Has NEO Ever Increased Your Credit Limit Automatically?

Community Lounge
1

I’m curious about how NEO handles credit limit increases for existing cardholders.

Has NEO ever increased your credit limit automatically without you requesting it? If so, how long had you been using the card before the increase, and did you receive an email or notification explaining why it was offered?

It would also be interesting to know whether NEO regularly reviews accounts for automatic increases or whether most cardholders need to request one manually.

Without sharing any sensitive financial information, feel free to mention:

  • How long you had the card before receiving an increase
  • Whether the increase was automatic or requested
  • Whether NEO asked you to update your income
  • Whether accepting the increase required a credit check
  • Your general experience with NEO’s credit limit process

I’d like to better understand how NEO compares with traditional Canadian banks when it comes to rewarding responsible card use.

2

That is actually a great question! I have been a client for almost 2 years. Good credit score. I have received a bump in my salary a couple of times in this period and have not received a increase in my credit available.

I requested an increase at some point, but I was denied. I wonder what are the criteria that are being used.

3

I’ve never had them increase my limit without my acceptance of an offer. Even when I apply for the increase, it still requires me to consent to the offer, never making it automatic.

4

I’m also curious to see the responses here. One of the reasons I originally went with Neo was for the secured card. I can’t remember exactly where I saw it, but I recall there being a suggestion that after about six months of responsible use, you might receive either a credit limit increase or an offer to move from a secured card to an unsecured card.

I’m currently at the 10-month mark and haven’t received any offers like that yet. What makes it interesting is that I applied for a Capital One card about three months after getting my Neo card, once my credit had started improving. Capital One approved me for an unsecured card and then automatically increased my limit from $1,000 to $2,500 after only three months.

The low limit on my Neo secured card is really the only reason I don’t use it more, even though the rewards are good. Having to continually pay it off just to keep using it is a bit of a hassle.

I’ve also heard that repeatedly using most of a small limit and paying it off can sometimes look negative, so I reduced my usage over the past five or six months to see whether that might eventually trigger an automatic offer. I’ve still been making every payment on time or early, but so far, nothing.

I’m hoping an offer comes through eventually so I can actually start using the Neo card as my daily card, which was my original intention. Over the past couple of months, I’ve also moved most of my bill payments and my payroll direct deposit to Neo, since I’ve seen it suggested that having more activity and visible income with them may help.

For context, over the past 10 months, I’ve raised my credit score from around 560 to 711. I also have a stable, higher income, so my ability to pay shouldn’t be an issue.

5

I also have great credit and have requested an increase twice and was denied both times. At a similar time was approved for the new United WE card

6

I was offered a 4K increase on my 5k limit Secured Credit card. Neo introduced that program last year and I later participated in an interview to share my feedback. I believe I had that card for about 2 years at the time.

7

We were an early adopter of Neo MC & World Elite when it became available.

Credit limits are often lower at Neo than other cards out there.
You can boost your limit with a simple request on the app. However there are still max limits regardless of your credit score & payment history.

8

Good question! I’ve been with neo for about 5 years and have gone from a $1000 limit to $7500 in that time. I recently received an offer to bump it to $10000. Most of these increases were offered to me via email, I think I requested an increase once and it was accepted. Truthfully most of this time I was using 30-70% of my credit limit. Maybe that somehow changed my odds. I recently paid it off in full and now maintain using 30% or less of my limit, so I’m curious to hear if this will change anything!

Also, my credit was always in the 650-730 range during these 5 years.

9

I should also say I never missed a minimum payment, and I pay off my card in a lump sum once a week while budgeting instead of doing little bits here and there. The original function of it in my first year was to pay my rent. So that was a huge charge in comparison to my $1000 limit.

10

I had a similar experience. Interestingly, I requested a credit limit increase about two months ago, but it was denied. Then, just a few days ago, I received a notification saying Neo had automatically increased my credit limit. I was honestly really happy and surprised, especially after the earlier denial. It seems they may review accounts periodically even if a manual request is not approved which is great.

11

Interesting, I’m also curious. I think I had only one increase since I opened my account a few years ago. I tried manually and was told I should wait 90 days before asking, but I didn’t ask recently. My other credit card (CIBC Costco) gives me increase if I ask

12

Same here never received an increase. I’ve had the CIBC Costco credit card for 18 months now and they’ve offered increases 3 times from $2000 → $4000 → $6000 → $9000

13

NEO Increased My Credit Limit Only After I Connected My External Bank Account

It has been really interesting reading everyone’s experiences, so I wanted to share another story about my NEO account.

