Which credit card?

dcGT

Hi All,
I've put off getting a credit card for a long time now because I just don't like them (and I just use other friend's/family member's cards), but I find myself shopping more and more online and think it's time I got myself one. Also, I love the thought of giving the government another €40 every year :rolleyes: I'm wondering if there are any substancial differences in various credit card companies/banks.

Basically, I only want the card to make online purchases. I won't be spending money I don't already have, so I want to be able to keep the card in 'credit' if possible. I don't plan to leave things unpaid for for any length of time. A friend of mine was also telling me that he keeps his savings in his credit card account because the credit card account earns more interest than a current/savings account. It's just that most people are 'in the red' with credit card accounts and consequently, it's the bank that earns the interest, is this true? If so it sounds like a good idea.

I'm currently with AIB so I was thinking of getting an AIB credit card so that I could transfer money easily enough and instantly with online banking.

Any advice or recommendations would be great.

Cheers,

DC

Loobz

I swear dcGT, you are in my head! I was going to post and ask the exact same questions. And Im with AIB. I would like some advice on the same things please people. Thanks a million. I wont use mine regularly. Its just I am planning on buying an in car entertainment system and it looks like I will save 300 if i buy online! So a credit card would be nice.

thanks again.

therecklessone

dcGT wrote:

Hi All,
I've put off getting a credit card for a long time now because I just don't like them (and I just use other friend's/family member's cards), but I find myself shopping more and more online and think it's time I got myself one. Also, I love the thought of giving the government another €40 every year :rolleyes:

Ulster Bank currently offer a "loyalty bonus" of sorts. Spend €5000 a year on the card and receive €40 back (covers the tax).

€5000 sounds like a lot, but if you were to use your card for all your purchases (groceries, petrol etc, even direct debits), knowing that you will be able to pay off the balance in full every month then its not that hard to do.

I'm with AIB and I have an MBNA card. Its very easy to set up payment through 24 hour banking for a 3rd part credit card.

RuggieBear

I've an MBNA Ryanair cc which is handy as i'm flying to england once a month at least and they have a free flight bonus. I bank with Ulsterbank and it is easy to use the online banking facility to put money into the cc account or to pay off the monthly totals

egan007

40 euro for 5k!

I use MBNA 4.9% for first 6 months
then 13.9%

My AIB one was costing 18.9%

Paddy20

I use an MBNA Platinum, as their APR is 13.9%. Which is the lowest credit card interest rate I could find.

The Ulster bank are currently offering 9 Months interest free, on balance transfers, which is attractive, but then their APR resorts to over 17%, which Imho is high.

However, if you sensibly pay off your outstanding balance every month. Then the credit card you use will make little differance to your finance's overall. As you will be able to play with up to approx 58 days interest free credit.

RainyDay

The American Express Blue card will give you a 1% cash-back on everything you spend. The downside is that it is not as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard. AFAIK, AIB are the only card provider with the option to provide a single-use card number for online purchases to protect your account, which is a nice service. If you are going to make a lot of non-Eurozone purchases, check out the FX commission rates that you'll be charged on the Askaboutmoney.com Best buys list

Loobz

AFAIK, AIB are the only card provider with the option to provide a single-use card number for online purchases to protect your account, which is a nice service.

Am I right in thinking that I could get a card that I use only once? That would be the best thing for me. I would just place one order for a pretty large sum. How much on top of the cost of the product would I expect to pay for a single-use number?

RainyDay

Don't think you can get once-off cards here (though I did hear that pre-paid cards are now available in the US). AFAIK, AIB don't charge extra for the once-off card numbers once you have an existing account with them.

therecklessone

Loobz wrote:

Am I right in thinking that I could get a card that I use only once? That would be the best thing for me. I would just place one order for a pretty large sum. How much on top of the cost of the product would I expect to pay for a single-use number?

No, you have to have a standard Visa card with them. They then allow you to arrange a single-use credit card number through 24 hour banking, which is linked to your account but cannot be used for fraudulent purposes (so you are safer)

egan007, the original poster was looking for a card that they would keep clear and mentioned the credit card stamp duty. €5000 a year isn't that much if you use the card regularly (my non interent purchases alone come to about €500 a month, and I often pay my car insurance with my MBNA)

If its cashback or equivalent you want, try the MBNA Pigsback card. 2000 points simply for signing on (that's €20 worth of points), then 1 point per €1 spent (effectively a 1% cashback offer). Can be exchanged for Eddie Rockets vouchers (mmmmmm), mobile phone credit, CD Wow vouchers and the like.

robo

Just a suggestion, why don't you set up your credit card with 100% direct debit payment so that you don't have to worry about rates! I know it doesn't suit everyone, but just a suggestion! Good luck with your choice!

therecklessone

robo wrote:

Just a suggestion, why don't you set up your credit card with 100% direct debit payment so that you don't have to worry about rates! I know it doesn't suit everyone, but just a suggestion! Good luck with your choice!

Don't most companies allow that anyway?