rbjh:

the 16.2% purchase rate is on the cost of a purchase correct? so on £100 i will be charged £16.20? My question is if I pay off the card in full before then end of the month do I still have to pay interest?

No. On credit cards the interest is usually quoted for a year so there would be £16 interest charged if you owed £100 for a year. However, you should not spend anything on a credit card unless you are fairly certain that you will be able to repay the debt in a month or so. Usually (but not with all cards) you will not be charged any interest if you repay the balance in full every month.

There are small differences between cards so you should read the small print and, when you get the card, make a few small purchases to see how things work. It's usually possible to just repay a small amount each month but, if you do this each and every month, then your debts will mount up quicker than you might think.

Most cards will let you choose the statement date and it is usually convenient to ask for this date to be a few days after pay day if you are paid a monthly salary.

Hi, I want to start but saying this is a total newbie question. I am 18 and one thing we were never had any education about was credit cards (even though I was a business studies student at A level).

First I am not after hudge credit and running up debit. But I do like the look of many rewards these cards offer, especially the protection they offer on purchases. I will often make large purchases. My question is this, I have been looking at a few cards, these are just a few.

Costco TrueEarnings™ American Express® Credit Card, This looks good as it is a cashback card and I am a costco trade member (I own a company although have never asked for credit).

This also offers some benefits when shopping in costco. Now for the totally newbie question. the 16.2% purchase rate is on the cost of a purchase correct? so on £100 i will be charged £16.20? My question is if I pay off the card in full before then end of the month do I still have to pay interest? Or have I totally misunderstood how interest works on credit cards?

Another card I have been looking at is american express gold card, or maybe american express business gold card.
This has no spending limit and no interest if paid in full and a yearly membership fee of £125. This seems great but and here is another newbie question.
If I were to spend say £500 in a year then the trueEarnings card would be better as even after interest it would be cheaper than the gold card? But if I spent say £2000 in a year the gold card would be better value?

Please go easy on me I have looked on google but can not seem to get an answer and just get confused.

Pleas help :)