Your Synchrony Premier World Mastercard® credit limit may have been lowered due to late payments, inactivity on your card, or a change in your credit history. Synchrony Bank will periodically review how you’re managing your current limit and may lower it if they don’t think you can afford the full thing.
You can call Synchrony Bank at (866) 419-4096 to ask about the particular reasons why your credit limit was lowered. You can also learn more about the most likely causes and how to avoid future credit-limit decreases below.
Why Your Synchrony Premier Credit Limit Might Have Been Lowered
- Missed payments:If Synchrony Bank detects a number of missed or latepayments, they could assume that you might be experiencing financial difficulties, and reduce their risk by lowering the amount you can borrow from them.
- High credit utilization:Yourcredit utilization is the ratio of the amount you’re borrowing compared to your credit limit. If your balance is frequently close to your limit, Synchrony Bank may see you as risky, and they’re likely to limit how much you can spend – especially if other aspects of your credit profile seem shaky.
- Inactivity: If you aren’t using any of the limit that’s available to you, Synchrony Bank might eventually lower your credit limit accordingly.
- Changing market conditions: Synchrony Bank may have lowered your credit line to limit its risk in response to changes in the economic environment. Many people’s limits got lowered by credit card companies during the COVID-19 pandemic, for example.
While your card activity might not always be the reason for a credit limit decrease, you can reduce the chances that it will be lowered in the future by using your card regularly and responsibly.
How to Prevent Your Synchrony Premier Limit From Being Lowered
- Never miss a due date. Missed payments are one of the main reasons why your Synchrony Premier credit limit might be lowered. You should always pay at least the minimum amount required by your due date. Setting up automatic monthly payments from a bank account can help with this.
- Use your card once a month. Your Synchrony Premier credit limit may be reduced due to inactivity, so it helps to make at least one purchase with your card each month to keep it active.
- Keep your balance low. Another factor that could make you appear risky is if you have high credit utilization. Ideally, you should keep your balance below 30% of your credit limit.
In most cases, Synchrony Bank isn’t legally required to inform you before they change your credit limit. The exception is if your new limit would result in an over-the-limit fee, which you generally must opt-in for. In this case, they must notify you 45 days before the limit goes into effect, or they must waive the fee.
If your credit limit has already been lowered, you can try requesting a credit limit increase, especially if your account has been in good standing for several months.
This answer was last updated on 08/12/24 and it was first published on 05/01/24. For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.
FAQs
Your Synchrony Premier World Mastercard® credit limit may have been lowered due to late payments, inactivity on your card, or a change in your credit history. Synchrony Bank will periodically review how you're managing your current limit and may lower it if they don't think you can afford the full thing.
Why would my credit card limit be decreased? ›
Change in credit activity: A credit limit decrease could result from late payments on your account or a decrease in your credit score. Account review: Credit card issuers periodically review accounts and adjust credit limits based on their assessment of your financial situation, credit history and overall risk.
How do I dispute a credit limit reduction? ›
Call your credit card issuer's customer service department and ask why your credit limit was decreased. Then, ask if it can increase your credit limit to the original credit limit amount.
How do I increase my Synchrony Premier Mastercard limit? ›
Here's how to get a Synchrony Bank credit limit increase:
Select “Access your account or apply for a card”, then enter your card's brand name and click “Account Access” to log in and request a credit limit increase. By Phone: Request a credit limit increase by contacting the number on the back of your card.
Why is my credit card available balance lower? ›
If you only spend your available credit, you can avoid overlimit fees. Why is my available credit less than my credit limit? You can think of available credit as your credit limit minus your current balance. If you have outstanding charges on your credit card, they will reduce your available credit.
Why does Synchrony Bank keep lowering my credit limit? ›
Synchrony Bank may have lowered your credit limit due to late payments, inactivity on your card, or a change in your credit history. Synchrony Bank will periodically review how you're managing your current limit and may lower it if they don't think you can afford the full thing.
What is a 5 24 rule? ›
Many card issuers have criteria for who can qualify for new accounts, but Chase is perhaps the most strict. Chase's 5/24 rule means that you can't be approved for most Chase cards if you've opened five or more personal credit cards (from any card issuer) within the past 24 months.
Does reducing your credit limit hurt your score? ›
Requesting a low limit may inhibit spending, and may require you to use a larger portion of the credit available to you. Using most, or all of the available credit may negatively impact your credit score as it can indicate that you are financially stretched, even if your limit is quite low.
Why has Next reduced my credit limit? ›
Your Credit Limit is reviewed on a monthly basis using information we hold about the way you manage your account, as well as information provided by the Credit Reference Agencies. We may increase or decrease your Credit Limit as a result of this review, or we may decide to place a temporary hold on your credit account.
How to negotiate credit card limit? ›
Submitting a request for a credit limit increase is typically very straightforward. The options include reaching out to your current credit card issuer either online or via phone. Yet another approach is to open an entirely new credit card that comes with a higher spending limit.
The Synchrony Premier World Mastercard®, which offers 2% cash back on every purchase to individuals with excellent credit (FICO scores of 720 or higher). The Synchrony Plus World Mastercard, which is designed for those with at least good credit (scores of 690 or higher) and earns 1% cash back on every purchase.
How can I increase my Premier credit card limit? ›
Once a PREMIER Bankcard Secured Credit Card account is open, you will have the opportunity to build your credit limit up to $5000 by adding more funds to your security deposit. The Program Fee is assessed to offset the risk associated with the credit card account.
How do I increase my credit card limit automatically? ›
Higher your Credit Score, higher your credit limit will be. Of course, this limit is not written in stone; it's possible to increase credit limit. This will work if you have been using your Credit Cards successfully, paying all your dues in time and making the best out of your rewards and offers.
Why did my available credit limit go down? ›
According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the only reason a card issuer needs to inform you about a credit limit decrease is because you missed a payment, are only making minimum payments on a high balance or took some other negative action that raised a red flag.
Why is my available balance so much lower than my actual balance? ›
The available balance for your account may differ from the current balance because of pending transactions that have been presented against the account, but have not yet been processed. Once processed, the transactions are reflected in the current balance and show in the account history.
What does credit card balance decrease mean? ›
Balances change based on when and how they are used—they increase when purchases are made and decrease when cardholders make payments.
Why does credit limit change? ›
You pay every credit card bill on time. As a reward, the credit card issuer may automatically grant you a higher credit limit, or invite you to request one. It could be just a small bump, or it may be as much as 30%.
Why would Capital One decrease credit limits? ›
Reasons Why Capital One Might Have Lowered Your Credit Limit
If your balance is frequently close to your limit, Capital One may see you as risky, and they're likely to limit how much you can spend – especially if other aspects of your credit profile seem shaky.
Why was my credit card limit increase declined? ›
You could be denied a credit limit increase for many reasons, such as a history of late payments, too low of a credit score, too little credit history, too many recent applications, or an inadequate verifiable income.
