what credit card should i get?

barclay2

Ok, i know absolutely nothing about credit cards. But i do know i need one. Im a single guy in his twenties and goin away travelling for anywhere from a few months to a year or so. And i know a credit card would come in handy in that kind've situation. So i need advice.

What exactly should one look for in a credit card? Is there a particular credit card out there that would suit a guy goin away travelling?

board om

barclay2 wrote: »

Ok, i know absolutely nothing about credit cards. But i do know i need one. Im a single guy in his twenties and goin away travelling for anywhere from a few months to a year or so. And i know a credit card would come in handy in that kind've situation. So i need advice.

What exactly should one look for in a credit card? Is there a particular credit card out there that would suit a guy goin away travelling?

i dont know which cards are worth getting but i can tell which NOT to get. stay well clear of MBNA for the following reasons:

1) they wiil give you the biggest credit limit which is usually a completely unnecessary large amount and way more than you need, which only leads to trouble.
2) if you miss a payment they hoard on the interest. i know you most likely wont miss payments but if you are travelling it can happen because you might not be able to get to a bank, etc.
3) if, god forbid, you missed a few payments they will have you on a bad debters list before you know whats hit you. a place i used to work for used to process credit applications for customers and over half the customers had bad credit due to MBNA. and they werent dodgy customers, they had just missed the odd payment and where as the likes of AIB and BOI would let it slide, MBNA would nail them to a wall by their balls (or titttys. im all for equal rights).
4) if you are paying by Direct Debits the payments can be taken a bit irrationally on differnt dates.
5) if you got into financialy diffiiculty and you were not able to pay off the card, the likes of AIB, BOI, PTSB, etc will let you pay a certain amount each month and treat it like a loan as such. MBNA will do no such thing and will demand full payment, and then nail you to the wall credit wise.

there are probably loads more reasons but i cant hink of any at the moment.

i got a call about the new AB credit Card. its called a Click Card or something and its supposed to be the cheapest in Ireland and have loads of benefits. have a read into that. also most cards give you the ffirst 6 months interest free so if you were really smart you would just keep changing card every 6 months. i think that works anyway.

hope this helps.

barclay2

board om wrote: »

i dont know which cards are worth getting but i can tell which NOT to get. stay well clear of MBNA for the following reasons:

1) they wiil give you the biggest credit limit which is usually a completely unnecessary large amount and way more than you need, which only leads to trouble.
2) if you miss a payment they hoard on the interest. i know you most likely wont miss payments but if you are travelling it can happen because you might not be able to get to a bank, etc.
3) if, god forbid, you missed a few payments they will have you on a bad debters list before you know whats hit you. a place i used to work for used to process credit applications for customers and over half the customers had bad credit due to MBNA. and they werent dodgy customers, they had just missed the odd payment and where as the likes of AIB and BOI would let it slide, MBNA would nail them to a wall by their balls (or titttys. im all for equal rights).
4) if you are paying by Direct Debits the payments can be taken a bit irrationally on differnt dates.
5) if you got into financialy diffiiculty and you were not able to pay off the card, the likes of AIB, BOI, PTSB, etc will let you pay a certain amount each month and treat it like a loan as such. MBNA will do no such thing and will demand full payment, and then nail you to the wall credit wise.

there are probably loads more reasons but i cant hink of any at the moment.

i got a call about the new AB credit Card. its called a Click Card or something and its supposed to be the cheapest in Ireland and have loads of benefits. have a read into that. also most cards give you the ffirst 6 months interest free so if you were really smart you would just keep changing card every 6 months. i think that works anyway.

hope this helps.

Thanks for that, ive been getting letters from MBNA for years and was considering finally giving in to them!

davyjose

AFAIK Halifax are dooing the lowest rate right now.

mickoneill30

It depends what you want from your credit card.

If you're not going to pay off the card every month then get the one with the lowest interest rate.

If you are going to pay it off every month then get one that gives you rewards.

I've a Tesco CC and I use it for everything and pay it off every two months (if you are debt free at the end of one billing period you have to pay €0 the next one) so with this system I pay no interest yearly and only have to pay it off every two months (MBNA don't allow you to do this either).
All credit cards cost you €40 in stamp duty but I get at least €150 in vouchers each year for shopping. Or you can trade those in for other specified vouchers if you don't want Tesco vouchers.

Edit: Halifax have an offer of giving you €100 when you make your first purchase.
http://www.halifax.ie/index.jsp?pID=94&nID=106&section=creditcards

Another Edit: Keep an eye on your CC statments. I've another CC that I have with AIB donkeys years. It's always paid off in full but I just noticed on my statment that the APR they're charging on that has increased to 20%. I'm sure if I rang them they'd knock it back to the proper rate but I think I'll change it for a Halifax card. I've been using Halifax for a while now for savings and their service has been spectacular (maybe it's because they're smaller in Ireland and can give more personal service).

craichoe

1) they wiil give you the biggest credit limit which is usually a completely unnecessary large amount and way more than you need, which only leads to trouble.

