Credit Cards

spiderdan

Hi there,

I am totally new the world of credit cards but seeing as I'm in my mid 20's I reckon its about time. I'm basically looking for so simple advice on them- warnings, all the pit falls, etc. I'm a BOI customer so they're the obvious choice, does anyone have any experience with their "clear card or the 2 in 1 card"?

Cheers

keepherlit

I have no experience with that card but some things to look out for or bear in mind;
What do you need the card for? is it for convenience or will you use the credit facility, if so get one with the lowest rate or 0% introdutory offer.
will you need insurance on the card, you will be offered payment protection insurance; check the fine print, are you in a good steady job and will you need this facility. the costs can add up.
you will have to pay stamp duty of 40 euro on the card annually so are you going to use it enough or will a debit card suffice?
Also remember that if you default on payments it can have a lasting effect on your credit score which can affect house purchase etc..,

just questions to ask yourself anyway

SanNJay

I'd suggest the halifax current account. You get a debit card with it that acts as a atm card and it has a VISA facility which means its a Visa card to. Except you've no charges for using the card at all unlike normal credit cards.

I'm in the same situation as you but i had a fear of over spending with the credit card. you can't with this cos the moneys to be in your account kindof like a laser but a VISA

Sandra

dotsman

Firstly - there is nothing to worry about credit cards! They're actually a very simple tool.

Secondly, to correct above, the stamp duty is only €30 and hopefully will be further reduced soon.

A credit cards works on a very basic principle.

1. You spend on it over the course of a month (e.g. the month of September).
2. You get a bill the first few days of the next month (October), telling you to pay it all by the end of that month (October).
3. Any part of it that isn't paid off by the end of the month gets charged interest until you do pay it off. (typically they only force you to pay 5-10% of the balance, but it's best to pay it all off and never once get charge interest!)
4. You can pay money into the credit card at any time to offset the balance (so in my case, my bills are always zero, 'cos I have transferred the money onto the card via online banking before they even issue the bill - therfore I never pay any interest/charges)

Bit of advice:

• Never use it for long term borrowing. Should you have a cash flow problem for a few months - that's ok, (the interest won't amount to much), but if you find yourself always behind on clearing the balance, it's best to just get a standard loan.
• Get your credit card from the same bank you deal with (or at least a bank with good online banking). The ability to check your balance and transfer money into the account whenever you want is critical to managing it.
• Don't bother with any of the PPP or other products that go with it. You can add them in your own time if you feel you actually need them.
• Avoid Halifax at all costs.

To be honest, I have to recommend that you do get a credit card, even if it's just for the sake of having one and testing your ability to control your spending. At some stage in your life (for most of your life to be honest) you are going to have to deal with debt and managing your money. The sooner you learn how to do that the better (and before you start borrowing the big money like mortgages/car loans/3 credit cards etc!).

Just remember. If you ever find yourself getting into trouble with it - take a breather and put it at the bottom of your sock drawer for a while!

Most people are able to control their impulse expenditure.

Saibh

dotsman

[*]Avoid Halifax at all costs.
[/LIST]

can i ask why as i have one

MarkR

I had the halifax one for a month, but while it looked cool, the online functionality is out of the stoneage.

You can't view your transactions online. What a joke. You have to call customer service to check your transactions. And you can't order a statement for it online, you need to call them.

I kept my aib visa because of it.

Saibh

MarkR wrote: »

I had the halifax one for a month, but while it looked cool, the online functionality is out of the stoneage.

You can't view your transactions online. What a joke. You have to call customer service to check your transactions. And you can't order a statement for it online, you need to call them.

I kept my aib visa because of it.

would agree as well, i don't use it as much as i used to so i have an idea how much my balance is. thought dotsman might be on about something else that was wrong with it.

dotsman

Saibh wrote: »

dotsman
[*]Avoid Halifax at all costs.
[/list]

can i ask why as i have one

Well, to start off - absolutely useless customer service (They have no problem posting me the bills, yet they still haven't figured out how to post me the pin number yet (I gave up requesting the pin after the third time being on to customer disservice). The fact that the card came to my address and the bills come to my address means that there is nothing wrong with my address or An Post.

but the main problem is, as MarkR mentioned, is their lack of online banking with it!

