I’m assuming it’s because of the way that fuel and Flex both work. I think there are still some petrol stations (or is it all of them, I can’t keep up) that take £100 then reduce it to the amount you spend. Theoretically in the period before it adjusts you could flex the £100. If you’re just taking £10 of petrol each time then you’re effectively getting a £90 interest free loan, which I think would cause @TheoGibson to say that he’s not angry, just disappointed.
3 Likes
Surely it would refund the loan amount to the new value if that happened? Also what would happen if i bought something other than fuel from a petrol station - would i not be able to Flex that either? Maybe one for @TheoGibson to answer.
1 Like
I’m pretty sure we’ve had examples of where that hasn’t happened. Not with petrol, of course, but with a transaction hold that either was never taken or reduced in value.
They’re supposed to reserve £100 (or the maximum transaction that they allow) and correct that to the right value within a few minutes. I thought they’d all gone over to that since that’s in the mastercard rules, but maybe some haven’t yet. Technically by the time you flex it’s not £100 any more.
I guess it varies enough that Monzo don’t want to be dealing with the complexity.
I’ve had holds that hang around endlessly, also I’ve had a transaction part refunded by a different transaction…
Not sure how Flex could adjust to either of these… I presume it couldn’t, and you’d just end up with the correct total balance but a messy timeline.
1 Like
Yeah exactly. So I think Monzo acknowledges that in some (hopefully rare) instances they’ll be loaning money that the customer hasn’t spent - but the categories (like fuel) are possibly designed to stop that becoming a major issue.
At this stage - pretty much this - It’s as much about the poor user experience that results from massively fluctuating transaction amounts as anything else. Mastercard transactions are so complex and full of edge cases!
3 Likes
omgomgomg!!! I am eligible for both Flex and an overdraft in the same day 
I guess I finally fixed my credit score enough after all those… student nights 
I have been saving up for a projector for the last few months and actually just completed my lil ynab budget today 
Guess I’m gonna try flexing this to see how it all works
14 Likes
When flexing a transaction could the instalment options let you know what your monthly flex bill would be with this added ? That would really help my decision making process !
6 Likes
+1 Quite high on our list of things to do
9 Likes
I just realised that I need to buy driving lessons soon, perhaps I can flex one of those big blocks of lessons 
5 Likes
You’re going flex crazy
That’s a good use, I did mine on Tymit when I was having mine and then split it over 3 payments.
I’ve been looking at similar “bulk buying” of things too after my recent lightbulb idea 
We’ve just bulk purchased 3 months worth of dog food and split it interest free, saving us a small fortune on unit cost. It has now reduced our monthly outgoings.
4 Likes
Woo 
*goes and implements a new credit decision rule: IF name = @bee THEN decline. Although given he already has Flex it might be too late 
4 Likes
@TheoGibson how far up the priority list would you say credit limit increases are? My limit is only £500 which substantially limits the usefulness with me. Would love to Flex an iPhone 13 next month.
Unlikely to be next month i’m afraid 
It’s fairly high on the list though - pretty much number 2 after virtual cards.
7 Likes
Thanks for the response! Good to hear it’s high up the list
Happy with my current limit but, out of interest, would a credit limit increase involve another hard search?
tbc - on overdrafts we don’t perform another one if you increase your limit - but either way - it’ll be clearly signposted in the app if it does/ doesn’t.
3 Likes