Strategies for increasing the chance of acceptance

dag_2

How can I increase the chances of getting a Capital One No Hassles card?

I owe £8000-ish, and in December, I had the following cards and credit facilities:

• Two Halifax classic cards, APR a ridiculously high 19%-odd, combined credit limit £20,000-ish
• One Marbles card, APR 14%-ish, limit £1000-ish
• One Egg card, anniversary month May, limit £2000-ish
• One Lloyds TSB card, balance transfer rate an impressive 6.9% APR, but normal rate higher than Egg and Marbles but lower than overdraft, limit £5000-ish
• A £1500 authorised overdraft that's slightly cheaper than the Halifax cards

So my Lloyds TSB, Egg and Marbles cards were all maxed, my overdraft was close to maxed, and I owed a little on the Halifax cards.

I recently applied for a cahoot flexible loan - which I got. Before signing the agreement, I also applied for a Sainsbury's bank cashback card - 0% purchases for a year - and a Capital One No Hassles card.

I got the Sainsbury's bank card, limit £1500-ish, but didn't get the No Hassles card. Capital One did offer an alternative card with cashback and 0% on purchases - but not for as long as sainsburys's bank. And the normal rate was around 15% - so I didn't see any point in accepting it. Since then, Capital One have started junk-mailing me about deposit-secured credit cards.

So I used my cahoot flexible loan to clear my Lloyds TSB balance and overdraft, then transferred the Halifax, Egg and Marbles balances to the Lloyds TSB card. I am now paying my rent out of my cahoot flexible loan instead of my current account, and I have told the local authority to pay my housing benefit into my cahoot flexible loan - but my salary is still being paid into my current account, and I still pay all my other bills by direct debit.

I have only been in my job in the NHS for two months, and was unemployed for a few months before that. My salary is £12000-ish. I've been at the same address for a year and a half, and was at the same address for seven years before that.

Getting 0% introductory offers over and over again would be great - but I'm not sure I can carry on doing it. So I figure a Capital One No Hassles card would be the next best thing.

How can I increase my chance of getting a card next time I apply? Should I accept the card Capital One are offering me now - or not bother with it? How long should I wait before applying again, assuming my circumstances don't change? I'm nervous about closing accounts I probably don't need any more - but would it help? Thanks.

Milarky

dag,

I think you'd have to wait at least six months anyway according to Capital One themselves.

Have you thought of increasing your Egg card limit in advance othe the May anniversary offer? [everyone else seems to be on to this trick!]

Does Lloyds still offer 6.9% on the newly transferred balances there? [I assume that's why you moved those other balances to it]

If you you are still being accepted for other cards - offering life of balance rates - then [in principle] there is nothing preventing you from getting the 0% versions instead. I would encourage you to keep applying for these but [of course] consider how you are going to reduce the debt over time.

Another point: You want a Capital One card because it allows you to carry a balance [increasing debt] at a low rate [6.9%, but it was 5.9% before that]. However it will only be as much use to you as the credit limit they give. What if it's £3,000? You could use that up immediately just with the exisiting debt you have. What does this accomplish?

That's why I suggest you continue to look at 0% offers [or selected 'life of balance' offers from easier to get cards] instead of concentrating on Capital One.

Hobo_2

Those HFX classic cards can be upgraded to HFX One @ 0% 9mths keeping current credit limits & no searches, as long as you have good payment history and nil balance