Credit card for work expenses

pugzy

I've just started a new job and will be training at lots of different places around the country doing lots of mileage, parking, hotels (HR can book and pay for in advance if needed), trains, tube etc.

I can reclaim my expenses each month and will receive the reimbursement in that period's paycheck.

In the meantime, it will cost me a small fortune.

Should I consider getting a 0% APR for Purchases credit card and use it solely for expenses and pay it off each month with the reimbursements come payday?

I am currently trying to clear my debts as listed in my sig below this post and the last thing I wanted to be doing was getting yet another card, but I might just have to. Is this a silly or a sensible idea?

Cheers!

McKneff

Why not get a 'cash back' card.

Coop gives a cash back card, you also get points to spend at the coop for the same purchases.
You have to sgin up to become a member to receive these points, but you can register online.

% is okay but it ends after a while so its just a credit card then.

Bad_Ash

pugzy wrote: »

Should I consider getting a 0% APR for Purchases credit card and use it solely for expenses and pay it off each month with the reimbursements come payday?

AFAIK all credit cards effectively offer 0% interest on purchases for some time between 15-60 days. Therefore if I were you I would look into the payment terms of the cards and the cashback/reward offerings.

For my work T&E I've opted for the Halifax Reward card, whichrewards me £5 every month I spend over £300 (most months) and the payment date is the 26th of the month (almost 4 weeks from statement date), just after payday.

My other card, Tesco Clubcard Credit Card has a payment date of 16th, so gives me just over 2 weeks from the statemen date to pay, which is not quite so generous.

pugzy

Thanks guys

Didn't know that all credit cards had a 0% APR on immediate purchases, just assumed that if it wasn't on a special 0% APR deal, then the first month's CC bill would be X amount plus the X% interest added!!

I will probably rack up a fair amount during the next 3 months so a rewards card seems viable, may consider ones for the shopping (Tesco, Sainsburys etc.) as that's the most useful to me and my OH.

Any suggestions of what's good out there at the moment?

diable

Ask the company who you work for for a company credit card.

lisyloo

I would personally look for a card with a long interest free period.
i.e. try to get one with 56 or 60 days and not the 15.

If you can get cashback on top then that's great but I wouldn't compromise on the days.

Not all companies offer credit cards.

FB13

lisyloo wrote: »

I would personally look for a card with a long interest free period.
i.e. try to get one with 56 or 60 days and not the 15.

If you can get cashback on top then that's great but I wouldn't compromise on the days.

I would compromise on days as long as I got paid for the expenses before the credit card bill was due. In fact that would probably be the last thing I would look at in his case.

15 days is not possible unless you are getting weekly bills. The 56 days is based on if you bought something the day following previous statement day. So you get 30 days until the next statement and then X days until the payment date.

In my case, if I charge an expense on the 6th of the month, I get paid for that expense on the 27th and I pay that credit card bill on the 29th of the following month. (7 weeks and 2 paydays have past)

So unless you are trying to maximise the number of days between getting paid and having to pay the bill to try to get the most interest on the money, I would go for the best cashback or rewards card as they will offer you the better return. You may want to look at airline cards if you travel a lot. If you travel a lot, the Amex platinum charge card would be worth a look if your company will pay the annual fee.

lisyloo

I would compromise on days as long as I got paid for the expenses before the credit card bill was due. In fact that would probably be the last thing I would look at in his case.

I agree it depends on how quick the employers reimburses.
But remember the quoted days are MAXimum.
You would only get 60 days if you bought something on day 1 which is unlikely. Making purchases later on in the cycle gives you a lot fewer days.
There is also usually a time lag between spending and submitting expenses.
You won't be submitting expenses every day, possibly weekly.

My employer gets round this problem by giving me a cash advance. Basically a 0% loan. That way I don't have to bank roll them.

So unless you are trying to maximise the number of days between getting paid and having to pay the bill to try to get the most interest on the money

No it's not about making a profit.
It's about being able to submit and get reimbursed in time for the payment to clear.
If you add together:
number of days from day 1
delay between spending and submitting
delay beteen submitting and reimbursement
delay for clearance

then I think you could find in some cases it will be quite tight.

I totally agree with you about the cycle, but it's not about making profit it's about avoiding bank rolling the company before reimbursement as a lot of peple are not in a position to do this to the tune of thousands of pounds.

diable in post #5 touched on the point that really this is the comapnies problem, but not all of them operate a company cerdit card scheme.
My employer did one years ago but they found it expensive to adminster in terms of the staff they had to pay to adminster it, so they withdrew the cards.
Instead the solution is that we can get a cash advance (0% loan) if we do a lot of travel as that is cheaper/more convenient for the company.
But in essence it's a good point, that the question should be put to the employer.
My employers answer is "get a credit card" and there is 0% loan for people who for whatever reason have difficulty with that e.g. adverse credit or away so much they can't submit paper expenses easily.

speedbird1973

I do BA Miles for my work credit card. I have just about enough for a business class return to the USA and a free companion voucher too.. I do put my personal spend on it and fly with BA a lot for work/pleasure too.

anxious_mum

My company gives me a credit card for all of my expenses, as I work away every week. I would hate to have to deal with this on a personal card as some months my expenses can exceed £2500 when flights and hotels are taken into account. I think you have been given some excellent advice above, you need to make sure your company pays your expenses before your credit card bill is due or you will be liable for any interest.

Good luck in the new job.

pugzy

Cheers guys, good advice, some a bit complicated but sensible nonetheless

I can submit my expenses up until a Wednesday of week 3 of the period and they will then be paid in the following paycheck in week 2 of the following period, so final date for declaring to getting them returned is about 3 weeks.

Have been looking at the Tesco card tonight as it's 0% APR for 13 months and the T&C's state, "Maximum 51 days for purchases if you pay your balance in full and on time, and have paid the previous month’s balance in full and on time."

So in my situation that I've mentioned above, how good/relevant would that be to me for covering these dates as I'm slightly confused! Sorry!