Credit Cards.

Just go for airline miles. Most CC companies offer something like that. I joined u-promise (or something like it) so that for every $100 I charge they give $1 to my daughter's college education. I think by the time she is 18 it should pay for a book or something but if you don't have kids, you're probably not interested...
 
I'd also like to know.

One thing I DO know is that AMEX usually matches the warranty on stuff you buy. For example, you buy a TV that has a 1 year warranty, and if you used your AMEX to buy it, AMEX covers you for an aditional year.

I don't make enough money to have an AMEX (I'm a broke ass film student).
 
Also, is there a negative aspect to owning several credit cards with minimal usage on each? (EX: designated purposes, such as gasoline, bills, free spend..)
 
I used to have a Washington Mutual one before they gave theirs up to Citibank (I didn't have any perks though). But now, Citibank has their "Thank You Redemption" program ($1 spent = 1 point). Their redemption stuff is kinda expensive though (18,900 for a Xbox or 1000 points for a $5 BB gift card), but hey, it's better than nothing.

Edit: If you're in college, you may wanna get their diamond preferred card. You get 5 points for each dollar spent at a supermarket (and 1 point elsewhere).
 
[quote name='Sartori']Also, is there a negative aspect to owning several credit cards with minimal usage on each? (EX: designated purposes, such as gasoline, bills, free spend..)[/QUOTE]

My advice is to get one card (AND ONLY ONE, trust me) and use it for stuff yo'ure going to buy anyways, such as gas and food, and pay it off every month. THat's the best way to get a good credit score. Personally, I'm using an Amazon Visa card, which gives me a $25 Amazon gift certificate when I get 2500 points. 1 point for every $1 spent in general, and 3 points for every $1 spent on Amazon (which adds up since I buy a lot of books, especially for school). I've gotten 2 certificates in a year.
 
[quote name='BigSpoonyBard']My advice is to get one card (AND ONLY ONE, trust me) and use it for stuff yo'ure going to buy anyways, such as gas and food, and pay it off every month. THat's the best way to get a good credit score. Personally, I'm using an Amazon Visa card, which gives me a $25 Amazon gift certificate when I get 2500 points. 1 point for every $1 spent in general, and 3 points for every $1 spent on Amazon (which adds up since I buy a lot of books, especially for school). I've gotten 2 certificates in a year.[/QUOTE]

Is there any reason to ONLY get one aside from self-control issues? Are there any out-of-hand negatives for owning several cards? Right now I own two.
 
cardratings.com is useful in reviewing cards and they have an active forum, the site currently shows the citi dividend platinum having no annual fee and 5/1% cash back.

owning several credit cards (and also applying for a lot at one time) can have a negative impact on your credit score, its not really a good idea to have any more than 5 or 6 credit cards, bankrate.com is a more useful site for these types of queries tho
 
i second the citi dividend, 5% cashback on groceries and gas, + 1% back on everythin else :D! and usually they have bonus' on the gas and grocery percent
 
Is there any reason to ONLY get one aside from self-control issues? Are there any out-of-hand negatives for owning several cards? Right now I own two.
Click to expand...

it's just annoying to keep track of, but as long as you make your monthly payments and pay attention to your statements, there's nothing that bad about it.

Also, low interest is wayyyyy more important than perks, imo. specialty cards like Best buy and stuff like that tend to be a little heavy on the interest.
 
I have a discover gas card which is perfect for me since I am in sales and travel a lot. I get 10% cash back on gas purchases and 1% on everything else. Also, you can redeem the rewards for cash or certain stores can get you double the rewards. There should be a list of that on the discover website, but I am a big fan of it.
 
[quote name='Sartori']What credit cards have the best perks?

I'm in the market and figured some market-privy consumer may have the bits I need to know.[/QUOTE]

I know this sounds kind of lame, but if you get a Walmart credit card and keep the payments up to date they report it just like any other credit card. Its a good card to have in case of emergency and its helping my credit score quite a bit.
 
I don't think theres anything negative to owning and using multiple cards, as long as you're responsible and use them to build your credit. Applying for multiple credit cards (like all the store ones that give you a one-time discount, etc.) will hurt your score somewhat as they will have to pull your credit up. I use the Citi Platinum Dividend card for students. You get 1% back on all purchases and 5% if those are purchases of gas or groceries. It really is a decent deal for a student and I somehow got a large limit on it without even having any cosign for it.
 
i have a visa elite rewards card that has a point system of 1 dollar spent = 1 point...

about 3000 points and you can redeem a 25 dollar gift card from best buy, target, cc, etc.

my family spends a lot, so we rack up points with it quite frequently...if i wanted, i could get 50 dollars in giftcards each month...
 
