First Credit Card

irishgirl82

Hi all i was hoping ud give me some advice.
My other half is thinking about getting a credit card just to help out with xmas spends etc. Problem is he doesnt have any credit history whatsoever. He has never had a credit card. He works for himself and deals mostly in cash. He has recently moved home and is now in process of getting himself on electoral register tho it may take up to 6 weeks. What is his best bet of getting started?
Thank you all in advance

cifpower

Does he have a current account? I would advise going to his bank first and asking them as they would have a financial history of him. If that fails I would start off with a subprime card like Vanquis, Capital One or BArclaycard Initial. These have high APRs so it is advisable to try and clear the balance each month.

irishgirl82

Thanks for your advice, most appreciated. However he only has a basic account with First Trust in Northern Ireland as he rarely uses bank accounts except for direct debit of car insurance as he uses cash for almost everything. Silly i know but its way he has always been. Would he have chance of getting one of the 3 cards you mentioned? If he got these and used them for 6 months he may have better luck down the line getting others

CLAPTON

By helping out with the xmas spends I assume you mean he wants to borrow money and pay it back (with interest) later.
Basically a bad idea.
Much better to save up and only spend what you have.
Credit cards can very useful but not if you have to pay lots of interest.

If he has never had a CC, he will probably only get one with very high interest rates (over 30%) and low credit limit.

In any event he needs to wait until he is on the electoral roll.

His best bets are firstly his bank who will know he mnanages his a/c well. If they wont give one then vanquis, cap 1, barclays initial ... they all charge shocking interest rates but if he sets up a DD to pay in full each month then he will never have to pay any interest.

cifpower

irishgirl82 wrote: »

Thanks for your advice, most appreciated. However he only has a basic account with First Trust in Northern Ireland as he rarely uses bank accounts except for direct debit of car insurance as he uses cash for almost everything. Silly i know but its way he has always been. Would he have chance of getting one of the 3 cards you mentioned? If he got these and used them for 6 months he may have better luck down the line getting others

There is no harm in applying with First Trust. Apply online or go into his branch.