Orchard Bank and car rentals

[Anonymous]

I have a small, $300 limit on my Orchard Bank credit card, and I am planning on renting a car in a couple of weeks for $380 total.

My question is: can I create a credit balance of $100 on my account to pay for the rental, or will the transaction be declined because the limit is only set at $300?

Thanks for any help.

[IOBA]

I have been in a similar situation (different cc).

I called customer service and explained what I needed to do.  They made a note on the account of what was going on.  Then they temporarily raised my credit limit to reflect the "current credit limit plus the credit".

What I learned was that having a "credit" on the account does not mean you can spend more than the "credit limit".

I would suggest calling the car rental place and asking how much of an authorization they put on a credit card.  It may be higher than the price of the car rental. 

Good luck! 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for this information!

[IOBA]

No problem.

How did Orchard Bank respond?

How much did the car rental company want to "hold" on your cc?  How much higher than the price of the car rental was it? 

[hawkeye33]

Also, how long have you had the Orchard card? You could also use the back door number on this site and call to request a CLI. I wouldn't expect great things (my scores have improved by around 50 points since I first got my Orchard, and they still are not really eager to give me more than $100 at a time), but at least it would get you over the base cost of the rental.

In addition, some cards charge a fee to get the CLI, but I have not been charged by Orchard for either of mine, and both resulted in a soft pull.

If they offer you $100, ask them if you can request more for a hard pull (if your scores have improved since you got the card and you think they might see you more favorably than previously).

Good luck.