Should You Get a Credit Card Account?
Find out if your shopping habits could get you into trouble with a credit card account.
12:35 15 April 2013
We are all used to those enticing introductory offers from credit card companies. For some of us it seems we are swamped daily with mailings from one outstanding card offer to the next. There are a few things that you should consider before signing up for one of these offers. Depending on your spending and shopping habits you may not want any of the credit cards UK offers.
- Impulsive—if you know that you are an impulsive shopper, it’s a good idea to stay away from those tempting little credit card UK offers. Stores are designed to prey on your shopping impulses and you’ll be more likely to spend money and regret it later.
- Saver—if you usually save up for things that you want, you’re probably okay to have a credit card. You will most likely budget so that you can either pay your bill completely off each month, or you may not use the card at all.
- Emotional—this is kind of like impulsive shopping, but the impetus is emotional and can result in small or extravagant shopping sprees. If you have these tendencies credit card UK offers may mean trouble.
A good general rule of thumb is if you’ll be able to pay the bill off when it comes, it’s okay to make the purchase. This is ironic given that most people use credit cards with their finances when their budget is exceeded. Those who have plenty of money, technically have no need for credit. Credit card companies, as a general rule, count on that because they get their money from the interest you’re being charged.
If you need to establish credit, or do want to have a card for emergencies here are a few credit card UK companies to consider:
- Barclaycard
- MBNA
- Tesco Bank
- Nationwide
- NatWest
- Vanquis
- SAV Credit Ltd
- Aquis
- Capital One
- Santander
- Sainsbury Bank
If you’re able to get a better interest rate than your other credit card UK accounts, see if you can transfer your balance over to help with finances.