If i take out 50% + on my credit cards, and then pay them back, is this a sure way to

I think you have physalis.

PRSOM but I love this.

I think you have physalis.

thanks full of surprises, i don't want to make any more applications for credit for the time being though, because i have already made quite a few in the past three months, and this brings my score down. i do have a barclays account, and i don't even know why i opened the vanquis one. One good thing i did get out of it though, is that the nice woman in the call centre, told me to spend around half of the balance, and then pay it back, if i want to be considered for increases in the future. It wasn't me just making this up. So this is now what i am trying to do, on all of the cards which will let me do this. It will take a while, and cost a bit, but if this strategy works, i can potentially expect some more limit increases in the future.

I also have two facebook friends, who got their first credit cards, around the same time i did, and we are going on this journey together. Thanks for listening!

It won't help you get better credit - they just come out with that spiel about spending in order to try to entrap you into having an interest-bearing monthly amount to pay.

In actual fact, your credit score would have been better if you'd gone to Barclays in the first place, as other lenders will see a 'bad credit' card on your account and give you less points. A Barclaycard would have boosted your points in contrast.

I did go to Barclays early on, and they rejected me. Then i build up my credit history, as only i know how, then they accepted me for a barclaycard, when i tried again a few months ago. So you see there is method to this madness....

OK, I see. It may have been that, but it may have been other factors like how long you'd had a bank account. If you go to your own bank for a credit card, they look more at your existing account conduct than at your overall credit scoring.

True, i have also in the past been rejected by lloyds and tsb, and possibly even the co op, and they are who i have my basic debit card and student account. Now that i have a barclay card, i think that it is only a matter of time before they raise the limit, and i was lucky to get one, seeing as i don't have a regular income, and that is one of the conditions for having the card.

Even still, i was in the past able to get my credit limit with the marbles card up to a healthy £3300, which is what it is now. They didn't give this to me straight away, it took about a year of regular usage to get it up to this,

I think that your initial credit score/reports, such as with experian and equifax, are what determines your intial elligibilty for an account, such as me with barclaycard, but then when you already have an account with them, and assuming you use the account reasonably with them, and never go overdrawn, they should increase the limit every now and again.

I still don't understand all of the secrets, and some of the details are just that. But you know, i am using my credit cards, and paying them back. And i think they are a valuable part of my budget. Sure they cost money, but doesn't everything??

If you are running balances over into successive months then they are costing you a packet and there would be cheaper ways to live, such as carefully budgeting.

Basically have one credit card for special purchases or buying things such as flights where you need the extra consumer protection. Pay it off in full each month and don't use it to buy essentials.

and what is your limit on that card, and do you work, and do you have a mortgage/own/rent?

The point is not how much income you have or costs, but living within your means. Credit cards don't help you to do that. They create a temporary illusion of increasing your means, but they reduce them, because you have to pay high interest rates on declining balances. This is particularly why it's a very bad idea to use them to buy basics.

It's about discipline and living without undue credit. Mortgages are very different because (a) they are much lower interest and (b) you are buying a serious investment with them.

Do you have a credit card bear?

i do but it makes me nervous

what is your limit, out of interest?

This is called 'factoring' - borrowing money on the card to pay off your balance. Its a common form of money laundering, and its something that any credit card company will spot very quickly, and instead of increasing your credit limit they will probably cancel your card.

Sure they cost money, but doesn't everything??

No, my credit cards pay me to use them...

No they don't credit cards give you free money in the short term, but they cost more to pay back in the end. That is what it means. sorry

No, I mean I get 0.5%+ of my spend refunded to me annually and pay no interest. Last year I made £248 from Amex cashback (excluding additional Amex offers).