New To Credit Cards

Gnomie14

Hi,

I wonder if you nice people can give me some advice.
I am going to USA on holiday in July and was looking to apply for a CC to help me with the cost of the hire car. The card would be purely for extra car expenses (insurances CDW etc) and fuel.
I was looking at getting one from my mortgage provider who are offering 15 months 0% on purchases.
The balance will be paid off in full when I return.
Does the 0% mean that for any purchases, the interest will be 0% until the 16th month?

Many Thanks in Advance

grumbler

Gnomie14 wrote: »

Does the 0% mean that for any purchases, the interest will be 0% until the 16th month?

Yes, but check the T&C for some possible restrictions. Also, some purchases like, say, foreign currency or travel cheques can be classed as cash advances.

And generally, for spending abroad cards that don't charge for conversion are better, e.g. Halifax Clarity. See

• Cheap Travel Credit Cards

jonesMUFCforever

Yes provided you make at least the minimum repayment every month whilst you are on a promotional period.
Depending on the card you get you may pay non sterling/foreign exchange fees whilst using abroad.

PeacefulWaters

Gnomie14 wrote: »

I am going to USA on holiday in July and was looking to apply for a CC to help me with the cost of the hire car. The card would be purely for extra car expenses (insurances CDW etc) and fuel.

You could buy CDW insurance privately before you go.

http://www.carhireexcess.com

If you are booking flight only it might be worth arranging the car hire with your airline as it will give you ATOL protection.

I was looking at getting one from my mortgage provider who are offering 15 months 0% on purchases.
The balance will be paid off in full when I return.
Does the 0% mean that for any purchases, the interest will be 0% until the 16th month?

Most credit card offer an interest free period for purchases if you clear the balance in full with a couple of weeks of receiving the statement.

You can spend, get statement, pay in full, no charge. So a long term 0% card might not be best.

Most cards will charge you a fee and interest for cash withdrawals. Most cards will charge you a fee of c3% for transacting in a foreign currency.

Assuming your holiday is a matter of weeks long I'd suggest using Grumbler's link above and zooming in on Halifax Clarity. No overseas transaction charges. No cash advance fees if you withdraw from an ATM (although there is an interest charge which can be mitigated by paying it off immediately, even if you're overseas).

Always have at least one and preferably more cards available as a backup plan (e.g. debit cards, secondary credit cards) just in case your preferred choice fails you at any time.