First credit card + foreign travel card

joshyboy

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Willing2Learn

Have you looked at an Aqua Reward card? It is a credit-building card, it pays cashback, and there is 0% non-sterling transaction fees.
https://www.aquacard.co.uk/credit-cards/aqua-reward/

The best way to use a card is to use it for your normal stuff that is in your monthly budget (things such as groceries and petrol), and then pay off the balance in full each month, so as not to pay any interest.

eDicky

joshyboy wrote: »

My first question is, is having a credit card for my time here better than having cash with me the whole time?

Welcome to the forum Josh. Certainly it would be better to use a credit card that has no fees or exchange rate markup for overseas use, rather than the hassle and expense of exchanging cash. See the MSE advice:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/

As mentioned by W2L, your best bet for a start may be the Aqua Reward, build your credit history by everyday use and pay in full after receiving your statement (not before), setting up a direct debit is a convenient way.

Unfortunately the Aqua card does not give fee free ATM withdrawals and you may find MasterCard not accepted in some German outlets and payment machines, making a supply of cash euros necessary. Anyway you should not rely on only one card, so open a Starling Bank account on your smartphone, use that as well for payments and cash withdrawals at the ideal MasterCard rate, no fees.

https://www.starlingbank.com/

The Metro Bank debit card also has no fees for purchases and cash withdrawals throughout Europe, and can be obtained immediately when opening an account in branch.

Finally, make sure you always pay by card in euros (or whatever the local currency) if a terminal gives a choice of billing you in pounds, and reject any attempt by an ATM to offer you its own exchange rate for your pounds by selecting 'Without Conversion' or similar.

joshyboy

Willing2Learn wrote: »

Have you looked at an Aqua Reward card? It is a credit-building card, it pays cashback, and there is 0% non-sterling transaction fees.

The best way to use a card is to use it for your normal stuff that is in your monthly budget (things such as groceries and petrol), and then pay off the balance in full each month, so as not to pay any interest.

Yeah I thought this would be the way to go. Someone told me that it's a bad company to be associated with, but surely that won't affect anything?

I was planning on putting a regular payment on it, if that was possible, like my monthly contract. If that's not something I can do, then I could possible buy a few small things each month to pay off.

joshyboy

eDicky wrote: »

Welcome to the forum Josh. Certainly it would be better to use a credit card that has no fees or exchange rate markup for overseas use, rather than the hassle and expense of exchanging cash. See the MSE advice:

As mentioned by W2L, your best bet for a start may be the Aqua Reward, build your credit history by everyday use and pay in full after receiving your statement (not before), setting up a direct debit is a convenient way.

Unfortunately the Aqua card does not give fee free ATM withdrawals and you may find MasterCard not accepted in some German outlets and payment machines, making a supply of cash euros necessary. Anyway you should not rely on only one card, so open a Starling Bank account on your smartphone, use that as well for payments and cash withdrawals at the ideal MasterCard rate, no fees.

The Metro Bank debit card also has no fees for purchases and cash withdrawals throughout Europe, and can be obtained immediately when opening an account in branch.

Finally, make sure you always pay by card in euros (or whatever the local currency) if a terminal gives a choice of billing you in pounds, and reject any attempt by an ATM to offer you its own exchange rate for your pounds by selecting 'Without Conversion' or similar.

Thanks for the welcome! I thought it would be better to use a card for my overseas spending. I think I'll need to build up a credit rating though otherwise will I just be instantly refused one?

I have a Santander 123 graduate account, that they no longer do, which is my current account. That would be my 'backup' card so I don't just rely on the credit card.

I'm self employed too, but was unsure if that belongs on this forum. How does this affect my chances of receiving a credit card?

[Deleted User]

joshyboy wrote: »

Someone told me that it's a bad company to be associated with, but surely that won't affect anything?

The name of the lender doesn't appear on your credit files.

Stop talking to mad people.

Willing2Learn

joshyboy wrote: »

Someone told me that it's a bad company to be associated with, but surely that won't affect anything?

I was planning on putting a regular payment on it, if that was possible, like my monthly contract. If that's not something I can do, then I could possible buy a few small things each month to pay off.

I've had an Aqua card since 2013 and have not had any problems. The people who usually complain about Aqua on these boards, are folks that have got into financial difficulties, as the APR is very high. But if you pay off in full each month then that will not be an issue. And yes, you could put your monthly phone contract on the card and only use it for that. Just remember to set up the Direct Debit to pay the full balance each month.

joshyboy wrote: »

I'm self employed too... How does this affect my chances of receiving a credit card?

I was not in employment when I applied for the Aqua card. So I wouldn't have thought that being self-employed would impact on your chances of getting a sub-prime card.

joshyboy

Deleted_User wrote: »

The name of the lender doesn't appear on your credit files.

Stop talking to mad people.

I thought so, but I still felt I needed to ask here!

joshyboy

Willing2Learn wrote: »

I've had an Aqua card since 2013 and have not had any problems. The people who usually complain about Aqua on these boards, are folks that have got into financial difficulties, as the APR is very high. But if you pay off in full each month then that will not be an issue. And yes, you could put your monthly phone contract on the card and only use it for that. Just remember to set up the Direct Debit to pay the full balance each month.

I was not in employment when I applied for the Aqua card. So I wouldn't have thought that being self-employed would impact on your chances of getting a sub-prime card.

I've noticed that. I have no plans to do anything dodgy, and I have the money to pay for my contract monthly anyway, so all this does is add an extra step.

Should I just put in what I expect to be earning this year then?

Also, to anyone reading this, and apologies for my naivety, but how exactly would I set up a direct debit to pay off my balance each month, if I set up my monthly phone payments on my credit card?

Willing2Learn

joshyboy wrote: »

… how exactly would I set up a direct debit to pay off my balance each month, if I set up my monthly phone payments on my credit card?

Once the physical credit card is in your hand, and you have received your details for online banking, then you logon and navigate to the payments and Direct Debit screen. You set up the Direct Debit there. Alternatively, you can set it up via telephone banking.

A word of warning though. The first months Direct Debit payment is not always set up in time for the first statement. This would mean you would have to make the first monthly payment manually, via Faster Payment or via a debit card. Your statement will say if the Direct Debit is set up, so you will be able to check.

joshyboy

Willing2Learn wrote: »

Once the physical credit card is in your hand, and you have received your details for online banking, then you logon and navigate to the payments and Direct Debit screen. You set up the Direct Debit there. Alternatively, you can set it up via telephone banking.

A word of warning though. The first months Direct Debit payment is not always set up in time for the first statement. This would mean you would have to make the first monthly payment manually, via Faster Payment or via a debit card. Your statement will say if the Direct Debit is set up, so you will be able to check.

Okay that makes sense, thank you so much for your help I truly appreciate it. I'll keep an eye on the first months payment.

I've just applied, and been given 54.9% APR. If I pay everything off in time, this doesn't matter? Is there anything else I should be aware before I accept?