so, I'm thinking of getting one. Who here has one, who are you with, what sort is it (visa/mc/etc), what are the rates like, are there any conditions to holding the card (age, income, marital status, collateral) have you encountered any websites that don't accept your preferred card?

Also how do they work? Say I buy something for $100, I then have to go and transfer $100 from my main account into the cc account right? Unless it's a debit card then it just takes it directly out of my bank account yeah?

I won't be making any major purchases on it so I don't think interest rates are going to be of much worry at this early stage but I guess low is good, just mainly for internet purchases so I would like to keep it seperate from my main bank account. (paranoid)

What are the limit things about? If I set say, $1500 limit on it, does that mean I absolutely can not use it to buy anything else once it hits $1500? Just in case someone steals it or something they can't rack up too much before I get to cancel it etc.

oh and, would like the ability to be able to transfer money into it from the internet, would that depend more on who has my main account?

Keep this in mind when choosing your limit.
You think you can always keep it at $0 now but everyone I know ends up maxing it out. So only get ur limit set to what you need. I recommend $500 for a few years until you can be responsible with it.

If you keep resonably responsible with your credit card you will often be offered to raise your limit. Try not to be tempted.

As far as which cards to go with. They are all pretty much the same rate but I would recommend 55 days interest free.
What I do is dump my wage on my credit card and use my credit card instead of my debit card. The reason being you will actually get charge less fees if you are tuning over more than what if owed within the 55 days.

However if you don't use your card like that then 55 days interest free is a bad idea as the rate is generally higher.

I believe Aussie has the best rate.

I would recommend you just go with whoever your bank is for a CC (so you can link in in net banking) but it depends on how you want to use it.

i dont know alot about CC but i got a debit card very handy if got the cash in the bank. but CC work income mainly or over time they up the amount u can use.
shop around and dont go american express.
and u can pay it off online.

paying interest is a mug's game

Go the debit card if you can. I got one from my Credit Union, a Visa, mainly so I could buy records online. Money goes straight out from my account with all the convenience of a credit card and none of the debt

get a debit card buddy. Convience of Visa and online CC stuff with the convience of using YOUR money and not the banks

debit

But what if I purchase something, and it doesn't arrive? If it's a debit card can I still cancel the transaction or because it's taken from my account it's too late to stop it?

Here's the deal. I'm a real scrooge with money I absolutely will not buy something unless I have to, or I've been wanting it for a while (stops the impulse buying). I pay cash for everything I buy at the moment but I can't exactly buy something from overseas with cash, and lately there's been a couple of things on the internet I've seen that just aren't available over here, like dvds I can import them right?

Because the CC will only be used for moderate sized purchases of $500 or less, I can afford to pay it off as soon as I get home from the shop pretty much.

I checked out this place from google search They have a cc compare chart thingo & some of them have purchase insurance and some don't, what's that? Obviously I'm going to go to the bank & ask them the same s*** but I figure they'll probably just tell me what I want to hear & let me read through a million pages of crap with big words to confuse dumb people like me :)

debit card is still a CC transaction(i think) . so the same rules apply.CC companys are assured creditors they get their money which means u get your money.

smartest thing we ever did was reduce our credit cards limit to $500

make sure u can afford to pay off your credit card monthly (totally paid off) else u will get stung paying the outrageous interest rates the banks charge

whoop, get a virgin credit card - the name is right for you :p haha I am funny.

I laugh at the people who can't 1) control their debt or 2) control impulse purcahses, I have a 15k credit card limit and it is paid off every month, generally only fuel, groceries and normal 'day ot day' expenses go on it... I can't understand how people can max it out - my old flat mate did with a CC of 15K limit! Go the interest

Also any credit card will do whoop, speak to your bank, go for one with 55 days interest free - the interest will generally be higher, however if you pay it off ONCE the bill comes in, voila no interest, some other cards charge interest from the moment you purchase the item...

As I say get one from your current financial institution and bob's ya uncle

whoop the first thing you need to figure out is why you want a credit card. Sounds to me you would be find with a debit card.

visa debit cards for the win.. I have to deal with enough people f***ing up their lives by not using credit cards responsibly at work every day. Debt for the lose.

I can't understand how people can max it out - my old flat mate did with a CC of 15K limit! Go the interest

I'm with you, do people understand about the interest involved with a 15k CC? Even at 10% it's alot of money.

