“Train” the Barclaycard ► How to push your credit line to Euros 9,500!
The Barclaycard New Visa is more than appropriate for our plan, find the application here: www.barclaycard.de/New_Visa.
On this page, you will learn how to:
- set up a credit line at Barclaycard
- and step by step increase this to up to Euros 9,500
- and the best is: it is absolutely free, promised!
- Bonus: important questions and answers to the card and the system.
1. Let’s start
Did you know that Barclaycard Germany is a subsidiary of the British Barclays Bank PLC?
Many people know that! However only few insiders (and you can include yourself in future, if you follow us) know that Barclaycard also uses an important component of the Anglo-American credit card system in Germany.
It gets really exciting when one knows how it works, as you can then “train” the limit of the credit card.
This means for you that you can push your credit line without salary increases or other creditworthiness enhancements.
You learn how to “train“ the credit line
In my case, I managed to increase my credit line to Euros 9,500 within just two trainings sessions. How to do this, you will learn in this article.
Does this knowledge must be kept secret?
If you like this instruction, then I ask you to do two things:
- Try it yourself and post you feedback using the comments feature at the end of the page.
- Forward the link of this article to other interested parties. I am completely positive that this idea will help a lot of people. 🙂
Agreed?
2. The system of the automatic adjustment of the credit line
a) Meaningful background knowledge
There is no Schufa (credit investigation company) in England or in the USA!
Still widespread is the weekly paycheck (salary payment by cheque), which is submitted at one or another bank. Moreover, there is no need of written employment contracts, especially in the USA … and many do not have it. The mentality “Hire and Fire” is practiced.
Thus, the banking industry has developed another system. In the USA, this is called “Credit History“.
In short this means: Everyone starts at the very bottom and works for his/her credit line. The credit line is mainly established through card transactions and repayments on time.
The system of Barclaycard is fortunately much easier than of the US credit card companies, so that we do not need to discuss the specification of the USA in this article.
Above all, you will learn how to increase the limit without costs from your side (= you do not have to pay lending rates).
b) Everyone starts with an initial credit line
I have been a customer of Barclaycard since many years. My account statements, which I have browsed for this article, go back to the year 2011. At that time, my personal credit line was Euros 3,000.
Whether I started with Euros 3,000 and/or one had to submit evidence of salary at the beginning, I do not remember. I would be pleased to read your feedback as a comment at the end of the page.
Anyway, at that time I used the Barclaycard regularly for the daily expenditures and always transferred the whole amount of the billing punctually on the due date. This way, I have saved the expensive lending rates of Barclaycard.
If one knows the due dates, one can live interest-free for up to two months.
How to avoid the expensive lending rates:
This way, the „Barclaycard“ system works completely fee-free and interest-free!
Note: The due date is stated at the end of each credit card bill.
When I had a little more card transactions than Euros 1,600 in one month and repaid this amount on time, my credit line automatically increased from Euros 3,000 to 5,000.
The Barclaycard system recognized that I use the card and have my finances under control in order to always repay on time. This was rewarded by increasing the credit line. Of course, in the expectation that I would use this …
Frequent card usage is rewarded with increase of credit line!
And I did so in the following months, but rather to a limited extent, because I also have other bank and credit cards, for example, my DKB Visa Card.
Nevertheless, the credit line still remained at Euros 5,000. There is no automatic adjustment “downwards” in case of non-use.
Inspiration through financial education: Seminar in London
Part of a seminar in London was the “training” of credit cards, which of course does not work for our German credit card system …L but if you are creative, other solutions come to mind.
However, I managed to get set up personal credit lines totalling more than Euros 100,000 at several banks for immediate retrieval in the next few weeks. That would have been enough for a “real estate down payment”, but that would be an idea for another article!
If you are interested in the Rich-Dad ideas, then it is recommended to start with the book Rich Dad – Poor Dad My daughter loves the Audiobook version of it.
Back to Barclaycard
I remembered that the credit line was already increased last year. Could it be that it will always continue to increase?
That was what I wanted to know! So I called the customer service … however, they did not reveal the information. Of course, who would disclose the business processes on the phone!?
I had to test it myself, but without withdrawing/paying several thousand Euros a month.
In the end, I wanted to build a credit line to invest. Spending money needlessly would not be effective.
So I studied the price list in detail and noted that it was possible to withdraw cash free of charge at two of the many offerings of Barclaycard. The Barclaycard New Visa and Barclaycard Visa Gold.
Barclaycard New Visa and Visa Gold in comparison:
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|---|---|---|
| Barclaycard New Visa | Barclaycard Visa Gold | |
| Annual fee |
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| Withdrawing cash |
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| International health insurance |
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| Card application |  |
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| The other credit cards of Barclaycard are not suitable for our plan due to other conditions (no free cash withdrawals at ATMs). | ||
Fortunately, I already had the Barclaycard New Visa, so I did not have to apply for a new card.
