Credit card application questions

TomC_3

Hello everyone. I am thinking of applying for a cashback credit card, but I'm a bit new to this and a bit scared..

As a student I had (and still have) a student Barclaycard for 2 years which I used moderately and always paid off on time. Besides that, I have little credit history. I'm currently doing two fairly low-paid part time jobs that together make up full time employment, and I'm renting a house. I do have about 8k in savings, however.

My questions are?
1. Should I bother? Do I stand a chance of getting a cashback credit card?
2. Should I cancel the Barclaycard first, or should I hang on to it in case I am declined the card I want?
3. One of my savings accounts is an Abbey E-saver. I notice their cashback card is mentioned as quite a good one (though not the best) for low spending levels on this site. Would I be more likely to get that one, or should I go with the Morgan Stanley one? (which Martin recommends as the best one for low spending levels)

Many thanks for any advice anyone can give!

grumbler

TomC wrote:

1. Should I bother? Do I stand a chance of getting a cashback credit card?

You can try. From my experience your credit history with Barclays should be reported to both Experian and Equifax. However, many other factors are involved besides your credit history and income: [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Your Credit Rating[/font]

2. Should I cancel the Barclaycard first, or should I hang on to it in case I am declined the card I want?

No. Only if the limit is high enough to be comparable with your annual income it is worth asking to reduce this limit before application and waiting for this change to be reported to CRAs.

3. One of my savings accounts is an Abbey E-saver. I notice their cashback card is mentioned as quite a good one (though not the best) for low spending levels on this site. Would I be more likely to get that one, or should I go with the Morgan Stanley one?

I think you have more chances with Abbey, but I'd try Morgan Stanley first...

King_Of_Fools

grumbler wrote:

I think you have more chances with Abbey, but I'd try Morgan Stanley first...

The Abbey card is run by MBNA (so Abbey may not have a lot to do with it) and MBNA have been refusing a lot of applications on this board lately.

asandwhen

Try the Egg money card - egg are normally quite easy to obtain. 1% cashback normally but 2% untill mid december.

TomC_3

Many thanks - just applied for the Egg one and got accepted, admittedly at a very high interest rate but I'm going to pay it off on time so that won't matter.

Thanks again everyone.