[REQ] Credit Cards

mcguyver

What's the best credit card out there perks interest rate etc.....





Ta

rubadub

If I was starting out I would get the tesco one. I think you get €40 in vouchers (pays the first year duty). Then you get double points for tesco stuff. And they give you points on whatever you buy, i.e. book a flight and you get 1% back in costs. This additional points would more than pay for my gov duty per year.

In saying that my c/c is always in credit, I only use it to buy online and in supermarkets to avoid loose change. So I am not concerned what the interest is at all.

mcguyver

Well that's true I would intend paying it off as I get it would only be foe booking flights ect on the net. does tesco offer free travel insurance like the aib one? what's the story with the points can you just use them to by in store like boots points?



Thanks

rubadub

mcguyver wrote:

Well that's true I would intend paying it off as I get it would only be foe booking flights ect on the net. does tesco offer free travel insurance like the aib one? what's the story with the points can you just use them to by in store like boots points?



Thanks

I am not sure on the extras, you can pick up a leaflet at the checkout. You get double points in tescos, so if you spend €100 per week you usually got €1 in vouchers on your clubcard. I think this c/c acts as your clubcard too, which is handier too, just hand it in, no loose change and you get €2 per week. You get single points for all items bought outside of tescos, so buy €4,000 of stuff in the year and get your gov duty on the card back.

drdre

With the american express platinum card you can get access to all vip airport lounges for free and it has unlimited credit limit
But its very difficult to get

Markjsca1

And the annual fee for the platinum amex card is €550...not including government stamp duty.

Delboy05

just a warning re tesco as I've had their credit card a year now:
1.very rarely get double points in store for using my cc. Their system just does'nt do it 9 times out of 10 and dont bother trying to contact their club card or credit card customer support (see below)
2. no on-line facility to view the transactions on your account
3 customer service is crap. It’s based in the uk and is phone only. If you have a problem with your credit card, you’ll think that NTL customer service are the best ever after you’ve dealt with tesco’s…i.e. paid my govt duty last year on old card prior to transferring to tesco but tesco still charged me. So I was due a refund…it took 4 letters with proof of me having already paid the money and about 6 phone calls before this February I got my refund.
4. the limit is very low and they are very slow to change no matter how much evidence of salary etc you send in
5. their card allows you to exceed the limit by small amounts and you then get a charge for this on your next bill. Their customer service said that I should monitor my spending more closely…I said that’s hard as I can’t see it on-line!!!!
6. underpaid in february by 0.03c….got an interest bill last month for 21euro on this!!! (I pay my bill in full every month). Rang customer service and was told to write a letter…did that and 1 month later no response.

So I’ve finally had enough. Cancelling it this month when I pay the bill and getting a new 1…pigsback maybe. The double clubcard points is a myth, customer service does’nt exist and to really (supposedly) get full benefit you have to shop in tesco which to my experience is not the best in terms of quality

Markjsca1

The cheapest credit cards are Halifax Plastic (www.plastic.ie), Permanent TSB Ice Card and NIB Gold Card. You can see all the information compiled by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (yeah...they aren't just words on the end of every financial/banking ad!) here: http://www.financialregulator.ie/data/cr_costsur_files/Credit%20card%20cost%20survey%20-%20issue%206.pdf

Note: PDF Link.

mcguyver

Thanks for that review delboy can only imagine the trouble you would have if you had fraud issues etc...

drdre

Markjsca1 wrote:

And the annual fee for the platinum amex card is €550...not including government stamp duty.

yeah you are right, but theres loads of benifits.I tried getting it but its difficult and too many questions asked. Im a credit card collector

okidoki987

The cheapest credit cards are Halifax Plastic (www.plastic.ie), Permanent TSB Ice Card and NIB Gold Card.

If you pay the interest rate that the cc company charges, you need your head seen to, yse an overdraft instead much cheaper.

drdre

I have 4 credit cards, I use them logically and in the past 5 years i have never paid 1 penny interest except for the government charges.
I have made most of my money by using my credit card money and paying it back on time. At the age of 22 ive got over 20k limit which is good as im still a student

imeatingchips

I think the pigsback card is the best one out there. it has a good online facility and the points you earn (1 point per 1€) can be used on a good few things - cdwow vouchers and O2 credit are the main ones for me. Also, if you deposit money into a betting or poker account the tesco one charges it as a cash advance - the piggy one doesn't.

Make sure you don't get talked into taking out "payment protection" though - every provider will try it on.

drdre

imeatingchips wrote:

Make sure you don't get talked into taking out "payment protection" though - every provider will try it on.

Everytime i ring MBNA they try to add the feature its so annoying as they are on commision and want some money

Ruu_Old

Moved from Bargains, think it is best off here.

BuffyBot

does tesco offer free travel insurance like the aib one?

The "free travel insurance" isn't full insurance. It literally covers you for the travel aspect (i.e when on the plane). Don't be fooled into thinking it's a replacement for proper travel cover.

mcaul

Best overall credit card on the market is National Irish Bank.

Interest rate is from 8.5% to 10.5%

Interest only starts accruing from the statement pay by date and only on the amount you have not paid whereas nearly every other card issuer will charge you the full interest on every purchase from the date of the purchase to the date it is paid unless you pay the balance in FULL every month.

e.g. if you spent €2000 and paid off €1500, nat irish will charge interest from the "pay by" date on just the €500 outstanding. MBNA, Tesco, Bank of Ire, AIB, EBS etc etc would charge you interest on the full €2000 from the time you made each purchase to the day you made the €1500 payment and then continue to cahrge you interest on the €500 balance and every other further purchase you make - so in effect unless you pay the bill in full, you do not get even a single day's interest free credit.

imeatingchips

If you're 100% confident that you'll never be paying interest on it then the rate of interest is irrelevant and the 'best' card for you will be the one that gives the best reward program and/or other benefits such as travel insurance, online facilities, etc.

defo a case of horses for courses :

a) best low interest card
b) best reward card

edit: if you think you'll ever pay interest then go with the low interest as the interest you pay is sure to outweigh the rewards you receive