Good Credit Cards?

I think a good card that is obtainable for someone without a credit history is the Amazon Rewards Visa from Chase. My sister got one as a college freshman, and it was her first credit card.

On a related note, I am sure this thread will draw the "don't get a credit card" crowd. It seems a lot of CAGs are under the impression that credit cards are the bane of all existence. But if you ever wanna get a loan or lease something...ever...you need to start building up your credit now. Plus, a credit card is just a convenient thing to have. Just buy things you'd normally buy, realize it's not "free" money, and pay your bill on time. Everything will be fine.
 
[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']I think a good card that is obtainable for someone without a credit history is the Amazon Rewards Visa from Chase. My sister got one as a college freshman, and it was her first credit card.

On a related note, I am sure this thread will draw the "don't get a credit card" crowd. It seems a lot of CAGs are under the impression that credit cards are the bane of all existence. But if you ever wanna get a loan or lease something...ever...you need to start building up your credit now. Plus, a credit card is just a convenient thing to have. Just buy things you'd normally buy, realize it's not "free" money, and pay your bill on time. Everything will be fine.[/QUOTE]

My mom is the same way, she had a credit card before but she wont ever use one again.
 
I am pretty happy with my Capital One card. Started with $1000 credit limit and was boosted to $6000 after about 6 months of paying it off every month. Really good for boosting your credit score. Also the cashback rewards are quite nice.

Check with whichever bank you do business with, most offer credit cards.
 
Creditcards.com is a pretty good resource for the different cards available. If this is your first card, you may want to look at a general use card from one of the big two (Visa or Mastercard) with a low interest rate or rewards for everyday purchases. Would not go with a merchant-specific credit card.

Also, you may want to check out the movie "Maxed Out" for an entertaining look at the credit industry.
 
Get your parents to co-sign with you (if they trust you on something like this).

I got a Shell Card (5% back for gas, 1% for all other purchases), then after a while of using it I applied for my own and got a Discover Card (5% rotating purchases).

Just pay 'em off on time and you'll be fine.
 
[quote name='Kaiser499']Well I turn 25 this month so I don't think I'll need my mom to co-sign with me. or should I anyway?[/QUOTE]

I don't know a whole lot about credit cards, but I don't think that'll affect your rate that much. It might make the interest rate a little higher or give you a lower limit, but if you're freeloading (like you should be), it won't make much difference what your interest rate is.

Just look at the contract and make sure it's not one of those rare payment things I hear about. I hear that there's a new type of credit card payment system that charges you interest for charges up front, then refunds it after you pay off your balance on time. I hear it's very uncommon, but it's still floating around.
 
[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']I think a good card that is obtainable for someone without a credit history is the Amazon Rewards Visa from Chase. My sister got one as a college freshman, and it was her first credit card.

On a related note, I am sure this thread will draw the "don't get a credit card" crowd. It seems a lot of CAGs are under the impression that credit cards are the bane of all existence. But if you ever wanna get a loan or lease something...ever...you need to start building up your credit now. Plus, a credit card is just a convenient thing to have. Just buy things you'd normally buy, realize it's not "free" money, and pay your bill on time. Everything will be fine.[/QUOTE]

I have a debit card from BoA but want to get a Credit Card to start building credit history. Im only 21 so I dont spend to much money only from timt to time. I understand that paying off your card on time is the only way not to get boned or in trouble. Anyways, would it be wise to get 2 different credit cards?? Since Im not sure how easy its to get a CC these days, should I apply for the Amazon Chase CC(I do buy alot of games from there) and a Sony CC??? I want to have the Sony one for the rewards. Any advise?? I heard the Sony one is hard to get. Also as a gamer, would it be better to get cashback rewards or "x" points to redeem.(such as sony reward points for their products)

PS: Does having a Debit card help getting a credit card?
 
I have a Chase Freedom and was happy with it, but not so much now that the rewards structure is changing. It's going from 3% to 1% with 5% being offered on different categories on a rotating schedule (exactly the same as my Discover). They're also getting rid of the redeem $200 for $250 reward, which sucks.

No complaints on the Discover card, I always redeem $20 for a $25 Borders gift card. I used it to order components for my last computer build, two orders of about $300 each from two different stores. I received a call from them the next day asking me to verify that I made those purchases since they didn't fit with the spending habits on that card.
 
