Credit Cards 101, Australia Edition

Post date: 2019-02-17 13:38:25

Teach me about responsible use of credit cards, as they apply to Australia!

I'm looking into getting a credit card in the future. This is mainly because there are some professional & creative development opportunities in my field (arts/media/creative industries) that would be important to my career but which involve costs that I wouldn't necessarily be able to pay upfront or where payment plans aren't an option (course fees, travel, events, materials). I can pay for my regular expenses plus some extra with the income that I have but would like a little more flexibility to invest in my career this way. I owe a friend money that I'm saving money to pay off (he's very flexible about it because he earns way more than me and doesn't want me to worry about it) but other than that I have no other debt.

In Australia, from what I understand, banks won't give you a credit card until you have a more stable source of income. I'm a freelancer who is currently in the interview/application process for regular work, so getting a credit card itself is not going to be an immediate concern, but I would like to be more prepared if I do decide to take that route. Information about credit cards seem very confusing though, especially since a lot of it comes from the US (esp around credit scores) which isn't applicable!

What sort of card would be best for me starting out? How should I manage my budget best to account for fees and interest? It would be cool if the card offers airline points (I travel a lot) but I understand that those cards can get pretty expensive for not much in return.

Alternatively, are there other things that would serve this function better? I know AfterPay is a thing but the sort of things I'm looking at paying for aren't covered by it.

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