Best first credit card for new UK resident?

Discussion in 'Air miles' started by TravelZork, Jul 27, 2017.

  1. UKNoobie

    UKNoobie Member

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    Emil, welcome to London! I too moved to London recently, in November ‘17 in fact, and applied for the Amex Gold in Feb ‘18. Did not manage to get auto-accepted, but did end up receiving it within 10 days after submitting some additional documentation (pay slips). Worth a shot if you have a good (by London stands) salary, and an existing banking history for a few months now! Let me know if you need a referral (although I’m not sure if that helps matters tbh) :)
     
  2. EmilB

    EmilB New Member

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    Thank you. I arrived in the UK last year in August so I almost have a full year of banking history with a few direct debits set up on my account plus I am registered on the electoral roll.

    Maybe I will try to apply for the Amex Gold card and see what happens.
     
  3. Darren0291

    Darren0291 Member

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    Hey!
    Feel free to use my referral link for the gold card....:)

    You will get;
    - 22,000 amex points instead of 20,000 points which can be transferred to loads of different point schemes
    - a brand new shiny gold AMEX card
    - 2 Lounge passes for airport use (one for you and one for the Mrs/Mr)
    - Discounted restaurants in the UK via Amex Taste Invites, 20% off
    - 1 point earned per £1 spent, 1.5 points for every £1 spent abroad
    - an extra bonus 10,000 points if spent £15,000 within one year
    - an extra 3,000 amex points if a supplementary card is taken out
    - my eternal gratitude

    You have been referred for an American Express Card. http://amex.co.uk/refer/darreenhde?CPID=100200078
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2018
  4. cathyb84

    cathyb84 New Member

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    If you'll be going abroad Halifax Clarity is excellent
     
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  5. JoeD

    JoeD Well-Known Member

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    I really should look into the Halifax Clarity.
     
  6. Darren0291

    Darren0291 Member

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    Is there much point tho? if you've got an amex you're better off using that and paying the 1/2% fee to reach the bonus....saying that i do have a fx fee barclays card
     
  7. JoeD

    JoeD Well-Known Member

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    Depends - I tend to apply for 4 cards a year so don't have too much trouble hitting the min spends. But yeah, if I was churning more aggressively I'd prob want to put every £ spend toward the mins.
     
  8. Darren0291

    Darren0291 Member

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    fun fact, did you know you could also get the starwood credit card along with both gold and the ba? - extra miles!
     
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  9. JoeD

    JoeD Well-Known Member

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    I did indeed (and currently have one), but just don't really like applying for too many cards or hitting Amex too hard. I know people who are MUCH more aggressive with it, without hurting their credit scores or relationship with Amex, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
     
  10. Guillermo

    Guillermo New Member

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    Hi all,
    I arrived to London last week. I was considering to apply for some credit cards. My salary is good enough, but no credit history in UK. In Spain I have Amex Platinum (I didn’t cancel it yet), do you think I could get at least one charge Amex Gold or Plantinum now? Or is better to wait few months? Thanks!
     
  11. JoeD

    JoeD Well-Known Member

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    I would give American Express a ring and ask if they can take your existing relationship/credit history with them in Spain into account. Otherwise, I think I'd wait a little while first.
     
  12. UKNoobie

    UKNoobie Member

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    I'm not sure if it is the same with Amex Spain, but when I moved here from Singapore, when logged in to my Amex account, it gave me an option to 'transfer' a card - ie. Amex did a global credit transfer. It only works for 1 card until you build up a local credit history, but that should be enough to get you the Gold / Platinum!
     
  13. Darren0291

    Darren0291 Member

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    Feel free to use my referral link for the Gold :)

    You will get;
    - 22,000 amex points instead of 20,000 points which can be transferred to loads of different point schemes
    - a brand new shiny gold AMEX card
    - 1 point earned per £1 spent, 1.5 points for every £1 spent abroad
    - an extra bonus 10,000 points if spent £15,000 within one year
    - my eternal gratitude

    http://amex.co.uk/refer/dARREEAeFf?XLINK=MYCP
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2019
  14. Nico23

    Nico23 New Member

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    Agree with UKNoobie and everyone else mentioning the Gold Card. While it is difficult to get a credit card as a new resident, Amex Gold card was the easiest to get. All my colleagues got it immediately upon arrival to the UK. However this was the charge card so unsure if the standards have increased with the credit card. Depending on whether or not you were an Amex customer in your previous country of residence would facilitate.
     
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  15. SibTT

    SibTT New Member

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    I do not understand and how to do better?
     
  16. UKNoobie

    UKNoobie Member

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    Hi SibTT, if you sign up for an Amex card using one of the links in this forum, you will receive a bonus for being referred by an existing card member.

    For example, if you use the link below, you will get 22,000 Amex points, instead of the 20,000 usually provided.

    http://amex.co.uk/refer/ishancerrb?XLINK=MYCP

    That transfers to 22,000 miles with several airlines, including BA and Singapore Airlines.
     
  17. Blayne09

    Blayne09 New Member

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    Amex Gold Card or try the BA Premium Amex Card
     
  18. vicvic

    vicvic New Member

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    thank you for your advice, do you have any other suggestions?
     
  19. paorb156

    paorb156 New Member

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    The Amex really is the way to go at your circumstances!
     
  20. JeJe

    JeJe New Member

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    All the referrals to the Amex cards forget that they require some form of credit history. If one applies with a too low rating, it will lower the rating even more because an unsuccessful application is recorded. Moreover, many card require at least two or three years of being in the UK in their T&C!

    So register for free with any credit reporting service offered by Noddle, MSE, Creditscore etc. and check your rating and likelihood of being accepted.
     

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