How much credit card limit can I get in Kuwait?
Updated
In Kuwait a credit card's credit limit may be at most 10 times your net monthly salary (net monthly pension if you are retired), and never more than KWD 10,000. The card also counts in the salary limit: its monthly instalment is set on the credit limit, not on what you spend, and all your monthly instalments together may take at most 40% of net monthly salary (employees) or 30% of the net monthly pension (retirees). Example: an employee with a net monthly salary of KWD 800, KWD 150 a month of instalments and KWD 1,000 of card limits, whose lender counts 5% of a credit limit a month, can get about KWD 2,400 of new credit limit — the 40% limit bites before the KWD 8,000 salary cap.
| Your net monthly salary | KWD 800.000 a month |
| 40% of it: the most all your monthly instalments may take | KWD 320.000 |
| Your monthly instalments now | − KWD 150.000 |
| Your existing card limits (KWD 1,000) at 5% | − KWD 50.000 |
| Room left under the 40% limit | KWD 120.000 |
| New credit limit the 40% limit allows (room ÷ 5%) | KWD 2,400 |
| Cap: 10 × net monthly salary (KWD 8,000) minus your existing limits | KWD 7,000 |
| Cap: KWD 10,000 minus your existing limits | KWD 9,000 |
| Highest new credit limit (the lowest of the three) | KWD 2,400 |
CBK's limits come from its instructions of 11 November 2018 on personal (consumer and housing) loans and credit cards, as amended in 2023 and 2025 — your lender's offer is what counts.
Not a valid document. Estimate for information only — not financial advice, not an offer of credit and not a bank document. Errors are possible. Only your bank's or finance company's official offer letter, contract and statements are binding.
How the credit limit is worked out in Kuwait
Two CBK rules decide it, and the lower one wins. First the cap: the credit limit may be at most 10 times your net monthly salary (net monthly pension for retirees) and never more than KWD 10,000. CBK does not say whether that cap is per card or for all your cards together; this calculator uses all your cards together, the prudent reading, so the limits you already have are taken off the cap. Then the salary limit: the card's monthly instalment counts with all your other monthly instalments, and together they may take at most 40% of net monthly salary for employees or 30% of the net monthly pension for retirees. CBK says the card's instalment is set on its credit limit but gives no percentage, so the calculator asks which share your lender counts. CBK does say card debts must be repaid within one year (12 months), non-renewable.
What CBK's rules say
- Cap: at most 10 × net monthly salary, never more than KWD 10,000. The cap does not apply to customers with a line of credit at the bank whose card balances are deducted from those credit accounts.
- Salary limit: all monthly instalments — loans, personal finance and credit cards from all lenders, operating leases and instalment purchases — at most 40% of net monthly salary (employees) or 30% of the net monthly pension (retirees).
- No card at the limit: if your monthly instalments already reach 40% (employees) or 30% (retirees), you cannot be given a credit card.
- Net salary only, your own: other income does not count, and salaries cannot be added together, even of relatives.
- Going over the limit: card transactions above the credit limit are rejected automatically; if you ask to go over it, the bank must first study your credit standing.
- Age: a 2006 CBK circular told banks not to issue credit cards to minors under 21 who have no monthly salary or income, and to obtain the guardian's guarantee if they issue one. The 2018 instructions do not repeat it.
- No minimum salary in the rules: CBK's instructions name no minimum salary for a credit card; the cap is a multiple of your net monthly salary, so you need a salary or pension. Ask your bank about its own requirements.
A limit you don't use still counts
Because the card's monthly instalment is set on the credit limit, not the balance, a card you hardly use still takes room under the salary limit. Closing a card you don't need, or asking for a lower limit, leaves more room for a loan — see how much can I borrow?. If you carry a balance, see what paying only the minimum costs on the credit card minimum payment calculator.
Questions people ask
How is the credit card limit calculated in Kuwait?
CBK caps the credit limit at 10 times your net monthly salary (net monthly pension for retirees), never more than KWD 10,000. The card's monthly instalment is set on its credit limit and counts in the salary limit: all monthly instalments at most 40% of net monthly salary for employees, 30% of the net monthly pension for retirees. The lower of the two decides.
How much credit card limit can I get on a KWD 1,000 salary?
At most KWD 10,000 under CBK's cap (10 × KWD 1,000, never more than KWD 10,000), minus the limits of cards you already have. The salary limit can bring it lower: an employee with no other instalments has KWD 400 a month of room, and if the lender counts 5% of a credit limit as the card's monthly instalment (an example — CBK sets no figure), that fits KWD 8,000.
What is the minimum salary for a credit card in Kuwait?
CBK's instructions name no minimum salary. The credit limit is a multiple of your net monthly salary (or net monthly pension), so you need a salary or pension; ask your bank about its own requirements.
Is the KWD 10,000 limit per card or for all my cards?
CBK does not say. This calculator uses all your cards together, the prudent reading — ask your bank how it applies the cap.
Can retirees get a credit card in Kuwait?
Yes — in Kuwait, the same cap applies to the net monthly pension, and all monthly instalments, the card's included, may take at most 30% of it.
Does an unused credit card limit count?
Yes — CBK has the card's monthly instalment set on the credit limit, not on what you spend, so an unused card still takes room under the salary limit.