Halifax Credit Card

The Halifax One Credit Card is one of the more popular credit cards on the UK market. It has some very competitive balance transfer & purchase rates. There is 0% for 9 months on purchases and balance transfers transferred in the first 90 days, there is a 3% balance transfer rate that will be applied.

Some of the other great benefits are:

• 0% for 9 months on balance transfers made in the first 90 days
• 0% for the first 9 months on purchases
• A typical rate of 15.9% APR (variable)
• A handling fee of 3% applies for each balance transfer

Why not apply online now using the online application form and in most cases you could get an decision immediately.

Remember if you want to benefit from the 0% rate you must stay within your credit limit and make your monthly payments on time. Please note that balances transferred from other Halifax or Bank of Scotland cards are not eligible for the 0% balance transfer offer.

Other great benefits that come with the Halifax One Card are:

• Cover against online fraud when purchasing on the Internet
• Card replacement if lost
• No interest will be charged on purchases if every statement balance is paid in full by the payment date
• No annual fee
• Manage your card online
• Around the clock service
• Accepted wherever you see the MasterCard sign in over 24 million locations worldwide
• Additional cards available
• You can Protect your credit cards with our comprehensive cover plans

Apply for your Halifax Card now:

 

What’s the best way to compare credit cards in the UK?

We apply for credit cards for all sorts of reasons. They’re handy for debt consolidation, online purchases and travelling overseas, and they provide a convenient method for managing regular bill payments.
Whatever your requirements, if you need a new credit card and you don’t know where to start, the best place to begin is almost always online!

It’s important to get your information from a reputable website – preferably one that offers impartial credit card comparisons and advice, without pushing certain products or brands.

Before you begin comparing credit cards, you need to decide which features and benefits are most important to you.

You might be a big spender who plans to pay for all of your monthly expenses on credit, before you pay the balance off in full each statement. If this sounds like you, a card that’s attached to an attractive rewards program could be a perfect fit, as your regular spending habits will help you to accrue loads of points in record time.

Alternatively, if you’re planning to consolidate your debts and transfer the balances of several cards to one new account, you’ll want a credit card that offers a low interest rate on balance transfers. It’s possible to find deals that offer 0% interest on balance transfers for up to 18 months, which is perfect if you’re trying to pay the debt off completely in set amount of time.

On the other hand, if you wish to get a credit card to manage regular purchases and bill payments, a credit card account with a low ongoing interest rate would be ideal.

Once you know what features are important to you, you can begin comparing the myriad of offers out there. These two credit comparison sites are a great place to start.

uSwitch.com allows you to browse more than 200 credit card offers, to help you find the best deal for your situation. The site also offers resources such as an online calculator, a credit comparison guide and a credit card switching tool.

With these resources, you can work out exactly how much money you could save by switching to a new credit card – and you can even compare these savings against other credit card alternatives.

CreditSearcher is an independent service designed to help keep you abreast of all of the current credit card offers in the market. Using their search facility, you can browse various deals on purchases, balance transfers and rewards from leading UK credit card issuers, such as American Express, Barclaycard, Cahoot, Capital One, Egg, Halifax, HSBC, Intelligent Finance, MBNA, Morgan Stanley, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Virgin Money. The site allows you to directly compare deals and links direct to the card providers’ websites, so you can easily shortlist the best credit card deals for your personal situation

Vanquis Credit Card | Rebuild Bad Credit History

The Vanquis Credit Card is the perfect solution to those that have a credit history that is not quite up to par when it comes to credit scoring. There are many of us out there and the smallest thing can effect your credit rating.

The lending criteria has become far more stringent over the last year and a half and applying for a credit card can be more difficult nowadays.

The Vanquis Credit Card is aimed at people like this and your chances of being accepted are very good.  The Vanquis Card is backed by  the Vanquis Group which is a UK company based in the UK.  They offer clients with a low credit score, low income or bad credit history access to much needed funds. This is done in a responsible way which will only benefit you in the long run

Vanquis Credit will also help you with managing your spending habits. This will give you better control of your money and steer you in the right direction in terms of improving your credit rating.

For more information contact them now and find out the host of benefits your will get when you apply for the Vanquis Credit Card.

Vanquis Credit Card | The Credit Repair Card

If you have recently had a credit card application declined because you are new to credit, have a bad credit history, bad credit rating or are on a low income then the Vanquis Visa card card will be a way around this.

