Rashad March 30, 2005 Share Rashad Member March 30, 2005 I get a credit card offers every day it seems, getting annoying. I don't currently have one, but I'm seriously considering it. I'm in college, don't have enough time for a job, but I'll have one this summer. So if you'd like, please give me some advice, I sure would appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shep48 March 30, 2005 Share shep48 Member March 30, 2005 first be careful, this is a excellent way to earn credit, use to buy things you were going to buy already and pay the bill. also good for emergencies, pick the 1 with the lowest apr and no annual fee, use contol, if you dont have that stay away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Shertown Pimp March 30, 2005 Share Sir Shertown Pimp Member March 30, 2005 remail credit card applications from one company to the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duma March 30, 2005 Share duma Member March 30, 2005 remail credit card applications from one company to the other. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Also, add weight to each by placing rocks in them. But yeah... don't charge more than you can pay off at the next bill. I know that they can be a blessing by helping your credit, and a bad thing by killing your credit. The path you take is your own. Be responsible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General J March 30, 2005 Share General J Member March 30, 2005 I have received many ear fulls of advice about credit cards. Follow what everyone else has said. GET CREDIT!! It helps, a lot... I couldn't get a $3200 loan to buy my first bike because I did not have any credit at all. We are currently with a visa through the bank. It came with our checking account for overdraft protection. We also have a USAA (for people who are in, have served in, or have family members who have been in the armed forces). Visa is ok to deal with, but again we go through our bank. USAA is a pleasure to deal with. The best advice for building credit that I have heard of is to charge something like $10 to the card. Pay off the interest each month for as long as you would like (year or more would probably be best) and then pay off the total when you are ready. Then you can ask for a boost in available credit for the card as well. Either that or spend way too much for x-mas and still be paying it off 4 months later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gOOters March 30, 2005 Share gOOters Member March 30, 2005 Set a very low limit. Your first card will have terrible rates, but you want to build your credit early on, if possible. It will make life later alot nicer. So...get a little card, allow yourself to put $200 on it, and PAY YOUR MONTHLY BILLS!!!! It doesnt matter if you get a mail bill or not, you will move alot in college. Set it up online and auto payment if possible. DO NOT miss ANY payments!!!! Also, be VERY firm on your line you set for yourself. If you want to put no more than $200 on it and something comes up. To bad, dont use the card. Sell something if you have to...get a second (or first) job. Beg your parents...whatever. Let me tell you, alot of college kids screw up with their cards and pay for it into their late 20s and early 30s. The black marks unpaid bills will get you and the ridiculous late fees you will get charged by being irresponsible will really hurt you if you let it happen. I have been lucky to be pretty good with my cards through college, my wife (now) was even better with them than me. Some day it could mean the difference between getting the house you want and not getting it. You should take up a card though to build your credit. GL! </rant> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Shertown Pimp March 31, 2005 Share Sir Shertown Pimp Member March 31, 2005 Yeah we have USAA it owns, I actually made money when this guy ran into my car and I had to get a new one :-P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice_Berge_00 March 31, 2005 Share Ice_Berge_00 GC Alumni March 31, 2005 The biggest mistake people make with credit cards is not paying them off each month. Credit card companies love you when you do this though because they make TONS of money of people. Most cards have ridiculus rates and every month that you don't pay the FULL BILL the amount of interest added to your balance goes up and you just end up losing money. Talking terms about credit, I recently got a credit report about myself and they listed the top 3 good things and 3 things that hurt my credit. ALong with that they listed all kinds of tips and other itneresting info. One of the major things they listed besides always paying off your balance every month was to never miss payments. Also charging your card up to the max balance all the time will kill your credit rating, so only charge it regularly to less than 1/4. I know that seems like a small amount but it makes a big diff in the long run. While using your card is how you build credit, using it constantly all the time isn't. The best advice I could give would be to only let yourself buy certain things with it, such as gas and food. Also don't apply for lots of cards, nor hold lots of cards. They have no way of knowing if you're just signing up to get those little deals stores offer or if you're desperate to get cards. That 10% discount may sound good, but going for all of them won't be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rashad March 31, 2005 Author Share Rashad Member March 31, 2005 Thanks for your help guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrX March 31, 2005 Share mrX GC Alumni March 31, 2005 Got my first credit card when I was 19 years old. Was in college at the time. Used it as my "supplemental" student loan, paying for food and necessary stuff when times were tight, but always paying something on it, on time, every month. I financed my own education, making ends meet working 2 jobs when necessary and still going to school. Paid a car loan off early, put several bills in my name while living with roomates. Just never missed a payment. It took a while to pay off the "supplemental" for me, but... It paid off. 4 years ago when shopping for a house, my wife and I approached a builder. They pulled our credit and to paraphrase said "pick anything you want". It really is worth it to keep a good credit score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rashad March 31, 2005 Author Share Rashad Member March 31, 2005 wow, nice X! