It’s important that you review your finances before you apply for a credit card.
Try deducting what you spend every month from the total you earn. Since a credit card is an extra financial commitment, you you need money leftover to pay of part, or ideally all, of your balance.
Before you apply, you should be clear about what you want from your credit card. All credit cards give you flexibility to manage your cash flow over a month but some cards have other benefits on top of this. Customers with a good credit history are more likely to have access to cards with these extra benefits. Certain credit cards are good for making interest-free balance transfers, making a new interest free purchase or getting rewarded for your everyday spend.
If you want several features, one credit card may not be the best option, so you’d need to focus on the feature that’s most important to you.
Applying for lots of credit in a short space of time could look like you’re struggling to get credit; this could happen even if your applications are successful. Many credit card companies have eligibility checkers that show you the likelihood of being accepted for a credit card before you apply and won’t affect your credit rating.
Just remember, these pre-application checks are guides and not full credit searches, so results may vary when you make a full application.
With our eligibility checker you can see how likely you are to be accepted for a Barclaycard.
When you apply we’ll first run a full credit check to make sure your personal details are correct and that you can safely afford to take on extra credit. Here’s what happens next: