Credit Cards - Gold Platinum or Classic - What's the difference/point?

[schmunk]

its all under control.

Then that's not an unserviceable debt then, is it...

However, unless you have a very good rate on your credit cards, you'd probably be better off getting an unsecured personal loan to pay them off straight away.

And finally - £1,100 on a dog? You do know they give away new ones for free?

[chriswood_7]

Dont let the animal lovers hear you say that, that could start an arguement.

Anyone who has dogs/cats etc would spend that ten times over if they were poorly. Im not easily offended but this is the first thread I have felt that way.

[Funkstar]

And finally - £1,100 on a dog? You do know they give away new ones for free?

Did you miss the sarcasm tags off that?

If not then it's one of the most ill thought out posts i've read in a long time.

[TooNice]

As far as I can tell the biggest difference is the amount you can borrow and sometime the interest rate. You can usually borrow more for less interest the 'better' the cards.

But you get some oddities (wrong word? "define : oddities" on Google gives a pretty... odd definition) too. If you pick Smile Gold card over Smile Classic card, you lose the 0.5% cashback. And cashback, together with the security of online shopping is the only reason I use my credit card for. Oh yea, it can also be handy when travelling too (but you should pick a good Travelling credit card that does not charge excessive exchange rates).

That's all I use my credit card for. I need to build my credit just so that I can buy a whole new laptop should I want to, and the rest of the months expense. Come end of the month, it's fully paid off, and I get some cashback on top

[Saracen]

To my mind, the main benefit of a credit card is the Consumer Credit Act protection. When you buy on a (UK) credit card, that makes the credit card company "joint and severally liable" with the seller. So .... if anything happens (like the company going bust the goods having not arrived, or a fault develops and the seller's gone bust) you can still go after the credit card company.

In fact, if you're having a dispute that looks like it's going legal, the credit card company will often step in prior to that and they will then deal with the seller.

Also, of course, there's sheer convenience. It can be useful to put expenses on a card. In the case of business expenses, I always put all business expenses and only business expenses on one card. It helps either to ensure reimbursement (and delays having to pay out) if you're employed, and is further evidence for percentage claims for the taxman if employed. And it means that someone else's cash flow is paying for it.

And, of course, in terms of foreign car hire, hotel reservations, etc, you'll often find that a credit card is about the only way to do it.

As for the difference between standard, gold, platinum etc, well, in the UK, to my mind there generally isn't one. It's a marketing ploy. They're just labels, and the marketing people seem to think "gold" or "platinum" is attractive to people. But in some countries, there is a difference though it varies from card to card. In the US, you'll often find that the qualifying salary is different, but the higher level cards carry real benefits, like a useful level of travel insurance, or automatic full car hire insurance cover providing you pay with the card, or even automatic linkages to brokerage accounts.

Credit cards are fine, and very useful providing they're used sensibly. But it is very easy to either get sucked in to an unsupportable level of debt, or to find that what you thought was supportable suddenly becomes unsupportable through external factors (unexpected demands on your cash, accident or illness, unemployment or business collapse, etc). Then, they can be real trouble.

[schmunk]

I used to have a Natwest standard credit card, with my student a/c, and then a while ago upgraded to Platinum (and, of course, ever since then the game's been a rap one).

I think pretty much the only reason at that point was that Natwest gave additional warranty when you bought electricals with it, but it looks like they may have stopped that?

Going back to the argument that has erupted over Kumagoro's comment and my agreement, I personally make use of my credit card and will usually have a bill of around ~£1,000 - £2,000 each month. However, that gets paid off every month on time without fail, and I know that I can definitely service the credit each month. The 'tards' (I would probably have used the word 'numpties' myself, but we all get the general idea) are the people who load up their credit cards and know they cannot pay it off either straight away or over a reasonable period, or even worse, haven't even considered it... (Chriswood07 - this does not include people like you!)

[Stringent]

Got a Natwest Gold Mastercard at the moment. It has been fine. Just paid it all off today! All £850 worth of junk. Hope to keep it clean for the January sales, and maybe a new Sony X3500 TV!

I think the better card Normal -> Gold -> Platinum gives you better credit (i.e. spend more) and some perks which you will never use!

[chriswood_7]

People tend to call me a "rate tart" as what I done (after the £1100 debt afforementioned) was to find the lowest balance transfer rate (ie transfer surcharge) and transfer it over for 13 months, giving me a year to pay off the balance at 0% and the surcharge was around the same as a month or so interest.

Moneysavingexpert.com is a wonderful resource for hints like that, hence why i found out about the 5% cashback on Barclaycards for 6 months (until Dec 07 I think).

[Funkstar]

I have several cards that have had an interest free period that i've taken advantage of. I could have payed the balance off, but i make money on the savings interest and the balance is going down at a steady rate

And, of course, in terms of foreign car hire, hotel reservations, etc, you'll often find that a credit card is about the only way to do it.

Not just foreign car hir and hotels. UK as well. There are a couple of guys at work that don't have credit cards, and it is a real hastle if they need a hotel or car. I think it's crazy as they are also spending their own money on expences and end up skint at the end of the month and are desperate to get their claims in.

[Saracen]

.....

Not just foreign car hir and hotels. UK as well. ....

True enough. I guess I just don't use it that way in the UK 'cos I have an account at a couple of large chains and tend to either just go there, or as often as not, find a B&B where and when I need it, largely because I'm often not sure in advance whether I'll need it or not.