First time getting a credit card- help?

[Rowennaravenclaw]

I’ve been studying a phd for 3 years. I am absolutely broke, but I have a well paying job (28k pa) lined up for September. I would really like to take a holiday in august because I am totally burned out from studying and want to re-energise before the new job. I would spend no more than £1000 on this holiday (probably quite a lot less).
So what I need is to get a credit card that will let me buy the holiday now, but which I won’t need to pay anything towards until October ( after my first payday).

I’ve no debts other than student loan and the fact I have been in my (agreed) overdraft rather a lot these past 3 years. No problems with bills.

Does this sort of thing exist for people like me? I literally am very basic in my financial understanding so I don’t know if this is the sort of thing I can have.

If anyone can point me in the right direction I would be so grateful. Thanks.

How do you expect to pay it back ?? Assuming it's not a 0% card then once the first statement has been produce there will be interest added to it, and a salary of £28k pa isn't likely to give you enough in month one to clear the total balance . What over costs & overheads will you have once you start work.....rent ?? food & bills ?? The fact you haven't managed to clear your overdraft every month doesn't bode well.

You won’t get a credit card where you don’t have to pay anything until October, but you will only have to pay minimum payments, which will be small on a 1k balance.

I would advise looking for a card with a 0% offer for a certain number of months, but in all honesty if you don’t have any credit history then you’re not very likely to be approved (but you never know). Have you had a phone contract before? Even these can help build a credit history.

The Money Saving Expert site has a page where you can do a soft search to see what your likelihood of being accepted for certain cards is, without it affecting your credit file.
In regards to this, don’t go applying for lots of cards as multiple rejections will have a negative impact on future applications.

If you find you’re struggling to get accepted, make sure you’re on the electoral role for your current address (where the card will be registered to) and maybe try your bank for a card.

hadthesnip2

The OP is starting a job in October. She will be able to start repaying it then.

Where does she say she’s going to pay it back in one month?

She’s currently a student (so on a limited income I presume!) hence why her finances aren’t great at the moment, but will be improving in a few months.

Her spend isn’t too outlandish, and if she’s sensible, and doesn’t make debt a habit then I don’t see any reason why she can’t use a CC for a holiday before she starts her FT job after graduating.

Unclench a little!

How much do you have left on your overdraft limit? I'd be tempted just to use that and budget accordingly (it's what I did at the end of my Masters!).

Thanks for the replies! These past 3 years I’ve had a monthly income of 1K through a stipend, so I have been paying off my phone bill and various other direct debits, but it’s not much to live on so by now at the end of the 3 years I am usually into my overdraft by at least £300 at the end of every month. Not ideal, I know.

Once my job starts things will be much better. I’ve found a cheap place to rent that is £350 pcm all bills and council tax included, so I will have a good amount of disposable income and expect to be able to pay the holiday off quite quickly, in two or three months.
What sort of ballpark minimum monthly repayments are we talking about? If I buy the holiday now I will struggle to pay much over £100 over the summer and in September. I don’t really want to go too far into my overdraft if I can avoid it.

Thanks for the tip about moneysaving expert, it flagged up Capital One as suitable, but that’s only 4 months at 0% so i’d be paying interest from November onward (I think?) It also gave me a 7/10 chance of getting a John Lewis card which is muh better at 9months 0%.
I think 7/10 chance is worth seeing if they’d accept me for... would you agree??

The minimum payment won’t be much, definitely no more than 5% of the balance, prob less. Just make sure you pay it off in full as soon as you can.

I’d give the John Lewis card a shot. 1 declined application won’t hurt your credit worthiness. If you are declined though, as previously advised, I’d try your bank. They’ll be the most likely to approve. A 0% deal is unlikely, although the total amount of interest payable shouldn’t be too much as long as you clear it relatively quickly.

Thanks for your help @19lottie82