What credit card is best for me

SimonR22

Hello I’m just looking for some advice on what credit card is best for me. I’ve been looking into different types but still quite unsure. I’m 21 years old and haven’t had a credit card before but credit rating is sitting at good. 

I earn around 18,000 a year before tax with that figure increasing for the next 3 years. I don’t struggle with money week to week and without sounding like a bam I’m perfectly fine for my usual spending. Looking at getting a credit card as my friends and I will be travelling abroad this year watching our football team (usually just be in and out of the country) but think it would make more sense to be able to pay off the balance over time rather than all at once. When we do go it typically costs around £150 at the most so I can’t imagine the balance would ever be higher than £200ish. 

Long story short I am just unsure what sort of credit card to apply for? 0% purchase, rewards that sort of thing. As I stated will have no problem paying off these small balances. Thank you

WillPS

Have you done an eligibility check on MSE Credit Club, Compare the Market or similar? Also worth doing an eligibility check with whoever you bank with as they might be able to gain a better view from internally held data on you.

It'd be useful to see what you might be eligible for rather than recommending products from across the market.

It'd also be useful to know how much you'd be spending (monthly).

lr1277

I am confused. Are you saying you want a card where you don’t pay off the full amount owed by the date given?
Whilst there are such cards, the period where you can spend and only make the minimum payment is usually a matter of months, not lifelong.
For your first card, get into the habit of paying off the statement balance by the required date, preferably by direct debit. This will improve your credit file.
Forget about credit scores, they are never seen by lenders and are basically an informed guess by the agency giving you the score.
The ability to make minimum payments without interest being applied is normally given to customers who have a credit file showing they make payments on time and don’t carry a balance from month to month. Otherwise from a lender’s perspective, you are an unknown quantity/risk.
As @WillPS said try the eligibility checker with the bank that has your current account where your salary/wages are paid.
Edited to add a few cards for customers with a poor credit history and that includes people with little/no credit history, have fx fee free transactions. That is useful when travelling abroad. But those cards don’t normally start you off with a great limit. Plus you might feel there is a stigma using such a card to pay. Up to you of course, but no fx fees is a bonus. I can’t remember any card names as I last looked over a year ago.

SimonR22

lr1277 said:

I am confused. Are you saying you want a card where you don’t pay off the full amount owed by the date given?
Whilst there are such cards, the period where you can spend and only make the minimum payment is usually a matter of months, not lifelong.
For your first card, get into the habit of paying off the statement balance by the required date, preferably by direct debit. This will improve your credit file.
Forget about credit scores, they are never seen by lenders and are basically an informed guess by the agency giving you the score.
The ability to make minimum payments without interest being applied is normally given to customers who have a credit file showing they make payments on time and don’t carry a balance from month to month. Otherwise from a lender’s perspective, you are an unknown quantity/risk.
As @WillPS said try the eligibility checker with the bank that has your current account where your salary/wages are paid.
Edited to add a few cards for customers with a poor credit history and that includes people with little/no credit history, have fx fee free transactions. That is useful when travelling abroad. But those cards don’t normally start you off with a great limit. Plus you might feel there is a stigma using such a card to pay. Up to you of course, but no fx fees is a bonus. I can’t remember any card names as I last looked over a year ago.

Sorry it’s not a very clear post I have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about 🤣 I’m just looking for a card that I can pay these £150 flights ect on and back back very quickly. Read about building rewards ect but I’m not very clued up on credit cards so a lot of the terminology used goes over my head.

WillPS said:

Have you done an eligibility check on MSE Credit Club, Compare the Market or similar? Also worth doing an eligibility check with whoever you bank with as they might be able to gain a better view from internally held data on you.

It'd be useful to see what you might be eligible for rather than recommending products from across the market.

It'd also be useful to know how much you'd be spending (monthly).

yeah that kind of brings me back to what I’m trying to ask. Should I be looking at 0% purchases, credit building, Cashback & reward cards for this type of thing? Again apologies for the unclearness I’ve really got no clue what I’m actually looking for for this type of spending.

