Credit Card Bill debate

[Seraph]

No.

If you don't have some piece of shit Capital One card with your dog's face on it, chances are you have a CC company that will actually extend emergency lines of credit if you've been a good customer but your card's been stolen. You'll have to authorize said emergency purchases over the telephone at the merchant but an emergency is an emergency.

You only 'need' two credit cards if the only people who'll do business with your credit score are Capital One and Sears.

Definitely not correct. I've even had two company credit cards because not everyone takes every type of card. I'm not talking about crappy cards either.

In an emergency, you may not have time to work out details with a card company either. Why take that chance? You place far too much trust in that institution.

[MisterBob]

All of this whining about building up credit is bullshit. I've had a line of credit for a whole 10 months now, and already have a 752. Just be intelligent about it, do some research, and don't spend money like a moron.

[Darus Grey]

Credit score doesn't mean much anyways...Credit score is just a number that for some types of CCs and loans automatically sets your lowest interest rate. You can have an 800 credit score and still be denied every loan.

The biggest things that affect your ability to get a loan is having a paid off car loan, or a paid off mortgage, because those are a better indiciator than anything else about your responsability. You can have a 650 score and a paid off loan, and still be ahead of a guy who has an 800 score but only ever used CCs.

Yes, Credit is a bullshit no-win game.

[Warudo Ecksu]

All of this whining about building up credit is bullshit. I've had a line of credit for a whole 10 months now, and already have a 752. Just be intelligent about it, do some research, and don't spend money like a moron.

It doesn't work that well for everyone. I've had a credit card for a year and a half, never missed a payment, never went over my limit, always pay off the card at the end of the month, have thousands of $ sitting in the bank, and my credit score is 600. My credit report shows 0 negative accounts yet my score is rly terribly low. Maybe I need a 2nd card or something.

It's really boned me in trying to buy a car cuz all the companies I went to (Ford, Nissan, Chrysler, VW, Toyota, Honda) are asking for a 790 rating or a co-signer. (at least in Cali, dunno about other states) When I buy a car next month, I'm going to have to put 50% down cuz that was my only other option

[Necronus]

You can find out your credit score when you apply for a personal loan at the bank, if you just ask the person assisting you what came up. Whenever you apply for one, they always check your credit score, your income, and your current outstanding obligations in determining whether to approve the loan.

Any business/accounting inclined people able to say if this is across the board or if it varies from state to state or bank to bank?

When I was in college I applied for a personal loan for a mere $3000 ... no biggie. At that point I maybe a beginners amount of credit by having my internet/FFXI bill go through my credit card (still do). As such my mother had to co-sign which was the potential setback since she just had bankruptcy cleared (so the bank obviously wouldn't see it but her credit score was essentially ... recovering).

Anyway, long story short, although I got the loan, when the lady was sitting right in front of us HOLDING both me and my mothers credit reports, she refused to show either to us saying that she could not and that we'd need to get it elsewhere (essentially referring us to the normal paid methods).

So BG did we get duped or is this possible?


(If it matters this would be about ... 5-6 years ago)

[Suiram]

I shouldn't have spoken so broadly. I should have said, "When I applied for a personal loan at the bank, the lady told me my credit score." I don't work in finance or anything, so it's very possible she was just doing me a favor.

[Yuri-G]

It doesn't work that well for everyone. I've had a credit card for a year and a half, never missed a payment, never went over my limit, always pay off the card at the end of the month, have thousands of $ sitting in the bank, and my credit score is 600. My credit report shows 0 negative accounts yet my score is rly terribly low. Maybe I need a 2nd card or something.

It's really boned me in trying to buy a car cuz all the companies I went to (Ford, Nissan, Chrysler, VW, Toyota, Honda) are asking for a 790 rating or a co-signer. (at least in Cali, dunno about other states) When I buy a car next month, I'm going to have to put 50% down cuz that was my only other option

part of the problem might be paying off your card every month. I've heard lots of conflicting information but it seems to be better to hold a small balance over, showing you can carry debt and manage it, then to pay it off every month. if you never have a balance when the payment comes due, it supposedly won't do much to increase your credit score.

I'm not so sure about that but I keep a balance of about $20 each month unpaid just in case. can't hurt I suppose.

[SephYuyX]

I had a banker tell me that once too and it just didnt make sense to me, my mom was a banker years ago and said it was BS. Something may have changed though.

[Serif]

I love my credit score, wait I don't have one.

People that say it is hard to live life without a credit score generally don't know how to handle their money.

Don't even really consider this that big of news.

[kyod]

If you ever want to own a home, rent an apartment, mortgage, take out some sort of loan, etc... you need a credit score. I would be wary of any place that, unless you have ample amounts of money in savings and can prove it, would allow you to do any of the above without a credit score.

[Khamsin]

I shouldn't have spoken so broadly. I should have said, "When I applied for a personal loan at the bank, the lady told me my credit score." I don't work in finance or anything, so it's very possible she was just doing me a favor.

And when I applied for my home loan, the guy told me my score, too.

I don't think there's any law or anything that says they have to, but I don't see why they wouldn't. They pull it up on their computer while you're sitting there, so just ask.

[kyod]

Be wary of people telling you your score when you apply for loans, especially when buying cars. Some of them will tell you your score is low and they can't give you the lowest rate and say they'll cut you a deal and give you less than the highest interest rate but still way higher than what you should get.

Unless they specifically show you the credit reporting bureau website, you should get your own credit reports and know your own credit score before applying for anything (especially since getting rejected for a credit card lowers your score)

[Serif]

If you ever want to own a home, rent an apartment, mortgage, take out some sort of loan, etc... you need a credit score. I would be wary of any place that, unless you have ample amounts of money in savings and can prove it, would allow you to do any of the above without a credit score.

