First Credit Card

Sue7

Please could someone give me some advice, my husband and i have decided to get our 1st credit card as we are going abroad this year and we are intending to take it with us just in case of an emergency. We also intend to pay for our holiday with it and pay off the balance once we return.
Does anyone have any idea what card would be best for us as we are completely in the dark on these matters.

Thanks in Advance

Sue

Chadsman

The best cards for spending overseas are any of Nationwide's cards or the Lombard Direct card as they dont apply a forex loading.

The NW cashback card offers 0.25% cashback (0.5% in first 6 months) and up to 46 days interest free, but cashback is only earned on purchases made in the UK (in GB£) - no cashback is earned on purchases made overeas or in a foreign currency.
The classic card (0% for first 6 months) and the Comic Relief card (0.5% donation plus £5.65 on first use) both offer up to 56 days interest free but no cashback.

Check out... http://www.nationwide.co.uk/creditcard/default.htm and http://www.lombarddirect.com/cards_basics.html
The Lombard card also offers 0% for the first 6 months.

The Liverpool Victoria credit card does not apply a loading for purchases within the EU but does levy a charge of (???) 1% outside the EU. They also underwrite the RCN card, the Caravan Club card, the Saga card and (not sure about this???) the Civil Service card.

All other cards (that I know of) levy a fee typically of up to 2.75%
HTH,

grumbler

Sue7 wrote:

Please could someone give me some advice, my husband and i have decided to get our 1st credit card as we are going abroad this year and we are intending to take it with us just in case of an emergency.

For traveling abroad it is worth thinking not only about credit card for emergency, but also about about proper debit card for regular spending. Read
'The cheapest way to spend overseas: save 6% ' article in the 'CREDIT CARDS' section.

We also intend to pay for our holiday with it and pay off the balance once we return.

1. Be aware that usually tourist companies charge extra for paying by a credit card. However, credit card gives some extra protection if things go wrong with tourist company.
2. If you have a long holiday or pay in advance and the card does not have 0% on purchases for N months introductory offer you can end up with paying some interest.

Does anyone have any idea what card would be best for us as we are completely in the dark on these matters.

Chadsman already advised you on best cards for using abroad. Why don't you use credit card here in UK? They have a lot of advantages. After coming back have a read of other articles in the above mentioned section.

Robert_Sterling_3

Get a Nationwide 0% interest card.

Reaper

Robert_Sterling wrote:

Get a Nationwide 0% interest card.

I disagree. They are asking about a card for purchases. The 0% Nationwide card (the "Classic") only gives you that rate for balance transfers.

Better to get the "Cash Reward" card for purchases. Sadly it does not pay as much cashback as it used to but still better than nothing.