As I say get one from your current financial institution and bob's ya uncle

I think my current bank charges interest from the moment you purchase, not the statement date heh

can you put a spending limit on a debit card? I don't know if you can since it uses the money that's in your account. Or would there be like a monthly limit to it that would just magically dissapear every month?

whoop, you sound lile someone who is totally paranoid about your card being stolen and used or you need new friends and family.


With visa debit card it is taken from your account as if it was an eftpos transaction. So if the money is there it can be spent. Usually most cards have a $2k per day limit (this may be able to be lowered, not sure). But it is still a transaction done through a CC and therefore you can dispute any charges against it the same as if it was a normal credit card.

Most credit cards have the charge put against the account from the moment the transaction is done, don't pretend that just because you haven't paid the bill you don't owe any money.

last edited by Kat at 17:29:39 15/Jan/06

debit cards sux

whoop, you sound lile someone who is totally paranoid about your card being stolen and used or you need new friends and family.

I'm not paranoid. paranoia is when you think someone's out to get you, I KNOW they're out to get me :(

what the hell do my friends & family have to do with anything here?

debit cards sux

do they sux as much as 4 doors? :p
care to elaborate why they sux? I like the sound of them more than cc's

CC ftw.. say you get a 500 limited card just to see how it all works etc.. See something you want for 1200 dollars but the mob only take credit?? just load up the card with 700 extra bucks and you're there just make sure you're definitely buying because if you load up the card with extra funds you won't be able to get the cash back without incurring cash advance rates regardless of how much you're got spare on the card...

Re interest and the point of charging.. seriously don't get hung up on that sort of information if you're going to be using it in the manner you're describing.. It would be worth your while to have a cc in case of emergency where you might not have access to 'savings' funds as such, for you it seems a better idea to limit the thing to 500bux and just transfer the cash as you goto buy stuff but still have access to the 'credit' facilities that such a card provides, plus paying it off as you're using it will go some way to re-inforcing your status as a 'good' credit risk', good for when you goto get a loan down the track, use it as leverage with your bank of choice etc..

I have 4 credit cards. Mastercard, Visa, Amex, and a corporate amex.

I use a credit card daily for all my living expenditure, and only withdraw about $100 cash a week (train ticket, lunch at work, etc).

Using a credit card incurs no EFT fees. So instead of using EFTPOS for buying stuff, and racking up tonnes of transaction fees, it all goes on the credit card, and then gets paid off in one fell hit when the bill comes in. It also means that your expenditure each month is readily available in a bill, so you can see what yo u spent where, helping you to stick to budgets.

If you get a card with a low limit (eg $1000, $2000), and 55 days interest free, you will pretty much never use eftpos again. I dont carry an eftpos card with me any more... my transaction account is linked to my mastercard so I can access eftpos through it, and also atm's.

Cards come in X days interest free and also no interest free. The one with interest free days has a higher interest rate, but if you pay off the balance each month, then it wont matter - they are really designed for people who pay them off. Ones without interest free days have a lower rate, and are designed for people who dont pay thier cards out in full each month.

Just dont think that the $x limit is your money, remember its the banksand you will need to pay it back.

Amex is a waste of card. My personal amex is linked to my home loan offset account, and I would say I have to go hunting for alternate cards about 50-75% of the time I go to use it online. The main one is paying bills online... a large percentage of online transaction carriers dont take amex due to its stupidly high merchant fees. For use at shops its not so bad, but i would say that about 25% of the time I have to use an alternate card.

Reward programs are a waste of time unless you spend a lot of money on your card. Unless you get complimentary membership, dont bother with one. You spend a fortune on your card, and then your 20,000 points is enough to buy you a night with whoops mum and thats about it ($2 worth).

One thing credit cards are good for is free stuff. My mastercard is a gold card, and I got it specifically cos it gives me free extended warranty on anything I buy on it (eg 1 year free on tv or hifi or pc gear), free travel insurance, and free damage/theft insurance for the first 90 days (eg if i drop or break something when i am carrying it inside after buying itm, they will repair or replace it). Comes in handy, I am currently getting my home theatre receiver repaired free using it.


Also, I really must say, dont get a $500 limit card for "emergencies". Firstly, you will just use the card a bit here and there, and next second BAM! you are over your limit and get slugged with an over limit fee. The second reason is that for a true emergency, $500 is like pissing in the wind.

To recap..

