How to Manage Your Credit Card in Dubai

You are usually offered a credit card with a limit 2 times or 3 times your monthly salary which sounds great but think that you would have to work for 3 months without spending anything else to pay that card off. And on top of that, you will have to pay interest on the money as well. Do you really want your limit to be that high?

If you can, ask the bank to lower your credit card limit to something that is more realistic. If they cannot do this, then set a limit for yourself and stick to it.

Life is constantly changing. Whether you are planning to go back home or end up being made redundant, you will have to have some sort of exit strategy in place. Not paying your debt can cause major trouble for you that can ruin your future, inhibit your travel and even end in imprisonment.

Don’t spend too far over your limit and prioritise paying all your debt off first before spending unnecessarily. You can decide how much of the balance of the card you are going to pay off every month. The lowest is usually 5% up to 100%. We recommend paying as high a percentage as possible, this means you are lowering more off the balance of what you owe, rather than the majority of your monthly payment paying off the interest on your spending.

Don’t plan to get a credit card to make a major purchase but rather look at a personal loan. A credit card is okay for borrowing small amount but becomes very expensive for large amounts. The interest is less on a personal loan and the payments are for a fixed term, more manageable and you won’t be tempted to just put that one more thing on your card.

Credit card companies are going to call you offering another credit card, or offering to increase your credit limit for you. Don’t be tempted to raise your spending limit during these calls because before you know it, you will have maxed out your credit card. Stick to your guns and keep sensible.

If you find you have gone too high on your credit card and it is with your bank, arrange a meeting with them to ask if you can convert the outstanding balance to a load in order to pay off the card quicker and with lesser interest payments to be made. If you do manage to arrange this, cut the card up and never use it again!

The most important thing is to try and live within your means and don’t be too tempted by offers of high credit limits. My grandmother always use to tell me: “If you can’t afford it you can’t have it!”