Natwest gave me a credit card...

Neato

I'm a student. I was going to cut it in half and just bin it.
I was wondering, would it improve my credit rating if I bought say one thing on it per month and then just paid it off straight away? Not necessarily a big thing. ATM I have a car parking fine which is £25, if I paid that with it and then just transfered the money from my bank to the card. If I did this every month with small purchases....would it improve my credit rating? Or is it not worth it?

Thanks,
Neato

PS I have no credit history at all.

cifpower

Yes it would improve your credit rating, Set up a direct debit to pay the full amount each month so you never forget.

PNPSUKNET

It would improve and help you, but may lead to danger.

Neato

PNPSUKNET wrote: »

It would improve and help you, but may lead to danger.

Lead to danger?
I'm not going to pretend I'm good with money - I'm not, but I have a 0% overdraft and can't really see myself willing to spend money on the card when I have 0% on the overdraft and theres more 'money' available in it.

Is that what you mean? A danger of relying on it?

LeeSouthEast

Credit is addictive, I think was the meaning. If you set out with good intentions and stick to them, it will only help

PNPSUKNET

What I meant by it was, people take one card spend small amounts which mount up, then apply for another and get them selves in pickles. If you can trust yourself that you will pay in full then go for it.

mrcow

Natwest didn't "give" you a credit card. It's not some sort of mystery gift.

You applied for it, filled in the forms and signed the credit agreement.

If you have no use for it, why did you apply for it in the first place?

never-in-doubt

cifpower wrote: »

Yes it would improve your credit rating, Set up a direct debit to pay the full amount each month so you never forget.

Mate we're talking student here! Paying the minimum would satisfy the T&C's - a student may not have the money to pay the full amount off each month thus resulting in o/d bank, charges or double whammy by defaulting on both!

Personally, pay the minimum off each month and then pay extra if you need to. Natwest restrict student (new) cards to a £500 limit anyway but still, £500 a month coming out the bank won't be great!

Leaving a slight balance on your card will actually improve your score with the bank, internal score, and will also show other lenders from your credit file that you are good with money. Paying in full in each month could lead to problems in later life as this could appear as a dormant account if each month it shows a £0 balance...... :beer:

nick74

never-in-doubt wrote: »

Paying in full in each month could lead to problems in later life as this could appear as a dormant account if each month it shows a £0 balance...... :beer:

Highly unlikely, I've never known a lender show an account as dormant simply because the full balance is cleared every month.

I have 5 cards I've cleared in full by DD every month for a number of years and Experian recently gave me a credit score of 999 out of 999.

never-in-doubt

nick74 wrote: »

Highly unlikely, I've never known a lender show an account as dormant simply because the full balance is cleared every month.

I have 5 cards I've cleared in full by DD every month for a number of years and Experian recently gave me a credit score of 999 out of 999.

Ok, so the lender you use may not report like this but the majority do! What I mean is each month on the Credit file it will show balance £0 - prev balance £0 etc etc which gives the impression of dormancy to prospective lenders. Having a balance is proven to be a bigger sales pitch when considering credit, the lenders know you're good for it. Paying in full each month won't do you any favours really, apart from save you some interest.

Forget the experian score, i've just changed it so now you're only 768 but you know what? My guess is probably more accurate than theirs! lol - they mean nothing in the real world...... trust me :rolleyes:

mab2000

Yes it would improve your credit rating, but as others have said, credit is very addictive. I got my first credit card last year just for emergencies after firstly refusing to get any sort of credit. One year on, i have 3 credit cards all with balances on them and now have a catalogue account. The only saving grace is that i refuse to (so consequently have not) pay a penny of interest, so i pay 1 off in full every month, 1 is due to be paid off in full next month before the 0% on purchases runs out and another one the same but the month after. Had i not had a credit card, i would have simply saved the money rather than spend.

I do doubt however natwest just gave you the card, you must have applied for it because i am with natwest but when i got my first card, i was pre approved for a card but i had to actually apply for it to get it.