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranky Bullfrog March 31, 2005 Share Cranky Bullfrog Member March 31, 2005 For what it's worth, I was told by a credit reporting agency that if you don't carry a balance for at least a little while, then you actually don't have a credit reference for that source. That is to say, if you take out a Mastercard and you pay it off in full every month - the full balance, then it won't count as a credit reference. You actually have to carry the balance for a month or two (accrue some interest - yuck) and then if you want (and I'd recommend) pay it off. That way you don't get in trouble and you actually develop a credit reference for that card. One way to do this might be to take out a card, tell yourself you won't allow yourself to use it above $50, $100 whatever fits your budget and then pay off all but $10 on it every month. Let the $10 carry over each month so you do create a credit reference. As has been said - the most important aspect of this is pay the bill on time! Best advice already has been given - keep the balance really low. Don't fall into the trap of thinking "hey, this $6,000 plasma TV HiDef is only costing me $30 a month!". You'll end up paying about $20k for that TV. (ugh) Also, despite the desire to start your credit history early in life..... if you are in college and don't have a fairly good paying job too - I'd wait til I graduated. You will no doubt have a good credit rating if you pay all your college loans off on schedule and never late anyway. They will carry a lot more weight toward consideration of a home or auto loan in the future - than a credit card. We told our kids, leave em alone (credit cards) - and I think that's still good advice. There are other ways to establish credit beyond credit cards. Major appliance loans aren't hard to get and they help. Just some thoughts.... Best of luck in this! Cranky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWarrior March 31, 2005 Share HWarrior Member March 31, 2005 (edited) Just to add if you haven't picked a card. Providian may be a good choice. They offer a free online credit report summary including your FICO score when you use their online account access. The report is updated every month. A great feature to have for free. Plus, since you are just starting out, it is a good way to keep an eye on how others see you creditwise. Edit: The free FICO score is provided by TransUnion. Edited March 31, 2005 by HWarrior Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice_Berge_00 April 1, 2005 Share Ice_Berge_00 GC Alumni April 1, 2005 (edited) Cranky Bullfrog, don't take this the wrong way, but I think you were told a load of .... I've never carried a balance on my card, yes I only have 1, for the past 5 and 1/2 years and my credit rating is excellent. I plan to be buying a car later this year too. Edit. Decided to change my wording slightly Edited April 1, 2005 by Ice_Berge_00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranky Bullfrog April 1, 2005 Share Cranky Bullfrog Member April 1, 2005 Cranky Bullfrog, don't take this the wrong way, but I think you were told a load of .... I've never carried a balance on my card, yes I only have 1, for the past 5 and 1/2 years and my credit rating is excellent. I plan to be buying a car later this year too.Edit. Decided to change my wording slightly <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Perhaps so Ice but I was just repeating something I was told by a legitimate source - a credit reporting agency. They said that "cash cards" like American Express where you pay off the balance every month (in total) do not establish a "credit reference" and the same thing was said to be true if you use a regular interest bearing credit card but you pay it off each month in total. Perhaps the rules have changed because this was a number of years ago but I thought I would pass it along. You may be correct today. Wouldn't hurt to ask a reporting agency though to be sure. Cranky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gOOters April 1, 2005 Share gOOters Member April 1, 2005 Really IB? That was my understanding too. Would you mind sharing your Beacon, even if it is a range? Can you get over 700 w/o carrying a balance on your cards (assuming no car or mortgage pymnts)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrX April 1, 2005 Share mrX GC Alumni April 1, 2005 Some of it is based on your "available credit" via credit cards and lines of credit (I thought). When I went to buy my house, I canceled a couple of cards (both with 0 balances) that had 3k and 17k limits, along with a couple of my wife's that were the same (store cards, those don't make sense) as I was told that would help. We kept one card with a 22k limit as our household "credit line". I dunno for sure. But last credit report of mine that I saw had an area for missed payments and late payments. I'm assuming just paying on time is a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble .gc April 1, 2005 Share Trouble .gc Member April 1, 2005 DON'T DO IT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gOOters April 1, 2005 Share gOOters Member April 