Can I prepay to increase limit?

[Anonymous]

I have just one CC and it is a $500 limit.  I pay it off every month and both of my scores are right below 700.  I am also right in the middle of buying a house so don't want to hurt scores. 

I need to book a hotel for a business trip in July.  Right now the rates are low if you pay for the hotel at the time of booking.  My hotel bill will be $700.  Can I prepay my HSBC credit card to show a - 200 or more balance, then charge the room?  Any other suggestions? 

I also will probably not be able to pay the entire balance before the end of next month, but I will get the util under 50%.  Any clue on what that will do to my score?

[Uniqua]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have just one CC and it is a $500 limit.  I pay it off every month and both of my scores are right below 700.  I am also right in the middle of buying a house so don't want to hurt scores. 

I need to book a hotel for a business trip in July.  Right now the rates are low if you pay for the hotel at the time of booking.  My hotel bill will be $700.  Can I prepay my HSBC credit card to show a - 200 or more balance, then charge the room?  Any other suggestions? 

I also will probably not be able to pay the entire balance before the end of next month, but I will get the util under 50%.  Any clue on what that will do to my score?

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Hmmmmmm, interesting question.  First off, do you mean a $200 "credit" instead of balance?  Even if that were the case, you'd still be maxed out.  Do you have a debit card that you can put half on?  Log into your HSBC account and check the payment options.  See if you can prepay.  Some CCCs don't allow you to do that.  Unless you can get a CLI with HSBC, I'm not sure how this will work???

[Jazzzy]

I think you need to call your cc company to ask them how they handle prepayment...many companies won't accept prepayments. 

So...let me get this straight...you actually have to PAY the room? They will actually charge your card now?

As to your score, if you go from 0% (not sure where you are at now) to "under 50%," you may get quite a score slump. There is no way anyone can tell you for sure because so much rests on what else is on your reports. Utilization is just one factor....but it's not a good idea.

It's frustrating to have to pass on the low room rates, but I can't give you another solution. If you are in the middle of a mortgage, you have to be very careful...but you already know that. If you show a balance, and they are aware of it, the monthly payment will also have to be included in your debt-to-income ratio. I'm not sure it's worth the gamble to take advantage of the low rate.

[Anonymous]

oops!  yeah I meant credit.  By the end of the month and reporting, I would be able to pay down the util to about 50%, leaving a $250 balance to be paid off in June.

[Uniqua]

Depending on when you are going to apply for that mortgage, having a util that high may not be good for you.  The low hotel rate does not sound like it is worth it right now because you only have that one CC with a low limit.  If you search around you can probably get a low rate without pre-paying.  If you want, you can send me a private e-mail letting me know the hotel you are staying and I can try to find you a cheap rate outside of the non-refundable rate.  Travel is something I do on the side.  Have a good day!

[Woolfman]

Just from my experience . You can pay more than you owe on the one HSBC card i have . It Does not count towards your CL so if you have a 500 CL and try to charge 700 it will not count the "credit" on  your account into the factor of your purchase. I have been slamming my BB RWMC for every purchase i make and make payments every few days to stay on top of it . Some times i pay more to cover the pending charges or usage i know im going to be doing. Last week the wife lost her card (joint account and same card numbers) So when we called they had to kill both cards and i now have a balance of -34.00 on the account but the CL is still the same. 750.

[Anonymous]

I suggest you call HSBC.   Tell them the problem, and ask for a CLI to cover this.

[Anonymous]

Update to the issue-

I called HSBC backdoor number from the stickyed thread and never got to a human.  I was disconnected 3 times.  So... hmpf.

Then I called the number on the back of my card.  She said it is possible to prepay a limit, but my card would be declined if I tried to run it for more than $500.  Also she said "We are not offering CLI at this time.  Maybe in the future."  Turds.

[MidnightVoice]

Most of my cards don't allow prepayment to increase the limit.

And I don't like this "Pay in advance to get the lowest rate" idea, but most hotel chains are doing this now

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Update to the issue-

I called HSBC backdoor number from the stickyed thread and never got to a human.  I was disconnected 3 times.  So... hmpf.

Then I called the number on the back of my card.  She said it is possible to prepay a limit, but my card would be declined if I tried to run it for more than $500.  Also she said "We are not offering CLI at this time.  Maybe in the future."  Turds.

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Not too helpful.    

Ask the hotel if you can stagger the payment.    Let them charge 50%, you pay HSBC.    Then the next month or sooner, charge the rest.

After you close the house, it is time to add some more cards to your portolio.