Does the 'brand' of the credit card matter

2

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  • Hoogle
    Hoogle Posts: 214 Forumite
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    To be fair their are hundreds of credit cards even banks but they are pretty much all owned by only a handful of major banks. so a lot of information is shared internally that may not be available on credit reports. Like many of said it is money management that really counts not making yourself look like a risky borrower. SLow and steady for building credit score.
  • Fingerbobs
    Fingerbobs Posts: 1,640 Forumite
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    guesswho2000 wrote: »
    Not necessarily, as Bigadaj says, many people use these for cash advances abroad in particular (it's the best way to obtain cash abroad, in fact), and if the entire balance is being cleared each month then it's unlikely to be an issue.

    If, on the other hand, cash advances are being regularly taken, with only minimum payments being made, it could appear as though cash is being withdrawn from the card to make the minimum payment - a big red flag and sign of financial distress.
    Not my experience. One isolated £3000 cash advance on my Halifax Clarity card, which was repaid the same day and accrued no interest, has caused me trouble with subsequent applications for credit.
  • moatmeister
    moatmeister Posts: 322 Forumite
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    Surely a credit card cash advance out of the hole in the wall is better than missing a payment??
  • StopIt
    StopIt Posts: 1,470 Forumite
    moatmeister wrote: »
    Surely a credit card cash advance out of the hole in the wall is better than missing a payment??


    No, because the providers aren't stupid. They'll know you're paying them with their own money and it'll be recorded in your credit file as such.


    Otherwise everyone would just pay the minimum with their credit card withdrawals, which would be incredibly damaging.

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  • moatmeister
    moatmeister Posts: 322 Forumite
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    I didnt specifically mean credit cards payments. I meant anything, mortgages gas bill etc etc.

    I accept its not best practice but surely getting a credit card advance to cover outgoing payments if your up against the wall has got to be better than missing them or paying them late in the overall scheme of things? Is that not just common sense? Your not doing anything wrong, just incurring higher charges
  • Don80
    Don80 Posts: 300 Forumite
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    moatmeister wrote: »
    I didnt specifically mean credit cards payments. I meant anything, mortgages gas bill etc etc.

    I accept its not best practice but surely getting a credit card advance to cover outgoing payments if your up against the wall has got to be better than missing them or paying them late in the overall scheme of things? Is that not just common sense? Your not doing anything wrong, just incurring higher charges

    No, remember they're looking at how you you manage your money. If you need to take credit to pay credit (or bills) then they look on that negatively. It's not "wrong", it's just bad financial management, which is what they are interested in.
  • Anthorn
    Anthorn Posts: 4,362 Forumite
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    Fingerbobs wrote: »
    Not my experience. One isolated £3000 cash advance on my Halifax Clarity card, which was repaid the same day and accrued no interest, has caused me trouble with subsequent applications for credit.

    Unlikely: What it comes down to is your financial profile which I mentioned in an earlier post in this thread. If you take a cash advance regularly then you are building a financial profile which says you take regular cash advances and that spells financial difficulty. But one or two isolated cash advances are not sufficient to build that.

    If isolated cash advances affect a credit history then not many people would be using Clarity but there are plenty of posts on MSE singing its praises.
  • moatmeister
    moatmeister Posts: 322 Forumite
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    Thats the way I would look at it. Ok its the least worst option but proactively managing the situation as a "one off" to keep your credit file up to date using the tools at your disposal given to you by the bank rather than burying your head in the sand and hoping that the direct debit looming on the horizon will miraculously get overlooked or paid by a supernatural force has just got to be the best way forward.
  • moatmeister
    moatmeister Posts: 322 Forumite
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    Good move!!
  • Fingerbobs
    Fingerbobs Posts: 1,640 Forumite
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    Anthorn wrote: »
    Unlikely: What it comes down to is your financial profile which I mentioned in an earlier post in this thread. If you take a cash advance regularly then you are building a financial profile which says you take regular cash advances and that spells financial difficulty. But one or two isolated cash advances are not sufficient to build that.

    If isolated cash advances affect a credit history then not many people would be using Clarity but there are plenty of posts on MSE singing its praises.

    Well I can't say for sure. All I can say is that it was quite a shock not to be offered the card I applied for, and only get offered a lesser deal, and it's only happened to me since the cash advance.

    My Stoozing activities probably mean I have a higher than typical number of searches on my file, but this has never been a problem before. I'm sure it can only be attributable to the cash advance.
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