Credit card limit increase

magpies79

So I have a Vanquis credit card with a limit of 3k it's my longest credit card had for like 7 years no balance use every now and then pay off in full.

I've have a few cards on 0% all with payments being made to clear in full in time 
before my offer ends apart from one card will have maybe around 1k left on it this cards 0% ends in December.

So checking I do have 3 card's possibly available MBNA Lloyds and virgin money some with 30 months 0% and the others 27 months 0% that I can apply for which my plan is around oct/nov if still available was going to try for to move the remaining 1k I can't clear in time.

sorry long winded message lol 
my question is Vanquis are offering to up my credit limit to £6500 unless I reject it 
but I do have a lot of unused available credit available I'd say roughly £20k on cards my earnings are around 41k a year should I reject this increase as going forward it could possibly effect the offer and credit amount im given on one of them 0% is there a ratio of credit allowed to earnings if that makes sense.
Thanks 

grumpy_codger

IMHO, with £41K income, £20K available credit and £10K used it's better to reject the increase. For a new application extra available can make things only worse, not better (unless you close some card after paying it off).

magpies79

Yeah that's what I was thinking I know the norm is to except any credit limit increase but yeah will do that thanks 

CliveOfIndia

There's never a clear-cut answer to this one.  One the one hand, Vanquis increasing your limit is a good thing as it demonstrates to other lenders that they trust you - the other inference being that you've always managed your account well, otherwise they wouldn't offer you an increase.

On the flip side, having too much available credit can be viewed as a negative, as you could in theory run all the cards up to the max then do a runner.

However, £20k available credit against an income of £40k is not excessive, so it'll probably make little difference in the grand scheme of things.

There may be an argument for rejecting the increase and seeing if you can get another card for daily use, one that offers rewards of some kind.  But it's probably worth keeping the Vanquis ticking over either way, as long-standing, well-managed lines of credit are generally viewed favourably by other lenders.

magpies79

Appreciate the reply I have 2 Halifax credit cards one which is my 0% and one with a limit of 1k which is used for my daily spend to then pay at the end of the month also just want to try and maximise the chance of shifting that last 1kish on 0% at a later date 

magpies79

Sorry on a side note I've been actively reducing my overdraft as I'm always in it basically to the full amount £1000 I'm down to my last £100 and had planned on paying another £50 off it this month however I've just received a message from Halifax saying changes to your overdraft fees my overdraft will now be at 0% for the first £100 so should I keep that now there's no charge or still reduce to 0 

CliveOfIndia

I'd get rid of the OD personally - regular use of an overdraft is usually viewed pretty negatively by most lenders.

magpies79

No worries will keep reducing then thanks