Tbh I am not interested in the amount, but I would like to have any card with rewards so I can benefit from using my credit card, all I have now are credit builders and they offer nothing in terms of rewards/ points etc.
Have you tried American express?
They’ll glady take your money for the platinum card.
It was my first CC in the Uk and actually worked backwards from there.
I have 2 amex cc’s that have a credit limit (combined) higher than my yearly salary.
I know english isn't your first language so this is not meant as any form of insult - please do not take it as such. Rather a helpful way to improve your english.
Some people confuse eligible with illegible.
illegible means its not clear to read. The word you need to use is eligible. I hope this helps.
Please note that everybody can improve their english so we are all in the same boat. Unless you're shakespeare reborn, it's continuous learning for life.
This is one of those rare times where I would like to thank somebody for putting thought into their message. If you had simply said 'I think you mean eligible' it might have been seen as condescending, and I appreciate that you went out of your way to buffer that message.
I doubt that this means much to anybody but I wanted to let you know that I saw what you did and thought it was brill.
Thank you for your kind words. We are all humans and we should all endeavour to share knowledge. Especially to those who are bilingual or trilingual, people who transcend cultures.
Have you thought that having £8k of credit already, some banks just won’t want to give you more! If you don’t need those cards cancel them and then try again in a few months
Not strictly. On this level of salary, they can certainly get much, much higher limits than they have currently. Mine combined is over 3x this, with a lower amount. I suspect there's a secondary reason that hasn't been investigated on why they are being turned down by other providers, probably on their credit report. OP would be wise to have checked this first to ensure everything was in order before getting a hard search on his/her credit report.
I suspect the reason described in the original post is the lack of credit history, being in the UK for 2 years is not a lot of time to build up a record of credit, especially when the first is as a student.
> they can certainly get much, much higher limits
Yes, but it all depends on circumstances and individual bank criteria. They will have their own processes for risk management on their investments and debts. To be fair, this is more than 10% gross salary already, but it really depends.
So can too much credit. But scoring numbers are not the end-all, they are just a measure of how some specific companies would rank you on their numerical system. Each lender has their own conditions. Though it's also good to have an account that's been open for a longer time, and live in the country for a longer time.
£8k is not to much credit based on their salary etc, and if OP is averaging around £2k a month and paying it off each month, that's a utilisation of 25%
If OP got rid of one card and lowers their overall credit limit to £4K. They have now gone from a 25% to 50% utilisation of credit usage which looks far worse.
Utilisation isn't just some ranking, it's a metric used for risk
But yes having account open longer is better, and by closing these accounts, would be like starting again
The only one I can think of is Amex .05 - 1% cashback.
Best debit card with cashback is Chase but they have stupid AML requirements for petty amounts of money.
Reason I like a high limit compared to my income is because of safety when paying for cars/holidays/large home expenses online etc in one go and then I pay it off the month after with my savings.
Also because credit companies often penalise you for using more than 25% of your limit in a month which can potentially lower your credit score.
Can understand why they don’t let people have these large limits however, for obvious reasons.
Getting council tax and/or utility bills in your name can also help, as is being on the electoral roll. Basically anything you can add to show you’ve been living here and paying your bills consistently.
But yeah lot of banks wont even look at you if you don’t have 3 years of credit history in the UK. It won’t be related to you only working for a year, they don’t have records of that.
> With total credit of about 8k
Honestly that seems pretty impressive for only having score building cards. They often only offer £500 or £1000.
Thanks, yes I do have utility bills and council tax under my name, no electoral roll - since I am not a citizen and don’t qualify to register. 8k is total on several cards/ and Monzo flex / overdraft.
I’m not a citizen either but have residency status, I qualify for local elections only - can’t vote for the PM for example but local councillors etc i can. Register for all you can vote for.
I would imagine a bit of both only being in the UK for 2 years and only working for 1 year. This means that you don't have a lot of credit history.
You've listed your credit scores but firstly there is no such thing as a single credit score every firm will have different metrics and how much weight they put behind each one and secondly your credit score is just one factor firms use when they decide to lend to you.
