Best credit card for single big purchase? 17 August 2022 at 9:02PM in Credit cards 17 replies 845 views

Heskk

I'm preparing to buy an engagement ring for my girlfriend in the coming months. Seeing as it's going to be a sizeable purchase (~£5k), I thought it would be wise to use a credit card for the protection but also to maximise the return.

Should I just be picking whichever card has the highest cashback offer at the time? Surely any other type of reward won't be worth it?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Deleted User]

Cashback is always a good choice. But obviously if you have a preferred retailer for example where the reward level would be higher, then you'd go for that. 

Obviously if this is your first credit card, then your options will be far more limited.

fatbelly

Check if the retailer accepts AmEx

and what you can get by applying through topcashback

WillPS

As zx81 notes a lot will depend on your credit worthiness, but if the jeweller accepts Amex, and you're eligible (check their eligibility checker), I'd personally consider the Amex Platinum Card (not Platinum Cashback).

Spend £6k, gets 66,000 membership rewards points and a £200 credit to be used with Amex Travel (could use it to book a nice hotel for your engagement?). The membership rewards points are flexible and can be exchanged for a number of travel loyalty schemes. If that doesn't interest you, change them in to Avios then change those Avios in to Nectar points and you'll end up with £528 worth of Nectar to spend at Sainsbury's, Argos or Ebay.

There is a ridiculous annual fee of £575, but this will be refunded pro-rata when you cancel, so the aim is - hit the target as quickly as possible, buy the ring, top the spending up to £6000 (either by shopping or by buying gift cards for places you would shop anyway - Amazon, supermarkets etc), get the points converted and the travel credit used ASAP then cancel. Should be doable inside a month. Effectively you will have paid £48 for a £200 travel agent credit and £528 worth of Nectar points.

You can also register for a load of hotel statuses (including Hilton Gold, which gets you free breakfast) and will last a good while after you cancel.

[Deleted User]

If you have never had a card and have limited credit history there is no guarantee you would even get a 5k limit, though I assume if you are spending that much, that you have a significant income (say 50-100k+) and not just saving / spending some silly sum like 3x monthly wage for a single item, that you might get a higher limit.

Anecdotally at least, AmEx have a reputation of giving higher limits but you'd have to do a credit check to be sure so try an eligibility checker like the MSE one and then see if it's worth trying the checker on the lender site

artyboy

fatbelly said:

Check if the retailer accepts AmEx

and what you can get by applying through topcashback

Mainstream jewellers tend to take Amex, which says something about the margins on jewellery 

OP - an option could be the Amex Platinum Cashback credit card - you'd get £125 of cashback, plus £20 from TopCashback.

A better option still would be if you had a friend (or anyone else) that could give you a referral - if it's the same as I'm seeing on my Amex app, you'd get £35 and your friend would get £50, so definitely better than TCB would pay.

This card does have a £25 annual fee, but overall works out best and you can cancel after a year if you don't want it longer term. I got over £700 in cashback from it last year plus some decent other offers so it's served me well (no I don't work for them honest!)

Good luck with whatever you choose to go for.

WillPS

Deleted_User said:

If you have never had a card and have limited credit history there is no guarantee you would even get a 5k limit, though I assume if you are spending that much, that you have a significant income (say 50-100k+) and not just saving / spending some silly sum like 3x monthly wage for a single item, that you might get a higher limit.

Anecdotally at least, AmEx have a reputation of giving higher limits but you'd have to do a credit check to be sure so try an eligibility checker like the MSE one and then see if it's worth trying the checker on the lender site

Many jewellers will take payment in installments, so don't panic if your credit limit is too low - just spend up to just below the limit, wait for the transaction to settle (normally 2 or 3 working days), then make a payment to cover it via debit card or faster payment - wait for the payment to reflect against your balance (will take between an hour and 2 working days depending on which card you go for - Amex are fastest in my experience), then repeat as many times as neccessary.

Jasonh2015

If it’s your 1st credit card it’s unlikely you’ll get “The Platinum Card” with a £5k limit. They have no preset limit, but a fresh £5k charge on a new applicant if you did get approved would most likely get declined. 

It’s also a charge card, not a credit card, so the balance is due in full. And they like a long credit history as well. I was approved 2 years odd after having their Cash back credit card. 

There’s a link below about rewards cards if you haven’t already seen it. 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-credit-card-rewards/

Marchitiello

Jasonh2015 said:

If it’s your 1st credit card it’s unlikely you’ll get “The Platinum Card” with a £5k limit. They have no preset limit, but a fresh £5k charge on a new applicant if you did get approved would most likely get declined. 

It’s also a charge card, not a credit card, so the balance is due in full. And they like a long credit history as well. I was approved 2 years odd after having their Cash back credit card. 

There’s a link below about rewards cards if you haven’t already seen it. 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-credit-card-rewards/

For new applicants, “The Platinum Card” is now a credit card (existing cardholders can retain the Chargecard product)

born_again

Jasonh2015 said:

If it’s your 1st credit card it’s unlikely you’ll get “The Platinum Card” with a £5k limit. They have no preset limit, but a fresh £5k charge on a new applicant if you did get approved would most likely get declined. 

It’s also a charge card, not a credit card, so the balance is due in full. And they like a long credit history as well. I was approved 2 years odd after having their Cash back credit card. 

There’s a link below about rewards cards if you haven’t already seen it. 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-credit-card-rewards/

Charge Cards do not have S75 protection. So would rule out what the OP wants.

MalMonroe

Hi, not wanting to rain on your parade but as someone who has been engaged, married and now divorced, as well as in extreme financial dire straits (I've had a DRO and that's no fun), I'd advise caution against spending such a high amount on a credit card to get what is, after all, a material possession. Also the sum you are prepared to 'spend' isn't really your money.

I know it's unsolicited advice but have you thought of getting something smaller, something you can afford? If you had around £5k you could put that into a savings account but you don't even have that amount to hand. (Pun intended.) Your girlfriend will love you just as much as ever, whatever amount you spend on a ring which is, after all, meant to be a token of your love and not something that will also need to be insured, if you are sensible about it.

I'm not saying it will happen but what would happen if you split up in a couple of years' time and haven't finished paying for the ring but say she can keep it? You will have to pay the balance and you will have nothing at the end.

Just a bit of food for thought and helpful, I hope. I really do think, after having spent on credit cards in quite a cavalier manner myself in the past, that saving up first would be the best way forward. And something cheaper. You don't need flash rings to demonstrate your love.

Remember what this site says about loans - "Discuss all types of personal loan. Remember MSE's stance on loans: 'borrow as little as possible, repay as quickly as possible'."

And Martin's mantra (one of them) - "Do I need it? Can I afford it? Will I use it? If the answer's no DON'T BUY"  

That's my 'sensible' approach to your question and one you may wish to discount but I speak from experience and am not trying to be a wet blanket. Please do think carefully. £5k is a LOT of money.

But if in the end, you do wish to go ahead and buy her a ring (hopefully not for thousands of pounds), please let her choose it! And don't forget the insurance.