Credit Card Recommendations

[michelle]

Well if I ever want to buy a house anytime soon, I need to build up my credit. I don't have bad credit, it's just low because I always pay cash/use my check card for everything I buy.

So my goal is to get a credit card by the 1st of the year. Any recommendations on a company I should get one from? I always get applications/pre-approval forms from Capital One.

I would only be using the card for gas or something like that, but using it each month and paying it on-time (obviously) and hopefully that will raise my credit.

Would it be better to just get one through my bank (Guaranty Bank) or go through a credit card company? I just use my check card that acts like a Visa, but I imagine that doesn't count towards my credit at all.

Any other credit-raising suggestions? I don't need to buy a new car or make payments on anything, so that's kind of out.

Thanks in advanced!

[GTSLOW]

Don't go to capitol one, I would go with one from your bank. Sit down with one of the people there and get one of the rewards cards that gives back some.

[nismodave]

Capital One has always been good to me.

[Holeshot]

Read the fine print Michelle. Look for a low interest rate with no annual fee and a rewards program. A lot of card companies will adjust a rate if your late one time. I have seen them go from an average of 3 to 9 % to 18 to 28 % if you miss or are late. Most cards companies will negotiate interest rates to a degree. The main thing with any card is to pay off the balance on the card every month. If you have multi cards use them once a month but pay them off. Closing a card can hurt your credit score just as bad as having a missed or late payment.

Never spend beyond your means!! If you can't pay it off at the end of the month then save and use cash. I got caught in the CC trap. I was transferring from one card to another to avoid late fees and higher interest. We were going to buy a house 8 years ago but had to wait till last year because of foolish spending.

[PureSound15]

Go to your financial institution and get information about their credit card. A credit union will have a lower rate, no annual fee and usually very few charges for stuff like cash advances, over limit purchases and what not.

Banks will have the same rate as just applying for a random card - but will have many more perks like great rewards, higher limit off the bat... it all depends.

Plus... you can pay on the card when you go into the bank.

[SSDude]

Go to your own bank first. Looks like Guarantee has a variable rate that should be on the low side presently.

[loud91rs]

I have a guaranty bank platinum credit card with a great limit and it's only like 7% interest. No complaints with them. It's through elan.

[MurphysLaw88GT]

Dealing with your local bank makes anything easier.

I have one with Landmark Credit Union and the rate is 8.9% and when I got it, it had 0% on purchases for the first 6 mo and any balance transfers were 1% for the first 6 months. I am also able to get rewards from it as well. I really enjoy having someone close to home (not India) that I can talk to if I would have any problems-never had any though.

If you go to Bankrate.com they have a lot of good finical information about how to boost your credit and what not.

[ThatWhiteCivic]

Not to get off topic but if you cancel a credit card does that lower your credit score?

[Holeshot]

Yes !! Better off keeping it open and using it once in a while to keep it active and to prove you can manage your credit.

[T-Bag]

If you plan on paying the card off every month, i would suggest the Chase Freedom card. Great rewards.

[PureSound15]

Not to get off topic but if you cancel a credit card does that lower your credit score?

Well ... yes and no. It will if you have a balance on the card. But it will not if the card has nothing on it.

Your credit is hurt when you open a credit card (to get a free shirt or ipod... whatever it is) because your credit is pulled. You get 3 credit pulls per year for free, after that it starts to ding you.

What does hurt your credit is carrying a balance that is more than 50% of your limit, even going over 50% on a purchase and then paying it the next day can hurt if visa or whomever it is happens to report to the credit bureau between then.

Carrying or making a purchase over 75% of your limit is even worse. I work in banking operations - so I pick out what card we use yada yada yada. Allison is a personal banker, she can tell you anything and everything that hurts your credit in any shape or form.

