What Credit Card Should I Get?

[russwest0]

Serious question here.

I'm 20 years old and have decided that I want to get a credit card to start making all of my purchases on.

I'm simply looking for the best credit card in terms of building up points and getting cash back or something along those lines. I am 100% confident that I will not go into debt or miss any payments or anything like that, as I'm a fairly light spender and will just set my bank account up to automatically pay the bill each month.

I've done some research online but you know how that is. Most websites just promote certain cards trying to get referral money.

Looking forward to the suggestions and advice from those who have used credit cards before. Thanks in advance :cheers:

[bigkingsfan]

The American Express Centurion Black Card

[Derka]

My CapitalOne MC treats me alright.

WHAT'S IN YOUR WALLET, MOTHERF*CKER!

[Smook A.]

Definitely the Citi Diamond Card. All my friends who have it say its the best, and that's why I got it. Its absolutely great.

http://moneywiseyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/citi-diamond-preferred-card-xlarge.png

[magic chiongson]

what's your credit score like? if it's low any basic card (visa/mc) from a name bank with no annual fees should be fine. otherwise i'd get the highest rewards card

[russwest0]

Wait I'm looking up some of these and what is APR?

Does that mean they really charge you 10%-20% extra on all purchases you make?

[russwest0]

Basically I'm looking for a credit card that will work just like a debit card so long as I pay my bill in full every month. With the only exception being that I'm building up credit and possibly some sort of points that I can redeem for merchandise or cash back.

So I want no additional fees, no increase in percentage on what I actually spent, etc.

Do these exist?

[Rubio2Gasol]

Basically I'm looking for a credit card that will work just like a debit card so long as I pay my bill in full every month. With the only exception being that I'm building up credit and possibly some sort of points that I can redeem for merchandise or cash back.

So I want no additional fees, no increase in percentage on what I actually spent, etc.

Do these exist?

Of Course, but you usually need to show a certain level of income, usually $2000+

AND,

Keep in mind that the benefits come from spending. Most of these have incentives for big purchases within given time periods

[Jailblazers7]

Wait I'm looking up some of these and what is APR?

Does that mean they really charge you 10%-20% extra on all purchases you make?

APR is just the annual percentage rate. It is the rate you pay on any balance you carry over from month to month. So if you have a 20% APR you will pay around a 1.5% monthly rate on any balance you don't pay off on you're monthly bill.

I have a Discover IT card. You get 1% cashback on all purchases. I don't really care about that tho I'm just using it to build credit. I just charge my utility bills to it and pay it off every month.

You probably want get a very large credit limit because of your age, low income, and lack of credit history. I only have a $500 limit right now simply due to lack of history.

[arkain]

Go for cashback rewards. You'll get best rewards and build credit.

1. Chase Signature - my favourite
2. Discover it
3. BOA Better Balance - not cashback rewards but they give you $25 back every quarter if you don't miss a payment. So $100 a year as long as you don't miss payments.

Those would be my top 3. I have all those currently and a couple AMEX cards.

Also Chase and Discover often have promotions for those cards, they give $200 cashback if you spend $500 within the first 3 months. I'd check when that deal is available and get those then.

[rezznor]

if you like to travel, get the chase sapphire card

[InfiniteBaskets]

If you're not into rotating categories (like 5% cashback in restuarants this week, gas stations the next, groceries, etc...) and don't want points back in the form of travel points, then Fidelity American Express Rewards is the one I recommend.

It's straight up 2% cash back on everything you purchase, with no annual fee, which is the highest I've seen anywhere despite Capital One lately placing a bunch of ads touting it's 1.5% cashback on everything. The only catch is that the 2% cash back goes into your Fidelity brokerage account (thus you have to open a Fidelity brokerage account). If you own investments then it's perfect. If not, just transfer that cash out to your bank account.

If you're into travel, I think the Chase Sapphire card is good for that, plus it being weighted makes it look more high class than it really is.

Keep in mind you need great credit to be eligible for either of these cards. If you're like I was when I was 20, you're only going to be eligible for a simple card with limited rewards.

[russwest0]

Damn, some very good info in some of these recent posts.

So far looking like the Discover IT and Fidelity American Express Rewards Card are my favorite two. I don't earn very much monthly and am only 20 years old though so who knows if I'll get approved.

And just to clarify, so if I pay my bill in full and on time each month with each of these cards, then I won't have to pay a dime more than I would if I were using a debit card?

[russwest0]

applied for the chase freedom card, if I get accepted I'll get 200 back after spending 500 in 3 months

and applied for the discover IT card.

[magic chiongson]

i would've gone for a visa or mastercard. not all stores accept discover/amex

[irondarts]

Damn, some very good info in some of these recent posts.

So far looking like the Discover IT and Fidelity American Express Rewards Card are my favorite two. I don't earn very much monthly and am only 20 years old though so who knows if I'll get approved.

And just to clarify, so if I pay my bill in full and on time each month with each of these cards, then I won't have to pay a dime more than I would if I were using a debit card?

That's correct.

