My first credit card

cmcowen

Hi, I am new to the forum, and pretty much new to the concept of credit cards!

Me and my wife are likely going to get a mortgage in the next 2-3 years or so and neither of us have ever had a credit card (CC) . This is clearly not good as we have not built up a credit score.

The purpose of the CC would simply be to build up a good credit rating and also gain as many extra perks as possible e.g. insurance, rewards etc. We owe no money ( outside of our student loans) and intend on paying of the balance of the CC immediately, i.e buy an item on it and then pay it of straight after (if this is indeed the best way to do it?). Therefore, whilst we obviously want lower APR and balance transfer values it is by no means the most important consideration

For context, we own a property (mortgage free) which we rent out; I am 30 my wife is 28; I am a research scientist (permanent contract) and my wife is a teacher (permanent contract); our joint salary is ~55k - me ~30 my wife ~25); we have traveled a lot (doing our masters, PhD's etc) and therefore have never lived in the same house for more than 3 years.

Given all of the above i would be very grateful if anyone on this board could recommend a current deal or highlight the types of things i should be looking out for given our aforementioned proposed use of the card and our personal situation.

Thanks

Chris

grumbler

cmcowen wrote: »

...We owe no money ( outside of our student loans) and intend on paying of the balance of the CC immediately, i.e buy an item on it and then pay it of straight after (if this is indeed the best way to do it?).

If you use a CC for purchases only, then you have about 20 days after a statement is produced to pay it off without incurring any interest. The best way to do this is to set up a DD for full payment.

Therefore, whilst we obviously want lower APR and balance transfer values it is by no means the most important consideration

APR is irrelevant if you pay the balance in full every month. So are 'balance transfer values' if you have nothing to transfer.

Given all of the above i would be very grateful if anyone on this board could recommend a current deal or highlight the types of things i should be looking out for given our aforementioned proposed use of the card and our personal situation.

For the first card it's worth applying to the bank you have your current account with, but you can also check

• Cashback Credit Cards
• Spending 0% Cards

JamTE

Chances are you'll be declined by many credit card companies as you have no history, my suggestion would be to go to your own bank and apply for one of theirs or a Barclaycard Initial.

On the off chance you can't get any of those, then try the credit cards for people who've had debt problems, Vanquis, Capital One, Aqua etc. Capital One also do mainstream cards too.

When you've successfully managed one for 6 months to a year, then try another mainstream one if you'd prefer it. If you are not planning on carrying balances then get a card that rewards you for using it.

JKSandy

Call your bank and ask if you have any pre-approvals for credit cards as you would like to build up your credit history.

I dont think many banks offer it but saves you applying, too many applications will be detrimental, over the short term at least.

Barclays have a pre approval check tool, I would only processed if they say you have at least 80%-90% chance.

I would avoid the lower end credit cards like Vanquis/Aqua etc unless you are going to pay the blance in full each month.