Aqua Classic or Aqua Advance...or something else?

fitjosh

Hello, I am looking for others advice here:


I'm 20something, never had a credit card, loan, mortgage, store card, mobile phone contract etc in my life...never needed or frankly wanted one!


Anyway, I'm off on a holiday to Australia at the end of this year, have already paid in full for flights and posh hotel etc. Anyway, looking at the hotel online I see I need a Credit Card in order to 'check in' when I arrive.


The last thing I want to do is turn up at reception after a 25 hour flight and be told, 'Sorry, you cannot check-in'...even though I have paid for the room in full already.


So I'm thinking of getting my first ever credit card...I'm aware I am likely to have ZERO credit history, so was thinking the Aqua cards were a good one to go for.


When doing the 'Money saving expert eligibility checker' for first timer/bad credit cards it says I have the following:


50% chance - for Aqua Classic
50% chance - For Aqua Advance
50% chance - Vanquis


Then 25%/20% chance for Capital One/Barclays etc so wont even bother trying for these.


I'm thinking of going for the Aqua advance, over the classic as the advance says 0% on foreign transactions, If I'm checking into a Aussie hotel, that will be a foreign transaction right?


Now In my opinion, 50% chance for a card like Aqua seems quite low, if they say NO, what else can I do....I've got to start somewhere to build some credit history, right??


So, the things which I think should work In my favour:

• I've been living at my current address for over 4 years.
• I'm registered to vote at my address
• I have the water bill, council tax bill etc in my name
• Decent salary income

What more can I do to help me get a credit card?


The only other thing I can think of, is that my current account and bank statements are still at my parents address...never had the need to change the address for this as, I prefer my statements going to this postcode, rather than mine, and its a excuse to go to my patents every few weeks to collect my stuff and see them.


The face that my current account is at a different address, will that have a negative impact on applying for credit cards?


Many thanks, and I look forward to hearing anyone with a similar experience, and advise from other members.

grumbler

fitjosh wrote: »

I'm thinking of going for the Aqua advance, over the classic as the advance says 0% on foreign transactions, If I'm checking into a Aussie hotel, that will be a foreign transaction right?

Right. Aqua Reward doesn't charge for conversion too and pays 0.5% cashback.
If you paid in advance, there will be no real transaction when checking in. Most likely they will just authorise some amount and will never debit it.

What more can I do to help me get a credit card?

It's probably too late now, but you can

• have a current account with overdraft,
• have a store card and spend a little on it,
• have a mobile contract, e.g. sim-only that can be a very good value for money.

It's worth checking your credit files to see how much information is there and what information.

The only other thing I can think of, is that my current account and bank statements are still at my parents address...never had the need to change the address for this as, I prefer my statements going to this postcode, rather than mine, and its a excuse to go to my patents every few weeks to collect my stuff and see them.
The face that my current account is at a different address, will that have a negative impact on applying for credit cards?

It's not recommended to have more than one active address reported to CRAs.

That said, if you prepaid the hotel in full, I don't think you'll have any problems with checking in without a credit card, but don't take my word for this. Pretty often abroad they call all cards 'credit cards'.

greenorange

All of the 'posh' hotels I've ever stayed in have always asked for a deposit of some sort. Most hotels will accept a debit card or cash if you don't have a credit card, however I'd recommend asking them before you arrive so you're prepared.

One thing to consider is that you're likely to get a low limit on any credit card that you do get - £250 or less. The most recent hotel I stayed in (Parc 55 in San Francisco) charged $100 per night deposit, so $1400 deposit for a two week stay.

sazaccount

Hi,

Its worth asking you current account bank about there credit cards before going for one of the above. They know your banking history with them income spends etc. It might be easier and possibly less hassle, such as completing the full application forms sending ID etc.

There is also a pre-paid card that you can get which can be used abroad I was looking on moneysupermarket to compare the different ones.

When I was travelling (I was mainly staying in Hostels and not hotels) I didn't have a credit card but my visa debit was Ok as I had a big enough overdraft for any deposits needed or paid in cash.

Have fun oz is amazing I'm planning on going back early next year

Anthorn

The Aqua Advance has a starting APR 1% less than the Aqua Classic although whether you get that rate depends on your circumstances. The Aqua Advance APR also reduces by 5% a year for 5 years but if you pay late or miss a payment you go back to square one with the original starting APR. Vanquis at 39.9% APR is a last resort.

So overall for the OP the Aqua Advance. Aqua requires that you tell them beforehand if you will be travelling abroad and using your card although I have used it on USA websites in USD without any problems.

Your overall problem with all three cards is that your starting limit is likely to be very low - possibly no more than £250.

Edit: If applying take advantage of the deals on Amazon. For example apply for an Aqua card through Amazon and get a £20 Amazon gift certificate. Amazon are also offering the Aqua Classic at 32.9% APR but that could be a misprint.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/compare-credit-card-offers/b/ref=footer_ccmp/279-0018830-9197209?_encoding=UTF8&node=367529031

System

I wouldn't recommend this.
We've had hotels in the USA look at and reject US and UK Visa Debit cards.

Two options might be to:
1 - Become secondary card holder on a family member's credit card.
2- Try your own bank first before 3rd party providers.

Pre-paid and debit cards are fine for most other purposes.

grumbler wrote: »

That said, if you prepaid the hotel in full, I don't think you'll have any problems with checking in without a credit card, but don't take my word for this. Pretty often abroad they call all cards 'credit cards'.