Hey Guys,
I've currently a part time worker and I'm looking to get a credit card to start earning rewards and points. I've never had a credit card before so I don't know how it works.
I make about $30k - $40k a year. I was wondering if you guys have any suggestions on what are the key incentives I should be looking for in a credit card reward system and general guide on what's available out there and what I should know before / applying.
Any advice and guidance would be appreciated.
Cheers
When you jump from one offer to another, did you have to wait there year out first then cancel or could you do it within the year ?
I already have things i want to buy on my agenda so i was hoping that i could just get some reward point with a credit card.
Ive had a look at a few of the cards and yeah it sucks cause i dont qualify for a lot of the cards out there because of my income .
As long as you complete the conditions required for the offer, then wait until you actually receive it, you can cancel the card the next day if you want to, without penalty (in 99% of cases, worth checking T&C of offer though).
In general, you just need to change the bank/credit provider when jumping to a new offer. The offers are most commonly only available to "New customers or existing customers who have not applied for a xxx product in the past 12 months".
My first Credit Card was with NAB, then with ANZ, then with Citi.
Each one I redeemed the offer, cancelled a month or a few before the renewal date (to avoid paying next year's annual fee) and in the meantime, applied for another.
Also, highly recommend for your first time, apply for a credit product that you are almost certain you will be approved for.
Don't go for one that is at the top of your potential, as there is a more likely chance you will be declined, and this will hurt your credit score, thus making it harder to obtain credit products in the near term.
If you have had other credit products in your name (ie. a mobile phone plan is technically a credit product), that will help.
@Jayblesz: cheers
ive just double checked and my credit score is within the 800 so ill keep that in mind and try not bring it down
i think its safest to go with like the coles credit card, they have a 0% p.a. credit card too (with very little rewards, but not much eligibility requirement)
I think ANZ, and Amex are the one hardest to get, i.e. application refused most times.
I was in the same thinking as you a few weeks ago, but then AT THE END OF THE DAY, CONCLUDED that my monthly spend is no where even close to the required ones (which are never less than $500/month really usually like at least $1500 in 2 or 3 months).
Hence concluded NOT TO GO WITH A CREDIT CARD, because i will be more likely to spend money, that i never intended to have spent at first place. Sticking with HSBC debit card 2% atm.
what I should know before / applying
If you get rejected application, usually very hard to get a credit card in the near 3-6 months at very least, and impossible with same company.
Simply having a credit card to build your credit score can be valuable for the future though. Certainly one thing that is good to have and not need rather than need and not have…. But yes, only as long as you aren't tempted to spend money you don't have.
The one with $0 annual fees?
No, the $99 annual fee. We collect about 13,000 points per month, which is equivalent to about $65 per month in rewards (comes up at register as automatic $10 off Coles shop when you reach 2,000 points).
I've recently just got my first rewards credit card -ANZ Black. Only reason was their offer of 180,000 bonus points on $2k spend in 3 months ($800 in gift cards). I am not too sure if it will be worth me to keep later depending on my spend and rewards I can get. I would recommend looking at what your bank offers and check out: https://www.pointhacks.com.au/
Ultimately, you want to weigh up the offerings of the card (insurances,etc.) the point accumulation rate with your spend, and the annual fee of the card. To me, the annual fee is what will make or break the worth of a card.
The key incentives for me are the large sign-on points but often require a minimum $x,xxx spend within a certain period.
If you can churn a few cards every year then you can amass points quite quickly. If you have a +1 they can also churn a few cards too.
That said, I wouldn't rush out to spend for kicks, to meet the spend requirements, just to get points unless you truly believe in supporting the economy.
Kogan credit card is the best fee free rewards card going.
But you only get Kogan credit yeah?
True but there’s the odd good thing that comes up on Ozbargain so I usually don’t struggle to use the credit.
I've been given the option by my employer to salary sacrifice $15,900 into a CC of my choice. The CC will be my own, so I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations? I live in a marina and would plan to put my membership fees through it to receive points. My salary is above 60k.
So far I'm leaning towards the Coles Rewards Mastercard or the new PayPal Rewards Credit Card, mainly because I don't understand the value of Qantas FF points, Velocity, Amplify or AMEX points…
Hey there. I was in a simar situation to you about 4 years ago, had never had a credit card… Now I've been jumping from one to another for offers, which I believe is the thing to do to maximise value.
For instance, my current Citi credit card came with a $500 JB Hi-Fi voucher with the minimum spend requirement.
FYI just make sure you set up direct debit to pay your statement balance in full and you'll never pay interest- just reap the point rewards and benefits.
You probably can't grab any of the top tier cards with that kind of income, (ie NAB signature card with ~100k Qantas points spend offer) but depending on your expenses you can probably get some decent lower tier cards. I'd recommend looking at finder and whistleout.