SimonR22

Bank with Royal Bank of Scotland and I’ve been approved for ‘The Royal Bank Credit Card’ a limit of 3,250 and 18.9% APR. Card seems to be geared towards spending on holiday but once again my lack of knowledge about this stuff is shining through. Does this mean I can’t use my card for things like booking a hotel in Lisbon and paying Jet2 flights with it? Basically what I’m asking is am I restricted to what I can use it for?

lr1277

The Royal Bank of Scotland credit card looks good. The bonus being no fx fees on foreign spend.

I suspect it is a Mastercard. So you can use it wherever Mastercard is accepted.  So I would think you could use it at the hotel and your flight. So not restricted as far as I know.

Just remember to pay off the statement balance preferably by direct debit.

Not entirely clear about what you said earlier, but don't pay off the bill till after you get your statement. If you choose to pay by direct debit, that payment will be taken about 3 weeks after the statement date.

WillPS

You might want to take a look at the Natwest Travel Reward Credit Card - they'll be able to see the same financial data.

The bonus on this is that all your 'travel' spend would be eligible for 1% cashback, as well as zero fx etc.

As above all credit cards on the market currently will give you an interest free period until each statement payment due date, if you clear the balance in full by the date shown then no interest will be payable.

CliveOfIndia

SimonR22 said:

but think it would make more sense to be able to pay off the balance over time rather than all at once.

The simple answer is that if you're wanting to spread the repayments over several months then you need a 0% purchase card.  With these, you're given a promotion period (say 12 months, for example).  You must make the minimum payment every month, as long as you pay at least the minimum each month then you'll pay no interest.  But after 12 months (or whatever the offer period is) any remaining balance will start to accrue interest at the card's standard APR, so you must have money put aside to clear it in full when the promotional rate expires.

For all "standard" credit cards you must repay the balance in full when the statement arrives (well, actually, by the "payment due" date, which is typically around 3 weeks or so after the statement arrives).  If you don't repay the full amount you'll be charged interest - which is usually at quite a high rate.  But as long as you're able to repay in full every month, this does give you the potential to earn cashback or rewards of some kind if you're eligible for a rewards card.

However, with limited credit history you may well find that you're not eligible for either a 0% card or a rewards card, you may have to content yourself with a credit-builder card.  These are a handy way to start building up a credit history (meaning you'll be able to apply for "better" cards in the future), and you'll benefit from Section 75 protection.  But they won't usually offer any benefits such as 0% spending or rewards, and you must repay them in full every month.

SimonR22

So I have already spent £60 this month on my credit card, paid off £30 so got £30 left still obviously. I am about to spend pay off the final £30 today but then going to spend another £140 next week. I am just wondering how the interest charge will work, do I have until the end of September to pay it off before being charged interest or do I get a month from when the £140 comes out of the account? Thank you

Nasqueron

SimonR22 said:

So I have already spent £60 this month on my credit card, paid off £30 so got £30 left still obviously. I am about to spend pay off the final £30 today but then going to spend another £140 next week. I am just wondering how the interest charge will work, do I have until the end of September to pay it off before being charged interest or do I get a month from when the £140 comes out of the account? Thank you

After your statement is generated you are given a date which you must pay by which will be on your statement. Ensure you pay it by then (direct debit in full is best) and you will not pay any interest (unless transactions were say cash)

The way you are using the card isn't the best - you should normally just spend on it, then wait for statement, then pay by due date, you can of course spend on it and pay off but that doesn't really achieve anything as the card looks like it's unused.

SimonR22

Yeah see I wasn’t sure how that would work. As I get paid weekly I obviously don’t get a big income of a couple grand every month so it’s better for me to pay it weekly. Will my credit score still increase overtime and is there any negative by doing it this way or will it make no difference to that at all?