Over the past year, I requested a credit limit increase twice and was denied both times, even though my payment history with NEO and my other credit cards was always on time.

What I found interesting was that NEO later sent me an email explaining that my credit score and account history with them were not the only factors they could consider. They offered me the option to connect an external chequing account where I receive my payroll so they could review my banking history, including my income and account activity.

I connected the account, and about a week later, NEO emailed me with an offer to increase my credit limit by $1,000.

I have been with NEO for approximately 5-6 years. When I first applied, they instantly approved me for a $4,000 limit, which was actually the highest limit available to me at the beginning of my credit journey. However, after 5 years, my limit is now only $5,000.

Meanwhile, other credit cards that I used much less than NEO increased my limits significantly. Some of my current limits are $15,000, $9,000, and another $9,000 and $14000

I was honestly hoping NEO would offer a much larger increase based on my five-year history and payment record. It is interesting how their approval system works. They were initially the most generous lender when I was just starting to build credit, but they are now the card with one of my lowest limits.

Has anyone else received a larger increase after connecting an external bank account? Did NEO continue offering additional increases afterward, or was it only a one-time offer?

14

Obviously I’m an employee, but I was a user for a long time before that, and being an employee actually has zero impact on credit risk decisions.

  1. I started with a $3k limit, which is totally fine, honestly, but lower than my trad bank card.
  2. One year later I got an increase of 50% to $4,500. I didn’t request it, it was offered and I had to accept it.
  3. When I accidentally singed up for a card during a beta test last month I was offered a $10k limit.

General answers that other people have already confirmed:

  • Neo legally can’t increase your limit without asking you. In Quebec, we can’t even ask you to ask for an increase. This is consumer protection.
  • AFAIK Neo doesn’t proactively update your income info.
  • Accepting does not require a hard check, since it’s an expansion of an existing line of credit rather than adding a new one.
  • My experience has been good. Beyond your normal monthly expenses, I think credit limits just seem like a status symbol and increased surface area for fraud.
15

I started with a Neo secured MC with a $1500 limit. I’ve had the card for a year ans Neo offered me $3000 more credit without any security funds. So now I have a $4500 credit limit, but $1500 of it is my own money. I hope this helps.

16

I received an increase just a few days ago on my card. I’ve had mine since November 2023. And the increase was automatic and a nice surprise. They gave me a specific amount increase but I could choose lower if I wanted to. And there was no credit check from what I saw, no information about that.

17

I’ve never received an increase despite having a good credit score and I’ve been with Neo since 2023. I do have a high limit though so I’m not too concerned.

18

I am fine with a lower limit $3k-$5k; but lets give an option for a one time extension for large purchases. They dont happen often but I was out of luck when i had a huge Ikea order for our kitchen renos.

19

Fair, I have run into that. My workaround right now is just to break it up, usually places that bill thousands of dollars have no problem doing it in 2-3 payments.

20

After reviewing the response, I did want to add a few key pieces of context that I think are important to this discussion.

  1. Financial institutions in Canada cannot simply “automatically” increase a consumer’s credit-card limit without the express consent of the cardholder. This consumer protection has been in place for well over a decade.

    A financial institution can offer a credit-limit increase, which the cardholder can choose to accept, or a cardholder can request an increase, which the financial institution can approve or decline based on its lending criteria. What an institution cannot do is unilaterally increase the limit without the cardholder’s express consent.

    There is an important consumer-protection rationale behind this. Automatically extending additional credit can negatively impact consumers who may already be struggling to manage their spending or debt, potentially increasing their risk of over-indebtedness or insolvency. Unsolicited extensions of credit have also historically raised concerns around predatory lending practices, which is part of why explicit consent became an important protection in Canada.

  2. It’s also important to remember that every financial institution has a different risk appetite and balance sheet. I say this as a former Neo employee: comparing the credit limits offered by different institutions without considering those differences doesn’t necessarily give you an apples-to-apples comparison.

    Canada’s largest banks have enormous asset bases — in some cases well over a trillion dollars — which gives them substantially more capacity to absorb and manage potential credit losses. A smaller or newer institution simply does not have the same balance sheet or risk tolerance, and its lending criteria and credit limits will naturally reflect that.

That doesn’t mean consumers shouldn’t compare products, rates, limits or experiences — they absolutely should. But institutions like Neo also play an important role in creating competition in Canadian financial services. More competition challenges incumbents, creates more choice, and ultimately helps push the industry toward being more consumer-focused.

Food for thought