Aqua/Capital One or Halifax?

Tyats13

Hi,

I don’t know too much about credit cards so any advice would be great. Basically I’m a student with limited credit history, I used the eligibility checker on this site and I’ve got a 95% rating for an Aqua or Capital One card with 0% on purchases for 6 and 4 months respectively.

I checked other purchase cards for comparison and found the Halifax 30 month 0% Purchases card with a 50% chance. To me that sounds great, I can easily meet minimum repayments plus I have a student account with them.

My concern here is: do I risk applying for Halifax? Or should I try to apply for Halifax AND Aqua/Capital One? Assuming I pay in full each month, would my credit rating improve quicker if I chose Aqua/Capital One rather than Halifax?

I have read reviews of Aqua’s service and apparently it’s quite poor e.g. people’s cards get blocked, interest is charged even if minimum payment is made. Are there any other issues that I should be aware of?

[Deleted User]

Go for aqua or Cap One.

All will build a credit rating equally as long as you clear in full each month, or make at least minimum payments on a promo rate.

Interest will always be charged on a card if you only make minimum payment, even if that interest is at 0% on a promotion.

You say you can 'easily make minimum payments'. What about when you need to clear the balance in full?

Candyapple

OK so first of all, if you are a student you won't be eligible for any of Halifax's cards except for the student one.
https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/help-guidance/terms-and-conditions/student-card/

If you want to apply for this, go into a branch and ask one of the bank staff to see if you would be likely to be accepted for this card (they can see it on their screen). Saves you wasting a hard search.

Aqua/Cap One it doesn't matter what you apply for they are pretty much one and the same and your credit history will improve the same regardless of which one you choose.

You DO NOT want to carry a balance over to the next month. You should set up a direct debit to take the FULL MONTHLY payment so that way you won't ever pay any interest.

Tyats13

Deleted_User wrote: »

Interest will always be charged on a card if you only make minimum payment, even if that interest is at 0% on a promotion.

You say you can 'easily make minimum payments'. What about when you need to clear the balance in full?

I can also easily do that. I don’t plan on using the whole credit limit anyway, I plan to use it for the day-to-day shopping. I’m assuming the ‘interest will always be charged if you only make min. payment, even with 0% promotion’ is something in the small print, right?

Candyapple wrote: »

If you want to apply for this, go into a branch and ask one of the bank staff to see if you would be likely to be accepted for this card (they can see it on their screen). Saves you wasting a hard search

I recently asked them online about their student card and they said they’ve stopped offering it, I guess it must be an in-branch exclusive but I’ll try anyway

[Deleted User]

Tyats13 wrote: »

I’m assuming the ‘interest will always be charged if you only make min. payment, even with 0% promotion’ is something in the small print, right?

It's a standard term of all credit cards.

You need to read the terms of any credit agreement you sign. There's no 'small print'.

Candyapple

If they've stopped offering the student card then make sure you ask them to check on their screens what credit card you would be eligible for. Their systems categorise you for pre-approved offers and they can also tell you what credit card limit you will get as well. If they say you aren't eligible for any, then don't bother applying online for a card with them because it will be a wasted search.

Samsung_Note2

Ive used both capital one and Aqua..and they were fine,just pay off each month as others have quite rightly said and your credit history will soon be on good ground.

I went from finding fresh air on credit nearly impossible,to having main stream Credit cards with reasonable limits..just pay your card(s) each month and when history is established maybe look at transfer to more main stream card if you need to.

System

Candyapple wrote: »

OK so first of all, if you are a student you won't be eligible for any of Halifax's cards except for the student one.
https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/help-guidance/terms-and-conditions/student-card/

This is utter rubbish - usually the student cards are easy to get if you hold that bank's student account but they will still consider you for their normal card if 'student' is available on their job status part of the application.

A alternative is the Aqua cashback card. It's available with an Amazon voucher here. It's a good starter card with 0.5% cashback and commission free purchases abroad but always pay each bill in full.