Credit Cards

[unccpathfinder]

I've been looking at getting a credit card for a while now and can't really decide on one so I figured that this would be a great place to poll people on which ones they have/had and the pro's and cons of which cards you have and the rewards programs and what not

 

 

I have made it up until now and never needed one simply if I didn't have the $ I didn't get it and if it was out of my budget I couldn't have it until I had the money to do it which luckily nothing happened that I needed more $ than I had but I have had some issues with "no credit" in getting my car loan which it and my student loans do not report positive credit just a "pays as agrees" and shows that I pay over what the required balance is and haven't missed any payments...where credit cards show up and show your current balance and your balance as you pay it off so each month I think it would be to my advantage to pay everything with a credit card to get "rewards" and then pay off a pretty significant balance every month to jump start my credit

 

then if something comes up I will have a backup if I don't have the $ on hand

 

I have also thought about getting a secondary card for online purchases only so if it were to ever get "released into the web" I would only have to deal with that one card

 

Finally I was looking at Visa mainly b/c it is accepted pretty widely and my debit card is a MC anyways so I shouldn't have problems using it places.

 

Rewards I have been looking at have mainly been sky miles since I moved out here to cali and all the family is in NC

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

**edit**WTF the poll didnt come out..ohh well

 

I had the following cards listed out:

Master Card

Visa

Citi

Capital One

American Express

Discover

Chase

Edited September 25, 2007 by mzxtreme
fixing the poll

[zonianbrat]

You can not go wrong with a Visa card. Especially if you have a Mastercard already. I have had almost all of those except Citi. American Express is good if you are good with your money. Most of their cards make you pay the entire balance at the end of the month. I am not a fan of that simply because

sh!t happens and if you miss payments then your f&cked. That is the most important thing uncc, do not make one late payment because you will likely get a card with a low interest rate but if you are late on just 1 payment your interest goes from like say 2.99% to 28.99%. All of a sudden you will have a minimum payment of 110.00 (and if your like me I was in college partying so I figured for awhile I will just make minimum payments) bad idea I was paying 110 or so not paying much attention to my statement and I had been late on a couple of occasions. I then figured out I was giving them 110 and only 30 or so was going on my principle balance because of high interest rate and late fees etc. So to make a long story short just be smart with your card dude or it will bite you. I will finally be paying all of mine off after like 5 years by december.

[jj big shoe]

I'd stick with Visa or MasterCard. With AmEx I think you have to pay your balance down to zero each month, so there's no sense using it unless you have the money anyway and the Discover card is pretty much useless in a lot of places.

Don't go by initial APR alone, either. Be careful and read the fine print that says what you're APR will be if you are late on a payment or something. Some go up to 28% the day after you miss a payment and won't ever go back down until the balance is completely paid off.

My sis has a MC and she said they offered a sort of "secondary card" that is linked to your primary card, but has a preset limit, say $150 at a time. That's the one she uses online so that if anyone does get to it, they'll only be able to nab what's left of her initial chunk o' cash. Pretty handy.

[unccpathfinder]

Cool...yea I wont use it unless I have the $...my parents had a lot of debt b/c of it and thats mainly y I dont have one but I'm tired of places saying "you have no credit that means you don't have the ability to pay bills" when I have supported myself and all of my habbits and my mother on several occasions since I was about 16 so this is going to be the best way to "build credit"

 

Yea I think the only place you can use discover is sams club and thats the only thing you can use there...

 

I'll have to check out that secondary option that sounds like a good idea

[NismoSkyZ]

Visa, MasterCard, American Express, etc are all the kinds of cards, however Capital One, Chase, etc are the ones who provide the service. I have had bad luck with my Chase Visa, but I love my Capital One MasterCard.

[94extreme]

Amex isn't really a CC like everyone mentioned above.

 

When getting a card i look at the annual fee; i only get the ones that are zero. i also won't get a card if their APR goes over 20%. i tend to look at the late fees and how you get screwed if you happen to be late.

