Santander Zero Credit Card

londoner1998

Hello

I applied for a Credit card twice this weekend (Barclays and Virgin) and twice I have been rejected- the idea was to start stoozing and also may be build up my credit rate (never borrowed so an almost non-existant history), as I might be thinking of buying the house I live in within the next couple of years.
I am aware that this is propably hurting my credit rate, but just last week, as I opened a savings account (fixed one at 4%) with Santander, they offered me the Zero card , which I declined, because I wasn't sure and also because i know there are other deals out there (ie, 12+ months free purchases).
I am not intending to borrow, but I will be flying to Spain within the next few months- is it a good idea to give Santander a call and say i changed my mind, and could I please have the Zero card? Would they have to do yet another credit search on me? I have no debts and at the moment I am not even using my overdraft- (being very good after a holiday abroad). I bank with A&L/ Santander and Natwest

Any advise appreciated.
Thanks,
Ax

chexum

londoner1998 wrote: »

I opened a savings account (fixed one at 4%) with Santander, they offered me the Zero card

They did not offer the card - they asked you if you want to apply now that you fulfil the requirement of being a customer of them.

They still need to search you and if you have just started with them, it's unlikely the outcome would, or would have been any different than with the other cards. But depending on other circumstances, you may be lucky - in a year, you'll have no trace of all these searches on your credit file, and it will matter little after about 6 months after the last search.

If you don't get a card though, your only options would be:
- Capital One
- Aquacard
- Vanquis
- Barclaycard Initial (but it's less likely as you already applied to one of their cards recently)

One of those are likely to accept you - if not, you need to try them again in six months to have your other details stabilise.

londoner1998

Thank you Chexum... my preferred option would be the Tesco one, but I am a bit wary of applying again now. I might be better off just leaving it for the time being and wait for six months to get those seraches wiped off my file. Any idea how likely I am to get accepted by the Tesco one? Because that is the one I would make the most of, with 0% purchases for 13 months... Could it be better to just leave this for now and get back at it in 6-9 months or shall I give it one last shot?
Thanks,
A

Peggy0628

Hi, tesco are not that difficult really.
I applied for the card, they refused me so I gave them a ring asking why as I had at the time £1000 in a savings account with them and a few weeks later the credit card arrived in the post (£400 limit - you only want it to build your credit history so a low limit wouldn't bother you, it's better than nothing).... so get a savings account, wait a few months and try it with them.

iscrimger

If you don't have a credit history then firms like Capital One or even the much hated store cards can help build a credit history.

Capital One are likely to offer you a card with a higher interest rate and with little or no credit history you have to start somewhere.

danouk

For reference, savings accounts don't appear on credit reports. They can therefore only have an effect if the savings account is with the credit card company. Not all companies will make the link, and Peggy's success with Tesco may actually have nothing to do with her having a savings account there too.

To summarise - having a savings account with a company is absolutely no guarantee whatsoever that they will want to offer you a credit card.

It sounds like you have virtually no credit history. Your best bet is a subprime card like Vanquis, Capital1 or Aqua. The APR will be horrendous - pay the balance off in full every month and the rate doesn't matter. In 12 months or so you will have some credit history and may have more chance of a mainstream card.

You're pretty unlikely to get any 0% purchase card with no significant (good) credit history.

londoner1998

Hello
I thought I would udpdate. After reading your very helpful advice here, I decided to give t one last shot with Natwest, with whom I have been banking for almost 10 years (in six mopnths time those seraches will fall off my record, so I thought I woudl give it one more chance). I applied for the Your Points World Mastercard (6 months of 0% purchases and point rewards in Boots, Amazin, M&S, etc...)- et voila! Accepted with a credit limit of 1,400-which is irrelevant to me as all I want is to make a few purchases, build up my credit rating and may be stooze a bit within these six months, then take it easy and keep the card just for plane tickets and my quarterly trips to Boots for parfume and creams (that happen rarely these days, by the way).

So, all in all, it seems that having had a pretty good relationship with Natwest, with healthy funds movement does have an impact (used the overdraft a few times but never got beyond limit and also get my salary paid in there)

Thanks all for your help,

Ax

chexum

londoner1998 wrote: »

So, all in all, it seems that having had a pretty good relationship with Natwest, with healthy funds movement does have an impact (used the overdraft a few times but never got beyond limit and also get my salary paid in there)

Oops, it looks like we all forgot that advice - your bank should be your first port of call for a credit card before resorting to sub-prime lenders. Especially if you have been with them for more than a year or two.
Good thing you sorted that out, well done :beer:
A World Mastercard is actually quite a premium name - it bears a slightly larger commission for merchants (really not much, about .1% more), but whereever you see the Mastercard logo, they must not make a fuss about it, so enjoy the points :cool:

londoner1998

Thanks!
I am still a bit scared- I have never had a credit card before and I am a little wary... although I know I wll not spend more than I would anyway.
I have one question though- does buying a service (such a gym membership or a bunch of yoga classes) classes as a purchase? At the moment I pay over a 100 quid for 12 yoga classes, every 12 weeks of so, and this is one of the things I intend to use the card for...I woduln';t wan to find out that it is a 'cash advance ' after paying for it...

(Sorry if it sounds daft, but I have never done it...)

Thanks,
A.

chexum

londoner1998 wrote: »

I have one question though- does buying a service (such a gym membership or a bunch of yoga classes) classes as a purchase? At the moment I pay over a 100 quid for 12 yoga classes, every 12 weeks of so, and this is one of the things I intend to use the card for...I woduln';t wan to find out that it is a 'cash advance ' after paying for it...

No worries!

Usually most things are plain purchases - the exceptions are when something you buy is cash-equivalent (including topping up gambling accounts). The only thing to watch out for is that some merchants charge extra for using a credit card - they will clearly state this - and if you have the money, you should use your debit card/cash for it. This happens more often if the merchants are "used to" bill you by other means, for example direct debit.

The only thing to really watch out for is don't buy anything that wouldn't have bought otherwise - so that you can repay everything in full. For the first (few?) years it's more important for your credit file to show that you only spend what you can afford. And it's a good habit to have the cash already that you'll need to pay the card.

In a year or so - you will be able to pick any of the mainstream cards, and you'll have learnt to keep funds in savings for the 13 months 0% purchases cards

londoner1998

reading some other posts, a thought springs to mind- I have had a current account with Natwest for about 9-10 years and that is where I get my salary paid (more than anything, becasue it always has been like this and so I far I have never had any trouble with Natwest re: payments/ transfers of money from back home, etc...)- now, woudl it be batter to have my new credit card paid for through my other account with A&L/ Santander? As I said before, i am not planning to splash out big time, but I wonder what is the best course of action to keep control of it. Part of mw knows it will get paid with no trouble through the NW current account,.the other says- 'pay through A&L'...
what do more experienced people think?

Thanks again,
Ax