Interest free CC and obtaining a 20 to 30k credit limit at application

Mr.Plinky

Hi
We currently have a mortgage circa 220k around 50%LTV. This includes a Further advance for home improvements currently undergoing.
We want to raise some further capital for Windows kitchen etc. 
Can see barclaycard and Marks and sparks have 19 or upto 21 months Int free. 
So the big question how can we achieve a high limit on application. 
Wife earns 50k 
Myself 28k
We receive some other funds from ongoing surplus income 1200.
We have 3 credit cards santander which we don't use came with the account. 
Another which we use for foreign spending. 
Sainsbury's cc for monthly regular spending which we pay off in full each month. 
Credit rating on a soft search with moneysupermarket is green 5 and I am confident we are around 844 points last time I checked. 
We can comfortably afford to pay the 20k off in 19 months but the challenge and advice is how do obtain the required credit limit with which provider without doing multiple applications which will I guess trash the Credit files foot print. 

Tried calling barclays card 3 times this week held for 90 mins and no answer... Just keeps mentioning their app which as an applicant is a chocolate teapot. 

Really need some help before this project goes south. 

Otherwise we will simply do a further advance on the mortgage but seems a waste when a Int free CC would hit the spot. 

Thanks 

Hoenir

Being granted £20k to £30k interest free on application has zero chance I'd suggest. 

cymruchris

I think the chances of getting £30k limit with an instant interest free offer as a brand new customer to Barclaycard is a little pie in the sky (or kitchen as the case may be here). 

I think at that kind of money, even an unsecured loan may be challenging, unless you both separately applied for say £15k - but again depends on your history in terms of what you'd be offered in terms of APR. The days of 2.8% are long gone though.

On a combined income of £78k - how long would it take to save £30k if you were a little more careful on your outgoings for a year?

(I get that you can also go the mortgage route - but again that'll cost you interest).

Mr.Plinky

That's the challenge. It's advertised as such so surely along with the mortgage factor, it's doable. Not advertised as existing customers only. 
When you start the process I recall it asks what funds are for ie family holiday, home improvements etc. So the initial 1200 base seems implausible to fund a family holiday for 4 no more than the valid reason for going down that route for a higher amount for home improvements.
After all it's no different to any other credit, home is at risk, good equity, regular good income so I can't see why it's not possible ie 20k let's say or 10k each. 
Hence why asking, as I don't really understand how the system works. Surely if you have a good credit history, decent score etc with equity and also savings greater than the amount requested in credit. Then the risk on the balance is far lower surely vs a 5k credit limit and lower income could potentially pose a greater risk than someone in our fortunate circumstance. 
If it can't be done, then so be it. Pie in the sky, this is a professional bank advertising a product and offer. 
I'm just exploring the options and it's the most obvious out there which fits the bill for us. Yes we could save, as we said we're in the middle of a project on the home and I turn the capital is tied up in investments and savings. 
Prices have gone up and it's also a once in a life time venture, we just want to try and achieve our dream that we've worked for for so long. 
The repayments are just over 1000 per month, our budgets and bank statements would support the 'within means' it's just how to tackle it on the advertised credit card so we're not having to borrow on a loan circa 8 to 10 percent. 

amanda1024

On a higher income (and with a lot lower mortgage balance) I’ve never had a credit card offer more than £14k - and that was with a bank I was already banking with. I’d say it’s really unlikely you’d get anything near £20k. The algorithms credit card providers use to decide credit limits aren’t publicly available, but I think the main things they’re looking at are income (after tax and mortgage), other unsecured lending (i.e. the other credit cards, any overdrafts etc, even if you’re not using them), any negatives on your credit history. Note that credit cards are individual so it’d be your individual income that’s taken into account. And because they’re unsecured, the bank is taking more of a risk than your mortgage lender, which is why you can’t borrow as much on a credit card.

Also a bit puzzled why 1200 would be implausible for a holiday for a family of four, but that’s a bit of a tangent!

cymruchris

The £1200 you quote is a mandatory government piece of legislation for comparison purposes between different financial providers - it's not the starting limit.

