Reply With QuoteI put most things on the credit card and clear it each month. Santander 123 gives cashback which I find a lot more useful than points I may never redeem.
I have never been one for credit cards or even credit at all however we are just in the process of paying off our holiday to Mexico and although I have the cash I am thinking about getting a credit card to pay the holiday off then next month clear the credit card bill.
Reason being a lot of these companies are offering great perks now such as AMEX, if I go for their gold card we will get lounge access in the airport, travel insurance plus 20,000 points as I will have spent over 2k in the first three months, hopefully I can build these points up and use them towards next years holiday.
What do people think? Is it worth doing or should I just pay it off in full and keep away from credit cards!?
I put most things on the credit card and clear it each month. Santander 123 gives cashback which I find a lot more useful than points I may never redeem.
i have a barclaycard that gives you points as you spend on it points turn into vouchers once you get to a certain amount for quite a few big high street stores so i do all my everyday spending on it then pay it off straight away from my bank account
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I have a Virgin Atlantic one that I use for work, and I have accumulated a load of Airmiles, yet to be used.
Its cleared every month by direct debit, so effectively they're free.
Thanks. I will look in to them :)
For large purchases the protection offered in paying by credit cards is invaluable. Depending on how you intend to use the card I would have a read of the Money Saving Expert article HERE.
I have an IHG, Hilton and Virgin Atlantic card. I use these to accumulate points - I pay £99 for the IHG platinum but it's been a godsend for points and the £99 gives you one free night stay anyway. I travel a lot with work though so accumulate 4x points in IHG hotels. Just come back from 4 free nights in the Holiday Inn Nuremberg, and have 5 nights booked in Palm Springs in September, again for free.
I also have a Halifax Clarity that I use for foreign trips and transactions. I also pay each card off every month - most of the time as soon as I see the transaction hit my online account.
Watch out for overseas transaction charges - we use a pair of Post Office credit card when overseas as there's no charges.....so might be handy to take to Mexico just in case?
To the OP.
I like my Credit cards. I have two, one Amex (Nectar) card for the Nectar rewards as this doubles my Sainsbury's shopping points as well as earning me 1% on all other purchases. Normally yields about £400/year on my usual spend.
I then have a Visa thro' Nationwide. More commonly accepted everywhere than AMEX and no charges to use abroad.
I have both set up to be paid in full at the end of each month so as not to incur costs. I don't treat it as a Credit facility, just to get the perks and have the assurances/protection afforded by these cards. I work on the premise if I cannot afford it I cannot have it.
Finally, watch out for paying for holidays etc on a Credit Card, many travel firms charge around 2.75% fees on credit cards so you'll be paying more than what you'll get back as a 'reward' benefit. Although the good news is that I heard on the radio today that this is soon to be outlawed (but the eceptic in me says they'll just add this to the cost of everyones holiday/item anyway as a price increase so they'll not be out of pocket!).
hope this helps.
Check the terms of any included travel insurance - there is a reason why it is free.
Some will be adequate, but some...............
As mentioned - get a card with no transaction fee for foreign use, and simply pay off every month
Credit Cards are definitely worthwhile, as long as you see them as a tool that needs to be used responsibly.
As above. I think the best value perks are item insurance and fee-free foreign purchases (nearly all will charge for cash advances, but some only the cash advance fee) - the VISA exchange rate is usually better than bank rates and it's much easier than carrying wads of cash so we tend to use VISA for all our restaurant/car hire/trip expenditure rather than cash, which we save for bars/incidentals. If you purchase a lot of items and pay off every month the points schemes can really earn some nice perks.
Some lenders such as Nationwide have more than one card and each individually covers only some of the perks rather than all, so it's worth reading the conditions carefully.
Edit: If you go to Spain or Latin America a lot then it's worthwhile knowing that Santander does not charge for bank account debit card cash withdrawals no matter what country you're in - you just pay their bank exchange rate on the day (it must be a Santander cashpoint though, some Santander branches' cash machines in some areas are run by a 3rd party)
Last edited by Scepticalist; 19th July 2017 at 10:46.
Worth having a look here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cre...t-card-rewards they often have deals not available directly from the provider.
This - it comes with Amex & Visa. It is worth getting the Black edition (which has annual fees), but if you use the Amex for all purchases the Airmiles pile up in no time.Originally Posted by demonloop
Of course the problem with Amex is the high charges the shop incurs. As such it's not very popular. I use a NatWest M/C which is 1% back or 2% if using contactless! Yes it has a fee but it's not high and, over 12 months, I'm into good profit; just spent a years worth of points on a telly from Currys.
Indeed. You definitely need one alongside it. The Virgin Atlantic joint Amex and Visa is good as you have the latter for when the former isn't accepted, which is pretty often.
Which Natwest M/C is that mate? I thought they stopped doing cash back a couple of year ago. I've had a platinum card for ages and don't recall ever receiving any cash back?
John Lewis card for me - gives 1% on any JL and Waitrose purchases in the form of vouchers. .5% elsewhere. Always paid off each month. Managed by HSBC
I use a BA Amex and the fee is around £200 a year. you get a companion voucher if you spend enough which entitles you to an extra ticket of whatever flight you book. You still have to pay tax though. I get enough points to get 2x first class long haul flights a year (but I have to pay the taxes on both).
If you want me to send you a referral DM me; we would both get extra avios points.
But you definitely need a MasterCard beside it.
I had an Amex gold. Virgin wanted to charge me 5% charge to use it to pay on it.
I have a Halifax Clarity which doesn't give you any miles/points/cashback but does allow me to purchase things from abroad as well as pay for and use on holidays without any exchange fees/exchange rate loading.
Thanks everyone, I have a lot to look through here!
