Your credit card can be your best friend or your worst enemy! Find out how and when to increase your Santander card limit.
We've talked a lot about credit cards and how they can help you in certain situations: whether it's in an unforeseen situation where you don't have cash on hand or when paying for a course in installments (interest-free), for example.
It's all good, as long as you have good financial planning and know how much you can spend on your card per month without compromising other essential items.
Increasing your Santander card limit can be a good option if you are sure that this new amount fits within your monthly budget. Here we will teach you how to do this procedure and give you some more tips on the subject!
Santander App
Santander is one of the largest banks in the country and in the world – and, for this reason, it is always keeping an eye on technological innovations, bringing greater convenience to its customers.
Now, in addition to ordering food, scheduling a date and shopping through apps, You also learn how to increase your Santander card limit! To do this, simply download the Way App and manage your credit card using your smartphone.
Within the app, to increase your card limit, just click on the “+” symbol. The app will then ask you what limit you would like to have on your card and you can enter the desired amount.
As with all banks, there is a credit analysis, and your application may or may not be approved. Of course, remember to use common sense, and always request a change that is compatible with your income.
Using the app, you can also reduce your card limit at any time, and this reduction can be temporary or permanent – and it occurs immediately after confirmation. Have you ever stopped to think about this possibility? It can be a great option when your bill is higher than you can handle!
If your credit increase request is denied, you can make a new request after 30 days.
How to increase your Santander card limit
Now that you've seen how to increase your Santander card limit, you may be wondering, "Ok, but What will make the bank release this credit to me or not?”
In fact, what Santander and all banks analyze when increasing customers' card limits is their payment capacity and how trustworthy you are.
Imagine that you are going to lend money to your brother-in-law, but he has a terrible reputation for being a bad payer, taking the money and disappearing, not paying anyone back and not giving any explanation. In this case, the chances of you lending money to him would be almost 0, right? The same goes for banks.
But how can you show Santander that you are a trustworthy person? By paying your bills on time!
So, some essential tips to “look good” and get interesting limits at Santander are:
- always pay your credit card bill by the due date, without delaying or failing to pay any month;
- split bills into as few installments as possible, since the high number of installments also reduces banks’ confidence;
- send proof of income to the financial institution, especially if your income has increased;
- to maintain a good score in the positive registry. If you are not yet registered, it is important to activate it and then pay your bills on time, avoiding restrictions on your CPF;
- avoid making too many limit increase requests. Have you already made a request through the app and it was rejected? Wait for the period and, if possible, wait beyond the minimum period to try again.
In other words, if you want to understand how to increase your Santander card limit, you need to take care of your finances, making financial institutions see you as a good payer and someone trustworthy – and, in this way, release more credit to you.
What you need to know about credit cards
Do you know the main precautions that should be taken when it comes to credit cards? Here are some of them:
Minimum payment
When you run out of money to pay the full amount of your bill, the minimum payment option seems like a good option, right? However, this can be a trap. So, before choosing it, it’s a good idea to think about a few things.
The minimum credit card payment usually happens in the situation described above. So, when you pay the minimum amount, the remaining balance goes into your revolving credit, and is charged to your next month's bill with interest and taxes (and add interest to that!).
According to the most recent law from the Central Bank, if you do not have enough money to pay the full bill, you can stay on revolving credit for a maximum of 30 days. Then, the following month, you cannot make the minimum payment again and have to choose between two options: either you pay the full amount or your bill is automatically divided into installments with lower interest rates than the revolving credit.
Installment purchases
Did you make a purchase and pay in 2, 3, 4, 5 installments?
Let's imagine that you have a credit limit of R$1,000. If you make a purchase of R$500 and pay in 5 installments, what is your available limit? The first logical answer that comes to mind is R$900, since only the first installment will be paid this month, but that's not exactly how it works.
In fact, in this case, your current limit is R$1,500, because when you pay in installments, you use the full limit on your card. But be careful! Some stores usually charge interest for this service.
You should also think about the number of times you are going to divide your purchase: the more installments, the longer your limit will be committed.
Planning your card expenses
Did you notice that the two issues we presented require financial planning before being implemented?
Some tips for keeping your money organized are:
- download applications specially designed for your financial planning;
- try to maintain a savings fund;
- rethink your habits and how they may be influencing your consumption;
- use an expense control spreadsheet.
This way, you can understand whether or not it is worth making purchases in installments or paying the minimum bill on your card, in addition to being able to think about other daily issues, such as how much you spend at the supermarket or being able to plan a trip more safely.
Now that you know how to increase your Santander card limit, are you worried because your bills aren't up to date and you might not be able to get that extra limit?
In addition to these tips, all other financial planning tips remain valid. Regardless of the time of year, it is important to have a monthly budget, with all your income and expenses, and seek to adapt your expenses to your financial reality, avoiding debt and becoming a good payer, reliable for banks.
