First ever credit card

[Deleted User]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking into getting a credit card at the moment - not because I need one, I just feel and have been told that it will boost my rating. My question is, do I need to? Is it really worthwhile me doing it?

I am 21, I live at home with my parents. I have a phone contract and I have a finance loan for my car (which I obtained without any difficulty). Other than that I have no overheads as such.

I've been advised by a friend that getting a credit card for things like petrol etc and paying it monthly will help my rating, but do I need to? Would you recommend it and if so why? And also what card, if any, would you advise I apply for?

Bit of a n00b with things like this so any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Jonezy712.

Trajal

[Deleted User] wrote:

Hi Guys,

I'm looking into getting a credit card at the moment - not because I need one, I just feel and have been told that it will boost my rating. My question is, do I need to? Is it really worthwhile me doing it?

I am 21, I live at home with my parents. I have a phone contract and I have a finance loan for my car (which I obtained without any difficulty). Other than that I have no overheads as such.

I've been advised by a friend that getting a credit card for things like petrol etc and paying it monthly will help my rating, but do I need to? Would you recommend it and if so why? And also what card, if any, would you advise I apply for?

Bit of a n00b with things like this so any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Jonezy712.

Can't really tell if it is for you - certainly there are some cashback offers which make sense in that you will be using them only for petrol etc and they will then just be giving you money for free and improving your credit rating at the same time.

However, you do absolutely need to make sure that you exercise self control - I have seen people, perfectly sensible people, go nuts soon as they realised they had a few thousand to spend randomly and forgot that they need to pay it back.

Until the CCJ's and defaults showed up. So be careful

sfax

If you are disciplined then get a cashback credit card and the pay the balance in full every month. Money for nothing if you always pay the balance in full. I've earned over £1000 in cashback with Halifax and I'm sure many people have earned a lot more. You also get more cover if you pay with a credit card and get ripped off or there is a dispute

Fertilizer

It probably is a good idea to start building a good credit record - but that means being "good".

If you want to be absolutely sure that you pay it off each month, thereby avoiding paying massive interest, then set up a Direct Debit so it is up to them to take the money each month.

Some card providers do not shout about the DD option as they prefer it if you forget to pay ... so you might have to call them to get it set up.

Personally, I never consider that I have credit card debt. I simply use a credit card to pay for things. I use AMEX and Capital One which both give me cashback (you might not get these as your first card ... ) and I use Halifax for buying in foreign currency eg ebay, or paying abroad .... or taking cash out the hole in the wall abroad.

Also, note that if you buy with a credit card it is much safer than using a debit card.

This site has info on the best card options.

Also, if you want to really keep on top of things, reconcile those card receipts, analyse where all the money went, you could use Ace Money software and download the statement data from the credit card company instead of just ticking off a paper statement. You can also see what you bought when in the distant past, which can be useful for example if things go wrong.


You might think all the above is boring and I suspect most people just assume card statements are correct. However, that could be an expensive mistake, especially if someone else has got hold of your card details somehow ... so reconciling the figures is a good idea.

Good luck !

System

Dont think you could go far wrong with the Aqua rewards card. You will only get a small limit, which is just what you need and 3% cashback reward for sticking to all your payments - just make sure you clear in full each month or else its sky high interest and possible forfeit of cashback if miss a payment.