How does a solvent individual get a credit card with little or no credit history?

J_B

Just a random thought - if the OP maxed their Amex after two weeks, could they pay off most of the balance mid-term to give them more elbow room???

skinnish

J_B said:

Just a random thought - if the OP maxed their Amex after two weeks, could they pay off most of the balance mid-term to give them more elbow room???

Why not

adamp87

dcfc67 said:

I use my credit card to take advantage of the airline points. I only have a £3200 limit so last year when I was planning a holiday costing just over £5000 I paid £4000 cash into my credit card account  leaving me with a healthy balance then a few days later paid for the holiday leaving me with an outstanding debt of just over £1000 which I cleared a few days later.

My limit was increased a few months ago to £5200.

On a credit card not a charge card? How did you accomplish that? Just curious more than anything I’ve never seen an account let you to do that. The only way a positive is possible is a a refund I thought.

bozo007

2020_hs said:

@msallen I did and I do have a US AmEx card - I was most disappointed when that did nothing for me here.  The reverse worked nicely when I first arrived in the US and needed to build my credit.  I suspect that my not having a job when I first returned to the UK was a major reason.  The obsession with income rather than means to support oneself and proof of years of paying off one's bills in full is the issue.  Still, now that I am working again and we have just bought a house, things will almost certainly improve going forward.  Thx 

Amex has a service called Global Transfers - https://www.americanexpress.com/us/customer-service/global-card-relationship/. When you applied for the card, the online application form would have asked you if you hold any other Amex product anywhere else - this is basically the place you enter your US card number. When I moved to UK in 2014 after my company transferred me here, I applied in this manner (and I was lucky that I already knew about it) and got a screen saying "We are reviewing your application" at the end of the form filling & submission. 2-3 days letter, I got an email from the Amex Global Transfers team asking for proof of identity and address in UK. I sent scanned copies the same day and 3 days later, the card was delivered with a low 5 figure limit which is more than sufficient for me (it has since been raised without having to ask for it). Plus the "Member since" box showed the year when I got my first ever Amex card. Please note that when all this happened, I was less than a month old in UK, not even a UK citizen, obviously no credit history and with a bank account just 3 weeks old. Also, this usually works better if you are applying for a product similar to what you have in the US - so if you are applying for a credit card in UK, then you should have an Amex credit card in the US and not just their charge card. I know someone who followed the same process just a few months ago and got a card quickly. So this is still a valid route and you may want to call them and ask about using it.

This is probably the reason I am happy to pay a fee for an Amex product - their service, when you really need it, is very very good.

dcfc67

I constantly make payments to my credit card, quite often when I get my monthly statement its in credit.
I just play my cards right (sorry for the pun).
its a real shames AMEX are party poopers now you cannot have the bonus miles if you've held a card in the last 2 years.

brianposter

2020_hs said:

@brianposter - thanks for the suggestion.  I have historically - in this digital age - relied on the phone and email and text.  Even in 2020, for some things, nothing says complaint like a formal letter.  Once I have decent limits on a couple of cards (so some time down the road), I will likely cut up my Barclaycard.  If there is one thing I hate, it's spending money on a credit card and getting zip back for doing so.  I'm sure we MSE devotees all feel the same way:-)

I use Barclaycard because they have always been very good when dealing with them by snailmail - in contrast to Barclays bank who were totally useless in my only dealings with them.

As to cashback, Barclaycard do give me cashback, and that is despite my thinking that it is an insane system - you pay extra for your purchases and then they return some of that to you. ???

Fighter1986

adamp87 said:

dcfc67 said:

I use my credit card to take advantage of the airline points. I only have a £3200 limit so last year when I was planning a holiday costing just over £5000 I paid £4000 cash into my credit card account  leaving me with a healthy balance then a few days later paid for the holiday leaving me with an outstanding debt of just over £1000 which I cleared a few days later.

My limit was increased a few months ago to £5200.

On a credit card not a charge card? How did you accomplish that? Just curious more than anything I’ve never seen an account let you to do that. The only way a positive is possible is a a refund I thought.

You make a manual payment from your current account to your credit card via faster payments; you quote your credit card companies sort code and account number using your 16 digit credit card number as the reference number.

Depending on the card issuer the payment to the credit card usually credits the following morning and your limit is ready to spend again mid-statement cycle. It's very easy.