Which credit card for me?

Lmattmacman on 15/02/2017 - 14:47

Firstly, I know there has being a heap of these sorts of posts, but being a student looking to apply for a credit card for the first time I'm a touch lost..

I am currently working a 3 month internship with a large mining company and had someone suggest I should potentially look into grabbing a credit card whilst I am eligible and because I tend to spend a bit/travel quite often.

My first question is, my projected yearly income with my internship quite easily qualifies for most cards, however as I am only here for 3 months I wasn't sure of my eligibility. My understanding is that they only asked for 2 payslips? I will be going back to casual retail work afterwards but that does not account for much income.

With that out of the way, I am leaning toward a velocity group (or one that trades favorably with velocity points) card as I tend to fly with them more.

I am based in Perth and will likely be flying over east several times over the next few years for sport and leisure so something with a free flight would be great. I think the ANZ Travel Rewards card had this with fees waived for the first year?

Ideally something without massive yearly fees and a decent points earn.

Any help would be much appreciated =)

Financial Credit Card

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 15/02/2017 - 15:18
    +1

    when I applied for the anz ff black they asked for 3 months worth of pay slips. Without a consistent income I think you will find it hard to find any decent credit cards

    • mattmacman on 15/02/2017 - 15:19

      I can provide 3 months of payslips, but that would be the whole length of my contract, but they dont know that ;)

  • Skramit on 15/02/2017 - 15:24
    +3

    If it were me I'd grab one of the permanently fee free cards and forget rewards points for the time being (unless you can nab a decent card with rewards for no fee but there's not many around). Once you get a full time job after uni, then think about an upgrade.

    • mattmacman on 15/02/2017 - 15:27

      Excuse my ignorance, what would be the point of the card in that case?

      I was looking at the ANZ Travel Adventures as I (or a sibling) will likely fly over east in the next year anyway so I can easily justify the annual fee whilst earning reward points as a bonus.
      Edit* The one of bonus points is also a bonus.

      Cheers.

      • Skramit on 15/02/2017 - 15:40
        +2

        Not much point actually. Only the convenience of plastic vs cash (which i personally love).

        Even with 3 months intern salary, you'd earn bugger all points anyway and unlikely to have enough for a free flight return to the each coast. Unless you suddenly spend like a bat out of hell :/

        • mattmacman on 15/02/2017 - 15:45

          I tend to book allot of stuff with my group of mates/siblings etc so I tend to 'spend' allot more than I actually do which I figure would be a good way to rack up points.

          As for plastic vs cash I completely agree but I already have samsung pay and a debit mastercard so I wouldn't be grabbing a CC just for that.

          I only mentioned the 3 month salary in terms of qualifying for the card to begin with.

        • FirstWizard on 15/02/2017 - 17:26
          +1

          @mattmacman:

          ANZ cards currently don't work with Samsung Pay, but does with Android Pay :D
          Pretty much the same though TBH.
          It's a shame that travel adventures do not offer the 60k velocity points anymore.

          When I applied for the ANZ card they just checked 2 of my salary slips, however, I heard from a mate who's Financial year to date salary total did not add up properly that they've asked for a copy of the employment contract.

          anz.com/incomeverification does say the following:

          Full-time and part-time PAYG employees

          You can show proof of income with one of the following documents:

          • Two most recent payslips showing year-to date (YTD) income.
          • Your payslip showing three or more months worth of YTD figures.
            Payslips must be no older than 60 days from application date and must not be handwritten.

          If your payslip does not display the YTD income figure, you will need to supply.

          • Three recent bank statements showing your salary credited to a non-ANZ Financial Institution, with your most recent credit made within 60 days of your application.

          If you are recently employed you will need to supply:

          • A newly signed employment contract where start date is within 60 days of application.
        • mattmacman on 15/02/2017 - 17:56

          Ahh bugger, I was looking at a outdated 3rd party site with the 60k points still being advertised! Yeah isn't nearly as exciting =/ Thanks for the info!

  • TakaHas on 15/02/2017 - 15:31
    +1

    diff financial institutes have diff background requirements.

    if u already have an established credit file, they might not even ask you for any info and system auto process your cc app.

    do u bank with anz? if yes, go with their cc as they have your banking history, so that might be a positive factor for them to approve your app.

    • mattmacman on 15/02/2017 - 15:32

      Negative, long time Commonwealth user. Cheers however.

