Credit Card Choices

[Remyo]

ewwwwwww discover.

[Tirrock]

I have a citibank mastercard from back when I was 18. I totally do not recommend them. D: They kept refusing to up my credit from $500 (seriously) after 5 years. My credit was good enough to buy a new car without a co-sign. :/ Plus they're always trying to sell me something. I just use it for online purchases now. If I lose that credit card they can't do much damage with a $500 limit.

My friend is a pretty big fan of bestbuy's credit card though. I think he said he gets $5 store credit for every $100 spent at bestbuy and every $200 not spent at bestbuy.

[Correction]

The trick is to buy a CC but only use what you can pay off each month. Will make your credit look very good and then you can get a MUCH lower interest rated card a few months/year down the road. Interest rate doesn't matter if you pay it off every month if you use the card as a CC, but cash advances are influenced by interest immediately

This.

If a low interest rate is your reason for getting a credit card, and you're not getting it because you need to switch the balance from a higher-rate card, you're getting a credit card for all the wrong goddamn reasons.

It boggles me how people dare to carry a balance in this day and age.

[Omnipotent]

I am 19 and I have no credit history... what would you guys recommend to do, since the big CC companies won't even look at me because I have no history? Should I just get a target...bestbuy etc and build credit slowly?

[Ksandra]

I have a citibank mastercard from back when I was 18. I totally do not recommend them. D: They kept refusing to up my credit from $500 (seriously) after 5 years. My credit was good enough to buy a new car without a co-sign. :/ Plus they're always trying to sell me something. I just use it for online purchases now. If I lose that credit card they can't do much damage with a $500 limit.

My friend is a pretty big fan of bestbuy's credit card though. I think he said he gets $5 store credit for every $100 spent at bestbuy and every $200 not spent at bestbuy.

What ever you do, DON'T EVER EVER EVER EVER GET A CITI CARD. He's my annoying story:

Citicard was my first CC I ever got, I was good on payments all the way through college. Then one day I got my new card (since old one expired) and it was a citi business card. I called them up and said I didn't want a business card, they give me some speech about how it's the same but now I can expand a business! I said I didn't want a business and wanted to know how they could just issue me a new card without my approval. This time around they claimed that they got rid of the old card type and sent out a letter saying if you DIDN'T want a business card then you had to mail in saying no. I pointed out that was retarded, and of course many people won't noticed and I never remember receiving much mail. I said that was unlawful for me not signing for a new card, and the guy on the phone laughed and said "well then no one would have a business card!" Well duh you dumbass I thought.

Next time I called to try, they claimed they had to change my card type because of possible fraud on my acc....but the acc was the same it was just a business card.

Third time they claimed I had asked for it, but when I asked if they had paperwork for that, of course not.

WORST customer service ever. From hearing all the lies all I can guess is they wanted to boost their business cc sales, to make it seem they're a great card for businesses. It was ridiculous. I will never use them again.


For cc to get, I agree with the rest and say focus on lowest interest rate possible. When something comes up and you have to pay 2k for a root canal or something, that free calculator won't seem as nice.


IF you do want rewards though, AMEX is good if you fly alot, but I'm partial to CHASE. They have a lot of good cards and have great customer service from what I've seen.

[Correction]

I am 19 and I have no credit history... what would you guys recommend to do, since the big CC companies won't even look at me because I have no history? Should I just get a target...bestbuy etc and build credit slowly?

Open up a bank account and get used to paying with checks/cash until your bank can give you a credit card based on your good business with them.

Easy.

[Omnipotent]

Open up a bank account and get used to paying with checks/cash until your bank can give you a credit card based on your good business with them.

Easy.

I've been with my bank for a good 5 years, and have had a debit/checksfor 2 years. I don't use checks that much, 2 a month maybe at most, but I use my debit card religiously.

[Correction]

Then ask them to issue you a credit card. If they don't, go the store credit card route, assuming there's no membership fees attached. And start looking for a new bank that treats its customers properly.

