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lutopia
Posts: 3 Newbie
in Credit cards
Hello!
First post so please be kind! I have searched and read a few threads, just wanted to bounce this idea off someone before making a decision.
I have a few expensive purchases to make ( approx 4-5K) in the next 2 months , as well as a long haul flight in later in the year. I have the money in savings to pay for the purchases up front. But i thought of doing the following:
1) Get an AMEX Gold Rewards Card.
It's free for the first year, $140 after that per annum but I will cancel before that. 20 K Membership points if 2K spent in the first 3 months which I will do. 1 membership point = 1 avios point) . This is a charge card, so the whole balance needs to be paid off every month otherwise charges are incurred. My plan was to spend the 2 k, pay it off in full, and transfer the points across before I need to book my flights.
I'm not sure if there are any rules on how quickly points can be transferred/ used etc but will try calling.
The second card is a Lloyds Bank Choice Rewards Credit Card Account. 0% on purchases for 24 months of account opening + 0% on balance transfers made in the first 90 days for 24 months from account opening. ( minimum transfer $100 and 3% balance transfer fee applies.)
Does this mean, eg on the 100 days of opening the account, if I tried to transfer balances I am charged 3% transfer fee, and the money is charged interest ( the same rate as purchases are charged at after 24 months?) ( it says 23.7 % APR , 18.94% purchase rate)
My plan was to make the rest of the purchases on the lloyds card and leisurely pay it off over the interest free period. so hopefully the balance transfer doesn't affect me anyway. The idea is to get loads of points to use for my flight booking later in the year.
Any major red flags to what I've written so far please? Thank you again for your time.
First post so please be kind! I have searched and read a few threads, just wanted to bounce this idea off someone before making a decision.
I have a few expensive purchases to make ( approx 4-5K) in the next 2 months , as well as a long haul flight in later in the year. I have the money in savings to pay for the purchases up front. But i thought of doing the following:
1) Get an AMEX Gold Rewards Card.
It's free for the first year, $140 after that per annum but I will cancel before that. 20 K Membership points if 2K spent in the first 3 months which I will do. 1 membership point = 1 avios point) . This is a charge card, so the whole balance needs to be paid off every month otherwise charges are incurred. My plan was to spend the 2 k, pay it off in full, and transfer the points across before I need to book my flights.
I'm not sure if there are any rules on how quickly points can be transferred/ used etc but will try calling.
The second card is a Lloyds Bank Choice Rewards Credit Card Account. 0% on purchases for 24 months of account opening + 0% on balance transfers made in the first 90 days for 24 months from account opening. ( minimum transfer $100 and 3% balance transfer fee applies.)
Does this mean, eg on the 100 days of opening the account, if I tried to transfer balances I am charged 3% transfer fee, and the money is charged interest ( the same rate as purchases are charged at after 24 months?) ( it says 23.7 % APR , 18.94% purchase rate)
My plan was to make the rest of the purchases on the lloyds card and leisurely pay it off over the interest free period. so hopefully the balance transfer doesn't affect me anyway. The idea is to get loads of points to use for my flight booking later in the year.
Any major red flags to what I've written so far please? Thank you again for your time.
0
Comments
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Sorry, last question, just so I know what I'm getting into :
I understand I am charged the $12 if I don't pay the full balance within 30 days of my statement date ( guessing that's the end of the month), then another $12 within 60 days of my statement date, but what happens after that? I'd obviously loose points / card might be terminated, but is there really no interest?0 -
Does your keyboard lack a £ symbol?
To address your last question first, and assuming you are referring to the Amex charge card, don't even think about not paying the full balance on time. Your right to use the card will be revoked, the account will be defaulted, all membership rewards points lost and the account passed to collectors. There is no interest because the card must be paid in full without fail, the same as there is no interest on a credit card which is paid in full each month,
Checking the summary box for this card it would appear that you are correct. The late payment fee appears to be only £12. It used to be something like 4%. But whatever it is, don't imagine for one moment you can spend on this card and leave a balance outstanding by paying a fee of £12 per-month.
If you want avios, why are you looking at the Lloyds Bank choice rewards card and not the avios card?
You are correct that purchases will be interest free for 24 months on both the Lloyds Choice Rewards and Lloyds avios cards.
With regards to the balance transfers, it means you will have a 0% 24 month balance transfer offer for 90 days from the date of account opening. What balance transfer offer (if any) will be available after the 90 day period cannot be predicted but initially will certainly be nothing like 24 months at 0%.0 -
transfer the points across before I need to book my flights.
do you already have a load of Avios? 20,000 will not get far for long haul flights and if you are booking economy you may well find the cash ticket is a better deal than Avios + taxes and fees
If you have a stash already and are looking to book business class etc, depending on the route, you may have to be prepared to book 11 months in advance of flight to get availability when the seats are first released0 -
Hello,
Thank you for your replies! I unfortunately bought my laptop abroad so don't have the pound symbol on it.
Thank you for your thoughts. I am going for the choice rewards because the card is cheaper per year for me ( $12 per year as I have a club lloyds account). When I did the maths, for my average spend; the ( roughly) additional 0.25 Avios points per pound spent on Amex cards wasn't worth the additional $12 per year I'd pay with the Lloyds Avios card ( $24 per year)
I do not have any avios points at the moment. I just thought that if I have to make these big purchases anyway it would be nice to get some reward/something in return. You're probably right in that I can't buy my tickets with my points, but may be able to treat myself to something with the choice points hopefully!
Thank you for your time.0
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