[GRAMPS SS]

Capital One has always been good to me.

same here...i have 7.9% plus rewards...

also have one from my bank...and Discover...


i'd try Capital One...but as said here...try your bank,....they know your depeosit history and withdrawl history...might be worth a try to keep your card with your bank....but Capital One has never let me down...and they give ya alot of credit line...or course depending on you income line, and they increase every 4-6 months...for me anyways....

but as Dan stated......READ THE FINE PRINT

[That_Guy]

Don't go to capitol one, I would go with one from your bank. Sit down with one of the people there and get one of the rewards cards that gives back some.

word they dont report on your credit report unless you miss a payment.."ghey"

[GRAMPS SS]

Well ... yes and no. It will if you have a balance on the card. But it will not if the card has nothing on it.

Your credit is hurt when you open a credit card (to get a free shirt or ipod... whatever it is) because your credit is pulled. You get 3 credit pulls per year for free, after that it starts to ding you.

What does hurt your credit is carrying a balance that is more than 50% of your limit, even going over 50% on a purchase and then paying it the next day can hurt if visa or whomever it is happens to report to the credit bureau between then.

Carrying or making a purchase over 75% of your limit is even worse. I work in banking operations - so I pick out what card we use yada yada yada. Allison is a personal banker, she can tell you anything and everything that hurts your credit in any shape or form.

WHAT IF YOU HAVE 2 CARDS WITH ONE COMPANY...and you drop one to combine the credit line onto the other card....

[WhatsADSM]

If you plan on paying the card off every month, i would suggest the Chase Freedom card. Great rewards.

x2

If you plan to pay it off every month Chase Freedom was the best I could find for rewards. Just make sure to switch it to cash, not the point program it starts out as.

[1BadBytch]

my advice = dont get one =)

[michelle]

my advice = dont get one =)

I don't want one to begin with, but I have to build my credit up somehow.

I'll definitely check with my local bank this week and then start looking around and reading the fine print.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

[PureSound15]

WHAT IF YOU HAVE 2 CARDS WITH ONE COMPANY...and you drop one to combine the credit line onto the other card....

That's just a balance transfer. Call on one account and request a balance transfer - even if it were with a different credit card company they'd love to have that money on your account.

They'll write you a check to pay off the other card and transfer all of that money onto one card. Doesn't cost you a thing and wont hurt your credit.

[twicks69]

Of all my credit cards, I enjoy my Discover Cash Rewards card the best because my card gives me back 5% CASH BACK on all automotive part purchases, and 3% CASH BACK on GAS, and 1% CASH BACK on everything else.

It is very nice to get 5% back on car part purchases!

Check out: http://www.creditcards.com/cash-back.php

If anything, find a card you like, and contact the vendor -- usually they have several diffferent cash back plans available for you to choose from.

[jbiscuit]

if you don't intend on carrying a balance often, then just go with a card that you like. I have a CitiBank card that I have had for like 8 years now and it has been great. I only use it to book flights or other occasional purchases...debit card FTW

[Prince Valiant]

I use whatever card gives me the best rewards...right now, I use my airtran Visa card. ALL my purchases go on there. It's great in that way because every 6 months, I get free tickets. I can follow the activity in my checking account FAR closer than usual as I only write out 4 checks in a typical month. Plus, I review and track my spending via the card far more closely (debit card gives statements too...but with all the activity in the account, it was harder to keep track of running balance/budget/etc). I pay it off every month for minimal interest fees and to maintain a great credit score.

ONE of the factors of a great score is also the amount of credit available to you versus the amount you carry on balance...so if you carry several cards, but keep a low balance on only one, it'll help your overall score....so in THAT way, closing a cc account CAN hurt your score if it significantly affects the ratio of available credit vs. monthly balance. So sometimes by carrying 3-4 cards, you'll have ratio's like 60,000 available credit vs 1,200 balance, that'll reflect well on the credit score AND look good to the bank.

[GTSLOW]

I use whatever card gives me the best rewards...

[PureSound15]

ONE of the factors of a great score is also the amount of credit available to you versus the amount you carry on balance...so if you carry several cards, but keep a low balance on only one, it'll help your overall score....so in THAT way, closing a cc account CAN hurt your score if it significantly affects the ratio of available credit vs. monthly balance. So sometimes by carrying 3-4 cards, you'll have ratio's like 60,000 available credit vs 1,200 balance, that'll reflect well on the credit score AND look good to the bank.

