Looking for advice - 1st CC

hayley82

I'm looking for a little advice if anyone can help. This is the first time I've wanted to get a credit card so I know my options might be limited.

I'm in my early 30's, I haven't taken out a loan before, I've rented and paid bills on time for many years but I assume having no credit card or loans in the past might go against me.

I'm soon moving and will need to spend approx £600 - £800 and plan to pay it off within about 8 months.

Does anyone have any advice as to which card might be the best for me? I've been looking a for a little while and finding it all a little confusing and thought I'd ask here in case I was missing something.

I have been looking at the Barclycard Platinum Purchase Offer but again I don't know if I would be eligible for this one. I bank with HSBC and might go with them but again wanting to consider all my options.

Thanks so much for any advice you can give.

Cycrow

a 0% purchase card would be the best for you, however, with a limited credit history, these might be beyond you.

i would suggest taking some of the soft checks to see what they say, then go from there.

but as a first credit card, its usually best to go for one of the sub prime cards, but these will cost you alot in interest.

Barclaycard do a soft search that you can check

Any

Who do you bank with?
Many banks give a credit card to their own customers even without much of a history, but it depends which bank it is and what is your record like with them.

YorkshireBoy

Any wrote: »

Who do you bank with?

OP said "I bank with HSBC".

OP, just so you're aware, the HSBC card only offers 0% on purchases for 3 months so you'd be paying interest from months 4-8.

Mulder00

Look for a 0% purchase card with this rate being applicable for at least the period that you need. Also, when doing investigation, look at the ones who don't necessarily need an excellent credit record (like Barclays).

Just a question though, you seem to be set on opening a credit card, but you need to ensure this is fit for purpose - the money that you will be spending, can it be spent on a credit card? Also, are there any fees associated with paying by credit card?

Two things about credit cards to bear in mind, which is why I'm asking the above:

1. The 0% offer is never applied to cash withdrawals and you are likely to be charged a fee for withdrawal and often, but not always, interest kicks in from day 1 when withdrawing cash. So don't get a credit card if you want to spend cash!!
2. Companies often charge more for using a credit card than using a debit card and some companies won't even accept credit cards. Make sure that you know of any charges beforehand to assess whether a credit card is the way to go.

(Another option if you need to spend cash is to pay other bills with the credit card and then draw out the cash).

hayley82

Mulder00 wrote: »

Just a question though, you seem to be set on opening a credit card, but you need to ensure this is fit for purpose - the money that you will be spending, can it be spent on a credit card? Also, are there any fees associated with paying by credit card?

The reason I was thinking a credit card might be best is because some of the things we're going to need to buy are going to be over £100, so I thought it would give us a little protection.

Thank you, everyone who's replied. Gives me something to go on so will be a big help