What is a credit limit?

This page explains what determines your credit limit.

Credit limit is the maximum amount granted by the credit card issuing bank that you can use on your credit card at any given time.

Each credit card issuing bank has its own sets of minimum and maximum credit limits for different card types. Even with the same card type, the limit for each individual person may not be the same amount.

In some specific cases, some banks will allow the use of over-the-limit spends but incurring extra fees. You should check the over limit fees with your bank beside your credit limit.

The bank will look at your credit history and other key factors to decide whether to accept your credit card application, and what credit limit to offer you.

Essentially, a credit card is treated like a bank loan: the higher your credibility, the more money a lender will lend you. So how is your creditworthiness assessed? Here are some things lenders will consider:

After a thorough review, banks can provide a specific card type and credit limit suitable for your finances, if they accept your application.

When you already have a card and want to know your current credit limit, you can check via:

Knowing your current credit limit is important for you to have a reasonable monthly shopping plan and avoid the risk of overspending.

If you don't have a credit card yet, you'll only know your credit limit after submitting your credit card application and getting a response from your bank. Remember that even if you used to have a credit card, if you're applying for a new one, the credit limit might be different than your previous card.

Available credit limit refers to how much you still have left to spend with your credit card.

For example, if your card has a limit of VND60 million and you have already used it to make purchases of VND20 million and assuming you do not have any other interest/ fee charges, the remaining VND40 million is your available credit limit. The limit will go back to VND60 million again once you have settled your account balance.

To determine your available limit, you can do the same as when checking your credit card limit.

If you want to request for a new limit, you can either contact your bank directly or allow your issuer to do it automatically for you. Depending on your spending habits when using the card, the bank will consider whether to keep or increase your current limit.

As people income tend to increase and the spending need of people increase overtime, banks do automatically increase your credit limit as they assess your credit behavior and as reward of the loyalty.

Some banks will notify your credit limit changes, but you don't have to accept it. If you feel more comfortable with your previous limit, you can always inform your bank to keep the limit unchanged.

If you have the need to increase the credit limit while your bank has not done it, you can request the bank to do so, however, in certain cases bank do require you to prove that your financial capacity have increase, i.e. income increase or lower debt burden.

The increase or decrease of your credit limit depends on your banks' policies. Card issuers normally consider changing your limit when you have owned a credit card for 6 months or 1 year.

When requesting a credit limit increase, you should prepare the following documents to streamline the process: a request for a credit limit increase, proof of income and your most recent employment contract.

It's really not difficult to quickly change your limit once you prove you're a responsible cardholder. Here are some tips to help you with that:

As mentioned, a credit limit can vary widely, even in a single credit card line. This largely depends on the creditworthiness of your profile when you apply for a credit card with us.

HSBC offers a range of credit cards: such as HSBC Visa LiveFree Classic, HSBC Visa Cash Back, HSBC Live+ and HSBC TravelOne. Each of these cards have their own range of credit limits. You can find out more about this on the credit card page, but this table shows you the basics:

If you apply for a supplementary credit card, say for your spouse or a family member, your credit limit won't increase. Instead, the supplementary card will share the same total credit limit as the primary card.

Credit limit for everyday spending

For online or POS payments that accept Visa credit cards, all banks and financial institutions allow you to use up to 100% of your card limit.

At HSBC, sometimes we allow you to spend slightly more than your credit card limit, so that you can complete your purchases. The amount you can spend over the limit is based on your cards terms and conditions. Just keep in mind that there is an over-limit fee if you use this feature. 

Cash advance limit

You can also use your credit card for a cash advance for any short-term need of cash. You should know that the amount you can withdraw may be lower than your available credit limit. The withdrawal amount is subject to a cap as a certain percentage of credit limit which is determined by your bank.

The maximum amount you can withdraw each day is capped at VND16,000,000, even if your credit limit is much higher. In addition, the amount you can withdraw will depend on your available credit limit.

Having high credit limits can be a good thing, because it gives you the flexibility to spend money when you need to — and it may help you maintain good credit scores. But having high credit limits can be dangerous, as overspending on a high-limit card may put you into more debt than you can easily pay off. Knowing your maximum, does not mean it’s a good idea to reach it. In fact, it is much more important to learn how to manage your limit responsibly and make on-time payments every month.