I use my Barnes and Nobles Mastercard most of the time. If you already have a Barnes and Nobles membership ($25 a year) AND buy books new, I'd consider this. Since getting it 2 years ago, I've racked up $400+ in free gift cards, one of which went to a $25 membership renewal fee, and I still have a $25 gift card in my wallet right now. That's a lot of free manga.

They also seem to have a (slightly) longer grace period than the other cards I have, and I have about 5 cards, 3 I haven't used once in the past 1-2 years. It's also a platinum Mastercard, so it comes with all the benefits of other platinum Mastercards, which usually require an anual fee anyways.

The other cards I have are:

Bank, for overdraft protection, which is pointless unless somehow it blows through my savings first. I haven't used this one once since getting it about 4-5 years ago. I'm not even sure it's not expired.

BoA, since it was my first card, and it does have my highest limit (and interest, unfortunately, so I use it only for emergencies and try to pay it off first, such as when my cat needed surgery Christmas Eve).

Sony card, opened for the PS3 discount; paid off now, and only have it open for Sony rewards.

Target card, which barely counts. Opened it for 10% off my 360, used it a lot but stopped because they raised the interest rates on it recently due to the new CC changes, while all my other cards are lowering it. The reward isn't great either; spend $1000 to get a 10% coupon for one day, but it expires a month after you earn it. You'd need to spend at least $100 in one day to make it more worthwhile than 1% back. If the 10% off coupon didn't expire so fast after you earn it, it'd be a pretty good thing.

tl;dr: I guess I got really side-tracked, but my advice: Get something with rewards like Amazon's card, with no annual fees if you can help it. Don't charge things to it that you don't have money to pay off on the next bill and you'll never pay a cent in interest. And personally, I don't like BoA, and I hate Capital One, but that's just me.
 
[quote name='elessar123']I use my Barnes and Nobles Mastercard most of the time. If you already have a Barnes and Nobles membership ($25 a year) AND buy books new, I'd consider this. Since getting it 2 years ago, I've racked up $400+ in free gift cards, one of which went to a $25 membership renewal fee, and I still have a $25 gift card in my wallet right now. That's a lot of free manga.

They also seem to have a (slightly) longer grace period than the other cards I have, and I have about 5 cards, 3 I haven't used once in the past 1-2 years. It's also a platinum Mastercard, so it comes with all the benefits of other platinum Mastercards, which usually require an anual fee anyways.

The other cards I have are:

Bank, for overdraft protection, which is pointless unless somehow it blows through my savings first. I haven't used this one once since getting it about 4-5 years ago. I'm not even sure it's not expired.

BoA, since it was my first card, and it does have my highest limit (and interest, unfortunately, so I use it only for emergencies and try to pay it off first, such as when my cat needed surgery Christmas Eve).

Sony card, opened for the PS3 discount; paid off now, and only have it open for Sony rewards.

Target card, which barely counts. Opened it for 10% off my 360, used it a lot but stopped because they raised the interest rates on it recently due to the new CC changes, while all my other cards are lowering it. The reward isn't great either; spend $1000 to get a 10% coupon for one day, but it expires a month after you earn it. You'd need to spend at least $100 in one day to make it more worthwhile than 1% back. If the 10% off coupon didn't expire so fast after you earn it, it'd be a pretty good thing.

tl;dr: I guess I got really side-tracked, but my advice: Get something with rewards like Amazon's card, with no annual fees if you can help it. Don't charge things to it that you don't have money to pay off on the next bill and you'll never pay a cent in interest. And personally, I don't like BoA, and I hate Capital One, but that's just me.[/QUOTE]


actually the target card is now 5% off every time you use it. I buy most of my games with it and just pay it off every month.
 
[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']I think a good card that is obtainable for someone without a credit history is the Amazon Rewards Visa from Chase.[/QUOTE]

That card's decent, though you have to buy a LOT of stuff from Amazon for the rewards to start adding up. You can only redeem 2500 points for a $25 Amazon gift card, and each dollar on Amazon is worth 3 points (a dollar spent on anything else is 1 point, though you can get 2 for certain other purchases like gas; read the fine print). That means you'd have to spend $833 on Amazon alone to get rewards. I buy a decent amount of stuff on Amazon, but spending $833 takes me a while.

The Citi Dividend cards are also good.

Basically you don't have to worry about your interest rate if you ALWAYS PAY YOUR BILL IN FULL AND ON TIME. That is the most important thing to remember with credit cards. If you don't do that, you could dig yourself a hole it will take years to get out of.