1) Get a card with about a $2000 limit
2) Get a card with 55 days interest free.
3) Get a card with free rewards, otherwise dump the rewards program
4) Try and get a card with no annual fee
5) Dont spend beyond your ability to repay
6) Buy everything on your CC each month and pay it off, saving eft fees


Check out the wizard clear mastercard... http://www.wizard.com.au it is no annual fee, has online access, low interest rate etc etc

Don't ask on a internet forum where most people can't even prevent their own debt.

Talk to a finance advisor.

Kat that paranoid statement was just stupid. Like most people, he doesn't like the idea of a Credit card, and obviously doesn't know much about the visa debt cards.

Question: Does a visa debit card still allow you to build up a decent credit rating? I've already got a CC that I'm using just to mainly get a good credit rating but I'm just curious.

australia does not operate a credit rating system.

baycorp advantage (formerly CRAA) operate a credit history that shows any defaults or bad credits, and any enquiries intoyour credit history.

you can only accumulate a negative credit "rating" in austalia, not a positive one.

However, having credit (eg postpaid mobile, credit card, etc) will help to prove toa lender that you are not a credit risk

ah, that explains why americans go on so much about credit ratings etc.

Cheers dude.

Virgin Credit mastercard ftw.

- 55 days interest free
- No annual fee's EVER!
- No stupid points system

credit cards are a kick ass way of buying stuff though. i basically use the rule of thumb to buy everything over $30 with my CC. Get awesome rewards for buying what you buy anyways and don't need to carry cash/worry about getting wallet stolen.

If your card is used in a fradulent transacton it is all covered by bank's insurance.

I recommend it also for the youngsters to get one because it teaches you how to budget money month to month. You can't do much harm with a $1k limit. Once you're confident, work your way up to the limit you need - as long as you can pay it all back by the due date.

I would hate to not have a credit card because it would mean so many more trips to the ATM.

last edited by infi at 01:39:25 16/Jan/06

Whoop get a Virgin card with a low limit if you're paranoid about your details going to the wrong people on the net.

if someone gets the details of your visa debit they can clean out your entire savings, if they get your Virgin card details they can clean out up to your limit only. Plus they are very good with checking fraudulent transactions.

I have 3 Credit Cards.

ANZ Frequent Flier VISA - $10k limit, no idea on interest rate or anything as I've only paid interest once and that was when I was away on my honeymoon and missed the bill. Ended up being about $13 :( I use this for EVERYTHING other than business related expenses and internet purchases. I'm a platinum frequent flier so I earn 2 points per dollar spent and get other rewards as well. Combining my points earnt by actually flying and the points earnt by spending I have just over 250,000 frequent flier points which equates to one business class round the world ticket. 70,000 points gets me return to most places around the world, so it is worth it.
ANZ Corporate Gold Card - use it for business stuff, think the limit is $20k
Virgin Credit Card - $1k limit, use it for online transactions. Which is rarely and as I hardly ever use it, whenever I do I always get a call from Virgin fraud detection withint about 2 hours saying "did you make that transaction?" which is annoying and good at the same time.

You are STUPID if you don't use a CC!!!!!!!!!!

Most CCs have 55 days interest free (that is 55 days in which your money is earning interest in a bank account due to not having to pay a bill, ING ftw)

Most Goldcards have excellent rewards programs. I get at least $400 back every year from my rewards program and it didn't cost me a cent to join.

My Goldcard has no annual fee - ever.

Other goodies: Itemised Billing, Chargebacks, Travel Insurance

If you are too stupid/irresponsible to not take advantage of a good credit card then suffa in ya jocks just about sums it up.

CC's are very handy, and not for spending more than you earn :P

I have a Visa debit from my credit union which is great, and I use it whenever I can. Zero fees, unlike using EFTPOS or withdrawing cash from an ATM, and it's only spending my savings account money. I can use it everywhere a regular CC can be used.

I also have an Amex Gold CC with I think a $3K limit, but I've only used it once, and onyl then cause for signing up I scored $100 free cash on it hehe. No fees, 55 day interest-free period, some sort of interest rate. This card is pretty much an emergency thing, like if I maybe forgot to make sure I had enough cash in my primary savings account and needed to buy something significant.

visa debits aren't credit cards, but they are handy and you can utilise all the same facilities.

when i got my debit card my credit union required me to take out an overdraft facility, i took it out to $2000, which is handy if you are overseas in need of cash. and on that intrest is added, but its still alot lower then any mainstream bank. so its pretty much a CC if i want it to be, but i have never had a negative balance so its fine for me.