What you need to know
What is a Credit Limit?
A Credit Card limit is set when you are approved for a Credit Card and is the maximum amount of credit you can use on your Card.
When you apply for a Credit Card, you will have the opportunity to indicate your preferred Credit Card limit. Approval for your new Credit Limit will be subject to our approval criteria. You should ensure that you nominate a Credit Card limit that’s in line with your current financial circumstances and spending needs.
Managing Your Credit Limit
You can apply for an increase anytime. If your application is approved, your new limit will be applied to your Card within 15 minutes.
If ready to apply, please click on below link and enter the limit that you want to increase to.
In the application:
- Be prepared to provide recent documentation evidencing all sources of your income.
- Examples of income can include Salary, Rental Income, Dividends and any other regular earnings.
- If retired, you can include your latest superannuation statement confirming your closing balance.
We will review the documents you submitted along with the application information and consider the data from the Credit Bureau to conduct an affordability assessment before making a decision on your limit increase.
Learn more about Credit Bureau checks
You can request for a decrease at anytime. When your request is sent through, your new limit will be applied to your Card within 15 minutes.
If ready to request, please click on below link and enter the limit that you want to decrease to.
If you are ready to submit a request to lower your Credit Limit, please be aware of the following:
- If you have an outstanding balance, you cannot decrease your Card limit below that balance.
- If you wish to decrease your Credit Limit to below your current balance, you will need to pay down your outstanding balance.
- Each American Express Card has a minimum credit limit, which you can find in the Target Market Determination fact sheet located under each of our Cards on our website.
- If you are experiencing hardship, please call the number on the back of your Card.
Credit checks and your credit score
If you apply for a product or request to increase your product limit, we will perform a credit check. A credit check is when we ask a credit reporting body for information about other products you hold, have held or have applied for, and whether you’ve satisfied your repayment obligations.
The credit reporting body will record the fact that we have done a credit check. This will show on your credit report as a ‘credit enquiry’, and it may be disclosed to other credit providers or used in the calculation of your credit score by the credit reporting body.
When a credit enquiry is recorded on your credit report, it can affect your credit score in different ways. It might go up, down, or stay the same. This depends on factors like the type of credit you're applying for, how many other credit checks you've had recently, and other details in your report. An enquiry is more likely to lower your credit score if you make a lot of credit applications over a short period of time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You can select the Credit Limit that best suits your spending needs. American Express will assess your eligibility based on your financial circumstances to determine the limit that can be assigned to you.
Your minimum Credit Limit depends on the type of Credit Card you choose. The actual Credit Limit offered will fall between the Card’s minimum and maximum limits and will not be lower than the minimum limit for that Card.
A Credit Card will have a set Credit Limit. In contrast, a Charge Card comes with flexible spending power, also known as no pre-set spending limit. This means that with a Charge Card, the amount you can spend is dynamic and can adapt based on your transaction patterns, your personal credit rating, and other factors. You’ll also be required to pay the full closing balance on your Charge Card every month. Learn more about Charge Cards.
No, we are not able to make temporary increases to your Credit Limit. All Credit Limit increase requests require an application and assessment of your financial circumstances and ability to repay any higher Credit Limit you apply for.
Please call the number on the back of your Card, and the team will be able to assist.
If you would like to explore changes to your Credit Limit, you can do so by applying online or by contacting us. Please note that the eligibility for an increase will be dependant on the following criteria:
- How long you have held your Credit Card
- Your repayment history
- Meeting our affordability assessment
Tips on staying within your Credit Limit
1
Know your Credit Limit
This is the first step in making sure you are in control of your Card balance.
2
Manage your balance
Making regular payments to manage your balance and reduce the chance of hitting your limit.
3
Make use of our tools
Login to your Online Account to check your balance or download the American Express® App to keep track of your spending and stay across your Card balance when on the go.
1
Know your Credit Limit
This is the first step in making sure you are in control of your Card balance.
2
Manage your balance
Making regular payments to manage your balance and reduce the chance of hitting your limit.
3
Make use of our tools
Login to your Online Account to check your balance or download the American Express® App to keep track of your spending and stay across your Card balance when on the go.
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