Could my credit limit increase?

If you’re wondering what sort of credit limit you can expect and whether it’ll increase, we’ve answered your questions here.

What credit limit can I expect when I open my account?

With the Ocean credit card, you can expect a minimum credit limit of £200 and a maximum limit of £1,500. The limit you receive will be based on a number of things, like your credit history, how much disposable income you have and the amount of debt you’re already currently managing.

Will I receive a limit increase with my Ocean credit?

After several months of responsible borrowing, you might find that you could be offered a higher limit - you could be eligible for up to 2 limit increases year. This is because you’ve proved that you can handle your current limit and may be likely to manage a larger one without any problems. 

To show that you’re a responsible borrower and receive a potential limit increase, you should:

• Make all your repayments on time every month and - if you can - in full
• Never spend beyond your current credit limit

If you’re eligible for a limit increase, you’ll be contacted by email or letter. Your limit will automatically increase if you’ve enabled the automatic limit increase function. If you haven’t done this, you’ll need to say you’re happy with the increase before it changes. 

Do I have to accept a limit ?

A higher credit limit can come in handy for emergencies or protecting the cost of larger purchases. Just remember, it also means you can run up a bigger balance, which could take longer to pay back and cost more in interest. Only accept a limit increase offer if you’re confident you can manage a larger credit limit and you’ve been borrowing responsibly for a decent length of time (like six months or more).

If you’ve been offered a higher limit and you’re worried you’ll spend more than you can afford, don’t worry. You’ll be asked if you’d like the increase or not before you receive it and you’ll be free to refuse it before it’s automatically applied. You can also set your preferences for your credit limit not to be increased unless you specifically accept the increase. If you decide that you don’t want any credit limit offers in the future, you can also set your preferences to this.

Can I reduce my credit limit? 

If you’re not happy with your limit and would like to decrease it, simply give our partners at Capital One a call on 0344 481 2812 or +44 1159 938 002 (outside the UK).

Why is my credit limit small? 

Got a smaller credit limit than you were expecting? This could be down to a number of reasons, including:

• You’re already borrowing a high amount

If you’ve already got a large credit limit, like an overdraft or credit card limit, you could receive a smaller limit. This is because there’s a risk you could struggle to take on any further debt. 

• You’ll be too financially stretched to take on more debt

If your income and current outgoings mean you’re not left with enough to make large credit repayments, you could be given a smaller limit.

• Your credit history isn’t perfect

Ever missed monthly payments? If your credit history has a mistake or two, you could receive a smaller credit limit.