Newbie Credit Card help...

graz543

Hello MoneySavers!

I've only just recently discovered the benefits in having a credit card whilst chatting with friends, in particular the x% money back per £ spent.

In view of this i'd like to start using a Credit Card to pay for everything i buy and setup a Direct Debit to pay off the balance every month. The problem is i've never earned a Credit Card before. I'm 23 i earn around 29.5k a year, i've never had any debt problems and have around 55k in savings. However i have no idea what my credit rating is (I do pay per month for contract phone, internet, land line phone)

Is anyone able to recommend a Credit Card that might fit the bill? It all seams rather overwhelming to me.

Thanks in advance!

benf90

There's a guide about cash back cards here:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/cashback-credit-cards

Generally speaking cash back cards are usually harder to get than a regular credit card that doesn't offer as much of an incentive.

You may find it beneficial to apply for a 'regular' credit card and use that to begin with to build up your credit file/history.

Personally I'd say the Egg Money card (Mastercard) is one of the easiest cash back cards to get. Purely for the fact that I was accepted for it when I was around 19 and on a part time student income.

But, I had already had the standard Egg Card (Visa) for around a year, so I'd built up an internal credit rating with them. Plus I'd had another credit card and mobile phone contract all paid in full every month, so I'd built up quite a bit of history on my credit file.

You could apply for one of the cash back cards straight away if you wanted to. Or alternatively a safer route would probably be to try your bank first, the one you have your current account with.

You should be accepted by them because of your salary + savings, and they'll know what's going in and out of your account etc. If so, you can then use that card for 6 months or so before applying for one of the cash back cards.

McKneff

Until i started reading posts on MSE i had no idea about credit referencing etc.

Anyway, i think these cash back cards are great.
I have a Halifax current account with1% cash back and get approx. £110 back every July.

Recently i got an American Express Credit Card, (within 7 days of applying on line) and its a massive 5% cash back for 3 months and then 1.5% after that.
Its great to get free money. I am literally buying everything on this card and paying it off each month.

graz543

So does it do me any harm for example applying for a Capital one cash back card or AmEx card?

Innocent_Guy

graz543 wrote: »

So does it do me any harm for example applying for a Capital one cash back card or AmEx card?

How many credit searchs have you had in the last 3 - 6 months?

graz543

None as far as im aware.

graz543

benf90 wrote: »

You could apply for one of the cash back cards straight away if you wanted to. Or alternatively a safer route would probably be to try your bank first, the one you have your current account with.

Thanks for the reply Benf90

When you say safer route, what would happen if i was to apply for say an AmEx platinum or Capital One platinum and got turned down?

raspabarbas

graz543 wrote: »

When you say safer route, what would happen if i was to apply for say an AmEx platinum or Capital One platinum and got turned down?

I'm in the same situation as you, but I already applied and did get turned down by Amex, so I would like to know how this affects things too!