When ms_memory met Visa (Credit Cards in general)

Member Name: ms_memory

Product:	Credit Cards in general
Date:	07/01/09 (106 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Buys me flowers, jewellery and romantic meals

Disadvantages: If I don't treat it right it'll leave me

As a 20-something British woman I'm probably in the minority when I say I have only ever had one credit card in my life. Yes, I've been faithful to just one. It's a shiny purple NatWest card that I received free when I opened an account at the age of 19, and it has been there for me through thick and thin, good times and bad, and accompanied me around the world, from Birmingham to Buenos Aires (albeit in several different incarnations).

Despite only having a part time job when I opened the NatWest account, my card was issued without me even asking for it and the limit was raised several times by my sneaky bank over the next few years even though a) I didn't request it and b) I was already in debt with the NatWest. On second thoughts, it was probably raised BECAUSE the bank knew I was in debt, and wanted to make me spend more.

After all, banks give their customers credit cards to make money out of them (i.e. from the interest on the debt accrued and late payment charges etc.) or to gain their loyalty (e.g. with 'perks' such as free travel insurance).

So for my first few years of my relationship with my Visa, being the starry-eyed student that I was, I took it everywhere with me and would turn to it whenever my caddish student loan ran out on me and my bar job didn't cover my outgoings. Credit card statements invariably landed unopened on some random pile of papers, to never again see the light of day. I remember discovering that a friend of mine paid her card off in full every month and was incredulous. Couldn't be bothered with that!

Then I graduated and went to work abroad, and suddenly it wasn't so easy to pay for a pack of chewing gum or a couple of cocktails with the trusty card. Lots of places wouldn't accept my poor Visa, and I would lose out anyway with the currency conversion, so I got used to using cash.

I currently spend a lot of time in Germany, and I'm put off taking out credit cards there for several reasons: the credit-check process seems stricter than in the UK; many cards require you to pay off the full amount at the end of the month, so it's a very short-term loan, and - shock horror - a lot of banks require you to pay an annual fee just for the privilege of owning one. No thanks! I never tire of telling the very persistent credit card salesman at the airport that my Visa is free so beats their offers hands-down.

Spending time in a country where credit is harder to come by and the people are generally thriftier and more debt-averse than in the UK has been quite a blessing in disguise, even if I did find it difficult at the beginning to get used to saving up for things. I now only use my card for large transactions (so purchases over 100 pounds are insured) and online (for convenience). The card gets paid off off in full every month as I refuse to let the NatWest have even a penny of my hard-earned cash in interest. If I hadn't left the UK for a bit I probably would've taken out more English cards and spent until my credit ran out.

That's not to say there aren't advantages to credit cards - if you're able to play the system, for example, you can play the 'stoozing' game - juggling several 0% cards while keeping the 'debt' in cash in a high interest account. There are also cashback cards, which will pay you back a percentage of what you spend.

But I'm not an expert on all of these tricks. Germany is still a bit behind the times in this respect, and I've no intention of taking out any more UK credit cards in the near future, so at the moment I'm happy to stick with my flexible NatWest friend. After all, it'll be our 10th anniversary this year!

Summary: Money can't buy me love