Martin Lewis money show last night

jonesMUFCforever

Gerry1 said:

jonesMUFCforever said:

castle96 said:

Had card(s) for 45 years. Always paid off in full. Just didn't realise this. What a con !

How is a free 'up to 56 days' interest free time period a con if you time your purchase right?

If you get 25 days to pay and you buy something just after a statement date then it's 31 days + 25 days = 56 days.

That's what I said LOL

MalMonroe

castle96 said:

Had card(s) for 45 years. Always paid off in full. Just didn't realise this. What a con !

No it isn't a con because they do explain it up front and beforehand. And plus, how would they make any money if they didn't calculate interest that way? 

Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's great but if we want credit and we don't pay IN FULL every month, we end up paying interest. But there's nothing underhanded about it, so I don't think it's a con. 

MalMonroe

dahj said:

I was a little surprised he didn't suggest the person's main banker (i.e. where their income goes into) for their first credit card. Especially before the subprime route!

That's not a great idea and I'm sure I've heard Martin say that in the past too. If you get into trouble with your credit card that's attached to your current account the bank can just plunder your currrent account. 

You're far better off applying elsewhere. That's what I've always done, specifically following Martin's advice. And always try for a 0% interest credit card in the first instance. Whether it's a balance transfer or just to shop.

jonesMUFCforever

MalMonroe said:

dahj said:

I was a little surprised he didn't suggest the person's main banker (i.e. where their income goes into) for their first credit card. Especially before the subprime route!

That's not a great idea and I'm sure I've heard Martin say that in the past too. If you get into trouble with your credit card that's attached to your current account the bank can just plunder your currrent account. 

You're far better off applying elsewhere. That's what I've always done, specifically following Martin's advice. And always try for a 0% interest credit card in the first instance. Whether it's a balance transfer or just to shop.

There are two sides to this.
1. Your bank where your wages are paid into and bills paid out of will know best at how you run your account and are best to decide if you can run a credit card properly.
2 Yes they have right of set-off but this rarely happens in practise. Lets be honest if you are in arrears with a credit card you are highly unlikely to have loads of money in a bank account.

[Deleted User]

jonesMUFCforever said:

MalMonroe said:

dahj said:

I was a little surprised he didn't suggest the person's main banker (i.e. where their income goes into) for their first credit card. Especially before the subprime route!

That's not a great idea and I'm sure I've heard Martin say that in the past too. If you get into trouble with your credit card that's attached to your current account the bank can just plunder your currrent account. 

You're far better off applying elsewhere. That's what I've always done, specifically following Martin's advice. And always try for a 0% interest credit card in the first instance. Whether it's a balance transfer or just to shop.

There are two sides to this.
1. Your bank where your wages are paid into and bills paid out of will know best at how you run your account and are best to decide if you can run a credit card properly.
2 Yes they have right of set-off but this rarely happens in practise. Lets be honest if you are in arrears with a credit card you are highly unlikely to have loads of money in a bank account.

A credit card 'Virgin' is more likely to get a standard credit card from their current banker including standard APR and intro offers. If they do happen to borrow it won't be circa 40% APR plus they can obliviously be issuer 'promiscuous' later...

Dandytf

RobM99 said:

It's true - and the reason why credit cards should be paid IN FULL!

How does interest occurred get lesser then as you continue to re pay over months/years.
The 'Full Balance' gets lower=less interest.

Dandytf

Thank you @zagfles -I could have read each post before I replied via page 2.

Dr_Crypto

I never knew this either. Then again I’ve always paid in full. No wonder they are such an expensive way of borrowing! 

RobM99

"How does interest occurred get lesser then as you continue to re pay over months/years?The 'Full Balance' gets lower=less interest."
Indeed it does, but the balance on which the interest is due is not calculated daily, it's on a specific date each month. So if that date is the 1st and your balance is £1,000 yet you pay £999 on the 2nd, the interest is on the figure on the 1st i.e. £1,000.
That's my understanding; happy to be shown otherwise.

[Deleted User]

Happy to show you otherwise.

The interest is calculated on the daily balance.  The total is then applied to your account on a single date.