Rather than make another thread, I will ask here:

I am a 19 year old college student with a job and a bank account. I want to get a credit card, how do I do this without having to pay for one? I want to start building up my credit.
 
I have a Visa and a Discover card. Visa because it is accepted everywhere credit cards are accepted (at least in my experience). Discover because they give me 1% cash back on everything I buy. If I choose, I can get up to 2% back through gift certificates at certain places. I get 1.25% back given the gift cards that I get, but I must say it is nice. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is better than nothing.
 
[quote name='XboxHardcore.com']Rather than make another thread, I will ask here:

I am a 19 year old college student with a job and a bank account. I want to get a credit card, how do I do this without having to pay for one? I want to start building up my credit.[/QUOTE]


you haven't been bombarded by CC companies yet?
 
just wait, after you sign up for you first one, you'll get 3-5 offers for a card a week for the rest of your life.
 
[quote name='greydemise']i second the citi dividend, 5% cashback on groceries and gas, + 1% back on everythin else :D! and usually they have bonus' on the gas and grocery percent[/QUOTE]

I third the Citi Dividend Platinum. It gives 5% back on purchases made at grocery stores, gas stations, and drug stores, plus 1% back on everything else. I haven't found a card that can beat these rewards. As for you, XboxHardcore, just apply for one credit card at a time and see the result. My first two cards, I was denied (since I was only 18), but have since been able to get the Citi Dividend with a $3300 limit. Just make sure to read ALL of the fine print before you apply... get one that has no annual fee and that has a few perks. The interest rate shouldn't matter since you NEED to pay it off in full every month.
 
[quote name='Apossum']just wait, after you sign up for you first one, you'll get 3-5 offers for a card a week for the rest of your life.[/QUOTE]

This man speaks the truth. :)
 
[quote name='XboxHardcore.com']Heh. No, not yet.[/QUOTE]
wow.. as soon as i hit 17 i got hit with the credit card apps.. if you don't live at home.. check your parents house they may get some for you.. if not.. just apply online at any of the major sites.
 
[quote name='jeffreyjrose']I third the Citi Dividend Platinum. It gives 5% back on purchases made at grocery stores, gas stations, and drug stores, plus 1% back on everything else. I haven't found a card that can beat these rewards. As for you, XboxHardcore, just apply for one credit card at a time and see the result. My first two cards, I was denied (since I was only 18), but have since been able to get the Citi Dividend with a $3300 limit. Just make sure to read ALL of the fine print before you apply... get one that has no annual fee and that has a few perks. The interest rate shouldn't matter since you NEED to pay it off in full every month.[/QUOTE]

But how can I get approved if I have no credit history whatsoever.
 
[quote name='XboxHardcore.com']But how can I get approved if I have no credit history whatsoever.[/QUOTE]

Many cards are labeled for college or as a credit building card... even though many credit agencies act as if they don't want to take the risk on people just starting out, they truly want the business.
 
[quote name='jeffreyjrose']Many cards are labeled for college or as a credit building card... even though many credit agencies act as if they don't want to take the risk on people just starting out, they truly want the business.[/QUOTE]

Oh cool. I'm going to look into it

And yes, I shall read the fine print :)
 
[quote name='XboxHardcore.com']But how can I get approved if I have no credit history whatsoever.[/QUOTE]

Build up credit other ways - through cell phone payments if the cell is in your name or by buying your own car. That's how I did it. After I had a paid off car on my credit I started getting a ton of offers.
 
citi dividend cash rewards card is the way to go imo. i haven't seen any other card beat the perks of 5% back on gas station, supermarket (excluding walmart unfortunately), and drugstore purchases and 1% back on all other purchases. not to mention the other cash back opportunities especially with online retailers. right now they offer 7% back at target.com.
 
If AMEX still does the Best Value Guarantee, its by far the best way to go. They do all your price matching for you, and its a lot less hassle.

Dave
 
Whatever you do, don't get one that charges you an annual fee. That is ridiculous. I have an Amazon Visa as well and it's been great. The $25 certificate works out to about a 1% rebate unless you do a lot of spending at Amazon.com.

I've been thinking of getting an Amex card just for Costco gas since they don't take other credit cards. That gets you a 1% cash rebate usually.

My first credit card (about 5 years ago) I had to actively hunt down. I ended up getting a plain jane Chase credit card thru their website since I wasn't getting decent offers in the mail. That worked out well for a couple years until I got my Amazon card.

