Compare credit cards

Your credit history, also known as your credit report or score, is a major factor in determining if you’ll be accepted for a credit card. Lenders will take your score and use it to judge how likely they think you’ll be able to repay debt on a card. Learn more about credit building cards.

It’s worth knowing that you may be asked to pay higher interest rates if a lender sees you as a higher risk. Each lender will have their own reasons for the rates they set and so understanding what’s in your credit file is a good place to start.

If you’ve been rejected for a card, wait at least three months before you apply again. In the interim, do what you can to improve your credit score. When you apply again, use our eligibility checker to see which cards you’re likely to be accepted for.

The annual percentage rate (APR) tells you how much your borrowing will cost you over the course of a year. It includes the interest rate and any other standard charges, like the annual fee. Learn more about APR.

For most cards, you can avoid interest payments on transactions if you pay your balance in full each month by the due date.

It sounds obvious, but the more you pay the faster your debt will disappear, so always aim to pay more than the minimum payment due. The minimum payment is the lowest amount you need to pay to avoid potential penalties. The minimum fee is usually calculated as a percentage of your balance.

Don’t think of it as a fixed amount as it’s not. The amount you need to repay each month as a minimum will fall as your balance reduces. See how this works in the table, and how paying more than just the minimum can reduce the time to clear the debt and the overall interest you need to pay. This table assumes spending no more money on the card and the interest staying the same for the whole period.

The three main credit reference agencies are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion (formerly Callcredit). These all have information about you that lenders can see before making a decision on offering you credit. Ideally, you should check with all three to ensure the information they have about you is correct, as different lenders use different agencies. It’s free to check your credit score online. You may have to pay a fee for additional services, like credit monitoring.

Lenders will carry out a hard search on your credit report every time you apply for a credit card. Too many hard searches on your file might make it look like you’re desperate for credit. A soft search – which you can see on your credit file but lenders can’t – is a way to find out which credit cards you’re most likely to be accepted for without your credit score being affected.

See more about building your credit score.

You can use a credit card to pay for bills and services. If you use a card to make cash withdrawals, you’ll start paying interest right away.

However you use your card, it’s important to be financially sensible. It’s wise to avoid paying for things like your mortgage and bills on your card, unless you’re sure you can pay the money back each month, as this can lead to a spiral of debt.

In the UK, there’s no equivalent of a joint bank account for credit cards, because just one person has to sign the credit agreement for a card. What you can do instead is add another cardholder to your card – known as an additional cardholder. They’ll get their own card, but you’ll be fully responsible for any debt on that card and all the admin involved, so there are risks. You can get an additional card for a partner, family member or friend. It’s important that you trust your additional cardholder not to run up big debts.

Some companies ask for pre-authorisations, so they can be sure they can collect the money owed to them if you don’t pay up – for example, if you use the mini-bar in a hotel or leave a car at the hire company without paying the bill at the time. The company puts a hold on some of your credit limit and while that’s in place you won’t be able to spend that money elsewhere. For example, if your credit limit is £1,000 and a car hire company puts a pre-authorisation of £500 on your card, you’ll only be able to spend £500 more on your card.

There are several ways to build your credit score. These include registering on the electoral roll, correcting any mistakes on your credit file and paying your bills on time each month.

If you have a poor credit history, you could think about applying for a credit building card. This can help you prove you’re a responsible borrower, although interest rates are likely to be higher than a standard card, so try to pay off what you owe in full each month.

They might well do. Most credit cards have a variable interest rate, which means the rate can go up or down at any time. Providers have the right to change their interest rates when they want, while changes to the Bank of England base rate can also affect credit card rates. That’s why it’s always a good idea to stay on top of your credit balance.

If you have a 0% credit card, you won’t have to pay any interest for a set number of months. But you should make sure you’ve cleared your balance before the introductory period ends, otherwise you’ll revert to the provider’s standard rate.

You can apply for a credit card online through Compare the Market or by going directly to the provider. You can also apply by phone, by post or in-branch.

Yes, you’ll get a 14-day cooling off period from when you receive your card to tell the provider you’ve changed your mind. There’ll be no penalty fee, but you’ll need to pay off any outstanding balance you’ve built on the card within 30 days.

While the best credit card deals are offered to borrowers with flawless credit records, it’s possible to get credit cards for bad credit. Just bear in mind that they often come with high interest rates and low credit limits.

Used responsibly, this type of card can help you boost your credit score, so you could eventually benefit from credit cards with better rates and perks.

If you miss a repayment on your credit card, you’ll usually have to pay a penalty. You might also lose any introductory benefits, like 0% interest, and receive a black mark against your name on your credit report.

Once you’ve proved yourself to be a responsible borrower by always repaying on time, you may automatically be offered a higher credit limit. Otherwise, you can contact your provider to ask for an increase, which you may or may not get. Be aware that a requested increase will appear on your credit file, whereas an automatic one won’t.

Absolutely. Unlike with many loans and mortgage debts, you normally won’t be charged any fees or penalties for paying off a credit card debt ahead of schedule.

Section 75 comes under the Consumer Credit Act and exists to protect your credit card purchases if something goes wrong.

Under Section 75 your credit card provider – usually your bank, not Visa or Mastercard – has equal responsibility with the seller if there’s a problem with something you bought on your credit card: for example, a faulty product. To make a claim, the purchase must be for a single item valued at more than £100 and less than £30,000. Just be aware, that there’s no guarantee your claim will be successful or that you’ll automatically get a refund.

We have many credit cards for you to compare, from major banks and leading credit card providers. But we don’t compare every single credit card available in the UK.

That’s because some credit card providers have exclusives through their own branches or websites, or on other price comparison websites – in the same way that we sometimes do. Also, there are credit cards which are only available to people in clubs or membership organisations.

At Compare the Market we help you find and compare our best credit card deals, so that you can find one most suited to your needs. It’s super-easy to filter your choices by card type, so when it comes to finding great credit card deals for you, it won’t take long at all.