Diners Club Club Rewards - Can you prepay or pay your DC balance during a billing cyle...

to reset your credit limit and earn more DC Rewards Points? For example, let's assume I have a 25k credit limit. Can I charge 20k, then transfer 20k from my checking account, and then charge another 20k on the card, and earn points equal to the total amount of dollars spent during that period? Or similarly, can I transfer 25k to the card and then charge 50k, and earn 50k points for that month? Ideally I'd like to be able to do this multiple times per billing cycle. Thanks for any help.

to reset your credit limit and earn more DC Rewards Points? For example, let's assume I have a 25k credit limit. Can I charge 20k, then transfer 20k from my checking account, and then charge another 20k on the card, and earn points equal to the total amount of dollars spent during that period? Or similarly, can I transfer 25k to the card and then charge 50k, and earn 50k points for that month? Ideally I'd like to be able to do this multiple times per billing cycle. Thanks for any help.The bank doesn't care if you pay in advance. I don't know a credit card where you can't do this. The only time you might have trouble is you make a single charge that is more than your credit line, even though you have a credit balance on the account. (Although I've done this twice on Citi MC with no problem.)

to reset your credit limit and earn more DC Rewards Points? For example, let's assume I have a 25k credit limit. Can I charge 20k, then transfer 20k from my checking account, and then charge another 20k on the card, and earn points equal to the total amount of dollars spent during that period? Or similarly, can I transfer 25k to the card and then charge 50k, and earn 50k points for that month? Ideally I'd like to be able to do this multiple times per billing cycle. Thanks for any help.
I don't quite understand. Do you have legitimate purchases that you could put on your DC card if this were the case, but you're putting them elsewhere right now? If so, rephrase the question without the "points" in it and you can ask DC yourself.

The reason the question may not be able to answered by anyone else is because you don't have a "credit limit" of the normal kind at DC, since it's a charge card. Your credit limit is behind-the-scenes, and variable, so you can't even know what your credit limit will be on the day you make some purchases without asking. So if you legimiately have expenses that you could move to DC if only you could do this, you need to either ask them if that's the right workaround (or if you even need a workaround), or try it (but one month's results may not be duplicable exactly the same another month).

OTOH, what you may have to worry about more than your "credit limit" is Citi's automated fraud detectors, which have a habit of being on the "might be" fraud side aplenty, for example (as recently discussed in another thread) not allowing any single purchase over about 10k without prior authorization, and other blocks on way way way smaller amounts in certain circumstances where they're not sure they're what you meant to do.

I don't quite understand. Do you have legitimate purchases that you could put on your DC card if this were the case, but you're putting them elsewhere right now? If so, rephrase the question without the "points" in it and you can ask DC yourself.

The reason the question may not be able to answered by anyone else is because you don't have a "credit limit" of the normal kind at DC, since it's a charge card. Your credit limit is behind-the-scenes, and variable, so you can't even know what your credit limit will be on the day you make some purchases without asking. So if you legimiately have expenses that you could move to DC if only you could do this, you need to either ask them if that's the right workaround (or if you even need a workaround), or try it (but one month's results may not be duplicable exactly the same another month).

OTOH, what you may have to worry about more than your "credit limit" is Citi's automated fraud detectors, which have a habit of being on the "might be" fraud side aplenty, for example (as recently discussed in another thread) not allowing any single purchase over about 10k without prior authorization, and other blocks on way way way smaller amounts in certain circumstances where they're not sure they're what you meant to do.

Thanks for the info. I didn't really think about the "charge card" aspect. So the DC card is actually similar to my Citi Advantage MC, which notwithstanding its 23k "credit limit", technically has no present spending limit. On my SPG Amex (which has a 50k limit) I often charge close to that amount and then pay it off mid cycle, thus allowing me to charge another 50k during the same period. I can also prepay my Amex, thus increasing my credit limit so that I can make a purchase in excess of 50k.

The problem is I deal with certain vendors who don't take Amex. Currently that leaves me with my Advantage MC, but unfortunately it has an annual mileage cap of 60k. I've already exceeded that for this year, but fortunately my December billing statement closes today.

I have a particular purchase coming up in the next few days in the amount of 86k. I called up Citi and they tested my MC account to see if an 86k charge would go through, and they said it would. So that's great, but once the charge goes through I will have to shelve that card for all of 2008 since I'll have once again exceeded my annual mileage limit...although I may do a gold challenge on AA to lift this cap.

That's why I'm asking about the DC card. It might be a good way to diversify my points earning, while also helping me in situations where I can't use Amex. If the DC card uses the same behind the scenes variables as my MC does, I should be in good shape.

Yes, U can pay your DC balance anytime & replenish your Available Credit.
Amex is the only CC which would not put such a payment back into my Available Credit--back in 2000, but I think it has changed since then.

Yes, U can pay your DC balance anytime & replenish your Available Credit.
Amex is the only CC which would not put such a payment back into my Available Credit--back in 2000, but I think it has changed since then.

Yes, when you pay mid-cycle (e.g., online), you instantly replenish your credit on every credit card I have ever used (DC, AMEX, etc.) I do this with AMEX all the time in months when I have charge volume that exceeds my credit limit.

