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Advice: Credit Cards


RossP

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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!! :love:

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Aha' date=' 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!! :love:[/quote']

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!

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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.

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Guest NULL

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

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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...

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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.

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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........

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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.

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Guest Jake Wifebeater

If you absolutely have to get one of those evil little bastards, make sure you pay it off and get shot of it as soon as. I've never had one, and never will. I've seen too many people get sucked into the whirlpool of instant gratification then suffer for it. Buy it now, and you WILL pay later.

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why do you need a credit card to get a mortgage? my sister has never had one and she got a mortgage

i work in debenhams and to get my store discount they have given me a credit card..... i dont know how keen i am on this.

i mean im not gona use it. if i do buy something ill pay it off at the next til. but the 15% comes off my bill. its a bit evil cause under 18s just show a card and get their discount there and then.

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there are two kinds of credit card user, allegedly termed by the credit card company,

- the dead beat

- the revolver...

credit card companies do not like dead beats.... a dead beat is someone who pays their balance off at the end of the month and hence the credit card company earns little to nothing....

the revolver is a good little earner for the credit card company.... they tend to pay the minimum balance and subsequently maintain debt for fucking years.... these people tend to be targeted with all sorts of high apr loans (with varied incentives; like no payments for six months, during which the customer will continue to accrue interest of course)... great for the credit card company...eventual misery for the customer...

my advice.... for what it is worth.... if you must take out a card keep yourself on a tight reign.....

notably the MD of ACCESS said publicly that he wouldn't use one....

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Never' date=' [b']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.

i have a debenhams store card which i signed up for too get extra discount during one of their sales. i've only used it twice and paid it off as soon as the bills came through. it's been quite handy to be honest but i wouldn't use it all the time. last time i used it i really needed new clothes but the student loans weren't in till their sale ended so i figured i'd be better off putting it on the store card and getting them much cheaper in the sale rather than waiting. then as soon as my loan came in i paid it off. just as well as the interest is extortionate.

other handy thing about it is that anything i buy is price guaranteed so if it goes into a sale within 3 months of me buying it i can claim back the difference which is quite nifty.

i wouldn't recommend getting one though, they are a rip off and i keep mine on a very tight leash.

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other handy thing about it is that anything i buy is price guaranteed so if it goes into a sale within 3 months of me buying it i can claim back the difference which is quite nifty.

i love that policy. not that im gona use it. but they are nice to us.

theres a megaday coming this week. and we are getting our cards so that we can buy stuff early before the sale starts but at sale prices... dont get how they do it though....

but its such a bad idea.

ive still got a gift card though that i won at our opening party.

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Guest Jake Wifebeater
i'm away to get a mortgage and i've not got a credit card. never have. i've got no intention of getting one either

Good lad. Not having one of the buggers doesn't have any bearing on your "mortgagability", if that's even a word. I don't think I was even asked when I applied for my mortgage.

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Good lad. Not having one of the buggers doesn't have any bearing on your "mortgagability"' date=' if that's even a word. I don't think I was even asked when I applied for my mortgage.[/quote']

If anything, having a balance on a credit card actually works against you when applying for a mortgage because I know one of the things they ask you when you apply for a mortage is how much debt you have. And credit card debt has to be included. Or at least that's what happened when I applied for a mortgage.

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loans go against you as well when applying for a mortgage, they take into considoration everything you have to pay out each month.

i have six credit cards which is pretty amazing considoring i probably have one of the worst credit ratings going!

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Guest Bob Double Jack
Never' date=' [b']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.

thats the most sensible advice i have seen - they are well fuckin nasty. i will never own a credit card again after running up debt once before and paying off a 15000 loan over 4 years - that was painful, but i am rolling in it now!:gringo:

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picloan.JPG

"Yes we have a mortgage..."

"So' date=' let's see... You give me 25 grand, I pay you back more than double, and if I miss a payment you'll take my house? That's fantastic!"[/quote']

Hahaha. Awesome.

I've had the evils of credit cards booted into me by the old man since I was cutting my neighbours grass for a fiver.

My mate got a credit card that doesn't have a monthly charge (somehow), so he keeps it in his wallet doing next to fuck all and slowly builds up a positive credit history.

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