Who has a credit card?

Please note this sub-forum does not provide professional finance advice. You should seek advice from a licensed financial advisor.

To post in this sub-forum you must have made 100 posts or have Trust status or have completed our ID Verification.

If investing please consider our affiliate link for new accounts: Sharesies.

Forums › Finance and wealth management › Who has a credit card?

richgamer

224 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#20697 3-Apr-2008 14:18

do you have a credit card? i was looking at westpac's online application form and it says your income must be over $15,000.00 p.a otherwise you can't get one. on kiwibanks online form it says you have to earn more than $25,000 per year.

are these requirements for online applications only? has anyone actually gone into a branch and applied for a credit card with income less than $15,000?

i know westpac offer debit cards and i will get one but i want a mastercard which westpac only have as a credit card,not a debit card.

1 | 2

5053 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1279

Trusted

#120729 3-Apr-2008 14:50

I've had credit cards for many years now. I presently earn over both of those limits however when I first got a Visa card I was 18 years old and was given a credit limit of $500 or $1000 (Can't remember which) when I was still at school and only earning around $100 a week.

3nvy

104 posts

Master Geek

#120731 3-Apr-2008 14:53

National bank OFFERED me a credit card when my only income was a student loan.

It makes me wonder if they target certain low income demographics because they make more money from those unable to pay their bill. Its a bit sad if they do.

Why would you want a Mastercard specifically? The Debit Card is a better way to go in my opinion. No interest, no debt, yet it does all the things a mastercard can! (Well. Not quite. But the same a Visa can!)

ajobbins

5053 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1279

Trusted

#120737 3-Apr-2008 15:02

richgamer:
i know westpac offer debit cards and i will get one but i want a mastercard which westpac only have as a credit card,not a debit card.

Not sure why you would want MC over Visa? Visa is the most globally accepted card worldwide.

tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
8476 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#120739 3-Apr-2008 15:05

I could have a full on credit card (my partner does have one), but I choose not to.

I had been using Prezzy Cards, and now a loaded card. Only for occaisional online purchases.

I pay cash/eftpos for everything else except houses (but given interest rates lately, I wish I could pay cash for those too!!)

Filterer

489 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 6

#120803 3-Apr-2008 18:34

tonyhughes:
I pay cash/eftpos for everything else

Your missing the joys of screwing the credit card company - if you are reasonably disclipened with money its easy.

a) No bank transaction fees as with eftpos
b) 45 days to pay BEFORE any interest starts getting charged
c) Rewards, rewards, rewards

I put EVERYTHING through the credit card and put well over 20k on it - assuming you put the cash into savings until you need to pay the bill and you collect your rewards (normally fuel vouchers for me) you end up $500 up in the pocket even before including any savings in bank fees

pɐǝɥ sıɥ uo ƃuıpuɐʇs

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2526
Inactive user

#120805 3-Apr-2008 18:41

Got a ASB visa with $500 credit limit i never use the thing and they want to put up my credit limit all the time.

Geekzone support

Support Geekzone with one-off or recurring donations Donate via PressPatron.

Fraktul

836 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#120809 3-Apr-2008 18:45

The only one you are screwing is yourself.

Credit cards incur a cost to the retailer so you are paying for the use one way or another. If the retailer does not offer a lower price for non credit card transactions then your just getting screwed.

Credit Cards=Huge amounts of money being shipped off overseas daily.

cokemaster

Exited
4937 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1089

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#120816 3-Apr-2008 19:06

I have a similar stance to Filterer, I use credit cards a lot but to this day have yet to pay a cent in interest. I was with Westpac as a student but after they 'delayed' my credit card application, I shifted everything over to ASB where they issued a credit card within a day. I found them really flexible for the first credit card compared to some of the other banks like westpac and ANZ.

I've since moved back to Westpac due to higher interest rates on the on call savings account, some high fees that were charged, the customer service, and the fact that my workplace has 'employee' package which covered a few things. Still got credit cards with both banks and while I enjoyed the really good service from the westpac K road branch, I remember having quite the opposite experience applying for a card at the Broadway site in Palmerston North.

