Credit Card Recommendations?

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

Originally Posted by milos_mommy

My advice, which I'm sure you don't want, is DON'T GET A CREDIT CARD.

Originally Posted by -bogart-

HAHAHAHA beat me to it!

Out of curiousity, why would you say that?

The only problem with credit cards are people that use them as "free money" or "I'll pay it off later" money, and then get into debt. The OP already stated that she will be paying the credit card off monthly, that she was interested in the rewards - completely different than wanting a credit card to make large, unnecessary purchases. Having a credit card, using it, and making on-time payments can really help your credit score. Having a good, long credit history will definitely help down the road in possibly financing a vehicle or a house.

I dislike this "credit cards are evil" mentality. I have multiple credit cards, and I've never paid a cent of interest on any of them. I get nice rewards checks for spending money on stuff I would be spending money on anyways (groceries, restuarants, gas, etc), and my credit score is good - excellent, considering my age.

Should financially irresponsible people get a credit card? No, probably not. But a credit card does not create a financially irresponsible person. Chances are, that person was already bad with money to begin with, and a credit card was just a further bad choice.

[joce]

^I repeated your post after reading it all!

You need a credit card to establish credit. Period.

If you ever want a car loan, to buy a home, pay for some crisis that does happen etc. you need it.

You do need to use it responsibly.

I never got the "its evil mentality". Its only as bad as you make it. I use mine like a debit card basically. Pay it off asap. Only use it when its questionable to use my debit card because you can argue the charge lol. There is also a daily limit on my debit card for safety.

[monkeys23]

I have a Discover card that I got to use mainly for gas since when you pay at the pump they often do the big security extra thing and since I only get paid once a month this is safer budget-wise since I can pay it all in one chunk on payday and not worry about whether I will be okay. When I had to move unexpectedly it really saved my bacon too. The rewards are great too, though mostly I'm frugal and just use it toward the monthly card balance when I've got enough to do so (you have to have $50 in cashback to put it back onto your card... I think they do that to encourage more spending...) and I love the online spend analyzing and stuff, though I also use Mint.com for budgeting/tracking.

[BlackPuppy]

I hate all my credit cards. I don't have a capitol one card, though. But I heard that they have no foreign transaction fees. I even have a capitol one mm account for that very reason. I put my vacation money in it, then I use ATMs in Europe without any fees. And I pay for everything in Europe with cash from that money market account.

[-bogart-]

NO you dont , you open account with utilities and other companies and get credit that away. You pay your bills on time. You get a cell phone and pay it on time , all that build your credit. You do NOT have to have a Credit card to do any of that. I do not have a card and am currently improving my credit score monthly , by paying my bills on time and slowly decreasing my old debt.

Your bank can also loan you small amount that you pay back on time and it builds your score that away also.

you can live life without plastic.


if you HAVE to have plastic there are also prepaid cards that DO report to the big 3 credit agencies.

[SpringerLover]

I have a US Bank visa card. I just opened it this year but so far it's been great. No annual fee and I get cash back for certain purchases. I like free money!

[RedHotDobe]

I don't see why you wouldn't have a credit card. If I was planning on spending the money anyway, why not use a credit card and get free stuff? I have a Discover and an American Express Blue Sky card. After spending $500 with the AmEx I got $300 good toward travel expenses. Worth it to me.

[Lyzelle]

Originally Posted by -bogart-

NO you dont , you open account with utilities and other companies and get credit that away. You pay your bills on time. You get a cell phone and pay it on time , all that build your credit. You do NOT have to have a Credit card to do any of that. I do not have a card and am currently improving my credit score monthly , by paying my bills on time and slowly decreasing my old debt.

This isn't true. Both me and Jin had phones when we moved here. We paid utilities in our apartment. None of it did anything to our credit. We still had "no credit" when it came around to needing something. It wasn't good credit, wasn't bad credit. It was straight up NO credit. Paying your bills does NOT affect your credit. NOT paying them does.

Bank loans will give you good credit, however. Credit cards will give you good credit. As long as you pay them.

[CaliTerp07]

A portion of your credit score is your use of revolving credit and your debt to credit ratio at any given time. You cannot get high ratings there without credit cards. That said, there are plenty of other accounts (utilities, car loans, mortgages) that are reported as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/yo...ores.html?_r=0

bogart, I would never, EVER recommend taking out a loan from the bank to build your credit. What you're describing is a personal loan (something with no collateral), and the fees on that are monstrous (approaching some credit cards, with 10-15% rates). Why would you rather pay 10% on a 5 year loan than pay off credit cards each month?

Bottom line is you have to know yourself. Studies have shown that many people spend more with a credit card than cash, but if you can control yourself in there is nothing inherently "evil" or dangerous about a credit card.

[crazedACD]

I have a Capital One Cash Rewards...I like it, I haven't had any problems with it. Just 1% back but it works for me for now. I would probably get into trouble if I had multiple cards but the one is fine. I put a little bit on it every month, pay it off, and use it for unexpected things.