Credit card limits query

_Will_

First time poster, hopefully done this alright, have tried to research this but couldn’t find much. 

Recently got my first credit card (I’m a student so didn’t get offered the best limit. Wanted the perks/protection it give & only buy if I can afford to do so, so always plan on paying back in full asap.

Say I have a credit limit of £1k, spend £500 & pay it back as soon as I can. And next spend  another £500 (same month) and pay it back ASAP. 

Now technically I haven’t gone over my credit limit right as it jumps back up to £1k? So could do this multiple times without vastly negative effects as I’m paying back in full? Or would this not be recommended?

 I assume it would affect my credit score somewhat but that’s alright as I’m planning to spend quite a bit over the next ~month and this won’t be a regular thing. (I’ll soon be back to my very tight **** existence lol) 
thanks for reading 

cymruchris

You can pay off the balance at any time - and spend again once the payment is cleared - as often as you want at any time. What you would be advised to do though is to ensure there's a balance owing at the time of statement production, as this is what gets reported to the credit reference agencies (and then of course pay the statement balance in full).

If the balance was zero on statement day, even though you'd had £3000 of spend by spending/paying/spending/paying - the CRA would just see a balance of zero, so would look like you're not using the card. Better for the CRA history to see activity recorded - balance recorded - paid in full - rinse and repeat. If you do keep paying off in full every month - after a few months (usually 6 or so) you may find that your limit goes up through good financial behaviour. A lot of cards do tend to start very low at around £200 if you've never had a credit card before. 

zagfles

Yes, the credit limit is the most you're allowed to owe at any time. So if you never owe over £1000 then you're OK.

It's not a monthly spending limit as some people seem to think, like those who set up a direct debit to pay it in full every month and then assume they can spend the credit limit each month. They can't, because just before the DD payment date there will be nearly 2 months spending owed on the card.

Ebe_Scrooge

cymruchris has hit the nail squarely on the head, that's top advice.  The only thing I might add - check that your "mid-cycle" payment has cleared on the card account before you spend again.

Ignore your score, it's meaningless.  But by having a balance come statement time, and paying in full, you'll begin to build up a favourable credit history, which is what counts.  From what you describe, I'd be tempted to say for the next month or whatever, use your buy/pay/buy/pay idea and don't worry that you're not necessarily improving your history.  Going forward, use it the "usual" way - put everyday, essential purchases such as food, travel, whatever on the card, and clear it in full every time the statement arrives.  A Direct Debit to pay the full amount is the simplest and safest way.  As long as you only every use it for stuff you'd buy anyway, and make sure you can afford to pay it off every month without fail, it's a simple way to build up a solid history.  The problems arise if you use it to buy "treats" that you can't really afford .......