Also, watch this "instructional video" from SNL. It's called "Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford".

http://consumerist.com/2007/04/snl-skit-dont-buy-stuff-you-cant-afford.html
 
[quote name='ritchardf']actually the target card is now 5% off every time you use it. I buy most of my games with it and just pay it off every month.[/QUOTE]

Oh really.... I must have missed that part. I guess I'll go back to using it.

[quote name='forteblast']That card's decent, though you have to buy a LOT of stuff from Amazon for the rewards to start adding up. You can only redeem 2500 points for a $25 Amazon gift card, and each dollar on Amazon is worth 3 points (a dollar spent on anything else is 1 point, though you can get 2 for certain other purchases like gas; read the fine print). That means you'd have to spend $833 on Amazon alone to get rewards. I buy a decent amount of stuff on Amazon, but spending $833 takes me a while.[/QUOTE]

What I did was pay everything I could with my rewards card. Cable bills, cell phone bills, all groceries, etc, that I had to spend money on anyways would go through my credit card, and I'd pay that from the bank every month. Doing so, I was getting about a $25 gift card every 2-3 months.

I forgot to mention another option. Both my sister and my dad uses the Costco American Express. They basically get free memberships from the rewards, and the rest cash back. But it is American Express, and most places don't accept them. But they love it.
 
[quote name='forteblast']That card's decent, though you have to buy a LOT of stuff from Amazon for the rewards to start adding up.l[/QUOTE]

Oh, definitely. You're not going to be rolling in gift cards, that's for sure. But I do think it's a good entry level card that should be easy to obtain without great credit or a lengthy credit history. I do put pretty much everything on it, though, so I do get a good number of rewards every year.
 
I use my Discover Card for pretty much everything I buy. It's 1% cash back normally and every quarter, there are bonus areas where you get 5% back. All you have to do is sign up for those 5% bonuses every quarter.

I use my Amazon Visa for all my Amazon purchases. It's the equivalent of 3% cash back if you redeem your points as Amazon GCs. I've already gotten $75 from it in a mere 4 months or so.

Then I have my Capital One. It was my first CC and the only company that would give me a card for some reason. It cost me $39 just to get the card as an "annual fee," but that was worth it to me just to get my credit rolling. I'll be canceling it before it charges me another $39.

Overall, I would go for a Discover Card for every day purchases and then an Amazon Visa for Amazon purchases. Be responsible with your cards and avoid Capital One like the plague. Like I said before, I only started it to get my credit rolling. It has the highest interest rate of all my cards and the annual fee just makes things worse.
 
For a starter card I'd just make sure it has some kind of reward that is useful to you (i.e. Amazon or something) and also does not charge an annual fee. Typically the cards with lower interest rates are the ones that charge a fee, and the ones that don't carry a little higher rate. But as others have mentioned, you should never have to carry a balance on your credit card anyway so it really does not matter the rate.

Co-signing with your parents probably isn't that great an idea especially if you're already 25 (and financially independent of your folks?). I cosigned with my parents back when I got my first CC at 18 because it was the only way they (the bank) would let me have one. Also it gave me a useful credit limit of $5k, which probably would have been lie $500 if I was signing up alone. I actually looked into having their names taken off and the bank told me they would just cancel the card and open a new one just under my name. As a result I would have a worse interest rate because they would base it on my credit score not my parents'. They told me though that even though I cosigned it I am still "earning" credit by paying it off every month.

Another reason to avoid the cosigning if possible is because if you are financially independent of your parents, having them cosign is another liability they would be at risk for like if someone stole it and ran it up high, your parents might also be responsible for paying it and/or their credit score might be affected too. Better to avoid this possibility IMO if you can avoid it.
 
Hey guys got a question on the Amazon CC. If I were to apply today, and not buy a game today, when I make my first purchase with it, will I then get the $30 credit or does that only happen when you are about to check out, apply for the card for the first time thus getting credit later on???

Its just that Im about to buy GOW3 in 2 weeks(preordered with debit card) but want to get the card or apply for it now. So when I change my payment to use Amazon card, will I get the $30 credit added to it in a few days? Sorta confused when I would get the credit. Dont want to get it and miss out on $30.

Basically all I want to know if my 1st purchase qualifies me for the $30 credit, no matter when I make it.
 
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