Should I get the Barclaycard Platinum?

Legacy_user

I have a 0% card with Halifax for 12 months which is nearing 30% of credit used, and a HSBC card which isn't being used at all (had it about a year)

I meant to use the 0% card for everything, and put the money in savings, but ended up only using it for stuff like £40+ and using my debit card for everything else

I have my HSBC card as a backup card, but Barclaycard offer a 0% card for 12 months, and it has that contactless payment thing, so I could use it for all small purchases

I mean, surely this would be better than having an unused credit card, but would also be good in case I have problems with my Halifax card

Should I apply for the Barclaycard first, then cancel the HSBC card or the other way around?

chattychappy

To inform you about your decision, three things I like about Barclaycard Platinum (probably not all specific to Platinum):

1) I get almost an entire month to pay.
2) I really like the online system. Remembers my debit card details so manual payments are easy - and they are generally applied same day.
3) I seem to permanently have a LOB 6.9% (2.5% fee) offer on my account. This is a good "insurance" deal to fall back on if I need long term credit at a reasonable price.

System

Well the interest would be 16.9% after 12 months but I don't intend to pay interest on it.

MoneyWasting_Expert

I don't see why not? If your going to use it at no cost go for it. But dont close the HSBC card just yet, incase you are declined. If you get a Barclaycard and don't use the HSBC card at all then cancel it.

Bloomberg

chattychappy wrote: »

To inform you about your decision, three things I like about Barclaycard Platinum (probably not all specific to Platinum):

1) I get almost an entire month to pay.
2) I really like the online system. Remembers my debit card details so manual payments are easy - and they are generally applied same day.
3) I seem to permanently have a LOB 6.9% (2.5% fee) offer on my account. This is a good "insurance" deal to fall back on if I need long term credit at a reasonable price.

I think that the Barclaycard website is second to none, there are so many tools for analysing your spending. There are number text and email alerts which you can customise. you can look at your bill in the form of a pie chart which divides your spending into categories.

There is also a countdown which displays how many days you have left before the payment deadline. The key thing for me is that they issue a VISA and a MasterCard - it is always good to have two especially when travelling. I am not sure of the difference between the Platinum and the others apart from a slightly lower interest rate for those who carry a balance. Over all Barclaycard is brilliant.

System

thanks for the replies!

I got a letter through the post about the BC Platinum, but when I went to apply it said you need to be 21

eeyore87

It also says you should be earning £20,000 - and I am far from it (and was honest about my salary obviously!). I think they're just ideal guidelines sometimes.

System

eeyore87 wrote: »

It also says you should be earning £20,000 - and I am far from it (and was honest about my salary obviously!). I think they're just ideal guidelines sometimes.

it's the application form that says no, and I can't really lie about my age!

platterfish

eeyore87 wrote: »

It also says you should be earning £20,000 - and I am far from it (and was honest about my salary obviously!). I think they're just ideal guidelines sometimes.

I agree, I was honest with my wage of £16k and was accepted with a £4.5k limit, so that really is a guideline, I guess they would be more strict about age though.

System

yep, I'm not really worried about that, but I mean on the actual form, you enter your date of birth, and if you're under 21 it has a cross next to it and says you can't apply

another question though, without having to create a new new thread (just out of curiousity)

have AmEx ever done any deals on the AmEx platinum card, like cutting the fee, so it works out really cheap along with Quidco? Has anyone ever managed to get one for free?