Credit Cards

[MertWindu]

Alright, I usually end up using threads like this one as sleep aids, but I need some help. It's time for me to get a credit card, and I'm hoping to not get utterly screwed. So, I need recommendations, as well as what a good realistic APR situation would be.

 

[patchs]

I'd avoid them if possible, but 7.9 percent is pretty good.
Hell, I get an average of 3 to 4 offers a week.
Just wait, you'll get something in the mail.
Look for perks like travel points, avoid annual fees.

 

[dixiehack]

 

[Trey Beamon]

I haven't paid my credit card bill in seven months. :

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

It's good to have one, but be sure to pay them off every month.

It's way too easy to say you're going to use it just once, but then end up using it again and then again two weeks later and before you know it, you have $1000 or more on there.

Just remember, when you use a debit card, you are spending money you have. When you use a credit card, you are spending money, you don't have.

 

[Sandoval]

I've been happy with this one:

Citibank Dividend Platinum Select
No annual fee, 5% back on gas, supermarkets and drug stores and 1% back on everything else. If you don't think you can pay it off every month, however, the interest rate is pretty high.

This one isn't bad either. No interest for the first 12 months, 3% off on gas and 1% on everything else.

Shop around a little. It's not hard now to get cash rebates and still not have an annual fee.

 

[Del_B_Vista]

I've been happy with this one:

Citibank Dividend Platinum Select
No annual fee, 5% back on gas, supermarkets and drug stores and 1% back on everything else. If you don't think you can pay it off every month, however, the interest rate is pretty high.

I was going to recommend the cash-back feature, and I have that Citi card. I honestly couldn't tell you what the APR is because I pay it off every month. It's stupid money management to let them keep my money, but I recently got a $450 check with the cash back stuff. It adds up on the gas, particularly.

 

[HC]

It's good to have one, but be sure to pay them off every month.

It's way too easy to say you're going to use it just once, but then end up using it again and then again two weeks later and before you know it, you have $1000 or more on there.

Just remember, when you use a debit card, you are spending money you have. When you use a credit card, you are spending money, you don't have.

It helps to stay on top of what you've spent. I keep mine in Quicken with my bank accounts which allows me to:

a) reconcile my statement so I recognize any charges that aren't mine

b) always know how much is owing on my card.

I got into trouble with credit cards when I was younger and I'm pretty cautious now.

 

[John]

I'm in the strange situation of not being able to get a credit card. Not because my history is bad, but because I have no history. I had a credit card for about two months my freshman year of college -- 15 years ago -- and since then it's been debit cards (tied into my money market account) the whole time.

I don't need a credit card now, but I plan on buying a house in the next two years and I think my lack of a credit history is going to screw me despite the fact that I've been able to pay all my bills and don't owe anyone any money.

 

[HC]

I'm in the strange situation of not being able to get a credit card. Not because my history is bad, but because I have no history. I had a credit card for about two months my freshman year of college -- 15 years ago -- and since then it's been debit cards (tied into my money market account) the whole time.

I don't need a credit card now, but I plan on buying a house in the next two years and I think my lack of a credit history is going to screw me despite the fact that I've been able to pay all my bills and don't owe anyone any money.

Start with a store credit card. They'll give 'em to almost anybody.

 

[zeke12]

Or, go to the bank, take out a $1000 personal loan, put the money into a savings account and make the payments every month from there.
It'll burn you the interest, but it does establish a credit history.

 

[Almost_Famous]

amex blue.

pay it off every month. in fact, pay ALL of them off every month.

if you can't, MAKE SURE you have a NO FIANCEE CHARGES FOR A YEAR card. or just dont buy it.

great rewards on amex blue. im targeting a big screen TV free from them in july 2007. but i use teh card for EVERYTHING. i rarely use cash. as i've said on other threads, when the **** goes down, cash will be king. i keep some at home (small bills - easier to negotiate than with $20s), and when it goes down, im hitting up the ATM for the rest of my cash. (then again, i have a go-bag, so maybe im paranoid).

also citibank has some good rewards cards.

 

[John]

I used my Visa points for a four free nights in New York a couple of years ago.

One word of advice, the points I earn on my Visa expire after two years, so you might want to check to see if yours do, too.

 

[MertWindu]

amex blue.

pay it off every month. in fact, pay ALL of them off every month.

if you can't, MAKE SURE you have a NO FIANCEE CHARGES FOR A YEAR card. or just dont buy it.

great rewards on amex blue. im targeting a big screen TV free from them in july 2007. but i use teh card for EVERYTHING. i rarely use cash. as i've said on other threads, when the **** goes down, cash will be king. i keep some at home (small bills - easier to negotiate than with $20s), and when it goes down, im hitting up the ATM for the rest of my cash. (then again, i have a go-bag, so maybe im paranoid).

also citibank has some good rewards cards.

When did this thread become "Escape from New York?"

 

[Almost_Famous]

did you see what happened with katrina?

anyway, my point was to get a card that gives you rewards/bonuses ... and pay them off every month. without fail. if you see yourself not being able to pay off a card, make sure there's no APR. nothing worse than having to pay 15% interest on a dinner you had 3 months ago.

 

[MertWindu]

Sorry for the double-up.

My choices at the moment, as far as the one I liked the most while searching around online and the one I just got in the mail today, are a Mastercard hooked up with my alma mater's alumni association. I think it's a 13.9% APR, seemed like it was fixed (but I have to check), or the Amex BlueSky, which has some extra air and hotel rewards. APR could go as high as 18 percent if I get stupid (which, frankly, I probably will), but it starts off a little lower, and there's six months of 0% APR, which the alumni card does not have. Any thoughts? I'm not married to either of them, but they are the two on my table at the moment.

 

[OTD]

Whatever you do, keep in mind that a "fixed" APR is fixed only as long as the bank wants it to be. I have had APRs randomly raised. When I say random, I mean, I'd never been late on a payment, never hit the credit line or anything. Sometimes they'll lower it if you call them and ask, sometimes they won't.

 

[ServeItUp]

A_F, what are fiancée charges? Is that something we single folk will never understand?

 

[Sam Mills 51]

I had always heard to avoid AMex. MasterCard and Visa, fine. But no AMex.

So Tex ... given your pair of choices, that would have been the decision-maker for me.

HC's advice about using Quicken is a quality suggestion. If you don't wish to use Quicken, try either wrapping the receipts around your card (it will help you realize that you might be overdoing it occasioanally when your wallet becomes difficult to close) or simply attach a Post-It Note in your checkbook with a running total on what your balance is. For me, it helps prevent sticker shock when that little bill comes in.

Good luck ... and while it has already been said, simply pay the thing off each month to avoid the hassle.