Credit Card Freebies Article Discussion Area

CannyJock

Robie wrote: »

I am thinking of going for the Goldfish credit card. OK - mostly for a freebie.

Now, the question is could I cancel after say 4/5 months and would this affect my credit rating at all? So far, I have been lucky and not been in debt (as regards to credit cards). Mostly paid up every month.

There's no minimum period you need to keep a card, so yeah you can cancel it after a few months if you want. It won't have a negative affect on your credit rating.

jedbo_2

Howdey all, My bank (LTSB) tell me that I need to get a credit card to avoid the incovinience of scamsters nicking from my account by using the details from my debit card, apparently I would be insured against this (or maybe she just wanted me to apply for a credit card through her, i don't know).
I have never had one before, just used a debit card. I understand that If i pay the bill in full every month i will not incure any debt as such.
The mortgage is paid off and i have no other debts or loans and I want to keep it that way. I have been looking at reward cards, the amex ones don't seem usable for the majority of shops ect that i would be spending in. Could anyone recommend an alternative please? cheers jedbo.

CannyJock

jedbo wrote: »

I have been looking at reward cards, the amex ones don't seem usable for the majority of shops ect that i would be spending in. Could anyone recommend an alternative please?

LTSB Amex Duo can be used anywhere that take Amex or Mastercard.

Other one in my wallet for getting up to £200 cashback per year is the Egg Money card (will now cost you £12 per year).

hobgoblin4

I know a few people have had problems – but I can only relay how good the miles have been for us.

My wife and me just got business-class flights to the USA for taxes costing £75 apiece.

It took about three years of spending, etc, but not a bad result for spending what we would have done anyway.

lisamalone wrote: »

Hi, I have had a bmi credit card for years and looking to change it now which is why I was checking this site.
The points are a complete con. They only say certain flights are available for points. You have to keep quoting a date and flight and asking if its available, when I ask them to tell me a date that is, they just ask me to keep quoting dates and they can only check this way. I tried this numerous times and was going to give up.

My friends were booking flights for a hen do this year and with charges etc, it was £130 per person. I called and was shocked for them to say they were available but was then informed that the points do not include the taxes which they then quote a ridiculous rate - totally different to what is advertised for their normal fairs.
I then asked about exactly the same flight and was told my fair would be £200 as it was free but this was the taxes. The call centre staff were very unhelpful when I asked how on earth it could be more than just booking on their site and why the taxes differed, she told me she was in charge and refused to put me through to anyone else, this was an indian call centre and communication was poor

I have spent a fortune with this company over the years and certainly would not recommend their cards to anyone,

hobgoblin4

Now I've cashed in the BMI card, I'm not really sure what to go for. None of these offers seem amazing.

Maybe go for the £15 amazon credit?

Any good cashback cards around?

CannyJock

hobgoblin4 wrote: »

Any good cashback cards around?

There are a few listed here http://www.stoozing.com/sbt.php

inicholson

jedbo wrote: »

Howdey all, My bank (LTSB) tell me that I need to get a credit card to avoid the incovinience of scamsters nicking from my account by using the details from my debit card, apparently I would be insured against this (or maybe she just wanted me to apply for a credit card through her, i don't know).
I have never had one before, just used a debit card. I understand that If i pay the bill in full every month i will not incure any debt as such.
The mortgage is paid off and i have no other debts or loans and I want to keep it that way. I have been looking at reward cards, the amex ones don't seem usable for the majority of shops ect that i would be spending in. Could anyone recommend an alternative please? cheers jedbo.

I'm not sure about the legality of what she's claiming but I'm much more comfortable spending online with a credit card - if someone uses the details you have the opportunity to argue with the CC company before the bill is due whereas if they empty your account you just have no money!

Whatever card you go for phone them and ask to set up a direct debit for the full amount each month - they never offer this (only a direct debit for the minimum) but it means you can't forget and pay a day late which incurs ridiculous charges.

MikkiH

teeb wrote: »

If I sign up to the Amazon MasterCard via Rpoints, will I still get a £15 amazon voucher with first spend?

I signed up for this card and I deeply regret it. It looks OK up-front but BEWARE! I had a balance of £142 outstanding at the 15 December. I paid all but £8 ONE DAY after receiving the statement, and the rest during January - only to find I had been charged £15 interest. Payment on those purchases up to 15 Dec were due on 3rd Jan! They charge you DAILY INTEREST on ALL your purchases - overdue, not due, paid or unpaid until the overdue balance is cleared.

This means I have been charged nearly £100 in interest in total (the same happened on the Jan statement) on a card for which I have never had a balance open for more than a month. I have never been charged a penny in interest on any of my other cards as I manage them carefully within the rules to get the best out of them (I misread the rules in this case, to my peril!)

But I think the payment rules on this are incredibly difficult to keep to, and the penalites are extreme. I will be taking it up with the financial ombudsman - it is nearly impossible to avoid interest unless you pay everything on the statement the day you get it.

CannyJock

MikkiH wrote: »

But I think the payment rules on this are incredibly difficult to keep to, and the penalites are extreme. I will be taking it up with the financial ombudsman - it is nearly impossible to avoid interest unless you pay everything on the statement the day you get it.

Nonsense.

If you don't make cash advance transactions (gambling sites, forex purchases, ATM withdrawals) and clear your balance in full each month then you won't be charged interest.

If you don't clear your balance in full then you'll be charged interest on any new purchases and forego your "up to 56 days" interest free period. You then need to pay two statements in full to get your "up to 56 days" interest free period back.

malc_b

MikkiH wrote: »

it is nearly impossible to avoid interest unless you pay everything on the statement the day you get it.

Most credit cards work the same way these days. In the past it was simple. Pay on full no interest. Pay say all but £10 and then see 2% of £10 interest on next month's statement (taking monthly interest rate as 2%). But that was too simple and didn't make enough money. The new rules are typically:

1. Cash advances, gambling sites, etc. interested charged from day 1 or a fixed fee of 2-3% (do any do both?).

2. Purchases interest charged from day 1, BUT, pay off the statement in full and the interest is waived.

So if you can't pay off in full pay as early as possible to reduce the interest total.