Granite credit card

Available to those who are:

- Aged 18 or over
- UK resident
- Are not currently declared bankrupt
- Do not already hold a Vanquis credit card

Please ensure you meet the above criteria before applying, or it could adversely affect your credit rating.

About this card

Further details and how this deal compares

The Granite credit card was a new addition to the market last year - it's issued by Vanquis but advertised by the separate - and lesser known - MI Money Ltd.

Generally speaking it's not too different from the Vanquis Visa credit card, although it's not exactly the same either.

The primary differences are the advertised APR and the shopping discounts offered on the Granite - which don't appear on Vanquis' own card.

The Granite credit card's APR is lower by 5% p.a. - however this is worth taking with a pinch of salt for a few reasons.

The Granite credit card is advertised as having a credit limit of just £500, compared to £1000 on Vanquis - this figure is used in calculating the representative APR so will cause differences away from the rate of interest actually offered.

Secondly, rates may differ due to the acceptance criteria variations of each card product. The advertised APR must be given to at least 50% of applicants - so one way of considering the difference may be that the Granite credit card turns away more customers.

Thirdly - study the terms and conditions of each credit card a little closer and the cost of credit tiers for risk based pricing are identical.

Rebuilding a poor credit history

Fairly clearly then, the Granite credit card is a rebranded version of the Vanquis credit card and as such is marketed to people looking to rebuild and strengthen a poor credit history.

We've covered this topic in more depth in our guide to how credit cards can help to rebuild a credit rating - but simply put it's a more accessible foot back in the door to building up a record of good credit management.

The application criteria of this credit card is some might say fairly noncommittal: aged 18 or over, UK resident, not already a Vanquis customer and not currently legally restricted from obtaining credit, for example due to bankruptcy.

Both Vanquis and Granite credit cards use risk base pricing and the interest rates on the highest tiers are quite breathtakingly high - the highest tier currently charges 69.94% p.a. variable for purchases, withdraw cash and you're looking at 91.08% p.a. variable.

While that's not charged to all, or even the majority of, customers, it just highlights the need to keep balances repaid when using credit building products.

The full list of the interest tiers charged can be found in the terms and conditions on the provider's websites.

Credit limit increases

Newly opened accounts receive a credit limit of up to £500.

Cardholders who manage their accounts well - never missing payments and staying within that credit limit - are eligible for an increase on the forth statement and every forth statement subsequently.

Ultimately, the card offers a top credit limit of £3,000.

Not only do limit increases give more power to customers' spending arms, they can look better on credit reports, which could mean improved access to credit in the future - although only if it continues to be well managed.

Those shopping discounts

The Granite credit card offers a number of shopping discounts which seem to have the potential to make it stand out from the crowd.

Currently, at the time of writing, the card is advertising 15% off at Sainsbury's and 25% off at Debenhams, among other high street discounts.

However, there are two things to note here.

First, the rosta of deals is constantly changing and the examples on the site aren't necessarily what cardholders will receive - so it's a bit of a gamble.

Second, the 'deals' aren't exclusive to cardholders - they're just available through the Granite site's links. We even found some on cash back sites so deal-hunters could be getting money back as well as the discount.

All in all

The shopping discounts incentive leaves a little to be desired, but for people looking to rebuild a credit history the card is backed by the well established Vanquis.

Visit the Vanquis website for more »

Interest rates

Fees and charges

Repayment details

Rewards and discounts

Cardholder services

	Offered	Additional
Online account management		-
Fraud Monitoring		Vanquis will monitor your account for any suspicious activity and get in touch with you if they need to check anything with you.
Identity Protection		-
Credit Report Access		-
3D Secure		-
Contactless Payments		-
Purchase Protection Insurance		-
Purchase Delivery Insurance		-
Travel Insurance		-
Travel Accident Insurance		-
Travel Inconvenience Insurance		-
Assistance Abroad		-
Emergency Card Replacement		-