Best Credit Card?

rob2005

I know this is a difficult question but here goes...........

Whats the best credit card for me?

Currently i have Standard Natwest one and am due to get an Asda one (purely for the 2p per litre it save on petrol!)

Could i be doing better though, my credit profile so to speak is as follows:

• Infrequent use couple of times a month (usually at the end just before payday!)
• ALWAYS paid off in full at the end of month
• Do drive - if that makes a difference

Ive looked at the various articles but am still not sure if im doing the best for myself

If you need more info plz ask

rob2005

anyone please?

dhassen

What do you want it for? If you pay back the full balance on time and in full every month, the APR doesn't matter, so maybe saving your 2p is the best bet. Depending on how much you spend on your card you might want a cashback card?

epsilondraconis

I thought about the Asda credit card but instead opted for both the HSBC and Halifax 0% on purchases (both with at least 12 months at 0% on purchases). The reason for this was that although saving 2p per litre sounds good, as the cost of fuel increases, the 2p saving as a percentage of the cost of fuel, is less.

What I'm doing at the moment is making all of my normal purchases on the credit card and paying back the minimum each month. The money that I would have used to pay off the card at the end of each month goes into a high-interest savings account. At the end of the 0% purchases offer, I transfer the money out of the savings account to pay off the credit card in full (or use a balance transfer to move it to another card).

This way I am making 6.5% interest (less tax) on the savings, which is approximately 5.2%, instead of making less than 2% saving from the 2p per litre on fuel card.

You need to ensure that you always pay the minimum amount each month to ensure you don't lose the 0% on purchases and that you never dip into your stoozed money that is in th esavings account because otherwise you are asking to get into debt.

Good luck.

dhassen

That's a good idea epsilon........ you have to be pretty careful / good with it though eh!

esuhl

My credit card use is a bit like r!!!005 - don't spend much, but pay it off every month.

The two cards I have are from the Post Office (easy to pay over the counter, and no transaction charges when used abroad), and American Express (where I get a small percentage of my spending as cashback once a year, although hardly anywhere accepts AmEx!).

I haven't looked at what's available recently, so maybe there are better deals around...

epsilondraconis

dhassen wrote: »

That's a good idea epsilon........ you have to be pretty careful / good with it though eh!

Only after reading this site did I learn the ways of stoozing. This isn't something that I've thought up - I wish I had.

For more info see:

www.stoozing.com

The stoozing site is sponsored and supported by Martin.

If anyone does go down the stoozing route, you have to first ensure that you will be disciplined with your money. There are many ways to stooze and so its worth reading (and re-reading) the site to ensure you fully understand the implications of stoozing and are aware of the pit-falls.

Before I started stoozing, I used to make payments to my credit card every few days to ensure it was always paid off (I never used to wait for the statement to come through). Now I have one direct debit set up that makes the minimum payment (N.B. you need to be very vigilent to ensure the direct debit is set-up otherwise you will lose your 0% on purchases). What I'm effectively saying is that the stoozing route is less hassle for me anyway.

I guess stoozing isn't for everyone and so sometimes its just better to get a reasonable cashback card and set up a direct debit to pay off the whole debt at the end of each month.

dhassen

no i didn't assume you invented it epsin! Thanks for the link but I'm already aware of the site, I like it for the tables etc, very useful.
I'd just not thought of the stoozing route for a purchases card, can't see why not though!

My plan is to go from being a DFW (see sig) to debt free then to a king stoozer then a MFW.... (havn't got one yet though)

epsilondraconis

dhassen wrote: »

no i didn't assume you invented it epsin! Thanks for the link but I'm already aware of the site, I like it for the tables etc, very useful.
I'd just not thought of the stoozing route for a purchases card, can't see why not though!

My plan is to go from being a DFW (see sig) to debt free then to a king stoozer then a MFW.... (havn't got one yet though)

Sounds like a good plan. I hope it all works out for you.

I just wish I discovered the MSE site and the stoozing site long ago. Hopefully as a result of the various cashback sites (Quidco / TopCashBack et al), cashback credit cards and stoozing, I should make £800 over the last 12 months. Hopefully next year it will be more. There are people on this site that have stoozed via credit cards for years and now paid off their mortgages a lot earlier by effectivley offsetting their mortgage with their stooze pot. The thing is that credit was easier to obtain a number of years ago (as we all know) and so stoozing was more profitable then.

Anyway, this thread isn't specifically a stoozing thread, and I'll stop rambling now and do some work.

dhassen

epsilondraconis wrote: »

Anyway, this thread isn't specifically a stoozing thread, and I'll stop rambling now and do some work.

lol same here....

NickX

epsilondraconis wrote: »

I guess stoozing isn't for everyone and so sometimes its just better to get a reasonable cashback card and set up a direct debit to pay off the whole debt at the end of each month.

Or do both :beer:

I have a long term stooze pot on the go, and use a cashback card for everyday purchases, although if I get a stooze card with a 0% purchases deal then I have to weigh up which is better, the stooze card or the cashback card.

The stoozing site is excellent, and I believe the term "stoozing" originated from one of the sites owners whose internet name is "stooz".