Question
Will putting a credit balance on my credit card allow me to make a purchase (airline tickets) that costs more than my credit limit? (up to credit limit + credit balance)
I called my bank and got conflicting answers.
One representative told me that if my credit limit is say $5000, I can only spend up to $5000 on that card (even if I have a $1000CR balance).
Another representative told that I can make a purchase of up to $6000 (credit limit $5000 + the credit balance of $1000).
Answer
I tried this with the Mileage Plus Visa a couple of years ago. I needed to buy over $30K worth of tickets, my limit being $15K. I sent the entire amount to First Card, and had a $30K credit balance. I tried to buy the tickets, and the charge didn't go through. I called First Card, and they explained that the approval process looks at the limit for each transaction, regardless of any credit balance.
We worked up a solution to buy the tickets individually, which I did.
There was still an element of pain. As I bought each ticket, it would eat up the available limit (they credit balance wasn't used until the ticket posted to my account), so after a few tickets my available credit was eaten up. I had to call First Card and get them to manually post each transaction so that the credit balance was used, and the available credit was freed.
Was it worth it? Yes. But it was a lot of work/time on the phone, etc.
I know that AA now has a "World" Mastercard that doesn't have a preset limit. If you sent the payment in ahead of time, the charge should go through without a problem.
Sean
[This message has been edited by skofarrell (edited 09-08-2001).]
Answer
My experience is same as skofarrell,
but the pain was worth it, IMO.
Answer
I called my credit card company and was told by the rep. that I could make a $6000 purchase on my $5000 limit credit card IF I transferred funds to my credit card via the bank's own bank machine.
He even claimed that he purchased a car for $15,000 on a $5000 credit limit card by depositing $10,000 into his Visa card.
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I'd give it a try then. Sounds like your bank may have a smarter validation process.
If you are really looking to do $6K on a $5K limit, you can always ask for a credit line increase. Depending on how long you've had the account, it could be pretty easy.
Answer
daniellam,
From your posts it sounds like you have a CIBC VISA card. It is true that if you use a CIBC Instant Teller machine and use the "transfer" feature to move money from a CIBC Cdn$ personal deposit account to any CIBC VISA accounts, the funds are immediately available to spend on you CIBC VISA card. If you make a CIBC VISA payment with a teller/CSR it normally can take upto 3-5 business days for processing.
Note: I normally overpay my VISA card so I can write $5,000 HBC Rewards Convenience Cheques. Each time I earn 75,000 HBC Rewards/ClubZ points.
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Originally posted by cslusarc:
daniellam,
From your posts it sounds like you have a CIBC VISA card.
Mine is actually a Royal Bank Visa
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... That's why people use an Amex card (Platinum or Centurion) for high charges.
If you want to charge a lot more than usual, then call Amex first, and it works.
Answer
Originally posted by ahrz:
... That's why people use an Amex card (Platinum or Centurion) for high charges.
If you want to charge a lot more than usual, then call Amex first, and it works.
I don't meet the income requirement to get an AMEX card as I am still a student. No matter how I tell AMEX how much assets I have, they won't issue the card unless I get my parents to co-sign, or apply as a co-applicant under their card. (Its annoying when I have to get my mother to go pick up my tickets for me and then tell me that I am wasting money etc.)