Please help a cc newbie decide which card!

Jummy

Hello ;D
I have never had a cc and after having a 'scare' after buying from an online shop with my Visa Electron debit card I have now decided to go for a cc so i have more protection when buying online.
I have been sent the paperwork to sign from Barclaycard and have been sent some info from Lloyds offering me a card from them.I bank with Lloyds .
I will only be using the card to buy online and will pay for any purchases straight away.
I know nothing about cc's so can any of you guys point me in the right direction :-/
Thanks ;D

Joe_Bloggs

The thing that worries me is paying them interest. So establish a way of paying them before spending anything on the card. I prefer online BACS payments to writing out a cheque.

Don't assume that a direct debit will initially work as they require a lot of negotiation and effort on behalf of both parties to work. Make payments manually as DDs can be a bit dim at times.

Egg are very good at DDs and balance transfer to bank accounts.

Expect all online or telephone statement figures to be a few days out of sync with reality. Keep a manual check on your expenditure. Overpay a credit card bill by a few days expenditure so that they can't rip you off by charging you interest for not clearing your balance on the previous months expenditure. The alternative is to stop spending for a few days on the card to get the true total of what was spent.

J_B.
PS read and understand the terms and conditions.
PPS take note of how they interpret the terms and conditions.

johnllew

J_B, that's going OTT a bit - you'll frighten the guy off. Provided you use the card just for purchases (as you apparently intend to do) and pay off each statement balance by the due date, you shouldn't incur any interest. The best way to pay off the full amount at the right time is by direct debit. Ask for a form or give details over the phone and ensure the DD is for the full amount on your statement and await written confirmation that this is in place before taking it for granted.

Joe_Bloggs

Thankyou Johnllew for your calming advice, I did point out my paranoid phobia at first.
It is often helpful for your CC payment date to be a week behind when you get paid if you are paid monthly.
This will allow you to stretch your cash a bit further, gain more interest etc. That is if you are into that kind of thing.

Online access particulars take a while to come through so the sooner you apply the sooner they turn up.
Amex Blue online stuff is instant. It forgets me every time but it's a cookie thing that is soon put right.  

Galstonian

Direct debits can, and frequently do, work. When you get a bill it will state if and when payment will be taken via direct debit, provided this appears and you have instructed the issuer to take full payment you will pay no interest.

If you intend to pay off the bill in full then getting a cashback card is probably the smartest way to go. There is lots of info on that elsewhere on the boards.

Jummy

Thanks for the info ;D
I will look into getting a card that offers cashback
BTW I'm a girlie
;D