Best Credit Card

J

Jock

Guest
I currently have two credit cards:

Amex Blue - 1% rebate, but limited acceptability
Ulster Zinc - €40 rebate with €5k spend (Mastercard)

Are there any better credit cards out there for somebody who pays their bill on time & in full?

Also ,is it possible to have a credit card from another country and so avoid the €40 stamp duty?

Cheers!
 
I reckon you have it about right, Jock.

Just make sure you use the Amex wherever possible (see here:


I've kicked up a fuss (out of sight of the missus!) on a couple of occasions where I'd walked into a hotel/restaurant with an Amex sticker prominently displayed in the front door/window, but then been told that they "preferred" Visa/MC. 'Course they do, it costs them less!

Dr. M

P.S. Afaik, to have another credit card a/c in another country, you'd also need to hold a (probably current?) bank a/c in the same country — which could get you into all sorts of additional costs by way of fees/currency exchange charges/tax implications... — 'though, mind you, I'd love to stand corrected on this! 0? rainyday? HamSlicer?....
 
I would have assumed that to hold a CC issued by a bank in another country you would need an account which, in turn, would normally require you to have a home/contact address in that country. If it is a non € zone country then presumably currency exchange costs and risks become an issue (e.g. when paying the CC bill on a GBP£ account). In short it may be possible but presumably only open to people with an address in the relevant country and then possible not worth the hassle - particularly if you're clearing the bill each month and not incurring any interest charges.

I too am open to correction on all of this not being a banking expert! :)
 
Ah, d'you know, I'm beginning to believe some of them scurrilous rumours about the true identity of "0"... ;)

P.S. 2 more posts, and then I graduate to a higher plane...? ;)
(but does editing your own posts count...? :( )

P.P.S. Apparently not. Ah, well....
But does one lose points for excessive use of smilies? ;) ;) ;) (Ow!)
 
Credit cards in other countries

Currently in the process of moving from the UK to Ireland and even though I am the holder of a UK Allied Irish Visa, I have been told thay I will have to apply from scratch when I get to Ireland. Having said that none od my current card holders are insisting that I hand them in the day I leave the country. As others have said, if you had a UK address you could probably get a UK card. Probably wouldn't be worth your while with the currency ex charges etc. For me it's worth keeping my UK ones until I work up a decent credit limit with and Irish card.

As an footnote, there was an interesting story in the news over here a few weeks ago where a homeless person of no fixed abode was signed up for a Barclaycard by a somebody with a clipboard in a high street. His new card was sent to a homeless shelter
 
Re: Credit cards in other countries

Ah, d'you know, I'm beginning to believe some of them scurrilous rumours about the true identity of "0"...
Click to expand...

Keep them to yourself or else those infidel Americans with their dirty feet will track me down to my cave in Tora Bora... :mad
 
Re: Credit cards in other countries

Allah-U-Akbar, O faithful one...!

Not a word of all this to that dratted Holmes, mind you! :lol
 
Pigsback MBNA Credit Card?

Just came across the Pigsback credit card issued by MBNA. It's a Visa card which gives you 1 piggy point for every Euro spent. Unlike Amex it's widely accepted and unlike Ulster Zinc there is no limit to the number of piggy points you can earn. Therefore could be worthwhile for somebody like me with a high spend on business travel/expenses. Anybody got experience with this one?

[broken link removed]
 
Re: Pigsback MBNA Credit Card?

What are you going to spend your PiggyPoints on, Jock? I would suggest that if you are travelling on business, the vast majority of hotels/airlines will accept Amex Blue, so you'll be better off with the straight cash refund from the Amex Blue cashback scheme.
 
..

MBNA have a range of less-than-transparent charges (late payment, over-limit, etc) which in my experience they apply quite quickly and without question.

The absence of a direct branch network also allows them to pass blame for late payments onto the bank through which the payment was made.

Not a bad choice if you are very, very disciplined on when you make your payments, but otherwise very expensive.
 
..

I like the NIB Mastercard. There are no piggypoints or cashback or waiver of the €40 tax but it does have a low rate, no late or over limit charges and no charge for withdrawing cash from an ATM which might be handy sometimes if you're on a tight budget. I think most other cards charge 1.5% (min €3) for any cash withdrawal.
 
Re: MBNA

The one advantage which MBNA has is that it allows you to withdraw cash (by way of cheque) up to your maximum credit limit for an initial 6 months' period.

It will more than likely negotiate the loan rate after this date. It will also lodge the loan amount to your bank a/c. However, note that if the money is lodged to your bank a/c, you will be charged interest once it is agreed to do this unless you make it clear that interest should only be charged from the date the money is available in your bank a/c.

If anyone is going to do this to get a cheap loan, it is important to remember not to use the card for purchases until the loan amount has been repaid. So just store it somewhere safe.

Careless use of credit cards can be financially lethal.

Marion :hat
 
Re: MBNA

The blue Amex is a good idea but only if you can use it in all the places where you would normally use a CC, not always the case!
Having a CC issued from another country would be a
definite nono (and that's if you could get one, not being resident in that country).
If it's a UK card, you will be hit with enormous exchange rate charges which would wipe out the 40 Euro saving within months. When you bought something with it in Ireland, they would convert it into Sterling and issue you a bill in Sterling.
You would then have to buy a draft, etc from the Bank to pay
them every month. Not a good idea.
Unlikely you could get one from another EURO country as you would run into problems with credit checks, getting the bills posted over every month, paying the bill with a EURO Cheque issued in Ireland (length of time to clear) etc.
Pigsback is good for those who are familiar with and use with the PiggyPoints system.

The best one of the lot (at the moment) is TESCO VISA Card.
They are waiving the 40 Euro fee for the first 10,000 people that sign up. Probably find they will waive it for everybody that signs up but they won't tell you that in the information leaflet. They will only pay the first year's fee but you could find next year somebody else is doing it and you could move CC again.
Every time you use it you get Tesco points, 1 for every cent spend in Tesco and 1 for every 2 cent spend everywhere else.
I use it for everything, car insurance, holidays, shopping, petrol (points are finishing at the end of this month), restaurants. In fact I use it everywhere I can use a CC instead of cash or a cheque.
A CC is also great for monthly direct debits like ESB, EIRCOM etc. You only need one cheque to pay off your whole bill with NO bank charges! Much easier then having current account fees for Direct Debits.
 
travel insurance with credit cards

Is it worth factoring in travel insurance when choosing a new credit card? I’ve no balance to transfer and usually clear my balance in full. Main consideration for leaving MBNA is to reduce the tx cost of 2.75% of non euro purchases.

MBNA Gold offer free travel insurance while in transit and for delays.
Bank of Ireland Amex Blue - This FREE cover provides benefits up to €95,500 should you die or suffer dismemberment as a result of an accident that takes place in transit, on a confirmed flight or journey. Not a feature that would win it over for me.
BOI Platinum offers free fully comprehensive travel insurance but not when you consider €76.18 annual a/c fee. Still beats standalone annual cover?
Are there other credit cards that offer travel insurance?
 
Re: travel insurance with credit cards

AIB Gold card has the option of travel insurance, but the price of this went through the roof a while back and I think it is now around the €125 mark.
I would check the level of cover offered by these carefully before relying on them (I think the MBNA offering in particular is quite limited, but am open to correction), and it is probably worth your while to check other sources seperate from the credit card too:
 
Re: travel insurance with credit cards

Is Amex Blue just a BOI card?
 
AIB

Just read in The Sunday Tribune that AIB plan to introduce a cash back facility on their credit cards shortly. Watch this space!!!
 
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