Increasing Credit Limit.. effect on credit rating?

littlerose12345

Hi all

I have a credit card I only use to obtain ClubCard points (which I will use tesco vouchers to purchase our wedding rings!) I always pay off in full every month.

We will be making several big purchases in the next couple of weeks and I'd like to increase my credit limit to maximise the points I will recieve. Again, the balance will be paid off in full every month.

Will requesting an increase to my credit limit affect my credit rating?

thanks in advance..

Tixy

It means you will be shown as having more available credit, so could decrease your chance of getting a new credit account.

If they do a credit search as part of your application to increase your limit, then that will appear as well, which again could slightly decrease your chance of getting new credit anytime in the next 6months or so.

speaker1798

Do they credit search you to increase you limit?

speaker1798

:j:)I was under the impression they offer it you not you applying it

Ritchie74

speaker1798 wrote: »

Do they credit search you to increase you limit?

No. For automated increases the lender can use a monthly bureau feed which they can upload onto their system (or use offline) and this can then be used in automated decision making.

For manual (ie customer requests), if CRA data forms part of a lenders increase policy the agent can do a live soft search (leaving no footprint) of your file.

In both cases, you have agreed to the lender viewing the CRA data at any time when you applied. Lenders will normally only make a hard search for new applications for credit (though not always the case, e.g. pre-approvals)

As mentioned previously, an increase can have a detrimental impact at the CRAs (increases exposure), but can also have a positive impact (lowers your credit utilisation). Depends on individual lenders.

Ritchie74

speaker1798 wrote: »

:j:)I was under the impression they offer it you not you applying it

Depends on the lender, but some will have both automated and manual increase strategies. The former could be outlawed soon