Car rental deposit on credit card. Can it be higher than credit limit?

MrFrugalFever

I think it really is an 'each to their own' scenario here.

Two things attracted me to Zopa, first the 0% FX fee spending and the generally low %APR, when I first got the card it was 14%APR but that way before the BoE BR went up to 5.5%! not sure if they've pulled back on their limits but they seemed fairly generous in the earlier days.

I wouldn't say I spend a tremendous amount but circa. £20k a year through varying cards, predominantly Barclaycard Avios Plus and American Express. It requires a bit of work to benefit from the air miles but I am happy to put the effort in to reap the reward back.

I understand that you may find budgeting etc a challenge if you can't really see what's truly being spent. I wouldn't say that the apps are particularly challenging to use for the CC's, in fact in the main they are pretty easy and self explanatory, my biggest challenge is juggling them if I have diversified across 5-6 of them for varying reasons as the statement dates all vary.

lr1277

MrFrugalFever said:

Brie said:

Call your credit card company and explain that this is the reason you need a limit increase.  

You do come out with some spurious comments at times. I do not know of any lender that would simply increase a credit limit on the basis of someone requiring more due to car hire pre-authorisation, even less so immediately after a fresh application with a full underwrite. A credit limit is reviewed on the individuals personal circumstances and affordability assessment, not because they wish to splurge out at Harrods one weekend on a new vintage mink coat.

In any eventuality the OP has now resolved their issue with, what appears to be, a reasonably safe bet credit limit for such activities as car hire.

I didn't find @Brie's comment spurious in any way.

I have been without a regular income for over 10 years and for financial purposes I declare myself unemployed.

In 2021 I needed some surgery privately and rang up my card  company and asked for a credit limit increase. The card company knew I was unemployed and I told them how I was going to pay off the bill. The card company doubled my not so high limit.

I had the surgery and paid off the bill. The card company kept my new limit in place which was useful when other difficult life situations arose.

So in my experience you can ask and if you can provide a plausible way to pay off the amount owed, there is a chance you will get your limit increased.

Edited: to clarify a couple of points.

eDicky

MrFrugalFever said:

Brie said:

Call your credit card company and explain that this is the reason you need a limit increase.  

I do not know of any lender that would simply increase a credit limit on the basis of someone requiring more due to car hire pre-authorisation, even less so immediately after a fresh application with a full underwrite.

When Halifax asked me if there was any particular reason for my request for credit limit increase from the initial £350 limit on my Clarity card, I replied that it was currently not enough to cover car hire deposit. Then asked how much I would like, I said "how about three thousand", which was granted. However, this was after six months' use of the card.

DullGreyGuy

Chaoscontrol said:

Tbh I've never bought into the hype of airline miles, sorry. I don't know what you spend, but in my mind it's impossible to justify.

Plus I wouldn't like having all my spend on a crappy credit card account (which are never as good as actual bank apps) and only get a lump payment out of my account at the end of the month. It makes understanding expenses a nightmare. No way. 

And to pay a single business class ticket on miles you have to spend a f ton of money. 

Yes you need to spend a lot but as long as its spending you'd otherwise be doing then its something for nothing. It's also not just spending but ensuring you get bonuses (again just by adjusting timing not spending more). For example back when the referral limits were once every 6 months I could refer the wife for an AmEx card, spend the money to get the bonus, cancel the card, wait 6 months rinse and repeat. That would land 148,000 miles every 15 months or so enough for Dubai or NYC in Business. Unfortunately they extended the wait time between promos

Each to their own, some prefer 0.5% cash back, some prefer a first class long haul flight for $5