New to Credit Cards - Some Advice Please

daveleeuk

Hello everyone, I hope this is an appropriate post....

I am considering getting a credit card to make a large purchase as I cannot afford to buy the item out right.

The other options would be to pay more for it on a finance deal (not ideal for obvious reasons), or compomise on what I'm buying (again not ideal).

It will probably come to between £1500-£1800. I only have about £1000-£1200 available...

I've never had a credit card and always frowned at them because it's basically spending money you don't have (seems dumb). Would I be right in thinking I could make the purchase instantly pay off everything i can afford, then gradually paying the rest off over the 0% honeymoon period? Is that do-able? Would it also be correct to say so long as I stick to that plan, there would be no extra charges?

Sorry if this is a stupid question but I'm finding it hard to figure this out from bank's sales pitches etc thought it'd be better to ask people that aren't trying to force products down my throat :beer:

EDIT: This is all presuming they'll actually give me a credit card lol

scottishblondie

You seem to have the right idea - buy item on credit card, pay off lump sum, then pay rest off gradually at 0%? In that scenario you wouldn't pay any additional charges. The only hitch would be that as you don't have any existing cards, you probably don't have much of a credit history so it's less likely that you'll get a 0% purchases card. With a normal card you would have interest charges on the remaining balance whilst you paid it off.

daveleeuk

cool, cheers

i only just thought of this but will being self employed be a problem?

onlypaddy

have you had any credit in the past? You will need a good credit history in order to get one of the top cards with 0% purchase honeymoon periods. If you have the money to pay off the credit card, can you not save it for a few months and build up the amount needed?

daveleeuk

onlypaddy wrote: »

have you had any credit in the past? You will need a good credit history in order to get one of the top cards with 0% purchase honeymoon periods. If you have the money to pay off the credit card, can you not save it for a few months and build up the amount needed?

no never had a credit card or mortgage or loan, nothing like that, but i have savings accounts with fairly decent money in, but im saving that money to pay my tax.

Is it more likely that the bank im with (Lloyds) will give me one as opposed to other ones? I have alot of products with them, a current account, 2 savings, and 4 insurance policies. The lloyds cc is 0% for only 6 months but id aim to pay it off that quickly anyway.

I need the purchase soon otherwise i would save up for it, just need to fill the gap between what i have and what it costs basically

scottishblondie

If you're self employed, which can be an issue, then I would definitely go for Lloyds first. Your own bank is often a good bet for a first credit card, especially if you have multiple well run accounts. You might actually already be "pre-approved" for a CC with them.

daveleeuk

yeah cool, think i might do this purchase pay it off, then change banks and everything else. Not a fan of their new overdraft charges. £5 on PLANNED od! takes the biscuit.

izools

daveleeuk wrote: »

yeah cool, think i might do this purchase pay it off, then change banks and everything else. Not a fan of their new overdraft charges. £5 on PLANNED od! takes the biscuit.

Yeah tell me about it 1st December I'm calling them to cancel my overdraft.

Funny how they're deploying it just before Christmas, eh?

daveleeuk

izools wrote: »

Yeah tell me about it 1st December I'm calling them to cancel my overdraft.

Funny how they're deploying it just before Christmas, eh?

jokers aren't they! I love how they worded it too, like this extra £5 a month charge will really benefit my life. :rotfl: