Which reward credit card?
Discussion
A brief background - I have never previously owned a credit card and generally don't purchase anything unless I have the money ready in my account.
However, I've had a friend tell me of the great rewards that you can get with some cards, such as air miles (Virgin) or cashback. Also I hear that you are better protected when using a credit card which is an added bonus.
So I am now considering getting one, but have a few questions. If I pay off the debt on the card each month (or whenever the deadline is), are there any charges? Is it possible to use a credit card and never actually get charged interest/fee's as long as you are strict in paying it off in time?
If so, how can they afford to give perks such as air miles or cashback? Are they just relying that enough people will forget to pay it off and they make their money that way?
However, I've had a friend tell me of the great rewards that you can get with some cards, such as air miles (Virgin) or cashback. Also I hear that you are better protected when using a credit card which is an added bonus.
So I am now considering getting one, but have a few questions. If I pay off the debt on the card each month (or whenever the deadline is), are there any charges? Is it possible to use a credit card and never actually get charged interest/fee's as long as you are strict in paying it off in time?
If so, how can they afford to give perks such as air miles or cashback? Are they just relying that enough people will forget to pay it off and they make their money that way?
topless_mx5 said:
If I pay off the debt on the card each month (or whenever the deadline is), are there any charges?
Is it possible to use a credit card and never actually get charged interest/fee's as long as you are strict in paying it off in time?
If so, how can they afford to give perks such as air miles or cashback? Are they just relying that enough people will forget to pay it off and they make their money that way?
NoIs it possible to use a credit card and never actually get charged interest/fee's as long as you are strict in paying it off in time?
If so, how can they afford to give perks such as air miles or cashback? Are they just relying that enough people will forget to pay it off and they make their money that way?
Yes
The card issuer gets a kickback everytime the card is used. The more then can do to encourage you to use it, the more kickback they get.
See here for details of the cashback cards: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/cash...
Interesting.
We only travel for holidays so maybe 2-3 return flights a year. I did see the Virgin one and liked the idea of building points and then every now and again getting a free flight out of it.
Do you get charged at retailers for using AMEX cards though? Is a Visa credit card less likely to incur costs when using it in a retail environment?
We only travel for holidays so maybe 2-3 return flights a year. I did see the Virgin one and liked the idea of building points and then every now and again getting a free flight out of it.
Do you get charged at retailers for using AMEX cards though? Is a Visa credit card less likely to incur costs when using it in a retail environment?
topless_mx5 said:
Interesting.
We only travel for holidays so maybe 2-3 return flights a year. I did see the Virgin one and liked the idea of building points and then every now and again getting a free flight out of it.
Do you get charged at retailers for using AMEX cards though? Is a Visa credit card less likely to incur costs when using it in a retail environment?
With the Virgin AMEX card you also get a 'normal' Visa Credit card for when retailers don't accept AMEX, using the Visa only gets you 50% of your spend on airmiles with the AMEX getting 100%, but Tesco, Morrisons etc all accept AMEX, Mrs Saleen pays for all her fuel and food shopping with her AMEX and if you have a Tesco Clubcard you get 2.5 airmiles per clubcard point if you choose that instead of money back vouchers.We only travel for holidays so maybe 2-3 return flights a year. I did see the Virgin one and liked the idea of building points and then every now and again getting a free flight out of it.
Do you get charged at retailers for using AMEX cards though? Is a Visa credit card less likely to incur costs when using it in a retail environment?
It can often be quite hard to spend flight miles earned from credit cards when you need to - the numbers of seats available can be restricted and you nearly always need to pay the taxes, so it's worth checking all the deals thoroughly before spending to be sure you are making the most of it.
I am probably going to just switch to a straight cashback card sometime because I think for me it would just work out more sensible.
With the cards I have you can opt to set up a DD to either pay off the entire balance every month or just the minimum payment. Setting up at least the minimum payment is essential because it avoids a missed payment on your credit record should you forget. Setting it up to pay off the full balance will obviously be best if you intend to never spend more on it than you can afford.
I am probably going to just switch to a straight cashback card sometime because I think for me it would just work out more sensible.
With the cards I have you can opt to set up a DD to either pay off the entire balance every month or just the minimum payment. Setting up at least the minimum payment is essential because it avoids a missed payment on your credit record should you forget. Setting it up to pay off the full balance will obviously be best if you intend to never spend more on it than you can afford.
topless_mx5 said:
Do you get charged at retailers for using AMEX cards though? Is a Visa credit card less likely to incur costs when using it in a retail environment?
The retailers get charged more, which is why Amex hasnt traditionally been as popular as Visa/Mastercard, but the customer pays the same regardless of the payment method used.I pay for everything on CC and settle the bill every month.
I have the Lloyd's Avios Duo, it comes with two cards, an American Express (1 point per pound) and a MasterCard (1 point per five pound). Once I have enough points we'll get free flights (plus taxes). I've been using it less then a year and have over 12,000 points!
I have the Lloyd's Avios Duo, it comes with two cards, an American Express (1 point per pound) and a MasterCard (1 point per five pound). Once I have enough points we'll get free flights (plus taxes). I've been using it less then a year and have over 12,000 points!
Another Virgin Amex user here. I've had the card just shy of 3 years and can only recall a maximum of 5 times that somewhere hasn't taken Amex and I've needed to use the Visa attached to the same account or a separate card.
Not sure I'll be renewing next time as I'm not using the rewards as much as I could be (sat on 100k of miles) so might be switching to a cashback card or maybe drop down to the Virgin white.
The tax on my recent trip to SF was circa £250 for cattle, likewise sub £300 for Tokyo.
Not sure I'll be renewing next time as I'm not using the rewards as much as I could be (sat on 100k of miles) so might be switching to a cashback card or maybe drop down to the Virgin white.
The tax on my recent trip to SF was circa £250 for cattle, likewise sub £300 for Tokyo.
I've got an AMEX platinum (5% for first 3 months then 1.25% thereafter)
Cost is £2 per month so I make a decent amount and like others use it for all spending.
I also have an Egg cashback card (now Barclaycard) which gives 1% but being a mastercard its accepted everywhere - cost is £1 per month.
Cost is £2 per month so I make a decent amount and like others use it for all spending.
I also have an Egg cashback card (now Barclaycard) which gives 1% but being a mastercard its accepted everywhere - cost is £1 per month.
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