I'm a CC noob, what type should i apply for?

Jamopy

So last year i applied for my first CC and was turned down, even though i had a good credit rating and it was an offer from my own bank (which knew how much money i had) that i took up. I never really got an answer why, and this made me ginger to apply again.

Now at the end of this year i want to get a CC again. I'm not in debt at all, but for things like hiring cars and other occasional situations many places will only take CCs and not debit cards. I would like to get one, preferably the best deal that i can, but without running the risk of being rejected again.

Does this mean i should go for a credit builder even though my Experian credit rating is currently 994 out of 999? And if i do is there a certain amount of time i need to have it before i can move to a better type?

Any info at all, just throw it at me please.

[Deleted User]

Your score plays no part in lending decisions.

Use an eligibility checker first to see what you may be eligible for and then apply accordingly.

Use daily for usual expenses then pay back in full each month after the statement and repeat

Jamopy

!!! wrote: »

Your score plays no part in lending decisions.

Use an eligibility checker first to see what you may be eligible for and then apply accordingly.

Use daily for usual expenses then pay back in full each month after the statement and repeat

The eligibility tool isn't working for some reason at the moment. I checked over on Experian for their tool and they say I'm pre-approved on some credit builders with very low limits and very high interests. Although i was looking at that and even some of those had "not for people who've never had credit before" in some of the small print. The last one i applied for was similarly poor (low limit/high interest) and i still got rejected. Is there a way of knowing which ones will reject me simply for never having had a CC before?

Willing2Learn

Use the eligibility checker on the card issuer's website.
For example: MBNA checker and CapitalOne checker.

[Deleted User]

If you’ve no credit you’ll need a “credit builder” card.

Interest doesn’t matter as you’ll be paying the balance off in full each month - right?

YorkshireBoy

How old are you?
Residential status?
On the electoral roll?
How many active credit accounts on your credit report?
As above, but settled credit accounts?
Employed?
Income?
Age(s) of oldest accounts on your credit report?

abc.xyz

Jamopy wrote: »

The eligibility tool isn't working for some reason at the moment. I checked over on Experian for their tool and they say I'm pre-approved on some credit builders with very low limits and very high interests. Although i was looking at that and even some of those had "not for people who've never had credit before" in some of the small print. The last one i applied for was similarly poor (low limit/high interest) and i still got rejected. Is there a way of knowing which ones will reject me simply for never having had a CC before?

Lloyds and Halifax, if pre-approved, tell you your limit and APR from the eligibility check. Seems the other lenders in the Lloyds Group use the same software, so thay may do this too...

https://www.mbna.co.uk/credit-card-eligibility-checker.html
https://www.lloydsbank.com/credit-cards/eligibility-checker.asp
https://indicator.rbs.co.uk/
https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/eligibility-checker/

If you have no credit history at all, it's unlikely, but it's worth a shot as their worst cards are still better than the likes of Cap One, Aqua, etc.

yksi

Capital One, Aqua, Marbles, Ocean, Vanquis - these are the "subprime" lenders likely to say yes. From your confusion it seems as if you don't have a "reason" to be rejected so it is likely to be a combination of:

Not on electoral roll or the address not matching your bank account(s), not the one paying the household bills, pay-as-you-go mobile phone (not contract), car insurance paid up front (not a monthly agreement), no overdraft facility

- meaning you have very little in your credit history to show a lender that you're able to manage money and pay bills on time or debt back on time.

There is nothing wrong with the "subprime" cards except for the interest rate. If you pay your card off in full every month, the interest rate will not matter in the least, because you'll never be charged interest, and after a few months of doing that, other lenders will be able to see that you can handle credit, and you'll be able to apply for a better card.

For what it's worth, Vanquis has great customer service out of these. They're otherwise all clones of one another, a low limit credit card that costs a bomb if you don't pay it all off each month.

Ben8282

Try your own bank again in the first instance.

Jamopy

yksi wrote: »

Capital One, Aqua, Marbles, Ocean, Vanquis - these are the "subprime" lenders likely to say yes. From your confusion it seems as if you don't have a "reason" to be rejected so it is likely to be a combination of:

Not on electoral roll or the address not matching your bank account(s), not the one paying the household bills, pay-as-you-go mobile phone (not contract), car insurance paid up front (not a monthly agreement), no overdraft facility

Apart from the mobile phone (where i'm PAYG with giffgaff) i have all of these. Electoral roll, pay all my own bills, pay my motorbike insurance up front yearly, etc. Hence why i was so confused about being rejected.

However the eligibility tool got working again so i did a run for a credit builder and got pre approved for the Capital One card so have applied for that now and been accepted. I was hoping that perhaps i could have gotten a better one, but given the main reason anyone could think of me being rejected was simply because i'd never had a CC before i guess i just need to take whatever i can get in order to get a better one in the future.

Thanks for the help of everyone who contributed :beer: