I got my first credit card! (Barclaycard Initial)

EmmaHerts

Thanks to this wonderful forum I am now the proud owner of a Barclaycard Initial.

If it were not for reading everyone's' posts I would never have had the nerve to even apply. I was even turned down for a small item on a catalogue before the application so I thought I had a pipe dream of a credit card.

Naturally it is a low credit limit but more than enough for what I need.

My problem was that my family had always seen credit as a bad thing, and until my late 20s I used my old building society savings book as the place to have my wages paid into. Until this year I had never had a single credit item.

Now I am engaged, of course, this is a problem as I now need to build up a history so that we can one day get a mortgage.

Thanks to the amazing advice on this site I feel like it will be a possibility one day.:T

EycplUK

Well done , use it wisely and see how your file soon shows the Green dots !

izools

Also ensure to keep the balance to under half of the limit at all times.

If you've got a small limit just use it for one lot of grocery shopping each month paying the bill in ful, don't want that balance to creep above 50% of the limit

Good luck! And I suggest you both open a bank (flex) account and "Save to buy" account with Nationwide - as they only require a 5% deposit for first time buyers who bank with them and save their deposit in this save to buy account.

blacksta

Congrats and be wise - Debt is real and painfull

DominicJ_2

Have you set up the direct debit that pays it off in full everymonth?
Well, best get it set up then

missie89

:j I got mine this week too! Funnily enough I was lurking on here to find out a bit more about building credit, not sure if this is the right place to ask but if I was to use my card for paying my water bill once a month, would it be okay to pay off the balance the same day? I like keeping on top of things!

sharpy2010

missie89 wrote: »

:j I got mine this week too! Funnily enough I was lurking on here to find out a bit more about building credit, not sure if this is the right place to ask but if I was to use my card for paying my water bill once a month, would it be okay to pay off the balance the same day? I like keeping on top of things!

You could do, but it isn't really the point of a credit card, and you won't benefit from using it in this way. Might as well use a debit card if you are going to do that.

Maestro.

EmmaHerts wrote: »

My problem was that my family had always seen credit as a bad thing, and until my late 20s I used my old building society savings book as the place to have my wages paid into. Until this year I had never had a single credit item.

Now I am engaged, of course, this is a problem as I now need to build up a history so that we can one day get a mortgage.

I was in the same situation. My mum always made out that credit cards were the devil incarnate but as the noughties rolled in I think she began to realise that to even do simple things like online transactions you often _need_ a credit card. She now has at least one, and I just got approved for my first.

Welcome to the world of credit, but be sensible!

missie89

sharpy2010 wrote: »

You could do, but it isn't really the point of a credit card, and you won't benefit from using it in this way. Might as well use a debit card if you are going to do that.

I know my 'method' seems like I may as well be using a debit card but like I said, all I'm hoping to do is improve my credit rating. Thanks for the advice though, I suppose if the interest free periods there I may aswell use it!

The_Cappuccino_Kid

missie89 wrote: »

I know my 'method' seems like I may as well be using a debit card but like I said, all I'm hoping to do is improve my credit rating. Thanks for the advice though, I suppose if the interest free periods there I may aswell use it!

But it won't. All the CRA will get is a zero balance. If you wish to use it to improve your credit rating then pay the bill after the statement date.

sharpy2010

Was just going to say what Cappuccino kid said :-) If you pay it off the same day, then to the credit reference agencies it will just look like you don't use it, which is neutral as far as credit referencing goes.