advice on getting CC with high limit

alexrw

Kind of new to this. I'd like to get an additional CC, one which has a high limit, say at least 10K. Say I already have an 10K cumulative limit on two cards with two different banks, and an older personal loan of which 21k left to pay off in ~4 years. Both CCs have been paid in full and are at 0 balance. My current credit score at Experian is around 980.

I would be interseted in either stoozing some of the remaining personal loan (no penalties for paying off early) or just increase my credit limit to reduce my credit utilization ratio.

Some questions:

- Would a balance transfer card allow me to transfer (some of) my Zopa loan remaining debt, or does it allow only balance transfer from other credit cards?

- Which kind of CCs would offer a limit around 10K or more, balance-transfer or otherwise?

- Would the bank/lender be able to tell me the limit I'd get before I actually commit? I'd hate to commit to a card and then only get a 1K limit ...

eskbanker

alexrw wrote: »

- Would a balance transfer card allow me to transfer (some of) my Zopa remaining debt, or does it allow only balance transfer from other credit cards?

Balance transfer only covers transfers between credit cards - if you want cash to pay off a loan then you'd need a money transfer card.

alexrw wrote: »

- Which kind of CCs would offer a limit around 10K or more, balance-transfer or otherwise?

Those supplied by companies feeling especially generous

Underwriting decisions are driven by a range of factors, including availability and usage of existing credit as well as assessment of affordability based on income, etc.

'Credit scores' made up by the likes of Experian aren't seen by lenders so have no bearing.

alexrw wrote: »

- Would the bank/lender be able to tell me the limit I'd get before I actually commit?

No, unfortunately not....

No_6

Crystal ball is what you need.

If you find one let me know, it will be very helpful for
my new CC applications.

stevenhp1987

Why do you need a limit on a single card of £10k?

[Deleted User]

£10k isn’t an especially large limit.

Ignoring your made up score and rating you won’t know what credit limit you’ll get until you apply for a card and get accepted

Round_The_Bend

Credit cards that seem to offer initial high limits and good 0% offers, in my experience, are MBNA, Tesco, Barclaycard and Virgin, so these are the ones that I would consider first, if I were in your position. All have their own eligibility checkers, which won't impact upon your credit rating and will provide a good idea of whether you will be accepted. If you bank with Lloyds, then they also seem to offer high limits and decent 0% offers.

2357

I seem to remember the Nationwide select card stated the limit you would get before confirming you want to go ahead and apply. Obviously only helpful for existing Nationwide customers though.

Anthorn

alexrw wrote: »

- Which kind of CCs would offer a limit around 10K or more, balance-transfer or otherwise?

Cannot answer the question without comparing your income with your total outstanding debt in the short term, i.e. personal loans, credit cards, catalogues, energy, bank overdraft, etc.

At the outset when applying for a credit card the process is pretty much simple in that there is an initial comparison between income and outstanding debt. If your total outstanding debt is equal to or greater than your annual income your application might fail.

If you sign up for Clearscore for free they do that comparison, tell you about it and apply it to your score and that could be the easiest way to do the comparison for yourself.

If your total outstanding debt is equal or greater than your annual income you might still get a credit card but a high limit is unlikely.

chattychappy

I'm guessing stated income is the biggest factor in determining credit limit. Assuming you have a clear record and decent credit history, then they'll look at your income - and probably prefer employed rather than any other status.

The income I have written down has never been checked by a CC, but if this encourages you to invent something, bear in mind that what you write on an application form is logged at NHunter so future applications might be rejected if your story changes too much. (And of course it's a fraud to lie to get credit...)

Halifax Clarity, Barclaycard, Natwest, MBNA have given me the highest limits (all over 10K, MBNA 20K).

molerat

I have had high limits from TSB, Cap1, MBNA &Tesco, low limits from Virgin, Halifax & Santander.

alexrw

Many, many thanks for all answers, I did learn a few things! @!!! my Experian credit score is not made up, it's 979 to be exact.

In all, assume 45k+ salary (employed), 80k+ household salary, 0.65k my share of rent, 21k remaining to be paid on a personal loan at 0.45k/month rate, 2 credit cards totaling 10k credit limit, both CCs currently at 0 balance and having been always paid in full for years, except for a few months until last month when I preferred to keep on some investments rather than pay my CCs in full (CC utilization during those months was ~80%, now back to 0%).

All lenders I tried so far say I'm pre-approved for all offers I tried.

Based on the above:

• In your opinion, what max limit can I hope for on a new CC application at MBNA, Barclaycard, Virgin, or Santander? I'm interested in 0% interest offer for long periods for purchase or balance transfer (in that order), which these four lenders offer. Is 10k out of the question?
• I would also be happy with 2 or even 3 new CCs that give a high total credit limit. Would that be easier to get in a short period (1-3 weeks) than a single card with the same limit?
• Do banks typically give higher limits for balance transfer cards as opposed to purchase cards?
• I'm told that any CC application will decrease my credit score and will affect or even prevent any immediate subsequent CC application ... How much of that is true? How long does it take for the credit score to grow back, assuming full payments and healthy usage? I would very much hate to apply only to be given a credit limit of just 1k and be stuck for months before being able to apply again.
• What happens if I was to apply online for two CCs seconds/minutes apart from each other (some promise "instant decision", some don't say anything)? Would I risk affecting both or just the 2nd one? Would the first application be already visible on file for the 2nd application even for those lenders who promise "instant decision"?
• I'd be curious to find out more feedback about initial limit ranges for MBNA, Barclaycard, Virgin, Santander, or other ones who might offer high limits. Great feeback so far, though some of it is conflicting I'm guessing owing to personal circumstance. Seems MBNA gives higher limits than others based on feedback so far.

Possibly stupid question:

• Why doesn't anyone tell you the limit in advance even after you provide them with all personal and financial details? Surely they can run it through to finds out, just like they do when you actually apply, and I can't really believe it costs them too much to do so (or does it?).

All online pre-applications I'm doing are telling me "pre-approved" for any of the cards I try, but nobody says anything about limit estimates.

Many thanks in advance,