Good luck.
 
Does the Citibank Dividends platinum have rewards (1 dollar = 1 point) aside from the cashback bonuses?

O, and how does the bonuses work? Monthly? Yearly?
 
[quote name='Sartori']I was told that cancelling a credit card reports negative on your credit report - any truth to this?[/QUOTE]

Exact opposite. Having too many lines of credit will look bad when apply for a mortgage.
 
[quote name='XboxHardcore.com']But how can I get approved if I have no credit history whatsoever.[/QUOTE]


Just mark "student" in the occupation section of the credit card application. You won't get a high credit line but you'll have a excellent chance of being approved. Credit card companies LOVE students.
 
[quote name='jeffreyjrose']This man speaks the truth. :)[/QUOTE]

I have a stack of about 30 pre approved credit card envelopes right next to me. Its really annoying getting so many in the mail. Id throw em away right when I get them, but i want to tear them up first.
 
[quote name='pinoy530']I have a stack of about 30 pre approved credit card envelopes right next to me. Its really annoying getting so many in the mail. Id throw em away right when I get them, but i want to tear them up first.[/QUOTE]
I have the same issue with the cc apps. Ended up buying a paper shredder and feed them in. Problem solved ;)
 
[quote name='norkusa']Just mark "student" in the occupation section of the credit card application. You won't get a high credit line but you'll have a excellent chance of being approved. Credit card companies LOVE students.[/QUOTE]

I just applied for a CHASE College Student MasterCard. Let's see if I get approved.

And I know, use card, then pay it off same month. :)
 
I had the same problem with having no credit history. I applied for the Chase Universal Student Mastercard and got rejected because I had no credit history. I ended up calling Citi, and asked what card I could get with no history, they gave me a Platinum Select card but it had no rewards. After I built up some credit history, I reapplied for the Universal Card and got it, but only a $500 credit limit. The rewards on that one are ok, 1 point per $1, and you can get stuff like $25 gift certificates to restaurants and stores for 3000 points. They also have video games as rewards, but they seem like a ripoff since Simpson's Hit and Run for example was 4500 points when it can be bought for $20 new.
 
My favorite cards:

AAA = 10 cents off each gallon of gasoline

Discover = 1% off everything you buy

Citi Dividend = 5% off gas-groceries / 1% off other things (however this card's hard to get; I was turned down twice & my credit is flawless)
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.
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Which brings up your other question - Drawback of too many cards??? They banks look at how much "available credit" you have, and if it's too high, they will deny loans. That's probably why I can't get the Citi Divedend Card.



BTW, if you're a college student, many credit companies come to your school & give away cool stuff like free t-shirts. That's how I got my first MBNA card & filled up my closet. ;-)

troy
 
[quote name='XboxHardcore.com']I just applied for a CHASE College Student MasterCard. Let's see if I get approved.

And I know, use card, then pay it off same month. :)[/QUOTE]

LOL! That's what I told myself after I got my first credit card in college. That was 8 years ago and I JUST paid it off last week.
 
[quote name='Over easy']Does the Citibank Dividends platinum have rewards (1 dollar = 1 point) aside from the cashback bonuses?

O, and how does the bonuses work? Monthly? Yearly?[/QUOTE]

The cashback bonus is the reward basically. Its more or less equivalent to other bonus programs, except in this you get actual money back to buy anything rather than having to choose from certain dvds or giftcards or something. To get the cashback bonus you need to earn at least $50 in cash back and then just request a check from them and they'll pay you. I believe you can get up to a maximum of $300 back per year. It does take a while to actually get your cash back up, but if you drive a lot and just use your card when you buy gas it will total up quick. I only have earned about $15 so far but at least its something back for things you would have to buy anyway.

To another poster, don't worry about not having credit history. I think the Citi Dividend Platinum is specifically designed for students just beginning their credit history, at least the one I have is. I somehow managed to get approved with a limit of several thousand dollars without any history or cosigning. I think you can have one of your parents cosign for you, and you will almost assuredly get approved then, just let them know that you will be responsible and not rack up a huge debt.
 
[quote name='CappyCobra']Exact opposite. Having too many lines of credit will look bad when apply for a mortgage.[/QUOTE]

cancelling credit cards can actually negatively impact your credit score, again, bankrate.com does a great job answering all these types of questions
this link has a section explaining when it is not a good time to cancel:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20020102a.asp
 
I think customer service is a big factor to consider besides rewards. AmEx and Discover have been excellent from my experience over the last 15 years. MBNA and Chase, on the other hand, have been absolute nightmares to deal with.
 
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