      • TakaHas on 15/02/2017 - 15:45
        +1

        same logic applies then.

        do u bank with anz commbank? if yes, go with their cc as they have your banking history, so that might be a positive factor for them to approve your app.

        can always start at entry level cc and work your way up (points and cc tier).

        • mattmacman on 15/02/2017 - 15:46

          Ahh, hadn't even looked at any of their cards. Will have a gander. Thanks for the suggestion.

  • ItsMeAgro on 15/02/2017 - 15:37
    +1

    Rewards schemes are generally very poor value, only worth getting if you'd be flying/spending a lot anyway.

    They don't necessarily require you to get a credit card, either.

    Credit cards are pretty dangerous because it can be very difficult, especially when you're young, to resist the temptation to spend money you don't have and get into a bunch of debt at a crazy-high interest rate (which all credit cards have).

    I'm almost 40 and never bothered to get one except the 28 degrees mastercard a couple of years ago (because it's free and makes international online purchases slightly cheaper, and because it's nice to be able to spend up to my 5,000 limit in an emergency). But it's a pain remembering to pay it off each month, hardly worth getting in the end.

    • mattmacman on 15/02/2017 - 15:42

      Hey mate, cheers for the reply. I would like to think I am pretty good at paying things off etc and I tend to travel a fair bit hence why I'm having a look at whats out there. I wouldn't be using points to redeem a nespresso machine ;)

      Essentially looking for something to rack up points with other potential benefits (eg. free flight, no fees etc.).

  • [Deactivated] on 15/02/2017 - 16:00

    since youre with cba I think you missed out on the cba low rate cc. spend $500 get $250 back. Epic deal

  • rambutann on 15/02/2017 - 16:29
    +4

    Most rewards cards for low income earners/low spenders such as yourself are often useless. The only one worthy of going for (given your situation) would be the American Express Velocity card as it has $0 annual fee and you get 1 point per $1 spent buttt it is an American Express card and therefore isn't widely accepted (its never worth paying a fee to use it if you have the option to pay with MC/Visa without any fees).

    Most MC/Visa rewards cards require an annual fee that will only ever be offset by high spending on the card (1 qantas frequent flyer point is worth about 1 cent, if you get 0.5 points per dollar spent then you would have to spend about $20,000 to offset a $100 per year annual fee).

    In addition to all this, if you don't have a citibank plus debit card for foreign transaction purchases then get one - it'll save you a hell of a lot of money in transaction fees.

    A few years ago I was in the same situation as yourself, I got a low fee credit card with commonwealth bank through a promotion, I then got my american express (I have a qantas ff one), I have since cancelled my commbank card and obtained a 28 degrees mastercard. As for the unemployment part - as long as you get it whilst you are employed it doesnt really matter, they dont need to know that youll be unemployed. I got a mortgage when I knew i'd be out of a job within 2 months of buying a place.

    • mattmacman on 15/02/2017 - 16:53

      Hey mate, very informative reply! When I searched for the Amex Velocity card it said it has a $395 fee however?

      I was looking at the ANZ Travel Adventure card as I generally fly over east 1-2 times a year for sport already so I would be ahead despite the $225 fee. The points would be a bonus!

      • rambutann on 15/02/2017 - 17:03

        https://www.americanexpress.com/au/content/velocity-rewards-…

        I guess the one you have mentioned isnt the worst if you are going to use that free flight - its actually a fairly good deal actually haha last time I check on credit cards that came with a free return flight it was usually only very short flights like SYD-MEL and not coast to coast like that card offers.

  • bluesky on 15/02/2017 - 17:59
    +1

    As rambutan said, if you are inclined towards Velocity points, you can go for the Amex Velocity card. Amex also have two other free cards - Essential (points can be transferred to 8 programs, including Velocity), and Qantas Discovery (Qantas points).

    Essential is more flexible, if you do not wish to be tied down to a specific programme, and it also allows redemption, as cashbacks instead. My post here provides more details.

    You said you travel often, if it is also to overseas, then for fee-free foreign fees, you should consider the CitiPlus debit card as well, which is especially good for fee-free ATM withdrawal. Hope this helps.

    • mattmacman on 15/02/2017 - 18:11
      +1

      That looks like a good option to start earning some points without the fees of other cards! Cheers for the info.

      • bluesky on 15/02/2017 - 18:15

        Yes, I do like it, for the smartphone screen insurance, extended warranty, purchase and refund protection, all for free. It is my main everyday card :-)

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