The reason the question may not be able to answered by anyone else is because you don't have a "credit limit" of the normal kind at DC, since it's a charge card. Your credit limit is behind-the-scenes, and variable...

DC has a definite credit limit, although they say they don't. I have learned what mine is, and had to send documents to increase it from 30K to 75K. They are not a charge card in the sense like Amex is. I charge about 50K a month on DC (150K on Amex), and I have to pay 25K shortly after my billing cycle closes in order to get the other 50K in spending, as I can't at any given time have a balance over 75K. So there is a definite credit limit, although they say they don't have one. I am on the phone with DC monthly working it out, and I can't, and they won't let me, go over 75K account balance at any given time.

Yes, you can certainly prepay your balance; thus, replenishing your account balance. There IS a credit limit. IF you talk to the right person, you will be given the answer regarding what your limit is.

Yes, you can certainly prepay your balance; thus, replenishing your account balance. There IS a credit limit. IF you talk to the right person, you will be given the answer regarding what your limit is.

When you say there is a credit limit, what are you referring to? As I mentioned above, my Citi Advantage card has a 23k "credit limit" but has "no preset spending limit." How much I can go over my limit seems to depend on many variables. Last week I was able to exceed it by over 60k. How much higher I could have gone was not mentioned to me.

A tip from inside. The card system that citi uses for the cards is the same for Diners Club and Citicards. Every card must have a credit limit asigned even if they are charge cards. This helps the authorization system to value the credit history as well as other factors (transaction risk) and approve or reject the transaction. All Diners don't have the "flag" that rejects the transaction when the amount exceeds the credit limit. If the automatic system tends to reject a transaction then it is transfered to manual approval.

A tip from inside. The card system that citi uses for the cards is the same for Diners Club and Citicards. Every card must have a credit limit asigned even if they are charge cards. This helps the authorization system to value the credit history as well as other factors (transaction risk) and approve or reject the transaction. All Diners don't have the "flag" that rejects the transaction when the amount exceeds the credit limit. If the automatic system tends to reject a transaction then it is transfered to manual approval.

Any way to know what causes one's card to have this "flag"? I'm considering applying for the DC MC, but if large transactions won't go through without manual intervention it's not going to work for me.

DC has a definite credit limit, although they say they don't. I have learned what mine is, and had to send documents to increase it from 30K to 75K. They are not a charge card in the sense like Amex is. I charge about 50K a month on DC (150K on Amex), and I have to pay 25K shortly after my billing cycle closes in order to get the other 50K in spending, as I can't at any given time have a balance over 75K. So there is a definite credit limit, although they say they don't have one. I am on the phone with DC monthly working it out, and I can't, and they won't let me, go over 75K account balance at any given time.
As I said, I didn't claim there wasn't a credit limit, just that it wasn't the same "fixed and documented to you" kind that you get with the typical credit card.

All I said was that it was behind-the-scenes (ie, it's hard to find out) and variable (ie, yours may have been 30K at the time you asked, but it may have been moving around slightly periodically depending on what their algorithms decide). They may "mark" it as fixed in special cases (like after you sent in your documentation), or maybe the whole moving part is simply them adjusting it manually in periodic reexaminations of your account, but my understanding is that if you could somehow get them to tell you your credit limit every quarter (if you were someone who hadn't requested an adjustment to said limit), you might get a different answer quarter. You only asked (successfully) once, and thus you only got one answer.

For you, however, it's largely irrelevant, since even if it does change some on its own, it wouldn't have gotten you to 75K or further on its own (in any short amount of time, anyway).

And, btw, what makes DC just as much a "charge card" as Amex MR has nothing to do with the credit limit. It's the fact that (without transferring to another account) you can't carry balance. That, not the credit limit, not the perks, is the definition of a "charge card" vs a "credit card".

Any way to know what causes one's card to have this "flag"?

I read ch00068's message to mean that all Citi cards have a credit limit specified in the system, but that a transaction which would put a Diners Club account over the limit is not automatically declined, it is evaluated by a live person. This is substantially similar to American Express, Mastercard World and VISA Signature. The requirement that the cardholder pay the balance in full each cycle probably means Citi would approve larger "over the limit" transactions on a Diners account than on a Mastercard World account, but this is speculation.

What's missing, for your purposes, is an understanding of whether the live evaluation is performed in real time or if the merchant is required to call. Have you spoken to Diners Club about your spending pattern to ascertain if their system can accomodate it?

I read ch00068's message to mean that all Citi cards have a credit limit specified in the system, but that a transaction which would put a Diners Club account over the limit is not automatically declined, it is evaluated by a live person. This is substantially similar to American Express, Mastercard World and VISA Signature. The requirement that the cardholder pay the balance in full each cycle probably means Citi would approve larger "over the limit" transactions on a Diners account than on a Mastercard World account, but this is speculation.

What's missing, for your purposes, is an understanding of whether the live evaluation is performed in real time or if the merchant is required to call. Have you spoken to Diners Club about your spending pattern to ascertain if their system can accomodate it?

No I haven't. I guess I'll give them a call. Although like you mention, both the Diners and Advantage cards are Citi offerings, so it would seem as if they use the same/similar internal systems.