1, 2005 sorry troub, not good advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appalachian_fox April 1, 2005 Share appalachian_fox Member April 1, 2005 Anytime you go to get a loan (auto, home mortgage, etc.) your credit reports are pulled...Which reporting agencies they pull and what they do with that information depends on the company extending you credit. Some look at the information and generate their own scores, which is what happened to me when I got my mortgage, some just look at the score of one credit reporting agency and leave it at that...and there's all sorts of in-between. Establishing credit is very important: Keeping tabs on your credit report is also important. As I understand it, by the end of 2005 everyone will be able to get one credit report a year (someone correct me on this?) so you can make sure the credit reporting agencies are on their games and your reports are right. Cash cards may or may not add value to your score, but they ARE reported and establish a credit history, and help you at any place where they actually look at your credit report, so having one and paying it off doesn't really hurt you (even if it doesn't help you) and you're not paying interest for no reason. It worked for everyone in my family...though perhaps by paying the interest we would have gotten our scores higher faster? But I'd stick with one credit card, and a Visa at that. Sometimes you may need to carry a balance, depending (like in X's situation...especially if you're at school in the northeast) but to echo what's been said a thousand times here, always pay on time. Never miss a payment. That will cripple a credit score really fast, and it stays there for a long time (7 years? or 5?). Oh, and avoid carrying a balance at all costs: Those interest rates are ridiculous, and make repayment a real bear. I've seen some college friends drive themselves into horrible situations, and one even into bankruptcy, from irresponsible credit use. If you feel the need to carry a balance so you can get something purely for entertainment value, take a dollar bill out of your pocket and burn it. now imagine the interest payments you'd have to make, and imagine burning that money. It's money that only goes to line the creditor's pockets. For more info on credit: http://www.myfico.com/ Pretty good site, helps you learn about why you want to establish credit at this stage in the game. Good luck and charge responsibly, your credit will thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice_Berge_00 April 2, 2005 Share Ice_Berge_00 GC Alumni April 2, 2005 Cranky, I think you got me a little confused on the "cash card?" Do you mean like a check card that you get from your bank that takes out of your checking acct? The card I have has like an 18% APR (annual Percentage Rate). So do you consider that an interest card? I guess I"m a bit confused BTW, DON"T GET a card if it has an ANNUAL FEE. THose are worthless, especially if it's for your first card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gOOters April 2, 2005 Share gOOters Member April 2, 2005 good advice on the annual fee. avoid it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewychee April 2, 2005 Share chewychee Member April 2, 2005 college kid + credit card + drinking = PWNT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice_Berge_00 April 2, 2005 Share Ice_Berge_00 GC Alumni April 2, 2005 You may want to check out Citibank. I have my mastercard through them and one feature they have that I really like, and use somewhat, is Virtual Account Numbers. You use them for online shopping or anything online. I've even paid a bill or 2 with them. Basically you download a program they have and when you want to pay for something over the internet you open it up and generate a Virtual Acct Number. This number can ONLY be used at that specific retailer once it's used the first time. So if on the rare chance that someone should manage to intercept my acct # and try to use it on EBAY or somewhere else when I'm buying a comp part on newegg. It immediately get's blocked. You can also set the acct numbers so they expire after just a month, so it limits your vulneralbility even more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranky Bullfrog April 4, 2005 Share Cranky Bullfrog Member April 4, 2005 That's a cool feature IB (the temporary account feature) and one that other card companies need to imitate. Sorry about the confusion on our earlier topic.... With regard to carrying a balance and creating a credit reference, I was referring to normal, interest bearing charge cards - not bank (checking acct) cards or "cash cards". I was told by a credit reporting agency that if you have a regular interest bearing card and you pay it off completely each month - it won't count as a credit reference; or at least not much of one. If you carry a balance on it (say $50) month-to-month and you pay the minimum each month, then it _will_ count as a credit reference. Basically in a nut shell, you have to do two things to create a credit reference; 1) pay some interest on the account by carrying the balance over some period of time and 2) pay on time... pay on time... pay on time... The cash cards or bank cards - I'm not sure about. I doubt they count as a credit reference since most of the time they don't carry interest charges (since you are just retrieving money out of your own account) but perhaps someone else knows better about that. Anyway, that's all I know about them and I yield to more informed people but I thought I would share that information because that's what I was told and it seemed like a pretty credible source (since they report credit status and scores). Hope that helps in some way. Cranky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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