The Vanquis Visa Credit Card could give you back your financial flexibility you so badly need. It could help you in the right direction in terms of getting your credit rating repaired. Here are the handy benefits:

 

• No annual Fee
• A fixed credit limit
• 56 days interest free on purchases
• Additional card holder
• Free fraud monitoring
• Pay for good online
• Visa widley used in UK and abroad
• Typical 39.9% APR Variable

Higher Credit Card Debt with women who have pms

An interesting study by Karen Pine at the Herfordshire University has shown that when women experience impulse buys its usually during that time of the month that women menstruate. Women on average (sample of 400) overspent by up to £250 during this phase. Now this is a another example of a study that has been commissioned that doesn’t really warrant the money spent on it.

Credit Card debt is currently a very hot topic at the moment and I am sure there are many more reasons why women or even men are overspending on their cards at the moment. Statistics actually show that over the last 2 months the amount of debt that has been paid back into credit cards has increased dramatically. The amount of savings has also increase so it is evident that people are trying to reduce their debt were ever they can.

Going back to the buying habits of women it has however been suggeste dthat if you do all of a sudden feel the urge to pop out and buy something you don’t need then rather opt for a swim or go for a run. Great advice don’t you think.

The typical household carries about £10,000 of unsecured credit card debt, this accotding to Credit Action.

Lloyds TSB Encourages Card Holders to Gamble with borrowed money

Lloyds TSB one of the banks that was bailed by billions of tax payers money is encouraging people to gamble with their credit cards. It is claimed that a letter that was sent out by Lloyds suggested that its customers can borrow 50% of their credit limit and spend it on ‘transactions such as gambling’ It also went so far as to include its Classic Credit Card holders saying they can buy gambling Chips.

This all sounds very irresponsible from such a big name in banking however it came to light when a letter was sent to a 22 year old, who no doubt remains anonymous. The 22 year old man was given a credit card with a spending limit of £1,000. In the letter is stated that the young man could use £500 or 50% of his limit on transactions such as gambling, the purchase of foreign currency, money orders and gaming chips. The interest charges on such a cash withdrawls is 24.9%

A Lloyds spokesman said ‘We treat gambling and cash-related transactions, such as the purchase of gaming chips, as a cash withdrawl, which is why its is included in the sentence, but we are concerned it could be interpreted as encouraging irresponsible use of a credit card.

Before all this is taken out of context it is common sense not to use your credit card this way. Lloyds no doubt have a red face over this one but these types of things do happen. The wording is important in the fine print but I don’t believe there would be many people who honestly believe the letter was intended to promote gambling. You make your mind up.

No Fee Low Rate Balance Transfer Credit Cards

These type of credit cards are becoming more and more popular now and can be handy for customers that are not able to get interest free balance transfer deals on other cards.

They way it works is that the Credit Card company will offer you a balnce transfer at a very low rate usually below 10% typically around 6.5%. There is no transfer fee which is usually in the region of between 2% and 3% of the balance. If you are transferring a lrage balance the savings on the fee can be quite substantial. Currently the best life of balance transfer card, as they are called is the Barclaycard Platinum Credit Card.. They offer a very low 6.5% on any balance you transfer. You are usually allowed to transfer up to 90% of your credit limit.

You will get the usual benefits like 0% on purchases and the APR is also typically low. These card are handy if you want to consolidate some of your other card balances to a much more competitve interest rate which will remain until you pay off the balance in full. An important thing to remember is that if you do take advantage of the 0% purchase offer is that what ever your higher rate of spending is will not be paid off until the low rate (blance transfer) amount has been paid off first. Cleary the Credit Card Company wants to make more money from you knowing that they will make bigger returns from your purchases while your balance transfer amount gets paid off over time.

Some Life of Balance Transfer Cards do actually charge a small fee like the Citibank Life of Balance Credit Card, they also have a competitive APR of 6.5% but if you are trasferring a large amount then the fee may hinder you from taking up such an offer.

0% Balance Transfer deals are still widely available so if that is what you are looking for then you will usually find Virgin Credit Card or any of the MBNA Cards will have these types of offers available. Nowdays it will depend largely on your credit history whether you are approved for these type of deals.

Beware of Credit Card Fraud over the phone

In the current economic recession Credit Card fraud is on the rise. What more surprising is the rise in popularity of an old style phone scam that involves the fraudsters conning unsuspecting cardholders into revealing their card details by pretending to be an employee from a bank or credit card company. In many instances they will pretend to be from international card schemes like Visa or Mastercard.