Since it's your first credit card my advice would be: be careful. be sure to pay it off in full every month.

If you don't have a lot of credit the Visa Amazon Rewards Card is a pretty basic credit card that has some nice rewards (amazon gift cards, etc).

[BigBoss]

Unless you got a career job don't get one. Don't spend money you don't have. It should be illegal to give credit cards to people without minimum 30 k jobs in my opinion.

[It's A VC3!!!]

Chase freedom is great for your age. There is a special promotion going on right now that if you spend $500 within the first 3 months you will get $200 back. There are also 3-4 categories every quarter that return 5% cash back to you. Gas is about two quarters every year. No a annual fee either. Would recommend that.

[It's A VC3!!!]

And just to clarify, so if I pay my bill in full and on time each month with each of these cards, then I won't have to pay a dime more than I would if I were using a debit card?
Even if you pay your statement balance every month you won't pay any interest. You don't need to just pay the current and total balance to avoid interst. The statement balance is fine too. Here is the difference between paying statement balance and current balance. If you always pay your current balance every month it will get reported to credit bureaus that your using 0% of your credit since they will essentially be reporting a zero balance at the end of the month. Nothing wrong with that though. By always paying your statement balance every month it will show that you're utilizing credit. Also if you get a capital one credit card you get access to a free credit report anytime you want with a simple click from Trans Union.

[senelcoolidge]

walmart

[sick_brah07]

The best piece of advice anyone can give you here is dont get one. Spend your own money why risk getting a credit debt

[enayes]

I don't understand why some people are against credit cards. I'm 24, and have had a credit card for about a year. I have the Bank of America Cash Rewards card, I get 3% cash back on gas, 2% on groceries and 1% on EVERYTHING. If you use a credit card for all of your purchases you WILL NEVER PAY FULL PRICE FOR ANYTHING! That's what I love the most about credit cards, your always saving a little bit of money.

Of course, this is only true if you pay off your balance each month, which I knew wouldn't a problem for me. It's hard for me to imagine how so many people let themselves fall behind on their credit cards. It's not that hard to be responsible and know what you can afford.

I just got approved for the Chase Freedom card as well, not sure which one I'll use the most but I wanted to get the free $200 :rockon:

[bigkingsfan]

The best piece of advice anyone can give you here is dont get one. Spend your own money why risk getting a credit debt

Building your credit score is never a bad thing, so many free perks for signing up with CC too. My score is like 770 with 7 CC.

[Bless Mathews]

Remind me to never believe a kid has to say about analyzing anything if he don't know what APR is.

Op gave him self a forever ether card.

[Godzuki]

everyone should get a credit card at a young age to build up your credit. if you don't have any built up credit then its like being a kid even if you're 30 if you're trying to get a loan where the loan officers don't see any responsibility in your report so they have nothing to go by and then you get denied.

i'd say go for MC/VISA. they're by far the most accepted. and since you're not traveling much i'd assume and aren't spending much its not like you'll be accumulating much reward points. Part of the problem with those reward cards is they tend to have fee's which offset the rewards.

[FatComputerNerd]

I mainly use the Fidelity amex Rewards.

I don't fly much, and the 2% on everything with no fees is nice.

Like another poster said, you can set it to auto-deposit the reward money into your fidelity account, or x-fer it to your bank.

Not a big fan of their payment system is the only thing. I signed up for paperless billing a while back but never seem to get my statement emailed. I just know what day of the month my billing cycle ends and am sure to go online and pay it off in full each month.

The Chase Amazon card (mentioned by others) is also not a bad choice, especially if you do a lot of online shopping. I think all your reward points basically turn into free amazon money.

Whatever card you use just be sure to not carry a balance. Pay it off in full each month so you're not paying interest, and be sure to go with a card that has no annual fee.

[LockoutOver11]

when your in debt in about 2 years probably less than that since ur 20... i hope u can get approved for the chase slate card... 18 month no interest..also on balance transfers with no transition fee.... i accept your thank you from the future...

[enayes]

when your in debt in about 2 years probably less than that since ur 20... i hope u can get approved for the chase slate card... 18 month no interest..also on balance transfers with no transition fee.... i accept your thank you from the future...


Almost every credit card offers 12 or 18 months of no interest. I had 12 months but I still paid off my card in full as I didn't want to have to deal with a large balance at any point.

[Balla_Status]

I know it's only anecdotal evidence but every maaaaaa ****aaaa told me that I should be getting a credit card, yadda yadda when I was 18/19/20 and that I would never actually get one unless I got one. Whatever sense that makes. I don't really buy that you'll never get one unless you get one.

I finally got one at 22 after getting some cash in the bank and got it with ease. It was only an $800 spending limit but it was pretty easy to pay off. Got a loan within two years because of it.

I don't believe every young dude should get a credit card either. I've seen it **** some people up in college. Everyone had the option of a dorm phone but I never used it. Only my roommate did (he hooked it up with his own landline phone) and I had no idea what the number was. Two or three times during the year, I got a phone call from a bank asking me to sign up for a credit card. That's how sleazy they are. They WANT college students to get credit cards.