helenic

I am currently in the process of paying off all my debts. This feels utterly lovely. My bank balance is, for the first time in years, substantially in the black, and will remain in the black even after I've paid off my credit cards and outstanding utility bill, which I should be able to clear with my next pay cheque.

I do need a credit card, because my debit card isn't Visa, and I buy things online a lot. The credit is also occasionally useful for resolving cash-flow issues, although I've demonstrated I can't be trusted with it, so if I keep it open I'll either cut up one of the cards or give them to someone else for safekeeping.

The thing is, I'm not particularly happy with either of my existing cards: Barclaycard which I got as a fresher, ignored throughout university, and started using again when I was a starving artist; Post Office which I transferred my Barclaycard balance onto last year to take advantage of their 0% on balance transfers, but since I then filled up the Barclaycard again this was a bit pointless, and the Post Office are now charging me interest anyway. I've been thinking of getting an Egg Smile card for a while because I generally think the Co-op are less evil than alternatives, internet banking is shiny, and I've paid more in late payment fees for my Post Office card (because they make it so difficult to set up a direct debit I've never actually got round to it) than I have in interest.

The question is, if I'm about to apply for an Egg Smile card, is my credit rating going to be higher before I pay off the other two cards, or after?

And should I be trying to get the maximum possible credit from Egg Smile, so I've got it as a backup in case of emergencies, and then give the card to someone else? (In which case it's not much use to pay for stuff online.) Or should I be applying for a minimal credit allowance, so I can use it online but there's a limit to how much debt I can get back into? Earning lots for the first time in my life is delicious, and giving almost all of it away as soon as it arrives in my bank account is bitter. I don't want to get into this situation again; ideally I would like to start saving. My budgeting is better than it used to be, but I'm not entirely sure, yet, how much I can trust myself with credit. What would you do?

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edit: Ah, I meant Smile, not Egg. Cheers dennyd.

Also, have realised that now I've paid my overdraft off I can FINALLY move my main bank account away from RBS with their unethical bank charges and plummeting reputation. Is Smile the best option for a current account as well?