Thats completely your option, you can reduce this if you want, also BOI increased my g/f's limit to 6000 euros on her Student card, pretty common practise across the board.

2) if you miss a payment they hoard on the interest. i know you most likely wont miss payments but if you are travelling it can happen because you might not be able to get to a bank, etc.

Of course they do, their a credit card company, all of them do that.

3) if, god forbid, you missed a few payments they will have you on a bad debters list before you know whats hit you. a place i used to work for used to process credit applications for customers and over half the customers had bad credit due to MBNA. and they werent dodgy customers, they had just missed the odd payment and where as the likes of AIB and BOI would let it slide, MBNA would nail them to a wall by their balls (or titttys. im all for equal rights).

As will any finance company, I'd assume this is because alot of people use MBNA

4) if you are paying by Direct Debits the payments can be taken a bit irrationally on differnt dates.

Thats a Bank issue and also happens with any company taking direct debits, same happened to me with Smart Telecom

5) if you got into financialy diffiiculty and you were not able to pay off the card, the likes of AIB, BOI, PTSB, etc will let you pay a certain amount each month and treat it like a loan as such. MBNA will do no such thing and will demand full payment, and then nail you to the wall credit wise.

No they don't ! Bank of Ireland credit card services wanted 1600 pounds off me up front and i'd already paid my bill !


Weird one there, i have the absolute opposite opinion of MBNA, first off i think your treating your card as some kind of short term loan, which is not what its for. MBNA definetly have the best services for travelling.

Two situations where they were invaluable.

1. My wallet was stolen the day before i was travelling to the Czech republic, rang MBNA, they had a temporary replacment card in the Hotel in Prague at 10am the following morning. Cost me nothing and really saved my holiday, would have been screwed otherwise.

2. Moved to Holland, realised that i couldn't get anything delivered as my billing address is in Ireland and my shipping address was Holland, rang MBNA to cancel, found out you can just change your address to a foreign country no probs, no need to go applying for a Dutch Visa card .. woo hoo !


When going abroad i always put my card in credit, credit card companies will always screw you on interest if you use them as short term loans, pay your bill ontime on you'll have no problem, do not spend money you do not have.

Also, i moved from Bank of Ireland to MBNA because Bank of Ireland are a bunch of screw ups, they messed up a transfer, my money was missing for 2 months and credit card services were sending me minimum payment demands of 1,600 pounds.

I've been with MBNA now for nearly 5 years, no problems with them.

jor el

craichoe wrote: »

When going abroad i always put my card in credit, credit card companies will always screw you on interest if you use them as short term loans,

I too use MBNA and have never had an issue with them in 7 years. However, on this point I would just say that you shouldn't load your card with cash. The reason is if you happen to loose your card, or it's stolen, then you are not covered by the cards insurance for the money you have in credit on it. You'll loose it all. Better to keep your money in the bank, make your purchases, then pay immediately with online banking. It's true, you'll pay a fee for cash advances, but if you pay back immediately online, then any interest will be minimal.

pay your bill ontime on you'll have no problem, do not spend money you do not have.

Definitely. As someone who once had 12,000 euro credit card debt, I can't advise this strongly enough.

Sam Vimes

mickoneill30 wrote: »

All credit cards cost you €40 in stamp duty

it's 20 now and 10 for laser and 5 for atm afaik. not that it matters a whole lot

Sizzler

Sam Vimes wrote: »

it's 20 now and 10 for laser and 5 for atm afaik. not that it matters a whole lot

No mate, its €30.

AIB Click would be the best option imho.

Avoid Halifax / Ulster Bank like the plague, impossible to speak to anybody in the ROI and all the paperwork is handled offshore, a complete customer service nightmare.

Left MBNA years ago because they rode me on a cash advance fee for buying dollars when I was going to the states. Despite being a customer for 4 years previous they wouldnt budge so I left for AIB. Quality internet banking and customer service so I cant fault them.

Sam Vimes

Sizzler wrote: »

No mate, its €30.

having checked my last statement, you're right. it is €30

mcaul

Best value is NIB @ about 9% - also they don't start chrging you interest on any purchases until the end of the credit free period. - All others charge interest on every item (even items you pay for before payment date!) from the day you purchase the item unless you pay the bill in full.

A good back-up card is the Kildare Village mastercard giftcard issued by Newcastle Building society - you can load up to €1500 onto it and its valid for a year. No stamp duty charge. Very handy in emergencies and valid at all mastercard outlets worldwide. (effectively most retailers in the world)