John Lewis credit card - is a temporary credit limit possible?

The_Librarian

I need to make a reasonably large payment for something (let's say for arguments sake £15k), and in an ideal world would put it on my JL card so as to benefit from the point/vouchers, rather than just use my debit card. I have a credit limit which is half what I need (e.g. £7.5k), so I called the card company to see if I could increase my limit temporarily in order to put this purchase on my card. The lad I spoke to said no, as increases are only available at certain times, and now is not one of them. End of discussion. This is massively disappointing. 

Is his information correct? Is it not possible unless there is a note on the account to increase?

Also, can I add the difference to the card now putting it in credit, in order to pay this bill, and therefore still be under my limit? Does that work? Would I get points on the total amount spent? 

TheSpectator

Asking them to double the credit limit is unrealistic. If they are saying no increase then that's it.

Putting your card into credit would be unwise as it likely breaks the T&C's.

The_Librarian

What about if I paid half on the card, then paid the card balance off in full (rather than waiting for the direct debit to come out at the end of the month), then put the other half on it the next day? Could that work? 

TheSpectator

The_Librarian said:

What about if I paid half on the card, then paid the card balance off in full (rather than waiting for the direct debit to come out at the end of the month), then put the other half on it the next day? Could that work? 

Possibly, but who is going to accept half a payment? And the payment may take longer than a day to increase your available spending.

Belenus

Is this a JL New Day card?

New Day were a poor choice by JL as their Partnership Card provider as has been discussed elsewhere.

Do you have another cc you could use for the 50% that the JL card won't cover or will you need to use a debit card?

If the latter, could you pay half on the JL card, immediately pay that off and then put the second 50% on the JL card a few days later?

The_Librarian

It's an invoice, and I can pay across cards/a few days should I wish...

TheSpectator

The_Librarian said:

It's an invoice, and I can pay across cards/a few days should I wish...

Your suggestion should work then.

The_Librarian

Belenus said:

Is this a JL New Day card?

New Day were a poor choice by JL as their Partnership Card provider as has been discussed elsewhere.

Do you have another cc you could use for the 50% that the JL card won't cover or will you need to use a debit card?

If the latter, could you pay half on the JL card, immediately pay that off and then put the second 50% on the JL card a few days later?

Yes it is a New Day...

I don't have another credit card with any kind of bonus attached except JL, so yes, debit card is only other option (and again, none with cashback - I know, I know, not very MSE of me) hence really wanting to try to find a way to pay it all on the JL one if possible. 

Does anyone know how quickly clearing a balance usually takes? Are we talking pay half today (will this show up on my account straight away? Will I be able to pay it off by this evening for example?) and then half on Saturday? Monday? Tomorrow? I've never done it before (always just let the DD take the full amount automatically)

DullGreyGuy

The_Librarian said:

What about if I paid half on the card, then paid the card balance off in full (rather than waiting for the direct debit to come out at the end of the month), then put the other half on it the next day? Could that work? 

With most cards it will work, can't say explicitly for JL. You would normally need the repayment to have cleared before you can make the second charge. Depending on JL and your repayment mechanism it could be a couple of days


Very few cards will do a temporary increase, AmEx has been known to on their ChargeCards if you provide evidence you have the funds to repay it in full but they dont issue new ChargeCards to consumers any more (those with them can keep them)

J63320

TheSpectator said:

The_Librarian said:

It's an invoice, and I can pay across cards/a few days should I wish...

Your suggestion should work then.

I did this successfully with my JL card, though it was for two separate purchases. Made one purchase, which took me close to my limit, then made a payment to the card. Checked online to make sure the payment had gone through and freed up a portion of my credit limit, then made the other purchase. 

Brie

So you have the full amount sitting somewhere in a bank account?

You could then pay half your invoice and the same day (or maybe the day before) pay off that amount that has gone on your card and then when that's cleared go back and pay the other half the invoice.  

Cards don't like you putting them into a positive balance but it normally takes a couple of days for them to do anything about it.  But if New Day is as bad as reported perhaps you are better off not taking the chance.

I have managed to get cards to do a substantial increase in my limit but have always presented it so they know it's for a specific purpose - normally buying a car.  Most aren't bothered about decreasing the limit afterwards so as to lure me into more spending.