Increasing limit on my credit card

mixutim

Hi there

I currently have a credit card with a limit of £500 which I have been paying the minimum monthly payment on for probably 18 months to 2 years. It is currently sitting around £300 of debt.

I am going on honeymoon at the end of the month and have hired a car. I have paid for this by debit card but unfortunately I've just noticed that I will need to provide them with a credit card as deposit when I arrive there. I do not think that I have enough credit left (£200) on my card and am worried about what I can do to solve this.

I asked my credit card company (RBS) if I could increase my limit but they told me this was unlikely as I only pay the minimum every month.

I do not want to do anything that will affect my credit rating at the moment as we hope to get a mortgage very soon. Will I affect this by applying for a credit card with another provider? Which provider would you recommend?

Any help would be much appreciated.

izools

RBS are one of the card providers that report the amount you repay each month and whether this amount is the minimum, or more.

As you've only been paying the minimum, and this will be visible to other card providers (they'll also see that the card isn't on a promotional rate), you aren't likely to be offered a great deal elsewhere.

You need to pay your credit card as much as you possibly can each month - at present you're just pouring money down the drain as your minimum payment will be made up mostly of interest and barely anything actually coming off the balance.

If your petrol costs and grocery costs are £500 a month or so, you would be better off paying off your card balance in full each month, and using the card to buy your petrol and groceries.

This will show that you are responsible, aren't skint, and will also save you from paying any interest ever.

After you've used your card like this (or in a similar fashion) for six months or so, you will be in a better position to get a limit increase from RBS or a good deal elsewhere

Saucepot

Izools is correct. Moving other spending onto a card and paying that sum off each month can result in increased credit limits without asking.

mixutim

Thanks for the advice folks.

My issue is that I do not have credit to be able to hire the car on honeymoon. Is there no way I can get this credit for this sole purpose? I have already paid for the car. (the credit is required as a deposit)

You seem to be saying that it'd be a bad idea to apply to another provider just now for another credit card. Do you think there's no chance of me getting anywhere with that?

I don't know what to do about the car- we really need it when we're away.

izools

mixutim wrote: »

Thanks for the advice folks.

My issue is that I do not have credit to be able to hire the car on honeymoon. Is there no way I can get this credit for this sole purpose? I have already paid for the car.

You seem to be saying that it'd be a bad idea to apply to another provider just now for another credit card. Do you think there's no chance of me getting anywhere with that?

I don't know what to do about the car- we really need it when we're away.

If you have enough money in the bank you could pre-load a prepaid credit card to use for the deposit.

Alternatively you could look at a sub-prime card like the Aqua Card which will be more likely to accept you with a history of only paying the bare minimum.

You might also want to try for a Sygma credit card - they, too, are likely to turn a blind eye to your minimum payment history as they are more lax than other mainstream lenders.

My advice would be to first try for a creation card:

http://www.your-application.co.uk/netfinancecertegymicrosite/creation/Welcome.aspx?responseCode=DIR006

And if they say no, try for the Aqua card:

http://www.aquacard.co.uk/

If they both say no you'll unfortunately have to think of other ways to rent a car, like the prepaid card.

Best of luck, do let us know how you get on!

blackberry1973

hi i see your problem is because you need to hire a car! have you tried speakin to the hire car company concerned to see if they can help for instance Avis say on their website that you need to pay a big deposit blocked on c card however when i spoke to them it turned out that if the car was paid for in advance all they blocked on your c card when you collected the car was the cost of a tank of fuel pluss any extras you may request at time of collecting car..... also another possibilty is although they say it must be a c card as i found out it depends on the depot that you collect the car from quite a few will accept visa debit cards but you would need to speak to the depot where you want to collect the car from.....

dont know if any of that is any use but it may be another line to look at

good luck.