As I had stated in my post, the ability to view your balance on demand, and the ability to pay money into the account as and when you like is essential.

I only went for the Halifax card was because my AIB card was due to expire and I was tempted by Halifax's €100 special offer. Needless to say, I am in the process of cancelling the Halifax card and have gone back to AIB where everything went perfectly (just checked online and my balance is at 0.00 - just the way it should be!)

brettmirl

I had the Halifax Visa cause of the low rate, but have recently cancelled it due to the lack of online a/c access...plus their interest rates went up too. However, I did move my mortgage to Halifax from PTSB and found them very good in that respect.

I also have an MBNA Visa for years and found them to be very good. They do try push 'extras' on you a bit, but I just bin that stuff. Their customer service is very good.

I've been looking at the AIB Click Visa in the last few days. It could be worth checking out.

Also, take a look at this:http://www.itsyourmoney.ie/cs_tab.jsp

Its from the Financial Regulator and outlines all the costs with the various cards from the different banks.

mairtinomarta

Hi,

I have just applied and being approved for a Halifax credit card. I am wondering though about their online banking. It says on their website that you can check your balance online, including that of your credit card.

What issues did people have with their online services?

Some have said in previous posts that you could not check your balance online.

Here is quote from their Irish website:

Halifax Online Banking wrote:

Our secure, user-friendly service gives you 24 hour access to a range of services - all from the comfort of your home. We have an online demo to show you how it all works and here‘s a range of services available:

• View your balances
• View recent transactions
• Pay Bills
• Transfer money
• Set up and manage Standing Orders
• View a list of your Direct Debits

You can also view your other Halifax account balances, such as your Mortgage, Personal Loan, Credit Card and Savings Account.

brettmirl

At the moment, you can only view your balance and not recent transactions online with Halifax Visa.

BuffyBot

mairtinomarta - welcome.

Please don't use bright orange fonts - they are VERY harsh on the eyes, and hard/impossible to read on some backgrounds

Thanks

homer911

Depending on how much you are going to use it, you might consider a loyalty card such as Ryanair or Tesco Personal Finance. Tesco have announced they are bringing their financial services in-house so the technology should improve...(no online facility at present) i do like getting the cash vouchers though

Davy

You can also view your other Halifax account balances, such as your Mortgage, Personal Loan, Credit Card and Savings Account.

You can only view balances online for products other than the atm/debit card. The Visa credit transactions were meant to up and running by last july, i thought they would have been by now. Apart from this the halifax online is fine.

jimmycrackcorm

simple advice is to arrange automatic full payment on the card each month - then a CC is indispensable.

thepensioner

Personally I find my Credit Card indespensible. I use it for all my mundane stuff like buying petrol & occasionally buying stuff online. My credit card comes from my bank & I pay it off in full each month by Direct Debit. Its the only thing I pay by DD. I make the card work from me & if you can do & pay it off in full each month. Thus no charges (bar the annual govt fee).

Unlike a debit card there are no transaction charges so you're not getting charged 22c or whatever it is for each transaction. I'm not 100% sure how it works because thankfully I haven't had to use it but credit cards also come with insurance for purchasing. Eg if goods don't arrive then you can stop payment. Some better informed people may be able to shed more light on this one. Finally though its the sheer practicallity of them that has won me over. No more looking for ATMs to fill your tank, simply put it on the CC.

Like anything, whether it suits you or not depends on your personality. Some people forget that its real money they're spending & go mental but if you're not one of these & you keep an eye on it then I'd advise getting one.

If you're gonna pay it off each month then the interest rate applicable to the card is immaterial. Simply get one that will cost you nothing bar the govt. duty. In this day & age viewing your transactions online is imperrative.

thepensioner