applying for credit card to improve credit score

supergirl137

sorry if this is in the wrong forum

i was thinking about applying for my first credit card with capital one, and then buying a mobile phone worth £600 and then paying off the credit card in instalments for the first few months before paying off a lump sum. is this do able or is this a silly idea? i really need to build my credit score and thought this would be a good option

my other option was trying to apply for paypal credit and then paying for the phone through them, but i read somewhere that using paypal credit doesn't improve credit rating

Mobeer

If you want to show you can reliably repay a credit card bill then start smaller. Get a card with no annual fee, buy £10 of petrol each month (or similar) and pay if off in full each month.

Don't keep a balance on the card from month to month as they will cost you.

[Deleted User]

You don’t improve you credit score since it doesn’t exist. You build credit history

Get a card and use it for normal monthly purchases and then pay it back in full each month following the statement.

SnowTiger

supergirl137 wrote: »

sorry if this is in the wrong forum

i was thinking about applying for my first credit card with capital one, and then buying a mobile phone worth £600 and then paying off the credit card in instalments for the first few months before paying off a lump sum. is this do able or is this a silly idea? i really need to build my credit score and thought this would be a good option

my other option was trying to apply for paypal credit and then paying for the phone through them, but i read somewhere that using paypal credit doesn't improve credit rating

Why do you need to build your credit score?

If you want to see a higher number, Experian is usually your best bet.

stripeyfox

Are you trying to improve your credit score or buy the £600 mobile phone? Which is the priority? Can you afford the mobile without credit? If you pay it off over a few months it will cost more.

As others have mentioned your credit score is basically a number packaged up and sold to you as if it means something. Get the card, put small purchases on it and pay it off in full each month - this will demonstrate to future lenders that you can manage your finances.

DCFC79

Buy a phone using cash, plenty of phones around or buy 1 that doesn't cost £600, there's a couple on hukd that cost around £300.


Amazon warehouse deals is also an option.

supergirl137

i want to build my credit history, and also need a new phone and was seeing if i could kill two birds with one stone, but judging by all the replies my best bet is just to do them separately

kwame41

What the posters are trying to help you with is two fold:-


Building Credit History - If you want to do this, as already stated get a credit card use a small amount each month and pay in full each month. Over time that will prove you are a reponsible borrower and will gradually build a good credit history. For free.



Buying the phone - If you pay for it on a card and only pay the minimum each month you will be paying a high rate of interest. Likely higher than normal as you may only be able to get a card with a higher than normal rate of interest. This will cost you more money.


The only way it would make sense to pay the minimum amount per month after you buy the phone with a credit card would be a 0% purchase credit card. Im not sure you would be eligible for one of those though.


:-)

PRAISETHESUN

There is no advantage to having an interest bearing debt to help build credit history - it only costs you money, particularly with the 30+% interest rates on sub prime cards. You can build credit history without it needing to cost you money.

As has been suggested, having a card that you use for monthly purchases and paying this off in full every month is the most sensible route forward. Set up a direct debit to help you avoid missing payments.

As for buying the phone, I would purchase it on the credit card but pay it off in full - this way you will be eligible for section 75 protection, and it won't cost you a fortune in interest. It sounds like you have the cash to buy it outright anyway, so this way you can kill two birds with one stone as you've suggested. Even if you put £1 on the card towards the phone you will get protection, which is useful if your card does not have a high enough limit to cover the entire purchase.

redux

Apart from the credit questions, I'd be trying to resist spending £600, or even £300, on a phone. Mine (Android, good enough for what I want) cost about £52, still going 27 months later.