I am 28yo and have never had a credit card. Advice please.

OMAR

i'd look at a barclaycard then or tesco 0% 12 month

NonGeographicalMan

CLAPTON wrote: »

A credit rating will be poor if it doesn't show a history of positive responsible credit handling.

The credit details shared by Experian and the like merely consist of how many cards you currently have and/or have applied for in recent years and their credit limits and when they were issued plus details of any bad debt history like not paying cards on time or have county court judgements against you.

Not having a track record with credit cards is not a poor credit rating, it merely amounts to a lack of a positive rating. Also banks and financial institutions do share details of customer current account credit worthiness (especially these days) with each other. Why on earth do you think most application forms for credit ask for your bank account and sort code? Operating a bank account for many years with no adverse debt history on file with any of the credit agencies is a positive sign to any potential card issuer as is holding down a job with a decent salary for some time. There are many people who don't have credit cards not because they are bad risks but simply because they live straightforward lifestyles with no need to borrow or spend wildly.

With an income of the kind matthew has and a reasonable length of employment and perhaps period of residence at the same address (yet another factor taken in to account by the card companies) most card issuers will issue a credit card of some kind. The only issue during the credit crunch will be the credit card limit and I suspect that such a limit will initially be much lower (perhaps only £1,000 of £1500) these days than it would a year or two ago when being given a £5,000 credit limit in no time was virtually the norm. I have a £15,000 limit on a card with MBNA that they repeatedly upped from £10,000 while I was stoozing with them before they bought in a 3% cash advance fee. Yet that credit limit is based on my income in a job I left several years ago. The general view of the card companies is that if you haven't gone completely mad with cards within a year or two of having them then you are unlikely to do in future and hence they are only worried about your income level and employment history when you first take out a card with them. After that they judge it on how you operate the card.

In any case as Matthew has a Visa debit card it should be pointed out that Visa afford the same level of protection to their Visa Debit card holders as they do to their Credit card holders against bankruptcy and insolvency, even though they are not required to by legislation. This is quite unlike Mastercard's Maestro payment card system which is basically like paying by cash and where you have no rights if anything goes wrong.

One tip to Matthew if travelling overseas is that Nationwide's Visa credit card which in Europe does not have the 2.65% foreign exchange rate levy charged by other banks and in the USA only charges a 1% fee instead of 2.65% Also Nationwide's blue Visa debit card again charges no foreign exchange rate levy or card use fee on cash withdrawals at cash machines in Europe and again only 1% foreign exchange rate levy in the USA and the rest of the world. But make sure always to refuse any offer while you are overseas to pay in sterling instead of the local currency as you would then lose out on the Nationwide card's foreign exchange rate levy fee free advantage. In Spain it is increasingly a trick played on the tourists by the local banks to try and persuade them that it is more convenient to withdraw cash and pay restaurant bills as a known sterling amount.

Oh and finally given Matthew's usual use of cards to just spend and not borrow he would clearly be best off with a cashback card for UK use like Egg Money. This pays a 1% cashback although does have a £1 per month fee. Or Argos's credit card that pays 1% cashback as Argos vouchers to spend in any store on everything you buy with the card. Alternatively there is the Amex Platinum card but Matthew is unlikely to get one of those with his current lack of a credit card history. The cashback card should be replaced with the Nationwide Visa card when travelling in Europe as the 2.5% foreign exchange rate levy is greater.

NonGeographicalMan

More information on the very substantially better protection available to Visa Debit card holders on disputed transactions through the chargebacks scheme compared to almost no rights at all on the Mastercard group's Maestro debit card can be found in this thread at:-

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=24404823

CannyJock

NonGeographicalMan wrote: »

Not having a track record with credit cards is not a poor credit rating, it merely amounts to a lack of a positive rating.

In the current credit market a lack of history amounts to the same thing - rejection for the applicant. While there's nothing adverse to reduce your score, there's nothing positive to increase your score so you still have a low score.

