Aqua Reward Credit Card - 3% cashback up to £100/year

ElkyElky

macfamilyent wrote: »

I would have suspected this to be the case -since with my M&S and Santander Card - this was the case (with Santander the card just came and the pin) and M&S all they wanted to do was the signature - but I don't know with Aqua - if it is just a generic thing or perhaps I have not passed this?

I suspect it may just be a generic message although I don't have any experience with Aqua so can't be sure. The fact that you got instant acceptance with a high credit limit means you are very credit worthy.£1,600 is high for a starting limit with Aqua, most people would be lucky to get even £500.

SammenForLivet2

ElkyElky wrote: »

I suspect it may just be a generic message although I don't have any experience with Aqua so can't be sure. The fact that you got instant acceptance with a high credit limit means you are very credit worthy.£1,600 is high for a starting limit with Aqua, most people would be lucky to get even £500.

I wouldn't say that I'm that I'm 'Very' Credit worthy - I do have debts, but perhaps it is because they think they can make money out of me (since others have said that they have brilliant records and they have been declined).

I plan to pay this in full - on time, as otherwise I would have far better options elsewhere.
In terms of the credit limit, this is what the lady on the phone said - when calling (to make sure that I had applied for the reward card (I had a mad panic thinking that I clicked on one of the other cards and applied by accident for that) - and the actual website, said that the letter and contractual agreement will say this -so I just hope that she is correct (although I would be happy with £750 or some around that instead -as I really never spend more than that a month).

Does anyone know how long there paperwork takes and what it takes for them to do after that?

Uplink

macfamilyent wrote: »

I wouldn't say that I'm that I'm 'Very' Credit worthy - I do have debts, but perhaps it is because they think they can make money out of me (since others have said that they have brilliant records and they have been declined).

Highlight mine. Perfect scorers get the FQ treatment with Aqua. But if you actually get 1600 (please come back and update us when you have your card and know the exact limit) because you have debts, that's saying something.

Nobody owned up about having debts in this thread so far (or I forgot about it), but incidentally I was reading the Credit Rating page on the MSE website just the other day, which says that "how much money they think they stand to make off of you" can be part of your score for some institutions. If you get that limit in writing, it would be a great confirmation of this theory. (I get the same feeling about Nationwide, where I'm trying to get a full VISA debit card, who were quite direct in asking me if I wanted to apply for their credit card while just sitting the lobby with no "I got only a cashcard+ two days ago" label on my forehead, and the way the guy couldn't turn away fast enough when I owned up).

I for one don't have much credit history, no debts, no defaults. I wonder if I should start a rolling debt on a CC in order to increase my attractiveness. I think it could go something like this: Change DD to minimum payment, make FP a day or two before statement so I leave 6 quid for the statement. DD will take 5 pounds, leaving 1 pound to roll over. At say 40% APR - just an example - that's 40p per year of interest. I wonder if that would make any difference (good or bad). I'll be taking a look at my credit file later in the month to see how my CCs appear there (~6 months of having CapitalOne and ~4 of Aqua CC), and think about it. Of course, on manual review they'd see that I'm taking the mickey, but their automated systems may flag me as "sucker", which, I guess, would be good Unless they're clever and flag me as "P. I. Staker" instead, of course.

Edit: I forgot to mention how the tone of voice of the Aqua operator who activated my card changed from "I'm so happy to be speaking to you, there is nothing else in the world I'd like to more at this point" to "Oh, you're one of those people... Wish I could take your card back this late in the process." when I said I wanted the DD to take the statement balance in full.

gt94sss2

Uplink wrote: »

I wonder if I should start a rolling debt on a CC in order to increase my attractiveness. I think it could go something like this: Change DD to minimum payment, make FP a day or two before statement so I leave 6 quid for the statement. DD will take 5 pounds, leaving 1 pound to roll over. At say 40% APR - just an example - that's 40p per year of interest. I wonder if that would make any difference (good or bad).

Not a good idea. Most credit cards charge you interest on all transactions from the date they first charge the amount to your account if you don't pay it off in full each month - not just the unpaid balance at the end of the month.

Regards
Sunil

gt94sss2

macfamilyent wrote: »

I asked her about my credit limit (although did not really like to speak about it) - and she said it was £1,600 (but they would review this every 6 months and write about any increases/changes) - is this around the normal limit?

I got the same - its the highest initial limit they offer on this card (the minimum is £250). Others who got the same limit and have held their cards for a while have since reported that Aqua increased it after some time.

In my case, its unlikely I will spend more than this in a month unless I am travelling etc.

macfamilyent wrote:

Does anyone know how long there paperwork takes and what it takes for them to do after that?

I found the entire process relatively slow compared to my other providers - it took 3-4 weeks in total to get the paperwork, return it and receive the card/pin. Though I did apply in early December which may have delayed the process slightly..

I also find the website functional but it seems to take slightly longer to report some transactions then I would expect (but not really a issue and I have had no problems using it overseas )

Regards
Sunil

BugsyBrowne

I thought lenders when accessing applications may go on other credit limits when working out applicants credit limits and wondered how negative it will be seeing this as the lender wouldn't know its an Aqua Cashback card.

I know its MSE but I find the whole Aqua Cashback a big waste of time IMHO and for a £100 a year I personally wouldn't miss it.

But I do understand for those who are struggling that £100 is it worth if to them.

grumbler

BugsyBrowne wrote: »

I know its MSE but I find the whole Aqua Cashback a big waste of time IMHO and for a £100 a year I personally wouldn't miss it.

How much time have you wasted and how much cashback p.a. have you made with other cards?

It took us no more than 15 minutes to get our second Aqua up and running and it's easy £200 for our family.

Uplink

gt94sss2 wrote: »

Not a good idea. Most credit cards charge you interest on all transactions from the date they first charge the amount to your account if you don't pay it off in full each month - not just the unpaid balance at the end of the month.

Duh! Thanks for waking me up. I forgot that the interest-free period is on a conditional waiving basis, with the condition that I pay the statements in full. Interest is still accrued. It's just that it's waived. Back to the drawing board.

Uplink

BugsyBrowne wrote: »

I know its MSE but I find the whole Aqua Cashback a big waste of time IMHO and for a £100 a year I personally wouldn't miss it.

The S in MSE is for Scrooge, see? Does it make sense now?

aleph_0

BugsyBrowne wrote: »

I know its MSE but I find the whole Aqua Cashback a big waste of time IMHO and for a £100 a year I personally wouldn't miss it.

But I do understand for those who are struggling that £100 is it worth if to them.

It's £100 on quite a low spend too (we're talking a £10,000 spend on a 1% cashback card to match it), so if one is going to use cashback cards, it's worth it (ok, I know maintaining multiple cards requires a little extra effort, but not too much, surely - and aqua provides benefits that allow the card to fill other roles too (overseas spending). But I can understand if someone decides cashback cards aren't worth their time.