Partially correct

Having available balance is great.. the more available the better. This is what I was describing before. BUT... when I look at a credit report and someone has 5 or 6 credit cards with available cash and only one with a balance, it's not going to help them. More open lines of credit are great if they are active and you've had them for a while. It's a huge formula, not as simple as having tons of available credit.

90% of the time when our lending team sees many cards and only one with a balance - either the person did a balance transfer all to one card (either a good or a bad thing) or they think that they can increase their score by applying for cards and leaving them open.

[wrath]

Don't get a credit card from your credit union. If you ever get in trouble and have a car payment, they're going to apply any money you have to your credit cards (unsecured debt) long before loans (such as a secured car loan).

Don't get a credit card from your local bank. It's putting all your eggs in one basket (and they might not even report your credit card to the credit bureaus. Ideally pick a national bank. Citi, Chase, and Capital One can all be shitty companies. If you're responsible though it doesn't matter.

I used to use my GM card religiously but I bought two new GM vehicles in one year and used up all my GM card earnings in January. It'll probably be a decade before I buy another new vehicle so I've switched to Chase for its rewards. I get as much as $50/month back.

[PureSound15]

Don't get a credit card from your credit union. If you ever get in trouble and have a car payment, they're going to apply any money you have to your credit cards (unsecured debt) long before loans (such as a secured car loan).

That would be illegal for a credit union to do. Horrible advice. You can have $3,000,000 in a checking or savings account and owe $14 on a loan... the CU or Bank cannot touch that money, they'd lose their pants if they touched your credit card.



Don't get a credit card from your local bank. It's putting all your eggs in one basket (and they might not even report your credit card to the credit bureaus. Ideally pick a national bank. Citi, Chase, and Capital One can all be shitty companies. If you're responsible though it doesn't matter.

Again, that would be illegal to do. Some of the best credit cards are through your local banks (M&I, associated... whatever) because they only use it to make money on the 2% POS from the merchant and the interest. Bank credit cards usually give the best rewards (although after my seminar last month, some of the gas rewards are great with chase now).

[wrath]

That would be illegal for a credit union to do. Horrible advice. You can have $3,000,000 in a checking or savings account and owe $14 on a loan... the CU or Bank cannot touch that money, they'd lose their pants if they touched your credit card.

You missed the lovely cross-collateral clause of every credit union I've ever seen. Credit unions ARE NOT banks and do not play by banking rules.




Again, that would be illegal to do. Some of the best credit cards are through your local banks (M&I, associated... whatever) because they only use it to make money on the 2% POS from the merchant and the interest. Bank credit cards usually give the best rewards (although after my seminar last month, some of the gas rewards are great with chase now).

They don't get all that point of sale money. They get a very small proportion of it (something like .25%). Every local bank and credit union here has worse rewards that the worst Chase rewards program. Credit union credit cards usually give you the best APR but if you can't pay back your credit card then you shouldn't be using a credit card... especially with the same bank you have other loans at. Lastly, many credit unions and shoddier banks (like Capital One) tend not to put a limit on your credit card that they report to the credit bureaus. So you might use a $5,000 limit credit card monthly and rack up $1500 charges monthly and pay it off. But it shows up on your credit report as a limitless card and looks really bad.

[PureSound15]

I'm not going to argue with you - I'm telling you that you're wrong. I am in banking operations for a $700 million credit union and my lady works for M&I.

Credit unions differ from banks in a few different ways, but fair debt and collection laws apply to all financial institutions.

A bank/credit union card is a great first credit card to start building credit with.

[wrath]

Typical credit union cross-collateral clause:
"All the shares and deposits in all your individual and joint accounts with the credit union now and in the future as additional collateral for the loan."


What does that mean to you? Further, what does your bank have for a "cross-collateral clause" (aka dragnet/anaconda clause)?

[BeesTwinEG]

I have american express. been had for like a year and no problems pretty good rewards too. bad thing is you have to pay everything within 31 days. so you have to know your limits on the card and the budget.