applying for a credit card

[spina74]

I just got the good news that I am getting back my well paying summer job. I want to get a credit card of my own just to use for gas. I'm 19 and have been under my parents card for several years. I did a credit check under my SSN and its very good, but that is because of my parents cards. I'm not sure if i should apply for a traditional card with a lower apr or go for a student card with a high apr, regardless of the card I'm getting I plan to get one without an annual fee. What would you guys suggest?

[deadtrend1]

Actually, I'm interested in this too.

I never had a major credit card. Just debit and my company credit card. (Used to be AMEX now its Visa). Only credit is through car loans and store credit cards and I have excellent credit from them.

I want to get a major card for emergencies and always get "Chase" "Discover" "Capital One" card applications in the mail. I want something that has no fees if i don't use it and just to have incase I need to buy something major I don't have the cash in my checking account for.

[Knipps]

Didn't we just have one of these threads recently?

[deadtrend1]

maybe ...with the way banks are merging now a days I'm afraid the old thread is outdated .. lol

[miketa95]

Don't get a capital one card, they have nothing but foreigners who say yes to whatever you say but don't actually do what they said. For example, I asked to be transferred to someone else like 5 times because I couldn't understand anyone's accent. Then, the final person asked if I wanted to pay $5 per month for a card protection thing. I said no, I do not want any extra fees. My first bill comes and guess what, that $5 is on there!

[deadtrend1]

I had Capital One for the second half of my truck loan after they bought North Fork Bank.

Only loan company I really hate is HSBC. I wont get into it, but I had some sour issues with them from my first motorcycle loan.

[Mark42]

I have our Mastercard credit card through MBNA. There is no annual fee , but that might depend on the card you get (gold vs other).

I would suggest taking a low credit limit, say $2000 to start, even if they offer 10 or 20K. Don't spend more than you can pay every month, IE be sure you don't carry a balance, that's how you get in trouble.

If you don't carry a balance, then the annual rate doesn't mean too much.

They can be a life saver, but you need to know your limits.

Another option is what we did with or 19 year old. He has an American Express in his name, with us as co signers. So he gets to build his own credit history, and he has us as backup payers until he is out of college. Right now we pay a portion of the bill, and its only to be used for gas, school supplies, and food. He works part time, and he is responsible for anything over $250 a month. So far its been working well for us.

[spina74]

Originally Posted by Knipps

Didn't we just have one of these threads recently?

yes we did, but it was about applying for one. I'm just not sure if I should get a student card with a ass kicking high apr rate or a traditional low apr rate card

[Tsar]

I think Bill and I have written a book worth of info about this. Don't feel like typing again

[MyFirstZ]

im about to go down to my bank (chase) and talk to one of the guys on the floor that i know down there. I am ordering my new tool box and want to put it on a credit card. i will relay any helpful info i get.

[Mike]

the objective is to not carry a balance month to month. if you can accomplish this objective, the apr doesnt matter at all, so look at other perks.

[Knipps]

Originally Posted by cbrrmike

the objective is to not carry a balance month to month. if you can accomplish this objective, the apr doesnt matter at all, so look at other perks.

This. I didn't care about the APR on mine, I plan to pay it off every month

[Mark B]

Dont get a credit card. Unless you REALLY are only going to use it in emergencies. And if you do use it for that emergency, pay it off right away.

Getting a credit card is the beginning of the end.

Luckily for me, I was able to cut up all of my credit cards 3-4 years ago and pay them all off. It is SOOOO nice not having any debt.

[Tsar]

Originally Posted by Mark B

Dont get a credit card. Unless you REALLY are only going to use it in emergencies. And if you do use it for that emergency, pay it off right away.

Getting a credit card is the beginning of the end.

Luckily for me, I was able to cut up all of my credit cards 3-4 years ago and pay them all off. It is SOOOO nice not having any debt.

Can I just say that you're stupid and leave it at that? Please don't try to come back with your flawed logic and failed responsibility arguments, I have already heard them.

[WildBillyT]

It is important to not speak in absolutes regarding credit cards. If you are not irresponsible with them they can be very advantageous.

1) If you don't spend money you don't have and pay your balance off every month, you have little to worry about

2) If you select your cards with a little thought the "trivial" rewards programs become not so trivial

3) You don't have to carry a wad of cash or go to ATMs a lot. IMO, cash is for suckers or for when somebody is running a tight margin/wants to cook their books.

4) You can monitor your spending online and can manage your budget better

5) You build credit!

