Hedgecutter Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 eta Do not give it to your wife. If she knows about the card in the first place then you're doing it wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Thompson Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Cheers for all the input. I done a few applications last night and was shocked at the amount of credit I was offered considering i've never had a credit card, or any real credit facility before. I'm torn between the Halifax Clarity - which has also been recommended by a couple of people in work and a BoS card which is offering 0% interest for 13 months but a fixed 2.75% charge for using abroad. Going to have to do a little more research but i'd be aiming to pay off the balance in full when the statement comes through so I dont really think i need to worry too much about the 0% interest rate. Dont do lots of applications all at the same time, or too close to each other. Doesnt look good on your credit history. A few is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigOutYourSoul Posted August 20, 2014 Author Share Posted August 20, 2014 Dont do lots of applications all at the same time, or too close to each other. Doesnt look good on your credit history. A few is fine. Cheers for the heads up, just done a couple to check the differences in rates, credit limit etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jock001 Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Perhaps not, but you have to at least ask questions of people who are prepared to pay £1+ per transaction abroad. Who said I was? You are aware that only some cards charge those fees, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Who said I was? You are aware that only some cards charge those fees, right? The vast majority of banks (not cards, it's the banks) charge some kind of foreign transaction fee, whether it's a loading fee, purchase fee, withdrawal fee or some combination of all three. I'm going to take a wild guess you don't have an N&P Gold account...so at some point, you'll have been stung for using your debit card abroad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 I don't get charged for using my debit card abroad and I get the bank rate exchange rate. I don't have a credit card and probably never will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supras Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Norwich and Peterborough debit card allows free withdrawals abroad and charges the Visa exchange rate. A much more economical option than travel money. The only caveat being that you need to deposit £500 a month, but easily achievable if you have a job. You can even put it in one day and out the next. As for credit cards, I've never had one and don't want one - if I want something I'll wait till I can afford it - but in order to get a serviceable credit rating you need to get one, use it, and pay the money back on time. Seems a bit of a scam to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbykdy Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 As for credit cards, I've never had one and don't want one - if I want something I'll wait till I can afford it - but in order to get a serviceable credit rating you need to get one, use it, and pay the money back on time. Seems a bit of a scam to be honest.. Thats the way to do it though, if you like to buy stuff cash once you have saved the money up then use the credit card for the purchase and just use the cash to clear it off. You then give yer credit history a good boost and also get the consumer protection from the credit card should any item be faulty or fail to materialise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 As for credit cards, I've never had one and don't want one - if I want something I'll wait till I can afford it - but in order to get a serviceable credit rating you need to get one, use it, and pay the money back on time. Seems a bit of a scam to be honest. But if you do that and build a credit rating, you can get 0% offers that let you basically do the opposite of saving - you can get what you want now then instead of putting the money away you use it to pay the minimum payments (which is what's required to maintain the offer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 I absolutely hate the idea of having 'bought' something but having not yet paid for it. It just seems like an unnecessary burden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 I absolutely hate the idea of having 'bought' something but having not yet paid for it. It just seems like an unnecessary burden It's not much different to putting money away each month to save for something. OK, you can't miss a payment on a credit card but even then you could use the card to pay whatever it is that would stop you from making the payment and it all balances out in the end. The other advantage is that even if you can afford something now, you can simply stick the money in a savings account and have it earning interest. I've got a 0% card with a debt of over £1k on it and I don't really expect to pay it off any time soon - I'll just keep transferring the balance. But I could pay it off if I wanted to, while sacrificing savings interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 It obviously depends on each person's individual financial situation but I just feel a bit uneasy about the whole 'credit culture'. Having debt (I'm not counting mortgages or maybe even payments on a car) is increasingly seen as normal. It's obviously possible to manage it properly but it just doesn't sit too well with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paco Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 With online banking I generally settle any credit card use virtually immediately. I would never in a million years buy something I don't have the money for, and as far as I can remember the only time I've physically used my credit card was when I went to the Hungarian Grand Prix and there was a balls up with our tickets. Any other time it's been online where it's generally a better idea to use one than a debit card. Easy credit history, a wee bit safer and for next to no inconvenience. The thought of using a credit card like free money and letting it build up absolutely terrifies me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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