NonGeographicalMan wrote: »

Why on earth do you think most application forms for credit ask for your bank account and sort code?

As part of the overall stability scoring, along with employment, time at address, being on electoral register.

NonGeographicalMan wrote: »

There are many people who don't have credit cards not because they are bad risks but simply because they live straightforward lifestyles with no need to borrow or spend wildly.

Yup, they're on this forum every day asking for advice why despite the fact they have very high income levels, they're being refused credit cards and are frustrated over the catch 22 situation they're stuck in. At the end of the day, the only advice we can give them is to go sub-prime or go to their bank who can use additional behaviour scoring to consider them where the general credit market will refuse them.

NonGeographicalMan wrote: »

The only issue during the credit crunch will be the credit card limit and I suspect that such a limit will initially be much lower (perhaps only £1,000 of £1500) these days than it would a year or two ago when being given a £5,000 credit limit in no time was virtually the norm.

Nope, people getting refused every day. One of the many recent threads on this has a link to some recent press articles on the topic.

NonGeographicalMan wrote: »

I have a £15,000 limit on a card with MBNA that they repeatedly upped from £10,000 while I was stoozing with them before they bought in a 3% cash advance fee. Yet that credit limit is based on my income in a job I left several years ago.

And like any good stoozer you'll have an impeccable payment history of hopefully a number of high limit cards.

NonGeographicalMan wrote: »

Alternatively there is the Amex Platinum card but Matthew is unlikely to get one of those with his current lack of a credit card history.

Without getting into semantics, that does sound like you're agreeing that his lack of history will mean he's got a low credit score?

I'd agree with Clapton on this one that Barclays obviously see him as a good risk so an in-branch application for a Barclaycard would be my first step if I was in his shoes.

mark55man

If you bank with Barclays, I think one of their accounts Additions or Additions plus comes with both travel insurance and the same insurance cover for debit card transactions as credit card.

now I don't know the extent of the cover - or whether its Barclays b***ks, but its about £15 a month and I am pretty sure you could cancel it after a month

if you get a credit card, I am pretty sure quidco gives you some cash for some of them, Could you get one and use it, then pay it off then cut it up

Good luck, but whilst it is clear you are more than able to manage your cash I would avoid the credit card if you can

NonGeographicalMan

In the current environment many card issuers are turning down anyone who does not have a proven credit card track record but there is bound to always be the exception to the rule and whilst Matthew may not have the proven credit card use record some firms want he does not have any adverse borrowing record and so I am sure there will be some card issuers who will give him a chance.

Two years ago he would probably have got a credit card from 9 out of 10 issuers but currently perhaps it may be only 1 or 2 out of 10. So all he needs to do is make a large number of card applications and I am sure that one or two of the credit card firms will issue him with a card. Don't forget that some of the card issuers charge much higher interest rates because they have factored that in to their calculation that most of their customers are a less good credit risk.

brightonman123

Matthew25_uk wrote: »

Hello Everyone,

I am 28yo now and have never had a credit card, but now i want one, thing is i dont know who is offering the best deal / which is the best credit card to get?

:beer:

seriously, don't do it- you've lasted this far without one!

simongregson

I would recommend applying to Barclays, they will probably give you a card given your good standing with your current accounts. Most current accounts do report on your credit report these days.

Assuming you get that, wait about a month and apply for a post office or abbey zero card. If you get this, it will save you money on your spends in the USA. If not, one extra credit search won't make a great deal of difference to your credit report, and it will drop off after a few months.

Don't apply for loads of cards, too many searches makes your report look bad. Make sure you are on the electoral register before applying.

NonGeographicalMan

This article seems to cover every possible angle of what does and does not affect your credit score when applying for credit cards, mortgages and other forms of credit.

See https://www.moneywise.co.uk/property-ladder/mortgages/article/2009/07/03/the-dangers-applying-credit

thriftymomma

Try with Barclays and see what they say. Best of luck with your application.