Important detail of the conditions: In contrast to the free Gold Card of the Advanzia Bank (gebührenfrei.com), there are no lending rates at cash withdrawals with the Barclaycard from the first day. They are interest free up to two months, just like any other card transaction.
In theory, everything is clear now. But did it also work in practice?
That should be tested!
Unfortunately, there is a withdrawal limit of Euros 500 per 24 hours at the Barlaycard. Therefore, I had to go to the ATM on 9 successive days in order to withdraw a total of Euros 4,500.
Part 1 of the test worked out great: I got Euros 4,500 paid out free of charge at the ATM, because the withdrawals were free with my Barclaycard.
Through another bank, I deposited the cash and waited for the settlement.
Euros 4,500 were billed with a due date of 28 days (I did not make other transactions with the card).
I set up a transfer date so that the money would be on the account of Barclaycard on time after 27 days.
This was an interest-free cash loan of Euros 4,500
At that time, I was so excited about this that I wrote the article “Interest Free Cash Loan through Barclaycard” and produced one of my very first videos:
Did it increase the credit line?
Yes, it did! I received a letter of Barclaycard, in which it said:
Die nächste Shoppingtour kann kommen. Weil wir Sie als besonderen Kunden schätzen, haben wir den Kreditrahmen Ihres Kreditkartenkontos erhöht auf Euro 8.000.
That means in English: The next shopping tour may come. We value you as a special customer, so we increased the credit line of your credit card account to Euros 8,000.
Congratulations!
I was very happy and used the card in the coming months for few minor expenses until the next round of training came.
c) The same game started over
On the 10th of June 2013, I started a new series of cash withdrawals: 14 × Euros 500, 1 × Euros 200. Altogether, I withdrew Euros 7,200 and made sure that the whole amount was transferred on time to the credit card account.
Result: Barclaycard increased the credit line to Euros 9,500, as I read on the next credit card statement.
For a while, I kept using the Barclaycard for occasional expenses of daily necessities, but since I also have to test the other cards for our special portal, there were no significant transactions in the last 20 months.
Did that hurt the credit line? No! It remained unchanged at Euros 9,500 and is ready to be used at any time.
My last credit card statement of Barclaycard.
Now that you know about the possibility, the question remains: What do you do with it?
Perhaps you will also build a credit line? This can be quite useful. For example, in case of an emergency. You know that you always get money from the bank, when you do not need it. But just when you have to bridge a financial challenge, banks often behave extremely cautious!
If you do not have any Barclaycard yet, the next step would be to apply for one. One does not take a financial risk, as the Barclaycard New Visa is permanently free of charge. In addition, there is a starting balance of Euros 25 of which one can take advantage. 🙂
“Get the Barclaycard New Visa”
A request to you ☀
If my article has motivated you to get the card, I would appreciate your feedback through the comments feature of this page. I am particularly interested in experiences. Perhaps we use this platform here to help others with our experiences. 🙂
3. Q&A: Questions and answers to the Barclaycard New Visa
a) Is really everything free of charge or is there a hidden catch?
The way how we build the credit line at Barclaycard does not cost us any cent – but it is quite expensive for the credit card company.
After all, they pay the foreign fees when withdrawing cash, the lending rates (for us, they are indeed interest-free up to 2 months) and the fees for the card, technology and staff.
Barclaycard did not earn yet a cent through us!
Barclaycard earns at four points:
- When we go shopping with the card: for us, this is free of charge in the Euro-zone, but the payment receiver must pay a fee for the transaction.
- When we pay with the card in a foreign currency or withdraw cash in a foreign currency, then a foreign transaction fee of 1,99 % of the transaction amount applies.
- When Barclaycard manages to sell us additional products. Keyword: account insurance. I do not have it, as I do not need it.
- Barclaycard would earn most, if we are not repaying the credit card bill on time. The lending rates of Barclaycard are quite high and are then charged virtually retroactively from the date of transaction or withdrawal.
Most Barclaycard customers use the service completely free of charge. Well, and others pay the whole thing for us smart bank customers.
In fact, about one-third of all Barclaycard customers is permanently or regularly in the lending area beyond 2 months. Therefore, the company earns quite a lot of money.
b) What happens, if I forget to repay the credit card bill on time?
Then Barclaycard will directly debit the minimum amount from your current account (which is why you have to sign a direct debit agreement at application) and charge lending rates.
I have arranged this in a telephone conversation with the customer service. It worked flawlessly!
c) Okay, I have built the credit line. How do I now dispose of the money?
That is true. If you want to use the credit line for the deposit of a property or other investment, it does not help much, if the money is on the card, as you cannot pay with the card.
Likewise, it is inconvenient, if you have to go to the ATM for three weeks to withdraw the capital little by little. So, there must be a solution and there is one (otherwise, I would not have written this article).