6) Some credit card companies extend short product warranties for free

If you are the type of guy who tends to waste/blow money on stuff you don't need, get a card and have them set the limit low enough so you won't get into trouble with it. I kept my AMEX blue at $500 throughout college on purpose, even though they kept badgering me to raise it to many times that.

There's a lot more I can say but this is the basic jist of it. JUST PRACTICE SOME GD RESTRAINT!

[r0nin89]

Coming from someone whos had a card since the day he turned 18:

Get something with a low limit to carry around and use.

Get something with a high limit for an emergency.

Dont open any more cards then a daily pay it off every month card and an emergency card. This is bad for your credit to have too many open lines.

Personally I started with a $500 card. Primary purpose was to order parts online as I had the money. Thats all I did with it. I then decided to switch to a card under my new bank and was given a decent card with an $1100 limit. Thats when the trouble started. I began budgeting out what I wanted to get now for car parts vs how long it would take me to pay it off. You just have to be careful, I doubt anyone will offer you a card over $2000 but who knows with previous credit history with your parents as the cosigner.

[WildBillyT]

Originally Posted by r0nin89

Coming from someone whos had a card since the day he turned 18:

Get something with a low limit to carry around and use.

Get something with a high limit for an emergency.

Dont open any more cards then a daily pay it off every month card and an emergency card. This is bad for your credit to have too many open lines.

Personally I started with a $500 card. Primary purpose was to order parts online as I had the money. Thats all I did with it. I then decided to switch to a card under my new bank and was given a decent card with an $1100 limit. Thats when the trouble started. I began budgeting out what I wanted to get now for car parts vs how long it would take me to pay it off. You just have to be careful, I doubt anyone will offer you a card over $2000 but who knows with previous credit history with your parents as the cosigner.

"Time to pay off" implies you are running a balance for want-to-have car parts, which would be contrary to good credit card practice.

[Tsar]

Originally Posted by r0nin89

Coming from someone whos had a card since the day he turned 18:

Get something with a low limit to carry around and use.

Get something with a high limit for an emergency.

Dont open any more cards then a daily pay it off every month card and an emergency card. This is bad for your credit to have too many open lines.

Personally I started with a $500 card. Primary purpose was to order parts online as I had the money. Thats all I did with it. I then decided to switch to a card under my new bank and was given a decent card with an $1100 limit. Thats when the trouble started. I began budgeting out what I wanted to get now for car parts vs how long it would take me to pay it off. You just have to be careful, I doubt anyone will offer you a card over $2000 but who knows with previous credit history with your parents as the cosigner.

You know what's worse? Having 250 dollars on your card when your limit is 500. Now THAT will hurt your credit score! Too many lines and too much credit, might affect your score but not as much as you think. I don't use more than 10% of my credit line on monthly basis, but I can go out and spend 2k and still not be over 10% of my total credit line, my score is in high 7xx, so your point is not exactly valid.

[Mark B]

Originally Posted by Tsar

Can I just say that you're stupid and leave it at that? Please don't try to come back with your flawed logic and failed responsibility arguments, I have already heard them.

You could... But considering that this guy sounds pretty young, I would bet that he will probably end up buying more than he can afford to pay off. He will start running a balance & end up paying 2x as much as he should for the items he purchased.

[LTb1ow]

Get one, buy lots of car parts, get in debt, get a bailout, repeat.

Epic WINZ!!!!!!

[Mike]

telling someone not to get a credit card is good advice, if that person cant handle one. but at the same time, it is an important tool to everyone to build credit these days.

a good credit score means nothing if the banks tell you you dont have enough "established credit"

[deadtrend1]

I think they said when I bought my LS1 that my credit was in the 720 range???? I think. Dunno if thats good or bad .. lol.

I never missed payments on anything. My best buy credit card was around a 6000 dollar limit before I chopped it up.

[SteveR]

Originally Posted by LTs1ow

Get one, buy lots of car parts, get in debt, get a bailout, repeat.

Epic WINZ!!!!!!

Amex Black requires you to spend $100,000 a month in order to keep it When I was at Ford, some kid came in and bought a $110,000 Saleen Mustang and put it on the card

[Mark B]

Originally Posted by SteveR

Amex Black requires you to spend $100,000 a month in order to keep it When I was at Ford, some kid came in and bought a $110,000 Saleen Mustang and put it on the card

Did you check his ID and signature? haha

[WildBillyT]

Originally Posted by SteveR

Amex Black requires you to spend $100,000 a month in order to keep it When I was at Ford, some kid came in and bought a $110,000 Saleen Mustang and put it on the card

It's actually called the "Centurion card". I was at a cigar shop when the secretary of transportation came in and bought a bunch of stuff on one. Was pretty cool to see in real life.