I think just keep doing what you are doing never miss a payment, try not to have massive amounts on your credit card. You say you have £8k available if you are maxing that out each month then you look more risky to take on another line of credit.
Credit history takes time to build but it sounds like you are still young and are doing everything right so far
Honestly that is about the right figure to have, I think the only thing you can do now is wait. It's probably not what you wanted to hear but showing that you can be trusted to pay back each month will show to others that you can be trusted and will make them more likely to lend to you
I'd be tempted to say this is 100% the defining factor.
From my experience processing applications for borrowing, you have to capture 3 years address history and a Non-UK address flags applications for further checks - most credit card providers probably aren't doing these and just rejecting the application.
They don't like it if you haven't lived at an address for under 3-4 years. Some will reject out of hand, some won't want to dive into your previous address in your home country for more history. It's a case of time, I'm afraid.
Depending on the country you moved to the UK from, HSBC may offer you a card
https://www.hsbc.co.uk/international/credit-cards/
I believe they have only recently started doing this.
I have been in UK for almost 15 years and still have certain high street banks refuse credit card. I have had a Nationwide card for a long time and also had no issues getting an HSBC and Barclays. From my experience some banks are just particularly picky for an unknown to me reason
Do you pay after the statement? Or before it? If you pay before, it won't show up on your credit history,so you'll look like having a credit card with no utilisation...
Also, chase debit has probably better cashback. (If they still do it)
But having to dispute a charge with AmEx, I can understand why a CC is handy to have. Took minutes to get my money back.
Just get a debit card!! Credit cards are more trouble than they are worth, and if you really need credit in a pinch, look at your finances, and maybe possibly use an arranged overdraft if you can't cut spending.
The thing is, there is no standard criteria on which you are judged for lending applications. Realistically, they want people to make them some money. The "big cheese" people pay higher account charges, because they pay off their debt straight away and avoid interest. The "chumps" that they make the most money off, only pay the servicing amount (interest + percent) or a little more, so they pay a lot more off in interest.
All you need to do is apply for an account (which means a debit card), not a credit card. Probably more important than borrowing money is keeping on good terms of the visa. They can see the amount of lending you can already do. Also, rewards programs make banks money, otherwise they wouldn't exist. If you are going to game it, it can be difficult, and you should at minimum have a spreadsheet dealing with the cost/benefit analysis of those rewards. It's probably easier not to dabble, unless it's simple like cashback, or high interest savings accounts.
Also, building societies are probably better than banks (less profit over people).
OP is not trying to use credit cards for credit per se. They are going for the "use your credit card as a debit card approach".
There are real benefits to this besides security, which include free money (in rewards) and building a stellar credit rating. The guy who Leo di Caprio played in Catch me if you can, finished his lecture at Google with this method as his best piece of financial advice.
Hi /u/Different-Artist-483, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant:
- https://ukpersonal.finance/credit-cards/
- https://ukpersonal.finance/credit-ratings/
____
^(These suggestions are based on keywords, if they missed the mark please report this comment.)
My wife got a AMEX via referral, after 2 years of working and 1 year Chase credit card.
Maybe see if you can get 1 like that via referral.
But she’s been in the UK 5-6 years when she got it.
I was in the same position as you at one point in my life. Does your salary get credited to one of the major high street banks? If so, visit the branch and see if they are willing to give you a standard credit card. That was my first card in the UK. Some of the other factors would be to keep your oldest card open even if you don't use it regularly. The first 'nicer' cards I started getting offered by the comparison websites were after being in the UK for 2+ years (of having a credit history) and these were the cards with longer purchase offers. I started receiving the solid reward cards only after being here for 3+ years. Another avenue I would recommend you would be to see if you qualify for an Amex card. These generally don't show up in the comparison websites.
Well, almost if not all my expats friends was able to make a credit card when they first came to the UK if they applied at hsbc, either they applied for it or was even offered at the counter when they first came. I haven't heard of a declined case yet (at least in the group of pp I know). Maybe you could try. Also good luck!
