never had a credit card before, but need one for traveling/backpacking? need help!

lis89

i have never had a credit card before, i have never needed one. but i have decided i need one has i'm going traveling and backpacking around Australia. i wont use it while traveling but only use it if i suddenly ended up in a bad situation etc.
I dont know where to start and how credit cards work, like i may never use it, it that ok? what is the best credit card out there to use for this?

shortcrust

Best to try your own bank first. If they say no then try starter cards like Capital One, Aqua etc.

Always use a credit card you want to keep every now and again. Just buy a small item and pay off the balance in full so you don't pay interest.

Good luck!

YorkshireBoy

How old are you?
What's your income?
Which bank receives this income?

*Scarlett

Could you get a c/c through your bank?

If you have had eg a mobile phone contract or another loan that will give some sort of credit history you might try a mainstream provider.

Otherwise there are companies that will offer cards if you have no previous credit history eg

http://www.vanquis.co.uk/

http://www.aquacard.co.uk/

Be aware that these cards will normally have high interest rates so if you use it make sure the balance is paid by the due date. And don't use the card to withdraw cash (unless it's an absolute emergency) as the inerest rate is normally very high.

If you get a normal credit card and don't use it there will normally be no charge (unless you sign up for card with special benefits eg amex, etc) if you don't use it.

grumbler

lis89 wrote: »

what is the best credit card out there to use for this?

The best credit card for using abroad is Halifax Clarity. The question is whether you would or wouldn't be able to get it.
MSE article: Cheap Travel Credit Cards

lis89

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

How old are you?
What's your income?
Which bank receives this income?

Im 24
My income is around about 10,000
my bank is santander

anna42hmr

lis89 wrote: »

Im 24
My income is around about 10,000
my bank is santander

Ask Santander if they still offer the "Santander Zero" credit card, if so you could try and apply for that one, as they do not charge for using abroad (make sure it is the Santander zero card though as they charge for using the others abroad.) I have a few cards that are friendly for travelling abroad, as I went away for over a year a while back, so they were helpful. you need to see if they are still available to new customers, but other travel friendly credit cards that I have are Post office (managed by bank of Ireland), Halifax Clarity credit card and as advised above the Santander zero card.

knightstyle

Good advice already given but I will add a bit.
When you use your card abroad never let it out of your site.
Set up DD from your bank account to pay the card off each month.
In addition to the DD when you withdraw cash make a payment to the credit card as soon as possible, internet or phone, as you will be charged interest as soon as the money is withdrawn.
Make sure all your cards have different pin numbers or you may not be recompensed in case of fraud.
I have Halifax Clarity and use it a lot abroad, I also have a Santander Zero as reserve.

YorkshireBoy

knightstyle wrote: »

In addition to the DD when you withdraw cash make a payment to the credit card as soon as possible, internet or phone, as you will be charged interest as soon as the money is withdrawn.

That won't always work I'm afraid.

Some card providers only apply positive payment hierarchy to statemented transactions, so paying early with a purchase balance already on there will mean the money is applied to the purchases balance...not the cash advance...unless you pay off in full (plus a bit!).

knightstyle

Sorry YorkshireBoy that is not true for the cards I named and others I use, Lloyds, Virgin, Halifax, Santander 123 and Zero, Barclaycard, Nationwide and for most (all?) cards.
Perhaps your card is different? Which one are you talking about

YorkshireBoy

EDIT: Whoops, I appear to have deleted my original post in making my edit!

YorkshireBoy wrote:

I'll have a dig around

When I look at your Halifax T&Cs they don't appear to confirm your personal experience?...

6. ALLOCATION OF PAYMENTS

6.1 We use any payments you make to pay off Transactions that appear on your statement starting with those on which we charge the highest rate of interest, and so on down to the lowest rate of interest. If the payment is not enough to pay off all Transactions at a particular interest rate, we will pay off Transactions charged at that interest rate in the following order:- Cash Withdrawals, Purchases, Balance Transfers and Cheques, followed by the charges in conditions 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3. If you pay more than the amount due shown on your statement, we will use any remaining payment to pay off Transactions that have not yet appeared on your statement in the same order as those that do appear on your statement. In this condition, "Transaction" includes the amount of the Purchase, Cash Withdrawal, Cheque or Balance Transfer plus any interest, charges or insurance payment charged as a result of that Transaction.

...eg, the condition above seems to say that if you've had a statement (value £200 of UK purchases), but not yet paid it by DD, then any payment (let's say to cover £100 of forex cash advances) would go towards reducing the original £200 of UK purchase spend...because the forex cash withdrawal has not yet appeared on your statement.

Do you agree your experience differs from what 'should' happen according to the T&Cs?