Credit cards best for building credit

Price07

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the best credit cards to get when building a credit file?
I've been told that capital one has a good card for this but I'm still unsure about it. Has anyone had any experience with capital one and are they are a good company to get a credit card with? Or if anyone has any other suggestions?
Much appreciated.

CLAPTON

Price07 wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the best credit cards to get when building a credit file?
I've been told that capital one has a good card for this but I'm still unsure about it. Has anyone had any experience with capital one and are they are a good company to get a credit card with? Or if anyone has any other suggestions?
Much appreciated.

any CC used regularly and always paid in time, will help build a good credit file.

if you have very little on your credit file then many CC are hard to acquire
best to try your own bank first but capital one has low credit limits and high APR and will take people without a decent credit file

eskbanker

See http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/bad-credit-credit-cards

Anthorn

CLAPTON wrote: »

any CC used regularly and always paid in time, will help build a good credit file.

if you have very little on your credit file then many CC are hard to acquire
best to try your own bank first but capital one has low credit limits and high APR and will take people without a decent credit file

Applause. It's not that cards for credit building are better at building credit but that they are easier to get for those who have little credit history or a bad credit history.

DanStan

Both the Capital One Platinum and Aqua card as recommend on this site have been excellent in building my credit.

Holmesy999

I'm pretty much starting from scratch having recently moved back from a long holiday. I have opened a few current accounts (tsb, santander, tesco) and have my really old HSBC account. I have signed up for a vodafone mobile. So its all going to plan in building up a good history.

I applied for a tsb 1% back credit card, but it just got rejected. I only went for that one as to get some money back for using it.

I have logged into clearscore and it says I have pre approval for a capital one balance credit card, high chance for another capital one card and a luma card. I don't really care about the apr on the card as I will use it and pay it off every month via Direct Debit (I don't need the credit - just want the credit history).
Is it much of a muchness which one you go for?

[Deleted User]

If you're struggling to get the 'good' ones you want (e.g. cashback) then no - Cap 1, Luma, Vanquis are all basically the same - offer hardly any perks anymore, they literally are just there to build your file. Aqua offer a 0.5% cashback you might want to look at.

Spend, pay in full, repeat.

If you won't pay in full, then some consideration needs to be given as to the APR, as you want the lowest you will be approved for. BUT if you 'spend' too many applications (searches) looking for an unrealistically low APR (e.g. 0% for 30 months if your file is very thin) then you'll find it hard to even get a 'bad credit' card.

If you're pre-approved for a Cap 1, then I'd go for the one that's pre-approved. You can always try the Aqua 0.5% one after - if it's rejected at least you've got your Cap1. If it's not, you have 2 cards building up your credit file.

I was pre-approved for 5 Cap 1 direct, 90% approval for a 6th (Ocean Finance = Capital One). So I went for the 'best' of the 5 pre-approved bunch. I discounted the 90% - why take that risk when there are pre-approved ones waiting.

My thinking is that by entering on the Platinum track (29.84%), I may get more limit increases in future (with responsible spending etc) than if I'd have gone for the other pre-approved cards instead - say the Cap 1 Classic or Purchase cards (higher APRs).

IF it is an internal status symbol, then you might as well start as high as you can. But in terms of CRAs, card features etc it doesn't make any difference - other than APR they were all exactly the same (or offered a BT for a ridiculously short period like 3/6 months = no real use to anyone)

Holmesy999

cheers - just took the pre approved card - £200 card limit, and didn't have to fill in any of the form. Guess it is a start