 

Cap1 is actually detrimental to your credit. they are funky in the way they report to the credit beurau. i don't care for that.

chase i don't care fo either.. i have a long time running boycott of them. personal reasons and so i am not willing to give them one red cent.

 

i like my Citi card. My Bank Of America ones aren't too bad either although their customer service isn't as good as Citi's.

 

Awards: the only thing i care for is purchase protection and if they insure rental cars. some do some don't you may have to ask.

 

don't use your CC unless you have to or use it all the time and pay off the whole amount at the end of the month. outside of those two, you can get in real trouble and they'll sock it to you.

[unccpathfinder]

Thanks for fixing the Poll MZ I think the option to start a new thread and add a poll doesnt work...

 

I have heard bad things about Chase and Capital One but I have a couple of friends that have a Capital 1 card they swear by but I'm not sure how much they check up on their credit reports...

[zonianbrat]

Amex isn't really a CC like everyone mentioned above.

 

When getting a card i look at the annual fee; i only get the ones that are zero. i also won't get a card if their APR goes over 20%. i tend to look at the late fees and how you get screwed if you happen to be late.

 

Cap1 is actually detrimental to your credit. they are funky in the way they report to the credit beurau. i don't care for that.

chase i don't care fo either.. i have a long time running boycott of them. personal reasons and so i am not willing to give them one red cent.

 

i like my Citi card. My Bank Of America ones aren't too bad either although their customer service isn't as good as Citi's.

 

Awards: the only thing i care for is purchase protection and if they insure rental cars. some do some don't you may have to ask.

 

don't use your CC unless you have to or use it all the time and pay off the whole amount at the end of the month. outside of those two, you can get in real trouble and they'll sock it to you.

 

Yeah that would be me!! I got bent over by a few credit cards. I have a high limit so I got a few cards and maxed them out. I bought alot of performance upgrades for my camaro SS. And I partied like a rock star then realized...crap I have to pay back how many thousands of dollars? I only make 10.00 bucks an hour......uh-oh. So I took some hits on my credit and had to learn this lesson the hard way. So now I am trying to rebuild my credit slowly but surely.

[94extreme]

I think the option to start a new thread and add a poll doesnt work.....

 

 

you have to fill in all the fields. first time i didn't and it didn't show up.

[k9sar]

I chose Discover since it gives me a kickback. I have many credit cards and do not pay an annual fee on any of them. APR is irrelevant to me since I pay them all off completely each month. As far as acceptance, V or MC will get you most anywhere.

[unccpathfinder]

you have to fill in all the fields. first time i didn't and it didn't show up.

 

ahh I just went back and looked and I thought there used to be a button for new poll and new topic now its just new topic and add a poll...I think I forgot to check that lil box for mult choice answers...thanks again anyways

[94extreme]

ahh I just went back and looked and I thought there used to be a button for new poll and new topic now its just new topic and add a poll...I think I forgot to check that lil box for mult choice answers...thanks again anyways

 

 

yeah, it took me a minute to find that myself.. it's a hyperlink uner the title.

 

got the multiple choice checked for you also.

 

 

and you're welcome.

[FUELER]

They are all a bunch of scum bag vultures who do "bait and switch". They lure you into making purchases, racking up a balance, and then they nail you with a 25% APR interest.

 

 

They all suck!

[FUELER]

These are the guys who run the credit card companies

 

[HitTheTrails]

I have many credit cards and do not pay an annual fee on any of them. APR is irrelevant to me since I pay them all off completely each month. As far as acceptance, V or MC will get you most anywhere.

 

I agree with k9! Get a credit card with no annual fee and the best way to use a credit card is to pay off the balance in full each month. If you pay it off in full by the due date than you pay no interest, but if you don't pay in full you will end up paying a lot of interest. Interest accumulates very fast when its 20-30%!!! Also, just an FYI, if you are paying your credit card balance online from your bank, make sure you set the payment date 2-3 days before the due date so that you don't end up paying "late". Even though the money has left your bank account, it doesn't directly go to the CC, I've been caught on this by AMEX before, MC is much better about it.

 

I also agree that visa and mastercard are accepted everywhere.