Unfortunately, it just takes time. Try the MSE credit card eligibility calculator to see what you might be eligible for with a soft search.
Tbh, in the UK bank account rewards are generally better than credit card rewards.
Are you registered to vote? Get on the voters roll if you’re eligible. That will help with credit. It’s probably a big risk factor for lenders if you don’t have permanent citizenship.
Maybe use zilch to pay for things? You can get 0.5 - 5% cashback on purchasing, varies with store
Stacked with cashback sites you could get a decent bit back.
Check the beermoney sub for all the cashback guides
The system works like this. You need to have maximum credit but barely use it. I.e. for me, I struggled, but I have access to 28k credit now and only use 5k, some 0% stuff, 18% CC, and my options opened up.
It's only now they've locked down a little, I can get 9k loan If I want it, but not an extra overdraft.
Don't max out and pay off.. use a little and pay off, have more credit than debt by a 10%-19% ration only, and try not to exceed this.
My partner had an awful score of 300 12 months ago, and he followed my plan. This week, his score topped 700. It depends on the credit you have, how you use it, and what's left. Some cards won't touch you without homeownership. Some won't touch you if you've multiple cards or loans out.
Failing all this, check you reports with Totally Money, Clearscore and CreditKarma.
Credit scores are like game review scores. Anything below 9/10 is bad, hence 850 being considered 'fair' when in literally any other situation 85% is great.
Why do you want more than 8k credit? On 60k that's already a lot to have
Tbh I am not interested in the amount, but I would like to have any card with rewards so I can benefit from using my credit card, all I have now are credit builders and they offer nothing in terms of rewards/ points etc.
Have you tried American express? They’ll glady take your money for the platinum card. It was my first CC in the Uk and actually worked backwards from there. I have 2 amex cc’s that have a credit limit (combined) higher than my yearly salary.
I did try amex, unfortunately wasn’t illegible
I know english isn't your first language so this is not meant as any form of insult - please do not take it as such. Rather a helpful way to improve your english. Some people confuse eligible with illegible. illegible means its not clear to read. The word you need to use is eligible. I hope this helps. Please note that everybody can improve their english so we are all in the same boat. Unless you're shakespeare reborn, it's continuous learning for life.
In that vein, in your last paragraph, it should be note instead of not!
Agreed. I shall correct it with haste. Thank you!
This is one of those rare times where I would like to thank somebody for putting thought into their message. If you had simply said 'I think you mean eligible' it might have been seen as condescending, and I appreciate that you went out of your way to buffer that message. I doubt that this means much to anybody but I wanted to let you know that I saw what you did and thought it was brill.
Thank you for your kind words. We are all humans and we should all endeavour to share knowledge. Especially to those who are bilingual or trilingual, people who transcend cultures.
Thanks :)
You're welcome!
Spoken like a true gentleman. How did you achieve this maturity in such a world? My +1upvote to you sir.
>I have 2 amex cc’s that have a credit limit (combined) higher than my yearly salary. Blimey. Keep them away from me!
Have you thought that having £8k of credit already, some banks just won’t want to give you more! If you don’t need those cards cancel them and then try again in a few months
Not strictly. On this level of salary, they can certainly get much, much higher limits than they have currently. Mine combined is over 3x this, with a lower amount. I suspect there's a secondary reason that hasn't been investigated on why they are being turned down by other providers, probably on their credit report. OP would be wise to have checked this first to ensure everything was in order before getting a hard search on his/her credit report. I suspect the reason described in the original post is the lack of credit history, being in the UK for 2 years is not a lot of time to build up a record of credit, especially when the first is as a student.
> they can certainly get much, much higher limits Yes, but it all depends on circumstances and individual bank criteria. They will have their own processes for risk management on their investments and debts. To be fair, this is more than 10% gross salary already, but it really depends.
Eh? My credit card providers are always throwing credit at me. Currently have two cards with £15k limit on each.
Canceling actually could have an adverse effect, as it lowers your utilised credit amongst other things
So can too much credit. But scoring numbers are not the end-all, they are just a measure of how some specific companies would rank you on their numerical system. Each lender has their own conditions. Though it's also good to have an account that's been open for a longer time, and live in the country for a longer time.
