Don't think that you're going to have your pick of the credit cards out there if you don't have any sort of credit history. You may find that if you have a good history with your bank that they'll offer you a mainstream card (at higher APR, but as mentioned, not important as you'll be paying it off). Otherwise you may have to start with a card from a company that specialises in high risk lending (e.g. Capital One) and work your way up until you can pick and choose the card based on the benefits you want.
Can anyone advise me on Credit Cards?
- Thread starter Nitrojan
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Don't think that you're going to have your pick of the credit cards out there if you don't have any sort of credit history. You may find that if you have a good history with your bank that they'll offer you a mainstream card (at higher APR, but as mentioned, not important as you'll be paying it off). Otherwise you may have to start with a card from a company that specialises in high risk lending (e.g. Capital One) and work your way up until you can pick and choose the card based on the benefits you want.
That equates to 0.25% cashback (unless you convert them to deals in which case it's 0.75%), which is very poor compared to the best cards on the market. The NatWest YourPoints card mentioned earlier is also naff at 0.5%.
Egg Money pays 1% but has a £1/month annual fee, Capital One have a 1% cashback card with a £8/year effective annual fee (but you have to have a flawless credit history to get that), AmEx Platinum has tiered cashback at 0.5%, 1% and a top rate of 1.25% - this works well if you spend a reasonable amount.
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Credit cards can be amazingly useful things to have as long as you don't treat it like it's free money which magically appeared from nowhere. If you're a clown with money then don't get one. If you're not, then do exactly as Fox has described. It's very good advice.
Thanks for the info though the points are always converted into deals and we dont really put that much a month onto the card. So something like the 1% @ £1/month would cancel out a lot of the time. Like wise we cant get the top earners as we just dont have that high a turn over to make them worth it. So 0.75% for £0 still looks like a good deal for me just now. Though some of the ones offering immediate rewards / start up bonuses might be better due to low overall spending.
Use them wisely and there great, manage them online and don't forgot about them, i buy everything with them, it allows me to manage my money better and get free stuff.
I have had at least 1 since i was 18 and have only paid £10 in interest in nearly 7 years and that was my own fault
I currently have
The Amex Platinum Cashback - 5% cashback for the first 3 months then 1.5% after that, not sure what to do with this now though as i am hardly earning anything but in the first 3 months i accrued £150 in cashback, used it to buy my car insurance and got £50 back just for that. Great online banking on this one
LLoyds Airmiles Duo - Earn Airmiles for all purchases, more depending on which card you use, i have 1500 airmiles now and may use them for one of them Supercar driving experiences or some wine. This one is integrated into my lloyds online so is also easy to manage online
Santander Zero - Use it in any currency for free, the rate used is the rate from xe.com which is 90% of the time better than any other rate you can get, it also saves you having to take as much cash with you abroad, me and my sister traveled for 2 months in Dubai, Australia and Dubai and used it all the time, we used internet hotspots to transfer money from our UK current accounts to the credit card account so we retained our credit limit all the time.. great card but the online system isn't great.
I have had at least 1 since i was 18 and have only paid £10 in interest in nearly 7 years and that was my own fault
I currently have
The Amex Platinum Cashback - 5% cashback for the first 3 months then 1.5% after that, not sure what to do with this now though as i am hardly earning anything but in the first 3 months i accrued £150 in cashback, used it to buy my car insurance and got £50 back just for that. Great online banking on this one
LLoyds Airmiles Duo - Earn Airmiles for all purchases, more depending on which card you use, i have 1500 airmiles now and may use them for one of them Supercar driving experiences or some wine. This one is integrated into my lloyds online so is also easy to manage online
Santander Zero - Use it in any currency for free, the rate used is the rate from xe.com which is 90% of the time better than any other rate you can get, it also saves you having to take as much cash with you abroad, me and my sister traveled for 2 months in Dubai, Australia and Dubai and used it all the time, we used internet hotspots to transfer money from our UK current accounts to the credit card account so we retained our credit limit all the time.. great card but the online system isn't great.
[TW]Fox;17993464 said:
I just lie to be fair, i know what i am doing and i am not going to pay any interest, there is a minimum spend using the card to get the cashback but its only £2500 and i have gone over that already!
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Please keep your credit card fraud and dishonesty to yourself. This thread is for useful advice for the OP.
