Can you find out a card's credit limit BEFORE applying or not? 16 November 2022 at 11:28PM in Credit cards 10 replies 350 views

nero33

I am looking for a Credit Card that will give me a 0% on purchases for 18month+ 

I have a Barclaycard at the moment and tried to increase my current limit to £5000 from £3500 but that was rejected.  Had it for 4+ years and never delayed any payments on it.

I've looked at some of cards currently available and there are 2 that appeal to me -  M&S & Lloyds.  But no indication of what the limit might be, other than repayment examples based on £1200 limits.

Is it just a matter of applying and seeing what they decide is best for me?  THanks

Marchitiello

Short answer: Not possible, simple

cymruchris

Marchitiello said:

Short answer: Not possible, simple

Not correct.

There are now a number of cards that when you complete the eligibility check directly on the lenders website an INDICATIVE limit is given (Not guaranteed but it should give you a ball-park figure) - currently I'm aware the following offer this service:

Lloyds
MBNA
Santander
John Lewis (Newday)
Asda
Nationwide

There may be others. Try the eligibility checkers directly on their websites and avoid comparison website checkers.

Marchitiello

cymruchris said:

Marchitiello said:

Short answer: Not possible, simple

Not correct.

There are now a number of cards that when you complete the eligibility check directly on the lenders website an INDICATIVE limit is given (Not guaranteed but it should give you a ball-park figure) - currently I'm aware the following offer this service:

Lloyds
MBNA
Santander
John Lewis (Newday)
Asda
Nationwide

There may be others. Try the eligibility checkers directly on their websites and avoid comparison website checkers.

I was very correct, as I indeed said “the short answer” was  Not possible, the long answer would be:

Indicative is not definitive and there have been many reports over time here and elsewhere that the actual limits given was lower, some time much lower that the INDICATIVE limit.

some time works the way around too though as I was given three times the INDICATIVE limit on my last Lloyds card, so I was correct, you cannot know the credit limit in advance, but may get some indication of what it could be

cymruchris

Marchitiello said:

cymruchris said:

Marchitiello said:

Short answer: Not possible, simple

Not correct.

There are now a number of cards that when you complete the eligibility check directly on the lenders website an INDICATIVE limit is given (Not guaranteed but it should give you a ball-park figure) - currently I'm aware the following offer this service:

Lloyds
MBNA
Santander
John Lewis (Newday)
Asda
Nationwide

There may be others. Try the eligibility checkers directly on their websites and avoid comparison website checkers.

I was very correct, as I indeed said “the short answer” was  Not possible, the long answer would be:

Indicative is not definitive and there have been many reports over time here and elsewhere that the actual limits given was lower, some time much lower that the INDICATIVE limit.

some time works the way around too though as I was given three times the INDICATIVE limit on my last Lloyds card, so I was correct, you cannot know the credit limit in advance, but may get some indication of what it could be

Being very correct isn't always helpful though is it? You could have been a bit more helpful by giving the long answer rather than simply saying 'No'.

The Op mentioned that they'd looked at two cards with no indication as to what the credit limit would be. One of those cards does give an indicative limit as I outlined. That would at least give the OP an idea as to whether they wanted to proceed if the indicative limit was within the scope of what they wanted.

On both occasions I completed an eligibility check that gave indicative limits - I got that exact same limit. 

blue.peter

NatWest also gives an indication of the credit limit to be offered before an application is completed. (Their eligibility checker is a preliminary stage of the application process. You have to start an application, then get an indication of the available credit limit, then complete the application if it's acceptable.)

nero33

cymruchris said:

Marchitiello said:

cymruchris said:

Marchitiello said:

Short answer: Not possible, simple

Not correct.

There are now a number of cards that when you complete the eligibility check directly on the lenders website an INDICATIVE limit is given (Not guaranteed but it should give you a ball-park figure) - currently I'm aware the following offer this service:

Lloyds
MBNA
Santander
John Lewis (Newday)
Asda
Nationwide

There may be others. Try the eligibility checkers directly on their websites and avoid comparison website checkers.

I was very correct, as I indeed said “the short answer” was  Not possible, the long answer would be:

Indicative is not definitive and there have been many reports over time here and elsewhere that the actual limits given was lower, some time much lower that the INDICATIVE limit.

some time works the way around too though as I was given three times the INDICATIVE limit on my last Lloyds card, so I was correct, you cannot know the credit limit in advance, but may get some indication of what it could be

Being very correct isn't always helpful though is it? You could have been a bit more helpful by giving the long answer rather than simply saying 'No'.

The Op mentioned that they'd looked at two cards with no indication as to what the credit limit would be. One of those cards does give an indicative limit as I outlined. That would at least give the OP an idea as to whether they wanted to proceed if the indicative limit was within the scope of what they wanted.

On both occasions I completed an eligibility check that gave indicative limits - I got that exact same limit. 

Fantastic replies WelshChris - exactly what I was looking for

nero33

blue.peter said:

NatWest also gives an indication of the credit limit to be offered before an application is completed. (Their eligibility checker is a preliminary stage of the application process. You have to start an application, then get an indication of the available credit limit, then complete the application if it's acceptable.)

I did see 1 Natwest offer on MSE but it was for their banking customers only, but I'll check out their site - thanks

[Deleted User]

nero33 said:

blue.peter said:

NatWest also gives an indication of the credit limit to be offered before an application is completed. (Their eligibility checker is a preliminary stage of the application process. You have to start an application, then get an indication of the available credit limit, then complete the application if it's acceptable.)

I did see 1 Natwest offer on MSE but it was for their banking customers only, but I'll check out their site - thanks

The NatWest one just needs an account with them, you could easily open a qualifying current account for this - the fee free one is the only exclusive one. As blue.peter said, I got the limit given (above what I asked for) during the application process, before the final stage of confirming application

martinbainbridge1975

halifax give an indicative limit, same as lloyds and mbna - same group of companies

Marchitiello

blue.peter said:

NatWest also gives an indication of the credit limit to be offered before an application is completed. (Their eligibility checker is a preliminary stage of the application process. You have to start an application, then get an indication of the available credit limit, then complete the application if it's acceptable.)

Interesting as RBS (NatWest group duplicates products) was one of the last card I have applied for before the summer.. indicative limit was £13500, in
line with cards I held with them
before, and final limit was £5750… very accurate 🙈