Are Barclaycard at it again with their limits??

strawb_shortcake

Barclaycard reduced my limit during covid, then a few weeks back wrote to me to say they were closing my card. If I wanted to keep it then to use it between then and June and it would remain open. 

I'd been thinking about closing it for awhile as I never use it and would prefer my second card to be with rewards

MrFrugalFever

Thanks for all the replies, I have been in conversation with them via the Barclaycard app chat function. They have assured me that it will be reviewed again in 6 months time to see if my limit can be reinstated but as it stands they cannot reverse their decision.

I made a polite point that my total spending in the last 6 months has been just under £8,000, all of which has been paid back in full each and every time a statement is generated. I also pointed out that as an Avios points card, I am now at a severe disadvantage of earning Avios points and very much prevented from ever achieving the opportunity of earning the BA Cabin Upgrade voucher (spend £20k per 12 months to qualify).

I also pointed out that in order for me to continue my spend for Avios points collection I would need to consistently reach their credit limit which over a period of time will have an adverse affect on my credit history due to having 90%+ credit utilisation. Yes, I could spend on the card and then pay back immediately and then spend again generating the same net result but that then erodes the whole benefit of up to 56 days interest free.

I hadn't realised just how inconvenient such a low limit could be! If in 6 months time I don't get a sensible limit back I will seriously consider closing the account and moving across to American Express. Its just a shame that in 12 months time I will be applying for a mortgage so its all come at a bit of a naff time!

MrFrugalFever

Nebulous2 said:

How long have you had it? 

Do they offer you balance transfers / money transfers? 

My account is a legacy one, transferred in when they bought another lender, Egg I think. I have a £12k limit, which has never changed. 

It's rare for me to go over £1k a month, maybe twice a year. I'm hammering it at the moment however, as we are getting work done on our house and a dramatic drop would be inconvenient. 

There was a period during the lockdown when they didn't offer much, but I'm getting decent offers just now, so hopefully they are happy to leave me alone. 

Applied last October, so only 6+ months. No offers yet but I know that they are normally pretty generous with offers after approx 1 year. The only reason I go over £1k a month is because absolutely every possible spend per month that can be done via CC is done on this card for the Avios points. Going to be quite tricky now.

lr1277

@WillPS has mentioned the following and can be found on this page:

https://www.headforpoints.com/2023/04/04/review-barclaycard-avios-plus-mastercard-credit-card-2/ 

You can only earn 4 times your credit limit of Avios points, within a month.

Edited to add: As you tend to spend less than £2k per month, you may be able to spend and earn despite this rule, but I imagine it may cause complications.

2nd edit: Based on your mention of Avios earlier in the thread, I hope I have picked the card you have otherwise my statements don't apply.

WYSPECIAL

annabanana82 said:

I'd been thinking about closing it for awhile as I never use it and would prefer my second card to be with rewards

I’ve got two Barclaycards that I used to use for balance transfers. They used to be very generous and it was easy to make a small profit in a high interest account.

Last couple of years no offers and a letter like yours, use it or we’ll close it. 

I make a small small purchase on each every now and again to stop them flagging up for closure just in case they offer a decent BT but no cuts to credit limits.

martinbainbridge1975

only ever had the initial balance transfer offer from them, like some of the above I keep any balance to a minimum and pay 0 interest on the card

born_again

MrFrugalFever said:I would need to consistently reach their credit limit which over a period of time will have an adverse affect on my credit history due to having 90%+ credit utilisation. Yes, I could spend on the card and then pay back immediately and then spend again generating the same net result but that then erodes the whole benefit of up to 56 days interest free.

Credit history = Not missing or Missing payments. Nothing else. So going to limit, paying & rinse & repeat has no effect at all on your credit history.

cymruchris

The app is usually covered by overseas workers at call centre style places following a script - so it might have been worth a real phone call, as that would allow a bit more flexibility in responses possibly. It does seem an unusual move in isolation based on your recent usage and payment history. Has anything happened elsewhere on your files that would spook them? Have you got a balance growing on another card that hasn't been paid off as quickly? Or any other recent change they'd perceive as negative - even if it really isn't?

redux

I'd say phone up and talk to the customer relations (complaints) team

They'll have a bit more authority and discretion to do something than the ordinary customer services.   

MrFrugalFever

I'll speak to them tomorrow directly and see if I can work out what may have been the cause. It is bizarre that 6 months ago my application was pre-approved on their eligibility checker, then accepted in full when applying (plus hard credit search) so they've seen my credit reports and nothing has changed from a negative perspective within the last 6 months, if anything it has got better as there has been under 25% credit utilisation across all cards, everything paid back in full (only small spends on other cards as no points), no address changes, no missed payments and paid off unsecured loan early in Feb.

I have also requested a statutory credit report from Experian as the MSE credit club isn't the clearest, can't find anything on my reports that they wouldn't have seen 6 months ago on the full application.