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[RossP]

Aha, time to take the next step in growing up - getting a credit card. Mainly because i don't have a credit history as such, and i'll be looking to get a mortgage come August time.

What kinds does everyone have? can you suggest any good ones?

Mainly looking for something that i can get 0% interest over 3months, any kind of cool free bonuses welcomed. I won't be using it often at all to be honest, but kinda need one to last the summer before i get my first "real" paycheck in August.

Any help/advice welcome!!

[EchelonDivision]

Originally Posted by RossP

Aha, time to take the next step in growing up - getting a credit card. Mainly because i don't have a credit history as such, and i'll be looking to get a mortgage come August time.

What kinds does everyone have? can you suggest any good ones?

Mainly looking for something that i can get 0% interest over 3months, any kind of cool free bonuses welcomed. I won't be using it often at all to be honest, but kinda need one to last the summer before i get my first "real" paycheck in August.

Any help/advice welcome!!

If you don't have a credit history, you'll find it incredibley difficult to find a Credit Card with a low APR.

A Credit Card will not give you a better credit rating in 3 months either!

[RossP]

bugger. should've thought about this quite a while earlier methinks.

[Chris]

not having a credit card won't stop you getting a mortgage. and you can get a half decent credit card straight off if you shop around. the trick is not to use the credit card as free money, but just a way of spreading payments over 2 or 3 months. then it doesn't make much difference about the interest as long as you stay in control of your spending (easy for me to say, I'm struggling to pay off my credit card and overdraft).

if you're just getting a credit card to help your credit rating for a mortgage then before you do anything go see a mortgage advisor and see if you even need to. they'll go over your options and run a credit check then give you a total that you can apply for.

Its quite easy to get a credit card, make a few small payments and pay them off monthly, keep doing this and your credit rating will go up.

Have you considered a personal loan? I had one which i have now paid off from LLoysds TSB. £1500 Flexible over 5 years, repayments at £45 per month or more if you want. It is possible to get more. You would most likely be able to get one if you have had a wage coming into your account regularly.

I would suggest this over a credit card

[MattJimF]

Have a read of this to get an idea of what would be suitable for your needs and what to be weary of.

[666]

you should maybe get store-cards first. they also help improve your credit rating.
but keep in mind, everytime you see a mortgage adviser in an official interview for taking out a loan, your credit rating may be affected in the slight negative...

[Hardcore Mel]

if you've ever had a pay monthly phone, you'll have a credit rating. i got a 0% interest credit card the first time i applied because so many lenders offer 6-9 months at 0% as a introductory rate. Egg were pretty good for this. be careful though, because they'll keep increasing your credit limit and it's very easy to get sucked into this.

[Bass Cadet]

Paying your utility bills regularly and on time also improves your credit rating. I have recently become guarantor on a mates bank account, because he had never had one before, and the bank were being silly about it. Maybe your folks would do this for you on a mortgage? Depends what your folks are like though........

[Neil]

Never, ever apply for store cards. They are a complete rip-off with huge APR rates (20% + usually) and prove to be a very expensive way of getting in to debt.

Like people have said - shop around. If you are going to use your credit card for a while (say more than 9 months) then look beyond the cards that offer introductory rates. Personally, I prefer to go with a credit card that gives me a stable and low APR and ignore any introductory rates or other discounts.

I used to have an Egg card but they don't offer the best deal anymore and instead currently have a Capital One Platinum card. 6.9% APR all the time and that is even lower than most personal loans.

Oh, and remember to get yourself on the electoral register. This is something that is checked when you apply for credit cards/mortgages/loans and can affect whether your application is successful or not.