Advice on multiple credit card applications (and Hassle around Car Rental)

nofacenolegs

I need to rent a car and didn't have a credit card.

The agents/rental locations I've spoken to directly (green motion, movemee, thrifty and budget) say debit cards are only accepted if you purchase the insurance at the pickup location to reduce excess to £0. and these packages are well overpriced compared to the third party insurance i normally use.

All my banking was with Monzo so no option for for a credit card there.

I applied and accepted a card from Lloyds bank - great! but then realised when trying to book a car that card limit was set to £500 which was too small. The averge hold i've been offered from the rental companies is £1250. Spoke to Lloyds - they are unable to make a change to the limit for a period of 90 days


My options seem to be - apply for another card elsewhere and make sure the limit is higher or just stump up the extra for the"inhouse" insurance

Q: Will applying for multiple cards in a short period damage my credit score by?
Q: Are there any credit cards that are known for offering higher limits (£1500 should be plenty)?
Q: if i check my credit score to see whats up does that count against me?
Q: do you know any rental companies with a more generous debit card arrangement?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Paul

NSG666

Try Clarify Car Hire who seem to be able to offer what you want but don't know how competitive they are.

Ebe_Scrooge

nofacenolegs said:

I need to rent a car and didn't have a credit card. This may well be the issue - if you have a very thin credit history, then you're unlikely to be offered a high limit straight away.

My options seem to be - apply for another card elsewhere and make sure the limit is higher Unfortunately you can't "make sure" the limit is higher.  When your application is successful, they will base your limit on their risk assessment, which is derived from the data in your credit file.

Q: Will applying for multiple cards in a short period damage my credit score by?
Q: Are there any credit cards that are known for offering higher limits (£1500 should be plenty)?
Q: if i check my credit score to see whats up does that count against me?
Q: do you know any rental companies with a more generous debit card arrangement?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Paul

A couple of answers in bold above.  Ignore your score, it's not used nor even seen by any lender.

Applying for 2 cards in quick succession is not usually a problem, but more than that should be avoided as it makes you look desperate for credit, which is a red flag to lenders.

You should check all three CRAs (no need to pay, you can check for free) to make sure the data they hold is correct (again, ignore the fictitious score), but it's highly likely that it's simply the lack of historical data that's the issue.

cymruchris

Your score isn’t a thing - read the sticky at the top of the forum. Only you see it. It’ll go up, it’ll go down, it might go sideways - none of it will affect your credit applications. 

Applying for multiple cards in a short space of time will affect your credit history. It will look like you’re desperate for credit. Usually one to two applications per 6-12 months seems to be the ideal balance based on the posts I’ve read on the forums. 

If you only have one credit card with a limit of £500 - it’s unlikely that you’ll get a huge credit limit elsewhere as you don’t have much financial history to look at then lenders make their decisions. It doesn’t matter if you have a million pounds in the bank - they don’t and can’t see that - so wouldn’t take it into account. 

Most lenders won’t tell you what your limit is until you’ve successfully applied for a card. There are a few exceptions such as the Mbna eligibility checker on their own website - will give an indication of success and credit limit without a hard search. 

You may need to use your existing card for a few months - paying it off in full by direct debit - in order to begin building a credit history. You could also try your own bank if you have a long relationship with them - as they’ll be able to see more of your personal details to decide if you’re a good risk. 

maxximus75

There are a few card providers that give you an indication of acceptance and likely credit limit by using their eligibility checker.  This will only perform a soft search on your credit report.

MBNA, Santander, Nationwide, (possibly RBS but not 100% sure, but they do have an eligibility checker).

williewonder

If you able to get a mainstream credit card with Lloyds I don't think you'll have a problem with Barclaycard Forward. I'm unable to get a mainstream credit card but I was accepted for the Forward card with credit limit of £1200 and they have eligibility checker too.