If you pay more to your credit card than you owe, does it just go on as credit that can be used? Is there a limit on how much credit can be put on it? Also, can you pay from a credit card to a bank account?
Thanks, Deb
I currently have a Visa card with nearly £1K credit balance on it - I have been using it for all sorts of purchases to reduce that balance. The statement tells me no minimum payment is necessary etc. There is no interest paid to me.
If I wanted that money back I can see no automatic way of getting it unless the card company sent me the money or paid it to an account.
I've always wondered what would happen if you bought something expensive on a credit card (say a £1000 TV). You paid the balance off in full then the TV broke and you got a refund. The refund would go back to your card putting it in credit.
Yes credit cards can be in credit although it is not an intended feature of most of them. However, the Egg Money card allows positive balances and pays interest on any funds. The terms of my Halifax card indicate that payments which result in credit funds *may* be automatically returned to me at their discretion. As it is not an intended feature there isn't a "limit". MBNA have a feature to "transfer" funds from one of their credit cards to a current account (at cash advance rates). Not sure about any of the others but a surplus could probably be paid via BACS by any card issuer.
Most card companies will send you a cheque for any credit balance which finds its way onto the account for some reason. Mint did that for me, but only after I requested it.
The Egg Money card does allow credit balances, and pays you 4% interest on it.
Chris
Similar scenario happened to me with my Barclaycard which went £650 into credit. Simply resolved - rang Barclaycard who sent me the net credit balance via BACS arrived in my bank account 2 days later.
The delay was said to be because of money laundering checks rather than a deliberate intention to hold onto the money (although they only sent it after I asked!)
Cheers
Alan
Thank you all for your replies!
Deb
Years ago it was it ploy to overpay so that cash withdrawals, particularly overseas, would not incur interest and when overseas (pre-internet banking etc) you could cover purchases and it was cheaper than credit cards.
I think these "loopholes" have been closed by most credit card companies and Barclaycard wouldn' let me overpay on their on-line site though I could overpay if you do a transfer from your bank account to them.
Yes, a card can be in credit - I wouldn't have thought anyone, let alone the thieving CC companies, would worry about how much you lend them for nothing. Irma
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ie. NO card company will send you a cheque for the credit unless you request it. Irma
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Although not strictly a credit card, AmEx will allow funds to be preloaded... very handy for travelling when one wants to use the card but has no means of paying a monthly statement.
Axel
It seems they do worry. I once wanted to use my Nationwide Visa card to make a purchase for an amount that was higher than the credit limit on the account. I phoned Nationwide to ask if I could transfer funds to be credited to my account in advance of this, so that the credit limit would not be exceeded when I made the purchase. They told me they would not allow that, and that under no circumstances would any purchase be allowed for an amount exceeding the credit limit on the account.
Chris
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