ohippy

How easy is it to get an Oz credit card when you first get over ? I've heard that it can be quite difficult as you don't have any credit rating.

If this is the case - are there any cards I can get before I go which I can also use over in Oz ?

scutterUK

a good question, i was thinking the same thing this morning, i would be interested in knowing as well. can anyone help us?



leigh

Pollyana

British credit cards work in Oz! Just bring whatever your existing ones are.

ohippy

I thought about that - but how would I pay the bill ?

It would be sent to be in sterling so how would I go about making a payment from an Oz account which would not sting me in charges - wouldn't it be better to have an Oz one ?

HiddenPaw

for all the slating that Comm Bank get I can say that with their migrant banking service they offered me a credit card on my first day in Oz. I transferred all my funds to a Commbank a/c from the Uk and went into branch in Adelaide to pick up EFTPOS card on arrival. We were offered CommBank credit cards there and then - we had no Oz work or financial history. We didn't even need to fill in an application form!! Very easy!

Australia has one of the sorriest records of personal credit card debt in the world, which is probably an indicator of how easy it is to get credit there.

Pollyana

I still use mine as I couldn't afford to pay them off in total before I came out. I use a company called Tranzfers - you use an Oz bank account online to move money, via Tranzfers, to a UK account. Then you pay the bills online.
They charge $15 to move cash Oz to UK, and £7 UK to Oz, very quick and reliable.
If you haven't outstanding cards in the UK, someone like the Commonwealth might be the way to go, otherwise, hope my info is useful!

scutterUK

You've got to be careful with taking your Uk credit card with you. you have to be a UK resident to 'own' them, i'm not sure if this applies to only some or all credit cards, but i know egg don't allow it. (bugger!)

Pollyana

How do they know if you don't tell them??? I use my mate's address in the UK for the bills and stuff, just in case any of them get funny about it. I have told my bank I'm over here, but said its only temporary for a couple of years.

scutterUK

hi polly, You're right! i suppose it wouldn't matter at least short term until something easier in oz comes along. egg being egg i don't think it really matters anyway, the only time they write is to send snailspam! I was going to use my folks address and use my card anyway if i couldn't find anything better.

ohippy

I always pay my balance off in full - so that's not an issue for me. However, in Oz I won't be working so with no income would have problems getting one anyway wouldn't I ?

Do you have to have a Commonwealth bank account to get a Commonwealth credit card or could I have an HSBC bank account with a Commonwealth credit card ?

HiddenPaw

Strictly speaking, no (just like you don't need a Barclays account to get a Barclaycard). I would guess that the reason CommBank offered me a credit card initially was cos I'd chosen them for my banking and deposited quite a lot of money with them

Incidentally, I told BArclaycard I was going to Oz - they said I didn't need to cancel the credit cards. Like Polly, I just had the bills sent to my parent's.

sandradee

If you get an Egg credit card, everything is done online. I use the card wherever I go then get an online statement, no paper statements then pay any payments online through my UK bank account......works for us anyway.

ANA123

This was my plan too but it depends what you use them for, we wanted to book some flights but couldnt use the credit card as the billing address wasnt an Oz one and they're hot on this now for security purposes? Any way around this?

bondipom

Using a UK credit card in Oz is giving money away to the banks. Crappy exchange rates and interchange fees means you may as well cop the EFTPOS charge.

My advice is to never borrow on credit cards in the first place (they are an awful borrowing facility) and to pay off all cards before you leave. They are more expensive to pay off from here.

3months permanent employment as a permanent resident earning $15,000 was the minimum requirement I have seen on the 2 cards we have.

On the application form they ask for your current address and previous address if you have not been here 3 years. They also ask for your Aussie driving license no if you have one.

The banks never give out their credit scoring rules but hopefully the above gives us a clue.

Pollyana

Lovely advice about not having them at all Bondi, unfortunately sometime circumstances in my life have been such that without borrowing, for repayment later, I would have been homeless and unable to eat.
Alas, I would have loved to pay them off before I left, but as I had no house to sell I came to Oz with a small amount of change in my pocket, and my last months wages in the bank, and a pile of plastic cards. Had I been able to sell a house and pay them off I would be a very happy bunny, as it is I am making the best of a bad job!