Reccomend a Credit Card

SouperComputer

ive tried a search on boards, but to my amazement, there doesn't seem to be any topics on this.

anyway, im in the market for a credit card, what do you think is the best deal. Was gonna go for BOI for convienience sake, but I hear AIB are doing a lower interest rate. Also, what about MBNA.

Any advice appriciated!

Nuttzz

The key with credit cards is not to pay any interest at all.

I would recommend that you get a CC with a limit no more than 30% of your monthly salary and pay the lot by DD every month. CC's are just a cash substitute they are not a good borrowing product. If it is for general use (bringing the missus to a resturant etc) follow the above, if you want it so you can finance something in particular then get a loan.

SouperComputer

well, tis true bout not paying interest, but somtime you have to use it on a short term basis, for somting you really need....plane ticket to the states for a funeral etc.

also, between Master & Visa, i have heard that Master is more secure, is thie true?

slave1

Firstly I always pay balance in full so do not pay attention to interest rates

I therefore use the Tesco visa credit card and get about 25/30 yo yos in tesco vouchers every quarter just from day to day use of the credit card

Have never had any security issues whatsoever and use my card on holidays, any number of internet site etc. They have a well serviced freephone number when you want to make enquiries.

The may I look at it is I'm getting something back through the vouchers, about 100 a year.

SouperComputer

tesco, sounds interesting. ill chek it up later.

thanks

paddyc

try the pigsback one u get twice as many points as with tesco, and you can use them for loadsof differnt shops not just tesco ..

therecklessone

Pigsback is the one, I agree.

You get 1 piggypoint for every €1 spent.

30,000 points will get you a Playstation 2...

Also, the card is with MBNA and I have never had any trouble with them. There the best company I have had any financial dealings with.

BuffyBot

Master & Visa, i have heard that Master is more secure, is thie true?

No difference whatsoever

MarkR

Hmm.. I may switch from aib to the the clubcard one. I do like vouchers. :-) I pay full balance by DD each month (used to work for GE and their retail store cards that they offer in the UK, so I saw how those things can get out of hand)

RainyDay

American Express have a 1% cashback scheme for their 'Blue' card. For me, the 1% more than covers the €40 annual stamp duty.

Amex isn't quite as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard, but is very handy for those who travel a lot on expenses.

Paddy20

Rainyday,

Quote you;- " Amex isn't quite as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard " end.

Could their lack of popularity be something too do with their blatant overly American image and marketing tactics, and the fact that they used to charge an annual fee just to have an American Express card, the full outstanding balance of which you had to pay off in full every month. How was that a true credit card ?...

They lost any prestige they may have thought they deserved a long time ago imo ?..

P. :ninja:

RainyDay

Hi Paddy - I guess the Amex Blue card was their answer to your complaints - no annual fee, credit card not a charge card (so you don't HAVE to clear the full amount each month).

The real reason for their unpopularity with retailers is because they charge higher merchant fees than Visa or MC. But given that they route a little slice back to me, I'm not complaining.

I really don't care about marketing tactics or prestige. I do care about the couple of hundred quid I get back each year on the cashback scheme.

Nuttzz

Could their lack of popularity be something too do with their blatant overly American image and marketing tactics

no, its more to do with the charges to retailers which is higher than visa/mc also their terminals (if you can get them) are dearer to rent too and you require a seperate terminal from your visa/mc/laser one thats why most retailers shy away from accepting it, much to the disgust of visiting yanks

dahamsta

Whoever came up with the name "piggy points" should be taken outside and beaten to within an inch of his or her life.

adam

raphaelS

I have 2 cards:
-A Dublin Zoo MBNA, my "piggy points" are for the monkeys!
Pros of MBNA:
- Give you a card with a good balance without hassles before that I ask my bank (BOI) for one and they refused. A high balance, is not usefull for credit but if you want to buy something expensive with it (online for example) you don't have to put money onto your card account.
-The free web site allows you to see all your transactions before receiving the statment, usefull for non-euro transaction or to check any fraud...

Cons:
-They want you to get their protection insurance... mail, phone... Really a pain!

-An AMEX blue:
Pro:
-The money back... covers the government tax.
-Some US web site will accept only AMEX (this is why I have one)
Cons:
-Not very useful around Dublin as already said...!
-No web site... this is BOI's fault. Everywhere else in the world the card is managed by AMEX but here this is BOI...!

Raphael

Woden

Originally posted by Nuttzz
no, its more to do with the charges to retailers which is higher than visa/mc also their terminals (if you can get them) are dearer to rent too and you require a seperate terminal from your visa/mc/laser one thats why most retailers shy away from accepting it, much to the disgust of visiting yanks

hmm that stuff about the seperate terminals is not necessarily true, before we got out credit card transactions integrated with our regs, our seperate eftpos terminals would happily take amex along with the rest, i have heard about higher charges alright though

Sarsfield

BOI Visa (Trinity College Affinity Card)

No great advantages except I can check my balance & transactions online with BOI online banking.

Oh, and the pretty picture of college and the associated prestige of being recognised as a Trinity graduate Please forgive my one little bit of snobbery

Creamy Goodness

sorry to steal the topic of the thread but i didn't see the point in starting another thread.

i turn 18 next month and would like to get a credit card for buying cd's dvd's online. now when i use my dad's card i always make sure i have the money so he doesn't recieve interest so i believe i'll be the same. will i be better off getting a card from the likes of mbna or will my bank (BOI) give me one?

PhoenixRising

Bank of Ireland will give you a student credit card. They hand them out like candy. You're limit will be €350, but they increased mine after a year (not always a good thing though). AIB also seem to hand them out to students with not much bother.

Ro-76

I have 2 cards, a BOI Platimum advantage, because I get fully comp annual multitrip insurance, included in the annual fee (a little more expensive than a standard card). I alos have an MBNA card, but would not recommend MBNA, because they go very "hard sell" on the paymant protection, which is a very expensive product. Also, the is no online payment facility, so it's a DD, or a trip to the post office.

Ro

PhoenixRising

Originally posted by Ro-76
I alos have an MBNA card, but would not recommend MBNA, because they go very "hard sell" on the paymant protection, which is a very expensive product. Also, the is no online payment facility, so it's a DD, or a trip to the post office.

That's not true. I've an MBNA Visa card now and I can pay into it using BOI's banking 365 online. I just had to ring the customer care line and give them the card number. It takes around 3-4 days for the money to hit the VISA card.

Frank Grimes

Originally posted by PhoenixRising
That's not true. I've an MBNA Visa card now and I can pay into it using BOI's banking 365 online. I just had to ring the customer care line and give them the card number. It takes around 3-4 days for the money to hit the VISA card.

Same with TSB, I pay by direct debit anyway but I have that setup just in case.
I find MBNA alot better than my old one (TSB actually). I got a better limit from the outset, the people that work there are friendly and it's easy to contact them (as opposed to TSB from what I've found).
They have tried to get me to sign up to the payment protection thing alright, but a polite no isn't too much trouble to come out with on the phone, you can ignore the letters too if you get one

therecklessone

AIB 24 hour banking will let you pay an MBNA bill. All it takes is a phone call.

Paddy20

Yes, I have my AIB personal bank account set up. So that I can pay anything I want including my MBNA Credit card via the first class AIB Online Banking service. Available on: - www.24hour-online.ie

Also, Re: Payment protection fees. If you tell anyone trying really hard to push this on you. Just tell them you are 'Not Eligible' as you have just taken . :ninja:Early retirement "It works".