First Time Credit Card Applicant - Help on Requirements and Best Card to Apply to

Jty05 on 17/07/2024 - 11:57

Just moved to Australia this year and started in my job 2 months ago and am on the market for a credit card - had a look around the forums and saw the posts for transaction and savings account but didn't see an updated one for credit cards and thought I'd start my own thread instead

My primary use case for the card is to fund day to day expenses (groceries, eating out, occasional home items from Kmart) and to rolling my expenses using a credit card since everything I can't use Afterpay on is just directly debited at the moment. I earn just slightly above 100k at the moment and I'd want to know which specific criteria is usually focused on in accepting/rejecting a credit card application

Some features I am looking for primarily
Low/no annual fees (or those that are credited back once certain spend is reached)
No foreign transaction fees (might use them for foreign purchases down the line)
Cashback

Other features I don't really need/want
Balance transfer (intend to pay balances in full every month)
Flight points (good to have but I don't fly frequently)
Insurance

Financial Credit Card

Comments

  • jv on 17/07/2024 - 12:05

    Just use a debit card…

    • nedski on 17/07/2024 - 15:00

      +1. Credit Cards start out shiny and new but a major pain to pay off if you dont have discipline.

  • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 17/07/2024 - 12:06
    1. Don’t spend more than you can afford. If you’re starting off, it may be best to keep a bank account with your total credit limits worth of money in it at all times. That way if you ever have a rough month, that money is sitting there to pay off the card thus saving damage to your credit score and tons in interest.
    2. In terms of credit cards, you’ll usually get points as opposed to cashback. I’d recommend looking at some of the Amex cards, like the Amex Essential which will net you 5x points per $1 on eating out and is a beginner credit card.

    Usually banks will look at your income (which based on 100k should be fine) just depends on your outstanding debts (if you have little to none and a good credit history you are almost guaranteed to be approved).

    This may also be of use.

    • Jty05 on 17/07/2024 - 14:11

      Awesome, thanks for this sheet. Will have a look. On AMEX cards - don't they generally charge more in fees? Or were they the ones that weren't as accepted in establishments as compared to EFTPOS / VISA / Master?

      • sumyungguy on 17/07/2024 - 14:32

        Amex isn't widely accepted enough to have as your only card.

        • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 17/07/2024 - 15:02
          -1

          Amex is accepted at all major retailers. OP has noted Kmart, Groceries (Woolworths/Coles) and eating out. Amex is accepted at 86% of merchants in Australia as of 2018, so today that number is probably much closer to 97-98% so OP shouldn’t have an issue (just use a debit card for those rare occurrences where Amex isn’t accepted).

          • sumyungguy on 17/07/2024 - 15:09
            -1

            @WoodYouLikeSomeCash: I have an Amex but still have to do 25% of my spending on Visa/Master. Sometimes the surcharge is too high (my dentist), other times the merchant doesn't accept; e.g. Aldi, utility bills. public transport card, my local Red Rooster, fishmonger, asian grocery, my NBN retailer, hair salon, charity retail outlets, a huge range of small business including my favourite bakeries, cafes & restaurants, some cinemas, motor vehicle rego, parking meters, home insurance, among others…

            • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 17/07/2024 - 15:57

              @sumyungguy: Not sure where you’re based, but I’m based in VIC and haven’t had those issues, apart from Aldi as you mentioned. I’ve had no issues paying with Amex for utility bills, fast food, internet, home insurance, etc. I think I calculated a fee of up to 1.8% for Amex will still leave us in front (through the points earned).

              For any bills that don’t accept Amex (such as motor vehicle registration) I just use Sniip/PL. With the latter having only a fee of 1.25%.

              • Jty05 on 18/07/2024 - 09:37

                @WoodYouLikeSomeCash: Just had a quick glance on Sniip - so they charge a flat fee of 1.29% AMEX (based on website) and allow you to convert anything you pay over BPAY into a credit card transaction basically?

                • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 18/07/2024 - 15:26

                  @Jty05: That’s correct. Any business payments however are charged at the business rates.

                  You can also pay BSB & Account number through Sniip (if they don’t have BPay).

                • sumyungguy on 18/07/2024 - 15:41

                  @Jty05: Sniip started accepting Amex from 2021 but it only works for me if the biller does too

  • SnowDragon on 17/07/2024 - 12:06
    +3

    Here's a wiki article which should get you started.

    • Jty05 on 17/07/2024 - 14:12

      I did see this one as well but saw that it was mostly written on 2016 (however, it seems it's last edited recently) so I wasn't sure if it was still updated

  • Vulgar on 17/07/2024 - 13:43
    +2

    If you want cashback get the HSBC everyday global debit card. Has no monthly fees and a 2% cashback on instore purchases of below $100. It's also good for travelling since you can store multiple foregin currencies on it and it has no foreign transaction fee.

    If you really want to min-max get a credit card with a signup bonus like the St George Amplify platinum that will give you $400 - $450 woth of gift cards if you spend $3000 in the first 3 months. The $49 annual fee is waived if you signup for their debit card first.

    I'm not sure you would be approved for a credit card though since you're new to the country and have only been working for 2 months. However, applying for a debit card should be easy.

    • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 17/07/2024 - 15:58

      If you want cashback get the HSBC everyday global debit card. Has no monthly fees and a 2% cashback on instore purchases of below $100. It's also good for travelling since you can store multiple foregin currencies on it and it has no foreign transaction fee.

      OP wants a credit not a debit card.

      • Vulgar on 17/07/2024 - 20:15

        Yeah, I'm aware.

  • netjock on 17/07/2024 - 13:51

    The bank that you bank with will be the best bank to get a credit card with.

    Given you have no credit history might be best to go for a low / no fee card with low credit limit to establish a credit history (and end up on credit reference agency records). Think it takes 3 months for you to appear then you are good to go (provided you don't ruin your credit history).

    • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 17/07/2024 - 16:00

      I’ve found Amex to be pretty easy to deal with. Just entered my income into a box online and instantly got approved and received the card within 3 days. They didn’t even ask for living expenses or proof of income.

      • netjock on 17/07/2024 - 16:56
        +2

        That is probably because they did a credit check.

        If you have no credit record due to arriving at a new country then you're borked.

        There is one trick. When went to live in the UK, Amex UK checked with Amex AU and gave me a card. It is a little known Amex perk globally.

        • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 23/07/2024 - 22:30

          Probably. Only thing that did happen is after month 3 we spent the total recorded annual income within one month (due to using the card for business purchases) which did send our account into “financial review”, however just had to provide bank statements and they reinstated the card with a much higher limit so customer service is great!

          • netjock on 24/07/2024 - 13:45

            @WoodYouLikeSomeCash:

            “financial review”

            Probably to make sure you are not money laundering

            • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 24/07/2024 - 13:50

              @netjock: I think it was more so to make sure we had the funds to pay the card off in our bank account. We ended up paying the full balance and that day our account was released.

  • danodco on 17/07/2024 - 16:28

    Can you use credit cards to pay rent and that is usually my biggest expense.

    • samfisher5986 on 18/07/2024 - 09:11

      I doubt there is anyone out there that will let you pay rent via credit card without a fee which makes it not worth it.

  • soan papdi on 17/07/2024 - 21:24

    Bendigo ready credit and 28 degrees - no annual fee. No points.

    CBA smart/ultimate awards - no monthly fee of you spend 2k/5k per month, earns points which can be used for gift cards or convert to qantas or velocity points

    All of these have travel insurance, no international transaction fee.

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