Well, I screwed up (I think)

[shipo]

My wife and I are planning a European and Icelandic vacation this summer and on Sunday I purchased airfare and hotel accomodations on my CapOne Quicksilver card as I don't have any "Travel" cards. Cutting to the chase, before the purchases my Quicksilver card had a $0.00 balance, after the second purchase I got a notification from CapOne the charge had been approved but I was over the limit on the card; albeit only by $10.13. I immediately scheduled a "push" payment from my bank to pay the card off in full, which should hit today; so basically my card will have gone from zero to over the limit and back to zero in a span of 72 hours.

I have no experience with over the limit balances and very little experience with CapOne; will my excursion into over limit territory hurt my chances of a CLI? I've been planning on asking one just prior to embarking on our vacation in August given my Quicksilver card is one of my two cards which don't charge foreign transaction fees.

[justbroke]

I don't know. Generally speaking, being over the limit is a default unless the card provides for over-the-limit purchases such as with a "flexible spending card" such as the VISA Signature. CapOne is a strange bird anyhow. Whenever I want a CLI they say "payments too low" but I've maintained a $0 balance!

[shipo]

Thanks for the response; this is going to get interesting as I just got alerted to my monthly Netflix payment being approved, this in turn means I'm now $30.12 over my limit until later today when they post my payment, after which I should have a balance of $19.99.

I'll keep y'all updated as to whether I get dinged with a penalty charge, an Adverse Action (like a credit limit decline), or if they say, "The excess charges were paid in full, so no harm, no foul."

[sophieanne]

Hi shipo .. I think you should reach out to capital One, and explain that you would like to request a credit line increase. They normally have that option online, where you can state the reason, and in your case, of course, would be that you have large expenditures coming up related to a trip. I think the fact that they are honoring the charges, and sending you notice, as opposed to declining the charges because you’re over the limit, is a good sign. I don’t think I’d worry about it (unless they charge you for going overlimit) because you have a good credit standing with them, and this one time purchase shows that the limit wasn’t high enough. Good luck… Sounds like a fabulous trip you’re planning!

[shipo]

CapitalOne over limit update...

To summarize, here is the chronology of events as well as the final disposition:

• 19-Jun-2022:
  • I exceeded my credit limit by about $10 while paying for airline tickets to the UK and Iceland as well as paying for the Iceland hotel (hotel rooms in Iceland expensive, expensive as in more than double the rooms I looked at in Manchester England).
  • I immediately scheduled a "push" payment from my bank which hit three days later on the 22nd, effectively taking my account to zero.
• 10-Jul-2022:
  • One day prior to the monthly due date for this particular card I paid it down to zero for the second time in the billing cycle.
• 17-Jul-2022:
  • The June-July statement cut confirming the zero balance.
  • I requested a CLI (Credit Line Increase) and was delightfully surprised to see CapOne deviated from what has been widely reported as their default/go-to CLI of $300 (which I got once last year); in this case I was granted a $1,500 increase.
  • Granted my Quicksilver still has the lowest limit of any of my cards, but it is now above even my most heavily used month, so I'm going to let it stand for a year or three.

Long story short, CapOne has a reputation for rewarding heavy usage with CLIs, however, many folks have told me if I never carry a balance I shouldn't expect any love from a CLI perspective. I guess that advice isn't necessarily true.

[sophieanne]

Congratulations.I like a happy ending!!

[shipo]

And now one more update...

Earlier today I discovered CapitalOne has a setting for both of my cards (Quicksilver and Savor One) called, "Allow over-limit purchases?" I suppose it is "my bad" for not knowing that in advance of paying for my reservations last summer as I wouldn't have fretted needlessly. I read the documentation blurb regarding that setting and it appears CapOne is more than happy to allow over-limit charges for accounts in good standing; better still, there are no over limit fees. The only requirement is you bring your balance down below your credit limit prior to the cutting of the next statement.

Learn something new every day.