I have been approved for a 180k loan on a house I was looking at, no way I would buy a house that amount with the money I make at the moment AND I have no existing credit score. Of course sometimes when not having a credit score you will probably have to get a FHA loan and other things on top of that to help protect the lender but still brings up the fact you don't need a credit score but there are a few dependable lenders who will give you a conventional loan if you have a good size down payment, a steady job, and ample money in your checking or savings account.

Forgot to say I would be putting 20-30k down on the house beforehand, sorry.

The myth of HAVING to have a credit score is pretty good though, I just don't feed into it.

[kyod]

Of course sometimes when not having a credit score you will probably have to get a FHA loan and other things on top of that to help protect the lender but still brings up the fact you don't need a credit score but there are a few dependable lenders who will give you a conventional loan if you have a good size down payment, a steady job, and ample money in your checking or savings account.

For people just out of college that's a pretty big hurdle to overcome. Student loan debt and the current job prospects for the country will make it pretty hard to have those 2 things. Not just talking about to buy a house (which you should have a 20-30% down payment beforehand to do anyway, otherwise you can't afford the home).

The only college students/recent grads I know with ample money (as in thousands) in their checking/savings account are those who have well-off families. Those who have had to pay for school themselves (and have parents with shitty credit history) unfortunately don't enjoy that luxury. Without a good credit score, these kids out of school will be at a disadvantage compared to those who have great scores and those who have that ample money.

[Serif]

For people just out of college that's a pretty big hurdle to overcome. Student loan debt and the current job prospects for the country will make it pretty hard to have those 2 things. Not just talking about to buy a house (which you should have a 20-30% down payment beforehand to do anyway, otherwise you can't afford the home).

The only college students/recent grads I know with ample money (as in thousands) in their checking/savings account are those who have well-off families. Those who have had to pay for school themselves (and have parents with shitty credit history) unfortunately don't enjoy that luxury. Without a good credit score, these kids out of school will be at a disadvantage compared to those who have great scores and those who have that ample money.

So rent a house and save up for college/house/whatever you are wanting. Just because you are out of college or in any situation doesn't mean you have to own a house. I just don't really believe in debt, unless it is my parents using their Southwest Card to get us free flights haha...

[SephYuyX]

Ive paid my way all through three colleges w/o loans easily (around 100k total), just that ive worked since I was 16.

Though yes ive been lucky enough to live with my parents during that time so that takes away from rent/utilities (ive chipped in a lot though), but everything else ive paid for out of pocket.

[archibaldcrane]

When I think about it though, I worked since I was 14 and worked all through college, so I would've had income and been able to get a credit card anyway. I guess I don't really have a problem with this. Get a job you lazy irresponsible students.

[Khamsin]

For people just out of college that's a pretty big hurdle to overcome. Student loan debt and the current job prospects for the country will make it pretty hard to have those 2 things. Not just talking about to buy a house (which you should have a 20-30% down payment beforehand to do anyway, otherwise you can't afford the home).

The only college students/recent grads I know with ample money (as in thousands) in their checking/savings account are those who have well-off families. Those who have had to pay for school themselves (and have parents with shitty credit history) unfortunately don't enjoy that luxury. Without a good credit score, these kids out of school will be at a disadvantage compared to those who have great scores and those who have that ample money.

It may be a big hurdle, but so what? Credit isn't an entitlement. It's not some right people have from birth that they will be extended lines of credit when they grow up. Somebody without steady income or ample assets are not going to be trusted with credit. This includes kids, college students and dropouts alike.

Is there a reason people are making it sound like students have a right to be extended lines of credit, and that this making it harder for them is a bad thing? So what, they won't be able to buy that laptop for school that they didn't have money for in the first place. At least they won't be spoiling their credit early by being unable to make payments.

Just suck it up, get a steady job, build up some income, then get credit. You don't have to go charging things left and right just because you graduated. As for getting an apartment? Find a place that'll let you pay first/last rent. You can live in a dump for a little bit until you build up some reputation by paying your utilities/rent on time, then find someplace nicer.

[kyod]

So rent a house and save up for college/house/whatever you are wanting. Just because you are out of college or in any situation doesn't mean you have to own a house. I just don't really believe in debt, unless it is my parents using their Southwest Card to get us free flights haha...

I'm not talking about owning a house, obviously you won't try to get one straight out of college (unless you're loaded). Renting a house, any reputable landlord will want a credit check on you (unless Chicago is just a strange place where it's only requested here) and if you don't have any credit, they'll want a co-signer. If your parents have bad credit, they won't rent to you, especially in this day and age where landlords want to fill their properties with tenants who they can rely on. I know, I know, move back home with your parents and all the jazz, but for me, moving back to where I'm from would be insane because of the even larger lack of job opportunities in my field there.

If I didn't start earning my credit when I was 18 on my own, I wouldn't have had a lot of the opportunities I had (internships, professional networking, etc...) by going to school in Chicago.

Edit: Maybe I'm just looking at this through the viewpoint of someone who is smart enough not to charge more then they can afford and won't fuck up their credit history but will actually improve it. It should be the bank's discretion to extend lines of credit to responsible people (granted they have given them to people who aren't actually responsible), not the federal government. The current system never screwed me over and gave me the ability to have a nice credit score. I doubt I would have gotten a credit card @ 18 working a minimum wage work study job under the new restrictions, but I also haven't run around and charged the hell out of it and bought expensive shit I couldn't afford.

[SephYuyX]

It would be a waste of money to rent now a days, better off buying a house. Youd probably even have an easier time buying than renting.