I get a lot of vouchers as well, after putting most of my spending on them....

webhosting

Loose lips may sink ships - Be smart - Don't post internal/commercially sensitive or confidential information!

Filterer

489 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 6

#120824 3-Apr-2008 19:25

Fraktul: The only one you are screwing is yourself.

Credit cards incur a cost to the retailer so you are paying for the use one way or another. If the retailer does not offer a lower price for non credit card transactions then your just getting screwed.

Credit Cards=Huge amounts of money being shipped off overseas daily.

This is a good point, and at a lot of the smaller computer stores they charge 2% more for credit card use.

However in larger retail stores you are never going to get anywhere asking for a discount for cash on day to day purchases - imagine asking for a discount when filling up with petrol... I think not.

pɐǝɥ sıɥ uo ƃuıpuɐʇs

pebbles

741 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#120837 3-Apr-2008 19:57

Also "cash discounts" are not allowed anymore... if you ask at harvey's there supposed to say no. Some guy explained that companies got in a whole lot of trouble of being 'prejudice' towards cash over visa or something.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#120844 3-Apr-2008 20:13

The main reason I have my card is for the travel insurance which comes in handy when I normally visit Aussie at least 4 or 5 times a year.

AliExpress

Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).

ajobbins

5053 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1279

Trusted

#120848 3-Apr-2008 20:19

pebbles: Also "cash discounts" are not allowed anymore... if you ask at harvey's there supposed to say no. Some guy explained that companies got in a whole lot of trouble of being 'prejudice' towards cash over visa or something.

Not quite true. Credit Card companies don't want their cardholders to have to pay more for a transaction for choosing to use their card. For this reason merchant agreement specifically disallow the practise of charging a fee or surcharge (Either as a % or a flat fee) on top of the purchase price. There is a 'workaround' however whereby a merchant can state (Prices include x% discount for cash). This is very common with online stores, and is compliant with the merchant agreements.

Merchants also cannot impose minimum spend limits for using your card (Many convenience stores still do this) as this is also a breach of the merchant agreement

Shadowfoot

First time caller
399 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 256

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#120855 3-Apr-2008 20:31

I once had amex offer me a card when I was earning below their lower limit. (That was a long time ago). I also had Visa pre-approve a gold card when I was unemployed. I said no as I couldn't afford the annual fees.

I'm happy to have a small limit on my cards now. When travelling I pre-load one with cash for cash advances (saves the hassle of cheques and no fees while in credit) and use the other for purchases. I use an amex for day-to-day purchases as I have to pay it in full each month (encouraging me not to overspend) and their points can be used for air-miles without an expiry date.

Blue Sky: shadowfoot.bsky.social

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#120868 3-Apr-2008 20:47

In Australia credit card surcharges are now legal and also now very common. The Credit card companies are strongly against them for obvious reasons but IMHO I fail to see why credit card companies should be double dipping - they charge a retailer for accepting their card as a form of payment and then receive revenue in the form of interest and yearly fees from the card holder.

I know the Reserve Bank was reviewing credit card surcharges in NZ as well and the expectation was that would follow Australia and allow surcharges. Surcharges do already exist - try paying for a taxi with a credit card and they'll sting you extra!

"Cash" discounts are still very legal.

TinyTim

1058 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 166

Trusted

#120964 4-Apr-2008 08:21

From the Consumer's Institute (oops I mean Consumer NZ)'s website article on Credit Cards, February 2008:

4. Card payment surcharges

It's not illegal for a trader to charge you a higher price if you want to pay using a card. An Invercargill couple who booked a $10,700 holiday were told by their travel agent that they'd have to pay an extra $214 if they wanted to pay by credit card. We've heard of surcharges of as much as 10 percent being asked if people want to use a card.

Some card companies' contracts with merchants say the merchants shouldn't do this, but card companies seem to tolerate the practice.

It's been like this for some time.

To answer the original question, I got my credit card as part of a student pack. Credit limit is now 20 times what it was then. Last month they sent me a pre-approval form for a platinum credit card. Annual fee is >$170, not sure what the benefit is. Have to spend $30k/half year to get the fee waived!

1 | 2