Your Guide to Credit Cards

Your Guide to Credit Cards

We’ve prepared these guides to give you a quick and clear overview of how to get a credit card, what kind of credit cards are available, how your credit score is calculated and how to check it.

We also cover things you can do to improve your credit score, how to go about applying for your very first credit card or what you can do if you’ve been refused credit, been declared bankrupt or have CCJ’s or any other adverse credit history.
These guides are not intended to give you definitive financial advice. You should not rely solely on the information contained in any guide before making a decision to apply for a credit card or enter into any other credit agreement.
Consult your own financial advisor or an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) for more detailed advice, contact us or call us on 0871 770 5555 (calls to this number will be charged at 7p per minute from a BT landline. Calls from mobiles and other networks may vary). We’ll do our best to explain our own range of products and help you to understand your options.
 
 
 

Build your credit with a Vanquis Bank Card

  • You'll start with an easy to manage credit limit between £150 and £1,000.
  • You could get a Credit Limit increase on your 4th statement. Conditions apply see below*
  • And further increases every 4 months, up to £3,000. Conditions apply see below*
  • A friendly UK Customer Service call centre.
  • Online and SMS Account Management.
Representative 39.9% APR (variable)

 

 

 

Mythbusting the 'Guaranteed Credit Card'

Guaranteed credit card doesn’t mean guaranteed acceptance for a credit card, despite promises you may see in the media. However, there are options available when you have a poor credit record.

With a prepaid credit card, you can pay up front and even top up a credit card account, in order to provide security for the lender, against your future purchases.

Alternatively a ‘Bad Credit’ credit card simply provides an account with a higher interest rate and with a lower credit limit. So whilst there’s no guarantee, because everyone’s situation is different, why not find out what these options could mean for you?

How to Check Credit Scores: A Guide

Lenders use a number system called your Credit Score in order to assess your suitability for credit. In order to be looked upon as favourably as possible, it’s important to aim for a high credit score and an accurate credit report.

This information can be easily obtained by contacting the credit reference agencies online or writing to them. Notify the credit agency if anything is wrong, and they will amend it for you. Identity theft can result in false information appearing in these records so it’s important to check your report is accurate on a regular basis. Your credit score and history are vital to your credit file, so why not find out more here?

Tips to Reduce Credit Card Debt

Is there more you can be doing to reduce your credit card debt? Credit cards are a very useful method of payment but their convenience means that you need to manage your spending and make sure you are meeting the repayments.

You may feel like you owe a large amount but as long as you take a few simple steps, you can start to reduce your credit card debt. It can be as simple as paying your credit card bills on time, paying more than the minimum amount and not exceeding your credit limit. There are additional ways to manage your budget, find out here.

What are 'Unsecured Credit Cards'?

You may have heard about unsecured credit cards, but what does this mean? Who is eligible for this type of credit card? In fact there are a few different types of credit cards available and it can get confusing understanding all the terminology.

Simply put, this type of credit card offers money to the card holder in advance, on an unsecured basis, so you generally need a good credit rating.

If you don’t have a good credit score there are other unsecured credit card options that can involve low credit limits. Is this something you could benefit from? Read on to find out the difference.

'No Credit Check Credit Cards': Do They Exist?

You may have heard of no credit check credit cards, but your credit score is always checked to make sure that you are offered the right product. There are a number of factors that indicate whether a credit card is suitable for you, so what are these?

Every credit card has a credit limit and your credit history will be assessed to make sure that this is a manageable amount and you can make the monthly repayments.

There are options such as secured cards and prepaid cards, but these work differently so what is the best card for you? You can find out here.