Any cards offering 6 or 9 month 0% on purchases??

ferox666

Hi all, I wonder if anyone can help.

I know the whole "credit crunch" issue will perhaps make this more difficult,

but are any cards offering 6 or 9 (or more!) months with 0% interest on purchases for new applicants?

If any of you kind people can also advise if they are likely to turn me down because of they are being careful who they lend to? I am 22 and currently income is only £14k, but I have no debts other than a car HP loan, which is being paid (no missed payments) and I also have around £4000 in savings. thanks

dazza.mk

Unfortunately nobody can predict if a card will accept or refuse you, the best you can do to try and ensure you are accepted is make sure you are on the electoral role and that you establish a credit history

Try a smart search on Moneysupermarket for Purchase cards
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/cards/credit_card.asp

There's no guarantee that the cards that come up will accept you, but theoretically they may be closer to your credit profile.

thumshie

another list at:
http://www.stoozing.com/purchases.htm

Brief check and halifax/HSBC/First direct cards are available - link on stoozing to halifax one seems broken but if you go direct to halifax, they have a card for purchases...

CannyJock

Plenty of cards offering more than 9% interest on cards, typical is about 17 or 19% at the moment after initial periods. Remember on credit cards, high % bad, low % good.

You're best bet would be to apply for a 0% purchase card where you get 0% for an initial period. HSBC are offering one for 12 months at the moment.

If you go to http://www.moneysupermarket.com/cards/credit_card.asp and tick the box for 0% balance transfer cards, you can fill in their Smart Search details, it'll estimate your credit score and tell you which cards are likely to accept you.

To make the most of your 14K, I'd suggest any spending in supermarkets, fuel, etc etc you put on this card. When you activate the card ask their customer services person to set up a direct debit to repay the minimum balance and make sure there's always enough money in your bank account to pay this.

If you miss a payment you'll get a black mark on your file.

Take the money you're NOT spending because it's going on the card now and make sure you squirrel this away in a high interest bank account to actually make you some money.

Spend wisely and then 2 months before your 12 month 0% period is up, come back and look for a card to switch the balance to - use Martin's Tart alert thing to send you an SMS or email reminder. If in doubt, set two reminders!

This way you get a credit card to build a good looking credit history with no missed payments for the time when you'll need credit for some major purchases.