Halifax clarity accepted, but....

zaffi

Hi guys, just been accepted for the HC card. However, i'm starting to think i applied too early.

Have applied for it as a card to use abroad, going to states next year for wedding/honeymoon so it'll come in handy.

Thing is they have offered me a credit limit of ~£10K. I was hoping for something nearer £6K, same as the barclaycard i just cleared. As I don't want to be putting all my credit in one basket so to speak. I have a Tesco MC with a £3K limit and a £1.2K spend which i should clear by the end of the year, that's when the 0% runs out. But was hoping to get a 0% purchase card as a backup for any emergencies next year, or a balance transfer card if an emergency happens before xmas!! But now I might not get a high enough limit on a future card.

I haven't sent back the credit agreement yet, should i not send it back? or can i ask for the limit to be lowered?

I really don't know what to do, because a £10K limit would be handy when we go as we're away for over a month.

any advice would be greatly appreciated
zaf.

ps. double posting in CC and cheap currency boards

stephane_2

Why not close the Barclaycard if you've cleared it or ask them to reduce the limit to maybe £1500/£2000.
You cannot ask Halifax to reduce limit now but you'll be able to do it once you get the card, but be aware that once you've reduce your limit with them, it would be very unlikely that they'll want to increase it again for a while....

zaffi

sorry, to clarify, the barclaycard is cancelled.

I guess therein lies the rub, accept the limit they've given me which will be better when we go and hope i can still get a decent limit elsewhere.

Would cancelling the card and re-applying say next March be a bad idea both in terms of likelyhood of acceptance at the same rate and limit and from a credit report standpoint?

stephane_2

You would be taking a risk, the likelihood of being declined next March would be high. At the end of the day your chances of being accepted for another card if you accept the Halifax one will all depends on 3 factors: income, outstanding debt & available credit.

zaffi

yeah, i doubt i'll cancel - more trouble than it's worth.

I terms of the 3 factors I should be ok, income is good, debt should be very little if any but obviously available credit will be high. If i can get another card at the same level as the tesco cc (when it's cancelled) i'd be happy.

Guess i'll just have to wait and see

chexum

zaffi wrote: »

yeah, i doubt i'll cancel - more trouble than it's worth.

I personally would not cancel either in these times, but there's one more thing you don't know, the APR. The head-of-line rate is 12.9%, but depending on other factors, they may give you 21.9% which is a bit worse if you need to carry a balance even for one more month. Though it's still better than the cash interest for almost all other cards.

They should also agree to reduce the limit any time when you ask, and if you do it before the first statement (or even payment), the higher limit may not show up at all in your credit file.

zaffi

the credit agreement has me at 12.9%