Will reducing my credit limit help me get BT card?

CharlieR_2

I have a joint a/c which is £3000 overdrawn (limit) and a CC owing £1900. The credit limit on the card is £10,900. I want to apply for a BT to clear the OD and the CC. I have run my details through the MSE checker and get rated at 90%. My wife (67) and I (69) are both in employment. My credit record is clean.
Before applying for a balance and cash transfer card, would it make any difference if I reduce my credit limit (I don't need that much)? Is my age likely to be an issue?
I am currently repaying £500 a month on the CC.
Any advice would be appreciated. Many thanks.

grumbler

If your annual income is, say, £20K, you start facing difficulties when your available credit reaches ~£20K/2=£10K.

To realistically expect getting ~£5.5K of new credit you have to reduce your available credit to ~£4.5K and wait until the changes show in your credit files.

Of course, acceptance and the limit are never guaranteed.

CharlieR_2

Thanks for that. My gross income, includng pension is about 30K.
I'll drop my credit limit to say 2500 and check my record in a few weeks.
Is my age likely to be a factor (for them I mean - I'm fine with it:j) ??

Candyapple

No one knows whether your age will be a factor as each lender has their own lending criteria.

Also it may take up to 2-3 months for the credit limit decrease to show up on your files as some companies don't update monthly (e.g. in my latest credit report one of my cards is still showing a balance from December which has long since been cleared).

Also note if you want to clear your OD as well as your other card you'll need a money transfer card e.g MBNA who will allow the transfer of funds to go into your bank account.

CLAPTON

CharlieR wrote: »

I have a joint a/c which is £3000 overdrawn (limit) and a CC owing £1900. The credit limit on the card is £10,900. I want to apply for a BT to clear the OD and the CC. I have run my details through the MSE checker and get rated at 90%. My wife (67) and I (69) are both in employment. My credit record is clean.
Before applying for a balance and cash transfer card, would it make any difference if I reduce my credit limit (I don't need that much)? Is my age likely to be an issue?
I am currently repaying £500 a month on the CC.
Any advice would be appreciated. Many thanks.

I doubt dropping the CC limit will make any difference
but the large OD probably will