[Ksandra]

I've been with my bank for a good 5 years, and have had a debit/checksfor 2 years. I don't use checks that much, 2 a month maybe at most, but I use my debit card religiously.

which bank is it? major? and they won't give you a cc?


Try BoA. They have a student cc with like a 500 limit on it. THey give that out to most college kids to help get them started.

[Omnipotent]

Calling now, I have Peoples United, I never really knew my bank could help me with that, I always thought CC and your bank were totally different things lol.

[Katlan]

I am 19 and I have no credit history... what would you guys recommend to do, since the big CC companies won't even look at me because I have no history? Should I just get a target...bestbuy etc and build credit slowly?

Credit history isn't just from CC's. Do you have an apt, bills in your name, anything you pay regularly thats in your name? All of those build credit history. Try to get a CC... you can usually get one w/ a high interest rate and a low cap (if not - try a student VISA). Interest rate doesn't matter if you pay it off or only leave a minimal balance left on your card though. So get any type of CC and can and pay it off each month to build your credit history. No joke... get a CC and charge only like 50-100$ (or less) per month, w/e you can pay off, and watch your credit history go up.

Easy to destroy your credit history, takes longer to establish

[Saphirea]

I've been with my bank for a good 5 years, and have had a debit/checksfor 2 years. I don't use checks that much, 2 a month maybe at most, but I use my debit card religiously.

Go to your bank and fill out a SECURED credit card with like a 300 limit.
You give them 300 bucks up front and secure the card.
You then spend based on your security you build up good credit by constantly having that 300 available ... you don't screw yourself and you get good credit.
Go directly to your bank not one of those YOU"RE PREAPPROVED things in the mail.

[Omnipotent]

I really don't pay for anything in my name, I pay insurance, phone bill, but those are in my parents names because I wasn't old enough when I got said bills. I live with my parents atm, going to a Community College so no rent...so what's this about BoA? or student visa?

[Rokku]

Calling now, I have Peoples United, I never really knew my bank could help me with that, I always thought CC and your bank were totally different things lol.

They are. The banks don't determine who gets approved and who doesn't. Visa, Mastercard, and American Express are all separate entities that make those decisions. I don't know why people think the banks have any say in it, but they don't.

That being said, I'm a Visa person. I have a Platinum Visa and I'm more than happy with it. But for you, a lot of banks do offer student credit cards, provided you can furnish proof that you're a student, and they usually have pretty low APR if any at all (although they have very low credit limits to go with it most of the time).

The best thing you can do is go into your bank and talk with a personal banker. They'll help you assess what cards are right for you, lay out the differences in your options, and help you make the right choice when you do apply. The one thing you definitely shouldn't do is apply blindly for cards. If you get denied, wait 6+ months and then try again, don't apply for 4 different cards in the span of 6 months. It doesn't look good to the companies that actually issue the cards.

[Rokku]

Credit history isn't just from CC's. Do you have an apt, bills in your name, anything you pay regularly thats in your name? All of those build credit history.

This is partially true, but only if those companies report your payments for credit history. Some companies do, others don't. There's a number of utility companies that don't by default, but will report timely payments and the like to credit companies if requested (AEP for one). But the rest of your advice is pretty sound; never rack up more on a card than you can afford to pay.

It takes years to establish stellar credit, but you can destroy it all inside of a month if you really fuck up.

[Ksandra]

They are. The banks don't determine who gets approved and who doesn't. Visa, Mastercard, and American Express are all separate entities that make those decisions. I don't know why people think the banks have any say in it, but they don't.

Wrong. I used to work for BoA up until two months ago, and the banks do have a say in the cc. It's not 100% say, but there are two approvals that you get, the logo approval (visa, mc, etc) and the banks approval. THe banks approval can be more or less depending on the cc given. Like the student cc I mentioned, mc and visa are more willing to give that with banks approval because of the low spending limit, and higher interest rate.

.so what's this about BoA? or student visa?

http://www3.bankofamerica.com/credit...&router_flag=y


NOTE: these cards are only good for building credit. DO NOT keep a balance on them. If you look at the standard rate it's 10.99% (probably higher for you since you ahve 0 credit atm) plus prime. Luckily prime has dropped greatly, as of the 29th it was at 4%. That's still a 14.99% interest rate.