The scam usually starts with the fraudster phoning you up claiming to be from the fraud or security department and indicating that your credit card or debit card has been red flagged as having potentially fraudulent transactions having taken place. The victim will become more trusting as the caller is offering assistance in rectifying the problem.

Now days its quite easy for fraudsters to get hold of customers bank details. These can be bought for a small amount over the internet or from countries that are large outsourcing or offshore depots for the large banks and credit card companies. By having this information at hand when making the call the fraudster seems more legitimate. What they may not have is the 3 digit security code on the back of your card. A clear way for them to get this from you is to say that they will credit the fraudulent amount back onto your card but in order to do this will need the 3 digit number to process the refund.

Once these details have been given out the fraudster is free to make phone and internet purchases using your card details. You should never disclose your card details from someone that has cold called you no matter who they claim to be from. If the caller is from your card company they should have all your details at hand. If you have any doubts hang up and call your card company to see if in fact there is a query on your card.

Nowadays it’s not enough to just keep your card details safe and secure. By following these common sense steps you will greatly minimise the chances of being conned by a fraudster.

Handy Tips:

• Don’t let your cards or your card details out of your sight when making a transaction.

• Destroy, preferably shred, any documents or receipts that contain personal financial information when you dispose of them.

• Do not disclose PINs, login details or passwords in response to unsolicited emails or telephone callers claiming to be from your bank, the card schemes or the police.

• When entering your PIN in a shop or a cash machine use your free hand to shield the number from prying eyes or hidden cameras.

• Do not keep your passwords, login details and PINs written down

• Make sure your computer has up-to-date anti-virus software and a firewall installed and switched on.

• Access internet banking or shopping sites by typing the address into your browser. Never go to a website from a link in an email and then enter personal details.

• Shop at secure websites by ensuring that the security icon (locked padlock or unbroken key symbol) is showing in your browser window.

• Only divulge your card details in a telephone transaction when you have instigated the call and are familiar with the company.

• Always log out after shopping and save the confirmation email as a record of your purchase.

• Register your cards with Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode².

Look for this sign:

There is no substitute for common sense, always be vigilent when using your card to minimise putting your card at risk of being cloned and used by a Fraudster.

How we use our Credit Cards in the UK

Here are some stats reflecting on how consumers have used their credit cards during 2006 and 2007 and some more up to date statistics for 2008.

• In 2007 there 67.3  million credit card issued
• The number if personal credit and charge card holder actually fell to about 30 million which represents about 62% of the adult population in the UK.
• The average number of credit cards per per person was 2.4 with 1.6 for debit cards
• Spending on Credit Cards in 2006 in the UK amounted to £133.2 billion
• The internet has seen a four fold rise in card payments over the last 5 years.
• The average transaction value on credit cards in the UK  was £63.22

Statistical Release

Annual figures (end – 2008)

• Number of UK-issued debit cards                                      75mill
• Number of debit card holders                                             42.1 mill
• Number of debit card purchases in the UK                    5.5bn
• Number of cash machine withdrawls                               2.9bn
• Number of cheque transactions                                         1.4bn
• Number of automated payments                                       6.0bn
• Number of UK-issued credit & debit charge cards     71.3mill
• Numbet of credit card holders                                            30.2mill
• Number of Faster payments                                                 82.8mill

Tuxedo MasterCard® Prepaid Card

The new Tuxedo Prepaid card is for everyone. You won’t need to go through any credit checks and you don’t even need a bank account. You can open it up like a regular account by having your salray or wages paid directly into your eccount and set up multiple standing orders and direct debit payments. You get £5 free on your first top up.

Backed by Mastercard you can use it in 26 million locations around the world as well as 1.2 million ATMS’s and evenonline.

Main Features summarised

Manage your money:

1. Check you balance 24hrs a day, online by text or by phone and get “low balance” text alerts.
2. Share money between cards.
3. View your balance online or by mobile phone.

Control:

1. You can store money off your card eccount for extra security.
2. Block and Unblock cards whenever you want.

Top-up:

1. Top-up your card as you go with over 36,000 locations in the UK, incl paypoints and the Post Office.
2. Top-up online by bank transfer or by sending in cheques.

Use:

1. You can Pay bills, spend in-store and shop online.
2. Set up standing orders and direct debit payments.

Withdraw Cash:

1. Withdraw cash from over 1.2 million ATM’S Wordwide.

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