Can you apply for a credit card with a bank you do not have a current account?

vacheron

HappySad said:

vacheron said:

HappySad said:

Can you apply for a credit card with a bank that you do NOT have a current account with? Is this standard? Have you done this yourself? 

It certainly is. 

I have 11 credit cards, and I certainly don't have 11 current accounts.

There are also many credit card companies who do not offer current accounts. MBNA, American Express and Capital One in the UK being just a few.

Brilliant! 

Do you know if there is a rough guide to work out total credit amount to have compared to your wage? 

Eg if earning 40K and already have £10K with one credit card already. How much roughly can the new credit card company roughly accept? I know it depends on all sorts of other factors. However, what would you think or know? 

I "know" that banks "can" lend you more than 3 times your annual take home pay, because that is my exact situation.

I also "know" that I have been offered cards with £20K limits from companies I have never used before, and yet also been offered cards with £1.5K limits from companies with whom I have been a  loyal customer for 20+ years.

Sometimes it really feels like it just depends on which way the wind is blowing! 


I would say though that I have found that BT cards do seem to be less concerned if you have outstanding credit on other cards, (possibly because that is their target customer). I have also found MBNA, Natwest and Virgin Money to be consistently willing to accept my applications and also consistently generous with their credit limits, but again, like car insurance, I may just fit their particular target customer profile.


Edit: You may also like to try the Compare the Market comparison tool, because I found it gave me an exact amount of the credit limit each company was prepared to offer me.

I made a post about my experience HERE.