I'm reconsidering my use of credit cards, on the basis that I'm squandering potential cashback.
The good news is that I have no debt at all and no past history of debt problems. I have a few thousand pounds of savings and the following current financial products on my credit reference files:
Both credit cards are in monthly use and are cleared in full within the interest free window. The overdraft is unused. There are no missed payments anywhere. I have not applied for a credit product in over two years - the only searches recorded are in connection with car insurance, which I pay for outright. I have never had a credit card from another provider.
I'm single and living with my parents, who are owner occupiers and comfortably off. This means I have no housing costs, just a contribution to household bills.
The bad news is my income. Owing to disability, I'm not in employment and my annual net income is stable at £13,100. It's not very sensible to talk about gross income, because part of my income is tax free leaving me as a non-taxpayer.
If it's in my interests to do so, I'm not averse to requesting a credit limit decrease or closure of one of the HSBC credit cards. When the Mastercard is replaced, it will become a Visa, leaving me with two non-cashback Visa cards.
My priorities in descending order are cashback, issuer other than HSBC Group (for diversity), card scheme other than Visa (again, for diversity). I know American Express has lower acceptance than Visa or Mastercard, but I'd retain one of the HSBC Visa cards for places that don't accept AmEx.
I know there's not many cashback or almost cashback cards these days, and my circumstances seem to rule out many of the options there are. I think I've placed what follows in descending order of preference, but would welcome comments.
American Express Platinum Everyday credit card - no annual fee, but they want £20k household income minimum. Is there any hope they'd consider me, or is that £20k a hard minimum? If they'd accept me, I think this is my best option. (The version of this card with an annual fee is pointless for me - I wouldn't spend enough to make the additional cashback worthwhile).
amazon.co.uk Mastercard - not strictly cashback, but I'm not averse to Amazon gift certificates rather than cash. Is this my best option?
Capital One Classic Extra - really a sub-prime product so the high APR is a given (though largely irrelevant) and I would expect a low credit limit. Still, 0.5% plus £10 a year is considerably better than my current nil cash back.
M&S credit card - I rarely shop in M&S and the underlying credit is from HSBC group anyway.
Tesco credit card - I've no use for Tesco points.
Santander 123 - other than fuel and an occasional department store purchase, my credit card use doesn't fall into the cashback categories. The £24 annual fee makes this a non-starter.
Capital One Aspire - completely out of the question because of the huge annual fee and my modest income.
The good news is that I have no debt at all and no past history of debt problems. I have a few thousand pounds of savings and the following current financial products on my credit reference files:
- HSBC Gold Visa, £6000 credit limit (16.9% APR)
- HSBC Mastercard, £3250 credit limit (12.9% APR)
- HSBC current account with £500 overdraft facility
- Vodafone phone contract
- O2 mobile broadband contract
Both credit cards are in monthly use and are cleared in full within the interest free window. The overdraft is unused. There are no missed payments anywhere. I have not applied for a credit product in over two years - the only searches recorded are in connection with car insurance, which I pay for outright. I have never had a credit card from another provider.
I'm single and living with my parents, who are owner occupiers and comfortably off. This means I have no housing costs, just a contribution to household bills.
The bad news is my income. Owing to disability, I'm not in employment and my annual net income is stable at £13,100. It's not very sensible to talk about gross income, because part of my income is tax free leaving me as a non-taxpayer.
If it's in my interests to do so, I'm not averse to requesting a credit limit decrease or closure of one of the HSBC credit cards. When the Mastercard is replaced, it will become a Visa, leaving me with two non-cashback Visa cards.
My priorities in descending order are cashback, issuer other than HSBC Group (for diversity), card scheme other than Visa (again, for diversity). I know American Express has lower acceptance than Visa or Mastercard, but I'd retain one of the HSBC Visa cards for places that don't accept AmEx.
I know there's not many cashback or almost cashback cards these days, and my circumstances seem to rule out many of the options there are. I think I've placed what follows in descending order of preference, but would welcome comments.
American Express Platinum Everyday credit card - no annual fee, but they want £20k household income minimum. Is there any hope they'd consider me, or is that £20k a hard minimum? If they'd accept me, I think this is my best option. (The version of this card with an annual fee is pointless for me - I wouldn't spend enough to make the additional cashback worthwhile).
amazon.co.uk Mastercard - not strictly cashback, but I'm not averse to Amazon gift certificates rather than cash. Is this my best option?
Capital One Classic Extra - really a sub-prime product so the high APR is a given (though largely irrelevant) and I would expect a low credit limit. Still, 0.5% plus £10 a year is considerably better than my current nil cash back.
M&S credit card - I rarely shop in M&S and the underlying credit is from HSBC group anyway.
Tesco credit card - I've no use for Tesco points.
Santander 123 - other than fuel and an occasional department store purchase, my credit card use doesn't fall into the cashback categories. The £24 annual fee makes this a non-starter.
Capital One Aspire - completely out of the question because of the huge annual fee and my modest income.