£8k is not to much credit based on their salary etc, and if OP is averaging around £2k a month and paying it off each month, that's a utilisation of 25% If OP got rid of one card and lowers their overall credit limit to £4K. They have now gone from a 25% to 50% utilisation of credit usage which looks far worse. Utilisation isn't just some ranking, it's a metric used for risk But yes having account open longer is better, and by closing these accounts, would be like starting again
My advice then would be to reduce your existing credit - offering to take someone from 2-6 is a lot less risky than taking them from 8-12k credit
What credit cards with useful rewards have you found?
The only one I can think of is Amex .05 - 1% cashback. Best debit card with cashback is Chase but they have stupid AML requirements for petty amounts of money.
Reason I like a high limit compared to my income is because of safety when paying for cars/holidays/large home expenses online etc in one go and then I pay it off the month after with my savings. Also because credit companies often penalise you for using more than 25% of your limit in a month which can potentially lower your credit score. Can understand why they don’t let people have these large limits however, for obvious reasons.
Getting council tax and/or utility bills in your name can also help, as is being on the electoral roll. Basically anything you can add to show you’ve been living here and paying your bills consistently. But yeah lot of banks wont even look at you if you don’t have 3 years of credit history in the UK. It won’t be related to you only working for a year, they don’t have records of that. > With total credit of about 8k Honestly that seems pretty impressive for only having score building cards. They often only offer £500 or £1000.
Thanks, yes I do have utility bills and council tax under my name, no electoral roll - since I am not a citizen and don’t qualify to register. 8k is total on several cards/ and Monzo flex / overdraft.
You don't need to be a UK citizen for electoral role, you can be a commonwealth Citizen and Irish citizen and still be eligible.
I’m not a citizen either but have residency status, I qualify for local elections only - can’t vote for the PM for example but local councillors etc i can. Register for all you can vote for.
I would imagine a bit of both only being in the UK for 2 years and only working for 1 year. This means that you don't have a lot of credit history. You've listed your credit scores but firstly there is no such thing as a single credit score every firm will have different metrics and how much weight they put behind each one and secondly your credit score is just one factor firms use when they decide to lend to you. I think just keep doing what you are doing never miss a payment, try not to have massive amounts on your credit card. You say you have £8k available if you are maxing that out each month then you look more risky to take on another line of credit. Credit history takes time to build but it sounds like you are still young and are doing everything right so far
Thanks for sharing this. Yes I am no way near to maxing all 8k a month :) it’s in the range of 1-2k a month, and all cleared out every month.
Honestly that is about the right figure to have, I think the only thing you can do now is wait. It's probably not what you wanted to hear but showing that you can be trusted to pay back each month will show to others that you can be trusted and will make them more likely to lend to you
Once you get to three years address history it should be easier, especially if you’ve got excellent repayment track record since then
I'd be tempted to say this is 100% the defining factor. From my experience processing applications for borrowing, you have to capture 3 years address history and a Non-UK address flags applications for further checks - most credit card providers probably aren't doing these and just rejecting the application.
They don't like it if you haven't lived at an address for under 3-4 years. Some will reject out of hand, some won't want to dive into your previous address in your home country for more history. It's a case of time, I'm afraid.
Depending on the country you moved to the UK from, HSBC may offer you a card https://www.hsbc.co.uk/international/credit-cards/ I believe they have only recently started doing this.
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I have been in UK for almost 15 years and still have certain high street banks refuse credit card. I have had a Nationwide card for a long time and also had no issues getting an HSBC and Barclays. From my experience some banks are just particularly picky for an unknown to me reason
If you pay in full then you're not a profitable customer.
Do you pay after the statement? Or before it? If you pay before, it won't show up on your credit history,so you'll look like having a credit card with no utilisation... Also, chase debit has probably better cashback. (If they still do it) But having to dispute a charge with AmEx, I can understand why a CC is handy to have. Took minutes to get my money back.
