CC for travelling and Vanquis limit increase

gionnetto

Hello,

I need to pick your brain on what my best next move is! :rotfl:

I've moved to the UK two years ago (May 2017), and since then I got:
1) a current account (2 yrs) - showing on all CRAs
2) a broadband account - not showing on Exp
3) two small credit building loans - fully repaid and showing on all CRAs
4) a Vanquis card (1 yr ago) - showing on all CRAs
5) rent is paid through Credit Ladder and it shows on Exp
6) I am on the Electoral Roll
7) I have two address on file, one of which is the same since July 2017
8) 6 months ago, I changed job and my income has gone up (+2k/yr)
9) for what is worth, my Exp score is 949

Everything gets paid via DD, and my Vanquis card gets used below 20% of its limit and paid in full every month. No defaults, no late payment, no overdraft, no debt, no problem whatsoever.

My "problems" however are:
1) Vanquis hasn't offered me a credit limit increase yet
2) I wanted an Aqua Advance for some cross-border (ROI/UK) travelling I need to do, but my eligibility seems to have dropped for Aqua cards?

My questions for you are:
A) is there any specific spending pattern that might trigger a limit increase with Vanquis? As I said, I use between 10 and 20% of my limit every months and paid it off in full. So I was wondering if I should change my spending pattern rather than the overall amount. Any input will be appreciated.

Do you guys know of any credit card other than Aqua Advance that works for non-UK transactions and that might be accessible to people like me, with good credit reputation but a slim credit history?

Thank you in advance!

Ben8282

A. Try spending more each month but always repay in full. Do not fail to repay in full and let these people get any interest out of you. I wouldn't be too concerned about the % utilisation on a low limit card which is paid in full every month simply because it is a low limit card . Obvioulsy take care not to exceed credit limit.
B. If you want the Aqua card just apply and see what happens. A sngle hard search on your credit files won't do any significant harm.

gionnetto

Hiya,

Thank you for taking time to give me an answer!

Ben8282 wrote: »

If you want the Aqua card just apply and see what happens. A sngle hard search on your credit files won't do any significant harm.

It's not that I want that card per se, it's more like that I need a card to charge when travelling. I am enrolled in college part-time and have to travel to Dublin once a month. I didn't want to spend too much in charges!

Maybe I should apply for a credit card from my bank, given it's Bank of Ireland?

eDicky

Instead of a credit card for travel, you can use a fee free debit card from Starling Bank, Metro Bank or Monzo.

Aidanmc

The credit cards which i use for travel are Halifax Clarity, this one will charge interest on ATM withdrawals from time of transaction though, but you can pay it off early to avoid interest building up.
The second one is Barclaycard Platinum, fee free transactions and cash withdrawals, just pay off balance in full to avoid interest charges.

gionnetto

Aidanmc wrote: »

The credit cards which i use for travel are Halifax Clarity, this one will charge interest on ATM withdrawals from time of transaction though, but you can pay it off early to avoid interest building up.

Unfortunately, when I checked the MSE Club, the eligibility I got for the Halifax Clarity is lower than for the Aqua Advance

A4445

I’m sure aqua have a eligibility checker on their site try and see what that says.