Merging CC limits?

paradigital

Similarly to the other recent thread about increasing limits on a new card, I’ve recently taken receipt of a new Halifax card with 27 months 0% balance transfer.  

I’ve moved all my other CC debt onto this card, but in doing so will be around 85% of the limit of the card.  I’ll have paid this off inside of the offer rate, so no concern there, but I have always tried to stay under 40% utilisation on any CCs I have, and the 85% worries me from a credit file perspective.

I have a second card also with Halifax that has an identical credit limit to the new card, and would in an ideal world rather have that limit moved to the new card, and the old card closed down.  This would bring my utilisation down to a more reasonable 42.5%.

Logically I can’t see a reason for this to be disallowed, the risk to Halifax is surely the same (available credit limit the same, debt owed the same), but am I missing something obvious that would put the brakes on this idea?

twadds123

from the Halifax website

"

Yes. Once you’ve got two Halifax credit cards, you can ask to redistribute your credit limits between them. For example, if there’s a promotional interest rate on one card, you could move a portion of your available credit from your other card, helping you to take full advantage.

You can redistribute your credit limit once every six months, moving as little as £100 and up to 90% of your available credit limit. Any single card must have a minimum credit limit of £500.

Your outstanding balance will remain the same – this won’t increase your combined credit limit. It’s simply a way to split your credit limit to suit your needs.

If you’d like to redistribute your credit limit, give us a call or visit us in branch.

link to page

https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/existing-customers/second-card.html

twadds123

so you must leave at least £500 limit on the 2nd card

paradigital

Excellent, that seems straight forward enough.  £500 remaining balance on the original card still leaves a lot of wriggle room.

I’ll give them a call tomorrow.

fergie_

They must be one of the few lenders who still allow this?

lr1277

As you should not be spending on the card with the transferred balances, will a £500 limit be sufficient for your monthly credit card purchases?

Not an expert but the utiliisation figure might only be reviewed if you are applying for new credit. Do you anticipate applying for new credit in the near future?

paradigital

I won’t be applying for any additional credit products until late 2027 (mortgage deal ends), and the other CCs I have that are now wiped clean due to the balance transfer can cover my monthly spending whilst being paid off in full each month.

The Halifax with £500 limit can be cut up and left to die, it won’t be required.

CliveOfIndia

Bear in mind that utilisation percentages are of little concern to a lender in general - it's only the CRAs who tend to get in a tizzy about them.

If you're carrying a balance on an interest-bearing card then yes, it can become an issue.  But if you clear the balance in full each month, or if you've got a 0% promotional rate in force, then it's of no concern to lenders.

And, particularly in the specific scenario you describe, it makes no difference at all.  Halifax's risk exposure to you personally is the same whether it's on one card or whether it's spread across two cards.

You may actually be better off keeping things as they are.  Keep the new card purely for the BT (making sure you pay at least the minimum each month and clear it when the promotional rate expires), and use the other card for routine spending and clear it each month.  Saves any potential pitfalls from mixing BT and spending on the same card.

PRAISETHESUN

I moved limits between a few unused Lloyds BT cards a few years ago without issue. I imagine Halifax is similar. Very straightforward to do through online banking from memory, and the biggest hurdle was then closing down the old cards with the minimum limits. As for whether or not you should combine the limits, that's a different story. Utilisation isn't really something you should care about, particularly if you're trying to take advantage of 0% incentives.