After you've had the cc for a year or two try applying for a new card with a much lower rate.

[Zigma]

Open up a bank account and get used to paying with checks/cash until your bank can give you a credit card based on your good business with them.

Easy.

Have someone co-sign with you who has credit and they'll approve you easily. I did this for my wife and I got her a Macy's Visa card (we shop there most of the time) and they gave her $4,000

[Omnipotent]

Parent's and brother/sisters wont co-sign for me, I have a high-strung family who beleives that you want something, you earn it yourself.

I just applied for a student discover card, so hopefully I can get a response on to how fast I get rejected .

[Rokku]

Wrong. I used to work for BoA up until two months ago, and the banks do have a say in the cc. It's not 100% say, but there are two approvals that you get, the logo approval (visa, mc, etc) and the banks approval. THe banks approval can be more or less depending on the cc given. Like the student cc I mentioned, mc and visa are more willing to give that with banks approval because of the low spending limit, and higher interest rate.

Just because the banks have a say in it doesn't mean they have any of the decision power. Or are you trying to suggest that if Visa says no, the bank somehow has the power to overturn that? I know plenty of people that are Bankers and hold high positions in Chase, and I have various financial licenses myself, being an insurance agent.

I think you've somehow misplaced the bank's importance. Yes, the card needs the bank's approval to go through to Visa, MC, or Discover, but the bank has absolutely no say in it past that. If Visa turns you down, you're SOL, there's nothing the bank can do about it.

[Norellicus]

I did for a while, then my financial aid came in late a few times and I had to pay off school debt to avoid late payments :D

then other crap happened

To be fair, 'other crap' would fuck you over just as badly if you didn't have a card. To say CCs are bad because life kicked you in the balls is fallacious. Just takes smart management, really ;/



Like others have been saying, check with your bank first; banks love customer loyalty, so they'll often give you a better deal than you can get with any other major CC corp.

Shop around anyway after checking with bank, but be careful. CC companies will do anything to get you in the door, and then they've got you; they can change rates etc whenever they want given the right catalysts. Read up on the agreement you're making before you get the card, see what constitutes rate adjustments, late payments, what kind of leeway you have for ATM withdrawls or foreign transactions (this is all depending on your activity needs, of course). Fees should be checked as well, you might get a great rate but if you're spending $200/yr in fees it might not be worth the trouble (again depending on your activities and spending habits).

If you're having a hard time getting a card without a hefty security deposit (common if you don't have a credit rep going), look into a store credit system; gas cards are great since you're spending money there all the time, and they're pretty easy to get in on. Many of them offer decent reward systems as well, either in cashback or other discounts and freebies for your purchases. Just make sure you pick one that you commonly buy your gas from, would suck to have an Exxon card when the best station around is usually the BP.

Also, to help build your credit, pay your balance low, but don't pay it off. Keep a super low balance on the card (less than 25% of the total limit), and just pay it down to that point; this will encourage the CC company to increase your limit, which helps your overall credit score moreso than just paying your bills on time does. It also improves your spending power (can't buy a $2k laptop on a $500 CC, even if you got teh cash in the bank). I know not everyone can afford to do this, so you'll have to decide if this is manageable. It means you're funneling a little money out for the principal interest, but it pays for itself in the long run when your credit score lands you a nice car or home loan.

Lastly, spend within your means. Credit cards aren't extra money in your pocket, they're merely easy methods of payment. If you don't have the money to pay cash for it, don't use a CC for it either (extraneous circumstances notwithstanding). And when possible, don't bank on money that you should have coming to you but don't actually possess yet (inc paycheck, bonus, raise, lottery winnings, w/e); you never know when 'other crap' might happen that throws that out of whack.

It doesn't take long to develop excellent credit if you have good habits about it; I'm only 22 and have a score of 730 (this is considered 'premium' or 'platinum' by most lenders).

Good luck :D