Credit on credit card

dolcelatte

I'm going to New Zealand for 5 weeks. I have a credit card that doesn't charge fees for overseas transactions, which is great but I'm just a little worried that with a hefty car hire deposit, I won't have enough credit on the card for day-to-day spending. Is it possible to load the card up in advance with a credit balance and utilise this? I'm going with a friend and she's taking cash (no comment). She seems to want to pay me in cash for everything but that's certainly not my preferred option!

Doshwaster

Main problem with pre-loading a credit card is that if the card gets blocked/stolen then it can be difficult to access your funds. It's also against the T&Cs of most cards.

You'd be better off looking at a good debit card with no overseas charges for day to day spending. When going abroad it always makes sense to have at least another backup card so you aren't dependant on only one. Just don't keep all of your cards in the same place.

DullGreyGuy

Its against the terms of most credit cards and many will reject payments from the customer that would create a positive balance. 

Presumably you arent expecting the hire card deposit to be paid so you could use a non-FX friendly card for that and use the other for your purchases... obviously becomes a bit unstuck if the hire car is stolen or such. 

Troytempest

Just returned from Australia - similar issue.

When card balance got close to credit balance we just made a manual credit to reduce balance a bit.
Cash not particularly welcome down under.

eskbanker

dolcelatte said:

I'm going to New Zealand for 5 weeks. I have a credit card that doesn't charge fees for overseas transactions, which is great but I'm just a little worried that with a hefty car hire deposit, I won't have enough credit on the card for day-to-day spending. Is it possible to load the card up in advance with a credit balance and utilise this?

As above, this isn't a good idea, but are you likely to be able to increase your credit limit or acquire another card?

Westin

dolcelatte said:

I'm going to New Zealand for 5 weeks. I have a credit card that doesn't charge fees for overseas transactions, which is great but I'm just a little worried that with a hefty car hire deposit, I won't have enough credit on the card for day-to-day spending. Is it possible to load the card up in advance with a credit balance and utilise this? I'm going with a friend and she's taking cash (no comment). She seems to want to pay me in cash for everything but that's certainly not my preferred option!

If it is a Halifax Clarity Card then you are not permitted to pre-load the card with credit.

eDicky

It sounds like you're intending to rely on a single card for all expenses during your trip, which is unwise in general. There are plenty of fee-free 'travel' debit and credit cards available to diversify your sources of funds:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/

Neil49

Open an account with either Starling or Chase for a debit card that works abroad without charges. The big advantage is that you get virtually instant notification of transactions on your smartphone so you know just how much you have spent and can also block the card should it be stolen.

Relying on just one card while abroad is a very bad idea (especially when you are going to be away for 5 weeks). 

Ideally you should both get a debit card. You can use them when you get home as well.