Building my credit rating - 1 vs 2 credit cards

AKM3030

Hi
Im a 20 year old student at university at the moment and will be for another 4 years! I have already thought about starting to build a credit history for myself so i applied for a credit card - tried to get a student one from my bank but was refused because of my credit rating (found it a bit odd a credit card aimed at people with no credit history declined me for just that reason) so i successfully applied for an Aqua credit card which i pay of fully every month - just put ordinary purchase i would make otherwise through it. My credit limit is ~£1100

My bank recently contacted me and told me i would now be able to get a student credit card. Is there any advantage/disadvantage to having 2 credit cards with regard to building my credit history/any other advice?

cheers

The_Boss

Do it if you will be able to avoid temptation.

Having two cards instead of one doubles the amount of data reported about your account management so is a good thing providing you manage them correctly. Do you have a mobile phone contract too?

AKM3030

Thanks for the advice - I don't have a mobile contract at the moment but am planning to get one in the near future

Cycrow

also the student card will likly be at a better rate than the aqua card. So it might be worth switching over to that one instead

The_Boss

AKM3030 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice - I don't have a mobile contract at the moment but am planning to get one in the near future

Definitely go with both cards then. You only need to spend a few pounds on each card each month to build a history. If you set up direct debits then your payments will be taken automatically so no need to worry about missing payments. If you do set these up then remember to make the first payments manually as they usually take a month or so to become active (it will say on the monthly statements whether it is active or not).

The_Boss

Cycrow wrote: »

also the student card will likly be at a better rate than the aqua card. So it might be worth switching over to that one instead

If you spend a few quid on the Aqua card and repay in full each month then it doesn't matter what the interest rate is.