What's a good credit history? To one lender it will be one thing, to another lender it might be something very different.

Just because you have a mortgage and pay it on time doesn't necessarily make you a good customer in the eyes of the lender. Some will be looking for huge use of credit cards that get paid off in full each month- others will be looking for huge use of credit cards where the balance is carried and interest paid.

For a few years my credit card balances have been zero - I spend on them every month - but they always get paid in full after each statement. Amex said my eligibility for their cards was 3 out of 10. Then last year I took a full balance zero percent money transfer from Virgin, to put the cash into a savings account, in effect earning me more interest than the transfer fee. As soon as the 'balance' hit my credit history, my Amex eligibility went up to 9.5 out of 10. 

But back to Barclaycard - they've never been known as a 'generous' limit card provider - and often reduce limits periodically. (have a search across the boards to see multitudes of people complaining when they hit huge tranches of customers at a time). 

You also mention having a 'good score' - this is something only you see. It means nothing - it's a marketing gimmick, one that you appear to have been taken in by. Lenders look at history - not a magical number.

Savings also mean nothing when it comes to credit - there's nothing stopping you from blowing the lot on the 2 o'clock at Chepstow on Thursday afternoon. (Of course you probably won't - but nothing stops you from doing so - so savings aren't used to calculate credit card limits).

lr1277

Credit cards are based on an individual's income, spend and credit profile/history. Joint income and joint borrowing is irrelevant.

You have told us your and your wife's salary. But have not told us who is the primary card holder for each card and the limit for each card.

I suspect each of you will individually struggle to get a £20k limit on any type of card.

My thinking is based on my suspicion that card companies won't extend a credit limit to you that is more than 30% to 50% of your salary across all your credit limits. I know there are people who have much higher credit limits than my suspicion, but none of us know the credit card conditions at the time they took out all their credit. There seems to be an impression that after Covid, card companies have been tightening up credit limits because it is no longer easy to find the money to lend out in an unsecured type of loan.

If you as a couple think you can pay off this money in 2 years (or whatever), the best route must be increasing the mortgage assuming your mortgage allows overpayments.

Or get a loan, then you do pay interest  but you get a fixed repayment for the duration of the loan.

Mr.Plinky

Thanks all. I think that's the main folly here on what and how which you have all pretty much confirmed my suspicion with what credit limit is realistically obtainable and if worth pursuing in talking with them so Ill leave it there. 
Thanks

DullGreyGuy

Mr.Plinky said:

Thanks all. I think that's the main folly here on what and how which you have all pretty much confirmed my suspicion with what credit limit is realistically obtainable and if worth pursuing in talking with them so Ill leave it there. 
Thanks

Gut reaction is like others in that it's highly unlikely to happen for you. 

That said, banks vary massively in what they consider a good and bad risk. Was recently looking for a BT card and ClearScore gave a "guaranteed acceptance" with both Natwest and MBNA. The former allows you to do a soft search to get an indicative limit so went there first and they said limit was likely to be circa £1,500. Not a helpful amount for me so went to MBNA and they offered over what your top requirement is; that isn't to say they'd offer you the same, for my wife they also offered a good limit but below your lower requirement.

I am normally a naysayer when it comes to comparison sites and credit products but ClearScore seams to be the exception for me. Have even had their "guaranteed" rates lower than the soft search result on the lenders own website and after applying via ClearScore the lower rates did indeed apply (talking materially different rates). 

Alexsas

If I were you, I'd put 3-4-5 applications for suitable products at the same time. Cumulatively, you are likely to achieve the amount you need - but of course, you need to be sure you can pay it off. (naturally, expanding the number of products you would have to accept slightly inferior deals, but I think they'd still be okay-ish)

Emily_Joy

As above, I would submit a few applications with different banks on the same day maybe. My income is somewhere between yours and your wife's and I was able to get 3 credit cards with 10K limit, though I was looking for balance transfer, not to spend. I had several cards with 10K limit already at the time of application.