[Casey.T]

I chose Discover since it gives me a kickback. I have many credit cards and do not pay an annual fee on any of them. APR is irrelevant to me since I pay them all off completely each month. As far as acceptance, V or MC will get you most anywhere.

K9 does love it when he gets Kicked.... Just ask him about Pezzy kicking his A$$ in her Clown Shoes...... :tonguefinger:

 

Rule #1 with Credit Cards.... Never, Ever Charge more than you can pay in full at the end of the month.

 

The kickbacks are from the absurd amounts of intrest people pay when not paying there outstanding balance in full at the end of the month.

Annual Fees can be waived

Rates and APR's can be negociated

Cap1 scores the lowest on a Credit Report, it can reduce your overall score

BOA Scores the Highest... And for good customer service, you just need to know who to call.... In the last 5 years I have never had a problem with BOA..... Except when they shorted my paycheck... but that did get fixed on the following cycle.

 

Visa and MC will take you almost anywhere you want to go...

Edited September 25, 2007 by Casey.T

[DucatiDom]

For credit building it helps to have a small balance, this allows you to create a payment history. If you pay in full every month often your card shows up as if it is never used. That said, I try to pay mine in full every month. If you are choosing a card with rewards, pick something YOU will USE! I.E. if you have kids- Disney rewards; travel alot-skymiles; etc... Good luck choosing.

[SnowSurfLax]

Most importantly - SHOP AROUND!

 

MSN has a good section on their money section that'll list credit cards and their terms. You can even sort by APR. Just remember when applying for credit cards (or any other credit) is to do it in a two week period. That way it'll only ding your credit score once. Credit Unions usually give you the best terms, my CU gave me a flexible rewards card at 13.65% (mind you my credit isn't immaculate either). I've got another rewards card that has over double the APR. For the Americas, Visa and MC are pretty much the same. If you're going to travel internationally, Visa and AMEX are your best bets.

 

AMEX (classic) is not a credit card, it's a charge card, which means the entire balance is due when the bill comes. They have other cards now that are credit cards (like Blue) that are almost as good as having an AMEX card, though I couldn't go into detail. If you have a high net worth, AMEX is the best as their concierge service (if you ever see someone with a black amex card, it's almost guaranteed they have a multiple 7 digit net worth, they can pretty much charge any amount onto that card)

 

To build a credit history, never charge more than 65% of the limit if you can help. If you must, make sure you can pay it down in less than 3 months. Keep it under 30% of the limit all the time and you'll get stellar reviews by the reporting agencies.

 

So, uh, any questions?

[Mr. Pickles]

Good stuff, and I'd 2nd what Casey.T & SnowSurfLax said. Visa or MC should get you wherever, its the company that provides the card (bank, credit union, etc.) that makes a difference.

 

Check out credit unions, if you can join. That's where I started after college with no credit, and I got in through a family member. One-stop-shopping on one trip- I got a small loan to buy my Pathy, a savings account that was a little tougher to access and use than my regular bank account (forces you to stash money), and a Visa that could be paid from said savings account. I took X amount out of each paycheck into the savings, then had a "rainy day" fund for groceries, gas, or whatever emergency came up, be it a repair bill, tires, unexpected expense, etc. that I could charge on the card and then pay off.

 

I've kept that over the years, and added a BoA/Alaska Airlines card, and have cashed the miles a couple times. We're going to Hawaii in Dec. Just keep paying those balances down every month, or if something big/bad comes up, at least as fast as you can. Its borrowed money, not a free cash safety net.

 

Also, I had heard long ago that when starting out, it would help your credit rating to have a bit of activity and carry a small balance at times. I'm not sure if that's true, but then, sometimes life might force that hand anyways. Casey.T, being a money man, your thoughts?

Edited October 2, 2007 by Mr. Pickles

[Roost]

Alot said b4 that I didn't read, so I hope I am not repeating this. If you get with a credit union and get their Visa or MC, you'll get some of the best rates. My sister pays her monthly bills with hers and the pays the card/s off every month. Her credit score is near 780, there about. Just a suggestion.

Edited October 19, 2007 by Roost