Should I get a credit card? How do you choose the best credit card?
I just finished college, and work full time. I have a debit card, and building good credit from paying off loans. A lot of people have been telling me to get a credit card, but I wonder if it really is necessary. Please give me some good reasons to get a credit card other than building good credit. The only other advantage I know about is those point-system/rewards credit cards, that earn you miles or other things. And what is the best credit card to get for a first time credit card holder? The number of choices are a little overwhelming. How did you choose your first/main credit card?
June 23rd, 2010 at 4:55 pm
get one from orchard bank or chase..
June 23rd, 2010 at 4:58 pm
If you haven’t needed a cc up until people have been telling you that you need one, don’t worry about it. You really don’t ‘need’ one. The only reason that I got my cc (aside to help with my credit score!) was for emergiencies-and that was at my hubby’s suggestion. I ended up applying for a card through my bank/federal credit union. They will be easier than any other place, especially if you have been with them for a while. Make sure you have NO annual fee. Aside from that, pick and choose.
June 23rd, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Well, let me be the first to tell you that a credit card can be a “safety net” in the event that you’re in a crunch in between paychecks, and especially renting cars. Granted, you can use your debit card, but you better have the money on it, becuase credit and debit cards work completely different in that respect. But even if you just make small payments that you pay off in full every month, it’s another way to build credit, which you can’t build alone just by paying off loans. Credit and the scoring system is designed to where you should show that you can handle different types of credit both installment(car,furniture,appliance,personal signature, and mortgages) and revolving (credit cards and line of credit). An example of a balanced mixture of credit is 3 credit cards (2 major and one department store card) and either one paid or currently paying installment account.
Now while it is a good thing to have a credit card in the event of emergencies that may come about that could potentially wipe out your checking account if you use that, it’s important to know the true meaning of needs vs. wants. Credit cards are not bad, it’s the judgement of some people that use them. They easily confuse the 2 and that’s where the problems arise. As long as you keep your priorities straight, and use credit like it’s supposed to be used, then you should be ok.
A credit card you should look for, ideally is one without an annual fee and a low or 0 introductory interest rate. But my advice is to keep the balance no more than 30% of your total available credit to minimize the interest anyway.
Chase, Bank of America, and Citi all offer fairly good cards
I hope this answer helps out,
Good luck!
June 23rd, 2010 at 5:58 pm
I would highly suggest getting a credit card.
If you’ve been using your debit card to pay for things, consider substituing with a credit card. Just use your credit card to pay for everything, then write one big check at the end of the month. This is so much easier when it comes to balancing your checkbook. You don’t have to keep track of all the stuff you bought with your debit card. You just look at your credit card statement and write one big check, it’s easy.
The rewards are a great way to get cash back and earn travel miles and things. Some people even put their rent on their card, or have their car loan payments and mortgage payments run throguh their cards before they pay them. This is a huge way to earn rewards points. Cash back is a big enough incentive for me any day.
Building good credit is one of the most important things you can do for yourself financially. Remember that.
Scroll down to the credit card search area on this webpage:
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/cc_home.asp
That’s the best page I know of for finding a card.
I would also heavily suggest that you don’t use your card to purchase things you don’t have the money to pay for. Don’t carry a balance, and if you do (gasp) always pay more than the minimum.
Remember that credit cards are a way to manage your finances, not a way to go crazy. Don’t use credit cards to compile more debt.
Hope that helps
June 23rd, 2010 at 6:48 pm
I use credit cards to build credit and get cash back on purchases. You can get up to 5% cash back. If you are interested go here http://www.ccvault.com/credit_cards/cash_back.php
June 23rd, 2010 at 7:39 pm
do you really need it right now? ask your self that.. if u really need to.. check this page out
http://tune.in/cc
June 23rd, 2010 at 8:19 pm
you might want to go here to compare them http://www.bestcreditrates.net