Simply use the transfer service of Barclaycard! You can make transfers to any account within the SEPA area from your credit line. However, there are transfer fees, which are quite expensive at Barclaycard. However, it works! The current fees can be found in the price list.
Transfers can be ordered online or by phone.
d) Can anybody get the free Barclaycard?
No. This is also very clear. Whenever a credit line is granted, also a creditworthiness check is performed. In Germany, Barclaycard also makes a Schufa query (credit investigation company).
The decision, whether one gets the Barclaycard or not, is at least displayed right after the online application. This way, you know immediately if it worked.
Who is only looking for a free “credit card”, will find it at Number26. There is the MasterCard for free. Without creditworthiness check or proof of income. For now, this does not offer a credit line. However, one can apply for it later after several months of the use of account and card.
e) Is there anything else one should know?
Yes, you also get a free Maestro Card in addition to the Visa Card. Credit cards are not accepted everywhere. Also the transactions using the Maestro Card are interest-free for up to 2 months.
To withdraw cash, please only use the Visa Card, as fees would apply at the Maestro Card.
Last word
Both cards, as well as the credit card account, are free for life, if you apply for the Barclaycard New Visa through the current offering. 🙂
Here you can find the link again ► www.barclaycard.de/New_Visa
Further articles:
- Get a favourable instalment credit (loan comparison)
- Credit cards in Germany – basic explanations
- ING-DiBa – Overdraft facility immediately at account opening
Hi, this is very interesting article. I actually had quite an unpleasant conversation with Barclay’s representative that makes me consider to close account with them.
But… would you know if cash withdrawals count towards 3000 Euro spending minimum to avoid yearly fee?
Hi. ATM-withdrawals do not count towards the spending minimum of 3.000 Euro in order to save the yearly fee for the Gold Card.
You have two – maybe better – options:
I have the New Visa since 1 year now and formerly only used it from time to time. In January and February, I have used the card for higher transactions and exhausted the limit. Today, the letter arrived. The credit limit was increased from Euros 2,000 to 4,000.
Great, congratulations!
Also I would like to report about my experiences of after one year: for me, it was not automatically, I called and asked for an increase of the limit. I wanted to get from 2,800 to 5,000. The following was queried fast: net monthly salary, yearly gross salary and after about 1 minute waiting time, the lady approved my limit of Euros 5,000.
Interesting detail herein: There was no new query at the Schufa for increasing the limit (different from the first application for the card). But the new limit of Euros 5,000 is entered below the Barclaycard. I am pondering whether I should do another training or leave it at the Euros 5,000. We’ll see…
Outstanding, many thanks for reporting this great experience!
Hi Gregor
It was really informative page. In the end, who will be clear winner as for customers~ Barclays or Advanzia ? I had Advanzia Mastergold but credit is quite low for long period and I dont know reason. So is it advisable to shift Barclays? What documents are needed in order to get credit card?
Thanks a lot
These are two different providers that don’t work in exactly the same way. For some, Advanzia Bank is better, for others the Barclaycard. You can do a pre-selection with the given conditions, afterwards the actual customer experience follows depending on your user behavior and the personal credit limit.
Applying is rather easy, and sometimes you don’t even have to provide very much information. That depends on the credit check that is done by Schufa etc. As an outsider, one cannot make a prediction considering such an amount of variables – unless there are many satisfied customers of both providers among our readership. 🙂 Best of luck!
Hi Gregor,
Wonderful website and good collection of information. I am using gebuhrenfrei since 4+ years without any issues. I think payments outside EU in foreign currency without any fee is the best feature in this card. The currency conversion rates you get are one of the best. Of course one should stay away from withdrawing cash anywhere (home/foreign country) with this card.
My question was regarding Barclays card. I have tried applying for this card twice in last 4 years. (First time 4 years ago and recently for second time)
Unfortunately I was unsuccessful both times. As I am foreigner in Germany, I tried to build up my Schufa score in all these years but that has not helped much. Barclay refuses card to me immediately after I Submit its questionnaire. I suspect it needs the applicant to be staying at once place for more than 3 years. Do you know more on this?
Thanks and have a great day!
In fact, Barclaycard has a particularly high rejection rate. My personal assessment is that about 20 percent of the applications will be accepted. But we have people in our community who make a new application for the card twice a year and eventually it works out (hopefully). Once you’re “in”, the card will last a lifetime – regardless of usage.
The acceptance hurdle is so high because the product is so good. I can not do more than wishing good luck. But I do wish you good luck! 🙂
Dear Gregor,
My application got rejected although I thought I would be ticking all the green boxes, stable job & income etc. Does the rejection affect my SCHUFA score?
Thank you
Joseph
Only Barclaycard can know this, and they will not give such information. Nevertheless, sometimes the card application will work out six months later.
To get the CC, they will check your Schufa and this request to check the Schufa will decrease the Schufa score.
But once I have the CC, will it again affect the Schufa score every time they increase my CC limit? Will it increase or decrease my score?