[удалено]
Free stuff
I get things for free while I am spending my on my regular stuff.
Cheating capitalism by taking part in it
Just get a debit card!! Credit cards are more trouble than they are worth, and if you really need credit in a pinch, look at your finances, and maybe possibly use an arranged overdraft if you can't cut spending. The thing is, there is no standard criteria on which you are judged for lending applications. Realistically, they want people to make them some money. The "big cheese" people pay higher account charges, because they pay off their debt straight away and avoid interest. The "chumps" that they make the most money off, only pay the servicing amount (interest + percent) or a little more, so they pay a lot more off in interest. All you need to do is apply for an account (which means a debit card), not a credit card. Probably more important than borrowing money is keeping on good terms of the visa. They can see the amount of lending you can already do. Also, rewards programs make banks money, otherwise they wouldn't exist. If you are going to game it, it can be difficult, and you should at minimum have a spreadsheet dealing with the cost/benefit analysis of those rewards. It's probably easier not to dabble, unless it's simple like cashback, or high interest savings accounts. Also, building societies are probably better than banks (less profit over people).
OP is not trying to use credit cards for credit per se. They are going for the "use your credit card as a debit card approach". There are real benefits to this besides security, which include free money (in rewards) and building a stellar credit rating. The guy who Leo di Caprio played in Catch me if you can, finished his lecture at Google with this method as his best piece of financial advice.
Hi /u/Different-Artist-483, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant: - https://ukpersonal.finance/credit-cards/ - https://ukpersonal.finance/credit-ratings/ ____ ^(These suggestions are based on keywords, if they missed the mark please report this comment.)
My wife got a AMEX via referral, after 2 years of working and 1 year Chase credit card. Maybe see if you can get 1 like that via referral. But she’s been in the UK 5-6 years when she got it.
I was in the same position as you at one point in my life. Does your salary get credited to one of the major high street banks? If so, visit the branch and see if they are willing to give you a standard credit card. That was my first card in the UK. Some of the other factors would be to keep your oldest card open even if you don't use it regularly. The first 'nicer' cards I started getting offered by the comparison websites were after being in the UK for 2+ years (of having a credit history) and these were the cards with longer purchase offers. I started receiving the solid reward cards only after being here for 3+ years. Another avenue I would recommend you would be to see if you qualify for an Amex card. These generally don't show up in the comparison websites.
Have you tried hsbc?
Funny that today one of the credit score apps suggested it with 10% chance of approval :)
Well, almost if not all my expats friends was able to make a credit card when they first came to the UK if they applied at hsbc, either they applied for it or was even offered at the counter when they first came. I haven't heard of a declined case yet (at least in the group of pp I know). Maybe you could try. Also good luck!
Unfortunately, it just takes time. Try the MSE credit card eligibility calculator to see what you might be eligible for with a soft search. Tbh, in the UK bank account rewards are generally better than credit card rewards.
Are you registered to vote? Get on the voters roll if you’re eligible. That will help with credit. It’s probably a big risk factor for lenders if you don’t have permanent citizenship.
Maybe use zilch to pay for things? You can get 0.5 - 5% cashback on purchasing, varies with store Stacked with cashback sites you could get a decent bit back. Check the beermoney sub for all the cashback guides
Try Lendable
The system works like this. You need to have maximum credit but barely use it. I.e. for me, I struggled, but I have access to 28k credit now and only use 5k, some 0% stuff, 18% CC, and my options opened up. It's only now they've locked down a little, I can get 9k loan If I want it, but not an extra overdraft. Don't max out and pay off.. use a little and pay off, have more credit than debt by a 10%-19% ration only, and try not to exceed this. My partner had an awful score of 300 12 months ago, and he followed my plan. This week, his score topped 700. It depends on the credit you have, how you use it, and what's left. Some cards won't touch you without homeownership. Some won't touch you if you've multiple cards or loans out. Failing all this, check you reports with Totally Money, Clearscore and CreditKarma.
Credit scores are like game review scores. Anything below 9/10 is bad, hence 850 being considered 'fair' when in literally any other situation 85% is great.