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Barclay Credit Card
- Thread starter Mac7
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I tried when I was 18 - they would only give me £500. The OP's best bet would be to save for 3 more months and by one outright.
He may have a £500 limit, but he could always put the extra money into the account to begin with so he's in the positive I guess? Depends on the card.
If you are a student you will be given an interest free overdraft in the £750-1500 range depending on the bank (barclays is usually the worst for students) as well as the £500 credit card. I wouldn't recommend using all your credit this early in the game as it will make the bank more hesitant to increase your overdraft as you progress at uni.
Yeah but if you don't pay it off by then it goes up to an exorbitant 23% and you get charged all the deferred interest and then you are paying compound interest on top of that. It's bloody legalized loansharking.
Read up on these threads:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/337797/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/900737/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/760300/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/928342/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/901655/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/400493/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/704315/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/310063/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/284625/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/366719/
If you can get it and pay it off before their BS interest rates hit you in the ass then you should be ok. You're young and may not have much credit so it may not finance your entire purchase. Perhaps trying a Best Buy card or the equivalent of BB if you're in the UK.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/337797/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/900737/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/760300/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/928342/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/901655/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/400493/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/704315/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/310063/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/284625/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/366719/
If you can get it and pay it off before their BS interest rates hit you in the ass then you should be ok. You're young and may not have much credit so it may not finance your entire purchase. Perhaps trying a Best Buy card or the equivalent of BB if you're in the UK.
If you don't pay it off right away, yes. But Barclay's aka Juniper can **** you over worse. They're a bit better with their once a month billing on the first of the month due to new requirements for creditors, but still. At least with BB you're bound to their crap, Barclay's you can use anywhere Visa is accepted.
If I were to loan money with exorbitant interest rates to strangers, I'd be arrested for loansharking. If I owned a bank, and handed you a nice new shiny plastic card, it's called business.
If I give out enough new shiny plastic cards, I'd be given an award, and enjoy status as a pillar of my community.
It's great that you want to establish your credit, but remember that debt is a slippery slope. We consumers can't win in the long run by playing the finance game. The banks want you to pull the plow, while they reap the rewards of your hard labor.
If you get a card, my advice is to use it VERY sparingly; just once in a great while to build credit, but no more. You'll feel better by paying cash for things that YOU own. Some cards provide an extra layer of protection if you purchase items like a MBP and you have problems with it, but save up the money FIRST, then pay off the card entirely when you get the bill.
Good luck, and welcome to the adult world, which can really be a pain if you play the game according to the bank's rules.
If I give out enough new shiny plastic cards, I'd be given an award, and enjoy status as a pillar of my community.
It's great that you want to establish your credit, but remember that debt is a slippery slope. We consumers can't win in the long run by playing the finance game. The banks want you to pull the plow, while they reap the rewards of your hard labor.
If you get a card, my advice is to use it VERY sparingly; just once in a great while to build credit, but no more. You'll feel better by paying cash for things that YOU own. Some cards provide an extra layer of protection if you purchase items like a MBP and you have problems with it, but save up the money FIRST, then pay off the card entirely when you get the bill.
Good luck, and welcome to the adult world, which can really be a pain if you play the game according to the bank's rules.
This. It's relatively easy to do with Visa but Mastercard do have issues about a positive (negative?) balance.
What you want to do is save up for 3 months until you have enough to buy the MBP outright. Then pay the extra money you'd need over your credit limit (e.g. £1000 MBP and £500 CC limit would need £500) beforehand. Obviously when your statment comes in, pay off the entire balance in full.
I'd agree with those making comments about not buying the computer outright on the CC. The interest rates are extortionate unless of course you get an interest free promotional deal (unlikely at your age).
You'd also already know this, but student discounts are also available.
Using the free interest right now.
I'm typing on the MBA that I bought last October with the Barclay card. They gave me $3500 credit. Used $2100 with Apple for this Air (got the optional external drive and paid the Governater too much in taxes). Learned something. Don't use the card for anything else unless you can pay off the total card in twelve months (for the free interest). I added an AEBS on the card in April, that went on the total to be paid off. No problem, I've been paying it off $200 a month, my last payment is coming up in a few days. I saved almost $200 in interest. There were no tricks
I'm typing on the MBA that I bought last October with the Barclay card. They gave me $3500 credit. Used $2100 with Apple for this Air (got the optional external drive and paid the Governater too much in taxes). Learned something. Don't use the card for anything else unless you can pay off the total card in twelve months (for the free interest). I added an AEBS on the card in April, that went on the total to be paid off. No problem, I've been paying it off $200 a month, my last payment is coming up in a few days. I saved almost $200 in interest. There were no tricks
Awful credit card
I was not approved for the full purchase price... granted I bought a 17" MBP, but still had to use my debit card for about 1/3 of the price.
Then I tried to set up automatic payments, and because I put in my bank account number wrong (because the number for electronic transactions is longer than the one that's usually on my bank statement) they charged me a $39.95 fee. So I called up about that, and no, they cannot waive that fee. I asked for a manager, and the person tells me that one is not available but can call back within 24 - 48 hours.
To me, a fee is punishment for trying to defraud them in some way. Late payment - that's normal. My payment was not late - I corrected the mistake and still got it in on time. They are charging me this much because of a simple error. It most certainly does not cost them that much for an unsuccessful attempt to make an electronic transfer. So I reported them to the Delaware BBB for what it's worth.
Since there is "zero interest" they will be as greedy as they can in other ways.
I was not approved for the full purchase price... granted I bought a 17" MBP, but still had to use my debit card for about 1/3 of the price.
Then I tried to set up automatic payments, and because I put in my bank account number wrong (because the number for electronic transactions is longer than the one that's usually on my bank statement) they charged me a $39.95 fee. So I called up about that, and no, they cannot waive that fee. I asked for a manager, and the person tells me that one is not available but can call back within 24 - 48 hours.
To me, a fee is punishment for trying to defraud them in some way. Late payment - that's normal. My payment was not late - I corrected the mistake and still got it in on time. They are charging me this much because of a simple error. It most certainly does not cost them that much for an unsuccessful attempt to make an electronic transfer. So I reported them to the Delaware BBB for what it's worth.
Since there is "zero interest" they will be as greedy as they can in other ways.