Credit card limit: ceilings, overlimit and what it costs

A credit card does not have one limit, it has three: the amount of the credit facility, the spending limit and the withdrawal limit. Going over is rare, and almost always unintended. In Belgium, the law then sets a 45-day deadline to get back under the line, with no overlimit fee.

What is the difference between the credit limit, the spending limit and the withdrawal limit?

The credit limit is a contract amount. The other two are card settings. It was the most frequent confusion I saw in the disputes department, and it explains half of the declined payments I was asked to "unblock".

On a pure deferred-debit card, such as Belfius's Visa Classic, there is no credit line at all. The month's total is taken from the current account at the start of the following month, with no fees or interest. The only limit that counts is therefore the spending limit. The mechanism is explained in the article on deferred debit.

On a card with a credit facility, such as Beobank's, the available amount falls with each purchase and rises with each repayment. The issuer's example fits on three lines: a €3,000 line, €720 spent, €2,280 available the following month, interest not included.

One point the brochure does not highlight: a hotel or car-rental deposit also eats into the available amount, even though not a single euro has been spent. For example, a €1,500 pre-authorisation on a €2,150 line leaves €650 for the rest of the stay. The amounts blocked and the release times are in the article on the hotel card hold.

What happens when you go over your credit card limit?

In principle, nothing goes through: the terminal declines the payment. A real overlimit comes from elsewhere. Interest, an annual fee or withdrawal charges are posted while the line is almost full, and the balance crosses the ceiling without you buying anything.

Belgian law has planned for this. Article VII.100 of the Code of Economic Law (Book VII is the part of the code that governs consumer credit and payment services) treats an excess over a credit facility as an unauthorised overdraft when the contract forbids any excess, which is the rule on cards. The issuer must then:

• suspend draw-downs on the credit, and therefore use of the card;
• inform you without delay, on a durable medium, of the excess, its amount and the applicable interest or fees;
• demand repayment of the excess within 45 days at most;
• charge only late interest and the fees expressly authorised by Book VII, calculated on the excess alone.

If nothing is regularised after 45 days, the issuer terminates the contract under article VII.105, which requires a formal notice and one more month. The Credit2Consumer commentary sums up this double deadline: 45 days, then 30. The excess does not allow immediate termination of the contract, except in cases of fraud or breach of trust.

In the files I used to handle, the overlimit letter almost always arrived in the month of the annual fee. The cardholder had used €2,148 of €2,150, the €5 fee fell due, and the card was declined at the supermarket for €3 too much.

The regime of article VII.101 is different, and it causes confusion. It covers a tolerated overdraft on a current account, with a €1,250 threshold and a three-month deadline. It can come into play when the monthly debit of a deferred-debit card pushes your account below zero. It does not cover the card balance itself.

How much does going over the limit cost?

Almost nothing in euros. A lot in use. Rate surveyed at the issuer on 15 October 2026: the Beobank Visa Classic costs €5 a year, with an APR of 14.49 % on a €2,150 credit facility and a variable actuarial borrowing rate of 13.98 % (rate in force on 9 May 2025, Beobank public page).

Author's calculations, 15 October 2026. Any reminder fees are not included.

Over twelve months, a cardholder who keeps the line permanently full can receive this letter several times. The sum stays small. The real price lies elsewhere: a card suspended on the day you needed to pay for fuel, a deposit or a plane ticket.

The legal cap on late interest is set by article VII.106: the last borrowing rate, plus 10 % at most. Overlimit fees that are not on the list Book VII authorises are not owed. If a statement shows one, a written complaint to the issuer is the first step, then Ombudsfin, the Belgian financial ombudsman, if the answer does not satisfy you.

Can the bank lower my limit without my consent?

Not the contract amount. It can, however, cut off use of the card. The nuance matters, and it is the one the issuer relies on when a cardholder objects.

Book VII sets a principle of immutability: the amount of a credit facility, its duration or its instalments only change through a new contract, even by mutual agreement. A bank that "reduces your line" by simple letter is therefore doing something else, and you need to read which of these tools it is using:

The issuer looks first at two things before a risk-based block: arrears on your other credits, visible at the Central Individual Credit Register (Centrale des Crédits aux Particuliers, run by the National Bank of Belgium), and how your usage has evolved. A line that has been full for six months with minimum payments is often enough. The block must be lifted as soon as the reason disappears.

How do you raise your credit card limit?

It depends on the limit in question. A spending limit can often be raised in two minutes. A credit line cannot.

At Belfius, the payment limit of the Visa Classic is set in Belfius Mobile or Belfius Direct Net, between €500 and €1,900. The card costs €1.93 a month, or €23.16 a year, included in the Beats New account package at €5.50 a month for two cards. APR: none, since the debit is deferred with no interest. Rate surveyed at the issuer on 15 October 2026. The withdrawal limit stays at €620 per 4-day period whatever this setting.

At Beobank, raising the credit facility goes through a request form for an increase or through customer service, subject to approval of the file. It is a new contract: a new creditworthiness check, a new look-up at the Credit Register, new pre-contractual information.

In the files I used to handle, a line increase requested to "breathe" for a month often came back six months later as arrears on a bigger line. I do not give advice on your situation. If the line is full because the budget no longer adds up, an accredited debt mediation service or your commune's CPAS (the public social welfare centre) are free, and they do not go through a new credit.

Does a credit card with no limit exist?

No. American Express is the brand that gives that impression: its Green, Gold and Platinum cards show no fixed ceiling. The Green card costs €65 a year, with no APR since the balance must be paid in full every month, rate surveyed at the issuer on 15 October 2026.

The general terms of February 2026 say the opposite of an unlimited card. Article 2.1: American Express may, without having to justify its decision, set a temporary or permanent spending limit. Article 2.2: if it lets a transaction through beyond that limit, it can demand an immediate payment to bring the account back under it.

The regime is more flexible for the issuer than that of a credit facility, because there is no credit. No immutable amount, no 45-day deadline. The brand's fees and dispute deadline are detailed in the article on American Express in Belgium.

Beobank, Belfius, American Express: three cards, three limit regimes

To compare these cards on their three basic figures, see the ranking of Belgian credit cards, the comparison tool and the selection guide. If the overlimit has turned into late payment, what follows is in the article on the minimum payment and the one on acceleration of the debt.

Sources, read on 15 October 2026. Book VII of the Belgian Code of Economic Law, articles VII.98, VII.100, VII.101, VII.105 and VII.106: consolidated text in the Moniteur belge. Commentary on articles VII.100 and VII.101 and the immutability principle: Credit2Consumer. Blocking a payment instrument: Directive (EU) 2015/2366, article 68. Suspension of the right to draw down: Directive 2008/48/EC, article 13. Beobank Visa Classic, representative example, rate in force on 9 May 2025: Beobank. Belfius Visa Classic, limits and fees: Belfius. American Express Green, annual fee: American Express; spending limit: general terms of February 2026, articles 2.1 and 2.2. Complaints: Ombudsfin. The calculations on this page were made on 15 October 2026 by the author. The Credit2Consumer commentary summarises the law and does not replace the official text. No link in this article is paid.