[TW]Fox;17994579 said:
Well i know its bad mate, but really if your informed as you have said, and you don't pay interest and you don't get into trouble with it how is this ever going to be a problem ? i am just earning rewards for a card i would not normally be able to get.
I aint gonna get into an arguement with Fox as hes had a full blown debate with someone over this, but Ill give you my personal experience.
Everything Fox and other people have said about them being a good idea is correct, this is 100% the case IF you are GUARANTEED to be sensible with your finances.
No offence to Fox but judging by his rather argumentative and somewhat condescending nature he probably lead quite a quiet rather unsociable life in comparison to that of many other 18 year olds.
When you are 18-19 and a big part of your life is the whole going out, drinking, buying trendy clothes to impress ladies, buying gadgets to impress your pals etc, A credit card becomes a very risky asset.
At that age my priorities were having fun times with friends, living beyond my means. I regret this and accept full responsibility for this.
Using a credit card was very easy for me to buy that Jacket for the weekend, or them new trainers for a rave...
If you are honestly at no risk of making impulse purchases (I wasnt) then get the credit cards, they are a good idea. But seriously assess what kind of a person you are.
Everything Fox and other people have said about them being a good idea is correct, this is 100% the case IF you are GUARANTEED to be sensible with your finances.
No offence to Fox but judging by his rather argumentative and somewhat condescending nature he probably lead quite a quiet rather unsociable life in comparison to that of many other 18 year olds.
When you are 18-19 and a big part of your life is the whole going out, drinking, buying trendy clothes to impress ladies, buying gadgets to impress your pals etc, A credit card becomes a very risky asset.
At that age my priorities were having fun times with friends, living beyond my means. I regret this and accept full responsibility for this.
Using a credit card was very easy for me to buy that Jacket for the weekend, or them new trainers for a rave...
If you are honestly at no risk of making impulse purchases (I wasnt) then get the credit cards, they are a good idea. But seriously assess what kind of a person you are.
And thats a credit cards fault?
I'm still laughing at your implication that if you are not daft enough to rack up a load of debt spending money you dont have then you are unsociable
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Credit cards are fine. Just set up an automatic direct debit to pay it all off at the end of each month and there's nothing to worry about. In fact you can earn cash back and earn a month's interest.
I have had one since 18...but ive also had a mortgage since i was 19 ><
I put everything on mine, and pay most, if not all off, at the end of every month
Round christmas i will maybe pay half and let it roll on to the next month to help spread things out. If we are going on holiday i also put it on the credit card along with the currency as it is covered, and then me and the girlfriend both pay it off over the next couple of months
I put everything on mine, and pay most, if not all off, at the end of every month
Round christmas i will maybe pay half and let it roll on to the next month to help spread things out. If we are going on holiday i also put it on the credit card along with the currency as it is covered, and then me and the girlfriend both pay it off over the next couple of months
So it's the car companies fault if somebody runs somebody over, as they provided a means to hurt somebody that wouldnt otherwise be available?
[TW]Fox;17994738 said:And thats a credit cards fault?
No, In my post I clearly stated it was my responsibility, or lack of.
Its all very good if you have the self control of a mature person with their head screwed on, but many 18year olds have a different take on life.
If you find yourself broke at the tail end of a month and a whole bunch of friends are like "Come out for *insertname* birthday its gonna be amazing!", it takes more self control to say "No sorry I cant", than "Screw it ill use my Credit card then pay it off"
Silly example but its just to give an idea that owning a credit card can open any weaknesses you may have regarding finances
Maybe so, but considering my usage pattern the chance of this ever been a problem in my circumstances are ummm 0, so you can keep your moral high ground and i will take my £150 for buying things i would have bought anyway and a having a tiny bit of a financial management 
.
.[TW]Fox;17994784 said:
Not black and white, but even in your analogy there is a degree of responsibility with the car company. Hence cars now have pedestrian impact systems to lessen the damage. Similarly the credit card company has a degree of responsibility. The fact that someone is given a £500 limit instead of £10,000 is recognition of the credit card company's responsibility.
No, it's more recognition of the higher risk involved in giving somebody with an unknown credit rating 10k at the age of 18.
[TW]Fox; said:
This is actually a misconception. If you pay off the credit card in full every month, you are actually one of the credit card providers worse customers. They make no money from you so it actually makes no difference what so ever towards your credit rating. Paying off the card with interest improves your credit rating and you become an attraction to other card issuers. (In essence, your credit rating is improving)