, this isn’t possible. For those of you who have more than one card — with any bank, not just Amex — check out our guide to this. See here: Rules For Each Bank: How To Move, Shift, Or Transfer Credit Limit Between Cards.

Most banks will allow you to move some of your credit limit from credit card A onto card B. This way, you can spend in a way that fits your needs.

Credit Limit Increase

If you need a higher credit limit on your credit card, you can ask your bank for this. We have a guide to this process here. Jen’s post asks two questions related to this:

• How likely is it that the bank will approve a credit limit increase request?
• Will it have negative consequences, such as a hard inquiry on your credit report?

As for how likely the request is to be approved, that depends on your relationship with the bank. If your payment history is solid, and you pay the whole bill every month — or at least a large majority of the bill — that helps. Is your “credit used to credit available” ratio low? That helps. And if your “credit to income” ratio is low, that also helps.

Regarding the second question, Doctor of Credit has a good resource on this. Check for recent data points on your bank, your card, and other factors to see whether you’re likely to get a hard pull.

How to Ask Amex for What You Want

Lastly, how can you ask Amex for a credit limit increase, if you want one? With American Express, you can do it online here or even via chat.

If you want a credit limit from another bank, check our guide here to see the appropriate methods.

Final Thoughts

Jen had a question that referenced several interesting points when asking if she can spend over her credit limit. It’s her only card with that bank, so shifting credit isn’t possible. The card is with Amex, which sometimes allows you to spend over the limit, so we talked about the details on this. Lastly, we talked about requesting a credit limit and what you should know before doing so.