On a separate note I am also considering getting a business credit card, I am with Barclays (business debit card) now and get no rewards and considering I put a considerable amount of money through it a credit card could be a better option as I can easily pay it off in full each month.
Expenses wise there isn't loads, probably about £1000-1400 per month however if I can use the card on Transferwise and that counts as spending (I am essentially buying/transferring currency) then I could easily put over 100k on the card per annum. Does anyone know if that would count as ordinary spending?
I have churned a few AmEx for points and benefits, amongst other cards. It depends if you want points or cash back, and then which points are most useful.
The best value by far is the Gold AmEx. Although beware your lounge access expectations as I think it's only 2 invites, unlike the Platinum and Centurion where it's Priority Pass plus the Centurion Lounges.
AmEx points can also be redeemed with lots of hotel companies, airlines etc.
The one I get the most value from however, is the BA Prem Amex. Spend £10k (easy enough for mist people) and get a Companion Voucher for a flight. I.e it will cost the avios for 1 person instead of two. We have used for long haul flights in First Class many times. Ends up costing 150,000 Avios plus about £1200, for two of us in First return to Seattle San Fran etc, which we do a couple of times a year.
Straight AmEx (Gold and Plat) need to be cleared each month, the BA one is co-branded and has big interest rates if you don't clear it each month.
The BA card (and other co-branded) may be set to change with the new AmEx interchange caps.
When I go on holiday I always take my Post Office credit card there are no charges at all purchases etc when abroad. It's the only time I use it
I use two credit cards:
Amex Gold Card - I tend to put as much of my purchasing on this as possible for the points. Between the points, offers, lounge access etc. I think it's relatively easy to make the £140pa fee back. It isn't accepted everywhere so I'll always carry a back up card.
Halifax Clarity Mastercard - Can't be beaten as a travel CC. No transaction fee and no cash withdrawal fee from foreign ATM (as long as you pay the card off immediately online so you avoid the interest on the cash withdrawal). It's got to be the cheapest way of spending money abroad. No idea why anyone would do anything else. This card can be substituted by a Monzo card (which is a pre-pay 'bank') which offers the same benefit abroad if you prefer a little more control over the spending.
It's a Myrewards M/C.
http://personal.natwest.com/personal/myrewards.html
Not sure how much it costs me... ISTR £24 a year I think.
You get points you trade in for gift tokens for various retailers. You can exchange the points for cash if preferred.
That's interesting. I was on the understanding that interest on cash withdrawals was to be charged regardless. It's only cost me a couple of quid each time any way but would be happy to pay early to avoid it!
I've switched to a VA white card since my Barclaycard has withdrawn the AMEX 1% cash back. I have been checking out how how many points are needed for the destinations I'm interested in and it looks like I'm going to be saving for a while to get anywhere!!! I have been told that there are regular sale events where cheap fares pop up so ill see what happens.
nice one. I hadn't see that. looks like I'll be changing. Even after the £24 annual fee I'll be better off. Thank you
It seems to have changed over the last 12-18 months. I used to be charged for withdrawals, in the pennies as always paid it within a few days of hitting my account. However, I've not paid any interest at all for a long time using it quite regularly.
I've had the Virgin Atlantic Am Ex Black for at least a decade and it's been brilliant. The white card is free but the black is around £130ish a year but you get double points. I put everything on it including business bills (that I can - our stationery is at least £800 a month so that's 10k) so spend around 75k a year and get 150,000 miles. I've had half a dozen upper class flights and maybe 15 premium economy (you get two free upgrades to premium every year if you spend 10k).
In September I'm flying upper to Vegas for £400 and 100,000 air miles, two friends have paid £3,200 for the same seat and if you booked it now (goes up 42 days beforehand) it would be £6,200 - so if you travel long haul it can be a great card.
Lucky you! I use my card every month and I am always charged, though as you say, normally pence rather than pounds.
Your best bet for the font of all credit card/ points knowledge is Rob over at Head For Points. Brilliant site and worth a read of the daily newsletters. http://www.headforpoints.com
It's a good idea I think. One thing to bear in mind is the difference between a true credit card and some AMEX cards, which are charge cards.
A key benefit of a credit card is the protection under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. If you buy something over £100 and the provider goes bust, the card provider is jointly liable. This applies to credit cards only, so wouldn't apply to some AMEX cards which are charge and not credit cards. AMEX has its own protection but I don't think it's as good as that under the CCA 1974 from what I recall.
If you have the cash ready you may as well get something back for it.
Key question to ask yourself is what do you want the points for? AmEx are the most versatile for sure, as you're not tied an alliance/ chain like Avios, Virgin etc.
Very happy to refer you if you choose a BA AmEx. It's a few points for me as referrer and an extra thousand or so for you too. Welcome to PM me!
I've only ever had a Barclaycard and it's always worked for me.
My personal RBS card stopped their yourpoints scheme & I've dallied over a replacement.
I use IHG MasterCard for work expenses - as I often stay in IHG hotels & cash in the points, sometimes for Amazon vouchers. So I've just signed up for the Amazon MasterCard as I wasn't interested in cash back, so this seemed an ideal way to top up the Amazon credit. Time will tell...
z
+1 great source of knowledge.
AmEx Gold for me, got it in April and already got over 30k points on it.
Everywhere abroad has accepted it but a few places in the UK don't (Greggs, local shops, some pubs). Their argument is it's too expensive at 2.5% fee (their acquirer / bank will charge them this). So I just pay cash and respond with "...this cash will cost your company more in time when you transfer from the till to the safe, and security handling fees when banking it" :)
Let me know if you need an AmEx referral as we will both earn points (2k from memory) on top of the 20k you earn if you spend a certain amount in the first three months. Drop me a PM.
Head for Points is an excellent website too.
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