Which credit card best for newbie?

movilogo

I like to apply for a credit card for my wife. She never had a credit card before. She has a debit card though for 3.5 years.

She tried applying for some credit cards online, but in all cases her application was refused

Can you suggest a good credit card for her? (she will always pay due in full so APR is not important).

grumbler

It is usually advised to start with the bank you have a current account with. However, if she made a lot of applications recently, it is better to wait for 4-6 months, as many credit searches on the credit file during a short period of time negatively affect credit rating for few months. See Credit Rating link in the blue box above.

movilogo

Unfortunately, her own bank also declined!

Dazza.mk_2

First thing I would do would be to check her credit reference file in case there is anything causing these 'rejections'. Then if there is nothing visible possibly the only problem is a lack of credit history.

Capital Ones Classic card is promoted as "for applicants who want to strengthen their credit history" - the APR is 29.9% so should only be considered if you are 100% sure you'll pay it off each month. I haven't looked at the small print so don't know if there are any issues with it.

Bokken_2

Sometimes the automated credit checking comes back as a rejection if there is a "notice of correction" on her file so as suggested have a look at her and your credit file this is free for 30 day with Experian.
Make sure you cancel before the 30th day otherwise you'll end up paying for a whole years membership.

kathy46

how do you cancel, cant seem to find anywhere on their site to do it once i have signed in

Anwen_2

In the T&C there is an 0800 number to call, you can't do it any other way. Some people have been lucky with email cancellations, however I was told (after waiting a couple of weeks for a response) that I needed to call up. This was too late for me to cancel in time not to be charged, however I was refunded when I cancelled.