First Credit Card - help required

gt94sss2

slocbeats wrote: »

Financially i'm not in too bad a position. I'm 27, solvent (though do use my overdraft each month), never had a bank loan, have had a number of direct debits in my name, and don't spend what I can't afford. I bank online and keeps tabs on what goes out of my account each month.

I am however completely stumped on what card would suit me best. Should I apply for Amex and reap the rewards of their cashback offers? Do I play safe with a low interest card, something nice and stable that won't screw me over should I miss a payment? Or do I go for something inbetween? Is there a card for people like me - first timers with no proven credit rating (as far as plastic goes anyway)?

What you should do for your first credit card is apply for one with the bank who holds your current account.. and set up a direct debit to pay it off in full every month.

Regards
Sunil

Edinburghlass_2

As Sunil says, go to your own bank first, avoid Amex as a first card as they are not always taken everywhere so no point in thinking about getting cashback if you can't use it where you want to.

and check out all of Martin's articles..http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/

Joe_Bloggs

If you are having to dip into your overdraft each month then you are probably spending more than you earn. At best you have very little margin as to when your salary comes in and your bills have to go out. I would consider demonstrating the ability to save money each month before grasping at the means to further increase spending that could incur more interest than an overdraft.

I am not anti-credit card, I have stoozed and I use purchase rebate cards. The money I spend on credit cards is backed by savings deposits. There is a tremendous discipline required when using credit cards as they like an instant loan approval to any stupid costly whim that you can conceive. The interest rate can be extortionate or even as low as nothing for the short term.

Once you have spent money on the credit card then you have to cut down on your spending to save money to afford the repayments and the interest. So why not build up savings to prove that you can afford to do at least this ?
J_B.

slocbeats

gt94sss2 wrote: »

What you should do is apply for one with the bank who holds your current account

So this is what I ended up doing.

Really quick to set up and i've a much better deal that what Aqua and Capital One offered me, which I suppose is fairly unsurprising.

Joe - I tend to save every month but dip into my overdraft as opposed to moving money backwards and forwards between currect account + ISA. Obviously what i'm putting in however is too much.

Thanks for your input everyone.

minimike2

Good job. Annoys me when people immediately point people towards sub prime cards just because they have never had a card. There is just no need