Instant Decision Credit Cards – make haste while the sums shine

by Nick Jenkins

Although it makes choosing instant decision credit cards a little trickier, you should be pleased to discover that no single credit card issuer has a monopoly on the market for offering instant decision credit cards to online applicants. Even though it is a relatively new service, most of the major credit card issuers have jumped on the bandwagon and many institutions, such as supermarkets and on the web shopping sites, are also offering credit cards with instant decisions. The result is that the market-place has become more fiercely competitive than ever before and the person who stands to benefit from the wealth of introductory offers, low interest rates and loyalty reward schemes is the consumer. But what does an instant decision entail? How do you work out which is the best one for you?

Of course, it’s not just banks and building societies that are offering instant decision credit cards; many supermarkets and even charities have seen the need for quick access for credit and are matching the offers made by the larger financial institutions. For example, the Amazon Credit Card makes the standard introductory offers on 0% interest on balance transfers and purchases for set periods of time. The loyalty rewards scheme gives you a 15 Amazon gift certificate for signing up and from there, you receive 1 point for every 1 spent on Amazon and a further 0.5 points for spending anywhere else. As with any other card, you also get on the internet fraud protection and access to your online account. The card is operated by Halifax, so you receive all the security benefits that they apply to their other credit cards.

The issuer then processes your application by running a credit check against your application form. Doing this, they will check your credit score which will give them a good idea on whether or not you’ll be able to meet the necessary repayments, based on your past spending and credit behaviour. The decision itself will be made in minutes and returned to your personal screen. From there, it’s simply a process of waiting for the physical card to be delivered to you and then using the card wisely to reap the benefits of the deals, perks and introductory offers that you have selected.

To apply, you need to be a UK resident over the age of 18 and to verify that the credit card will be for personal use. You’ll also need to have a current account and show that you’ve a regular salary. Some platinum cards require you to be over the age of 21 or 25. But before you have reached this part of the process, you should have done a bit of ’shopping around’; just because you require a credit card swiftly, you should still check out the range of deals and facilities that instant decision credit cards have to offer.

The interest rate that comes into play after any introductory offer is often very competitive and loyalty reward schemes often include excellent travel and shopping discounts. So you can see that the perks offered by instant decision credit cards are nearly as important as the speedy decision process itself.

Many consumers like to use on the internet comparison sites to aid them in their quest for credit cards. Most of these sites devote considerable space to instant decision credit cards and display the offers, APRs and interest rates in a table that’s simple to read and from which you can make swift comparisons and assessments. While it’s obviously a good thing that no single card issuer has a monopoly on the credit card market, it does make choosing your credit card that bit harder. However, if you remember that the tiny bit of research you do can only be beneficial to you, it makes the process far easier to bear.

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