Getting a new credit card. Which should I get???

I’ll be starting a job later this month and I’m wondering if anyone has good credit card recommendations. Throughout college I had a VISA but I am leaning toward AMEX for my new card. I had to cancel the card I used in college because I closed my bank account when I graduated. I don’t use credit cards that often. I like to use it for small amounts of money and just pay the balance off each month.

retail financial mags compare these all the time. e.g. http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/debt/comparing-credit-card-offers-9658/ Let us know what you find out. www.google.com also answers these questions.

robber07 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don’t use credit cards that often. I like to > use it for small amounts of money and just pay the > balance off each month. The Fidelity rewards cards might be good for you. (They have high APRs, but that’s irrelevant since you pay them off each month.) You can take advantage of the 1.5-2% cash back they pay you.

debit card

debit card wouldn’t help me build credit

Building credit through a credit card is the biggest scam. What do you need credit for…a house? if so, show up to your bank with a 20% down payment in hand, a history of 2-3 years of timely rent payments, another 100k in the bank/investments, and a job that pays enough so a max of 30% of your monthly income is swallowed up by your mortgage (piti) and they’ll be tripping all over themselves to lend you money at 2-3 points over fed funds. If you still really feel the need to build up your credit (whatever that means), take a loan out on a car and pay it off in 6 months. Stay away from credit cards like the plague!!! Also, for you un-married folks stay away from girls/guys who like credit cards.

LBriscoe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Building credit through a credit card is the > biggest scam. What do you need credit for…a > house? if so, show up to your bank with a 20% > down payment in hand, a history of 2-3 years of > timely rent payments, another 100k in the > bank/investments, and a job that pays enough so a > max of 30% of your monthly income is swallowed up > by your mortgage (piti) and they’ll be tripping > all over themselves to lend you money at 2-3 > points over fed funds. If you still really feel > the need to build up your credit (whatever that > means), take a loan out on a car and pay it off in > 6 months. > > Stay away from credit cards like the plague!!! > Also, for you un-married folks stay away from > girls/guys who like credit cards. You must have had a really bad experience with credit cards. You are really taking this to the extreme. Credit cards are good for building credit and for making purchases when you use them wisely. If you pay off your balance every month, it makes sense to use them because of the points and cashback you can earn from certain cards.

SMW Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You must have had a really bad experience with > credit cards. You are really taking this to the > extreme. Credit cards are good for building > credit and for making purchases when you use them > wisely. If you pay off your balance every month, > it makes sense to use them because of the points > and cashback you can earn from certain cards. +1 to that. And you get a free month of carry. If you can’t figure out to not get “scammed” by credit cards, you probably don’t belong on a financial analyst forum.

Credit cards are awesome when used responsibly. Discover gives 1% cash back and 5% on qualifying items (including gas for a 3 month period). For me that adds up to over $400 a year. I try to put as many of my expenses on there as possible. Only irresponsible people say credit cards are evil…pay it off each month and it’s a net positive for the consumer.

Also, having a variety of different types of credit can only help your credit score. I say accumulate some cash, make a CC purchase, wait for the next couple bills, pay a bit of interest, and then pay the whole thing off.

No I didn’t get into trouble with cards, but I’ve seen plenty of people that have (smart people to boot). People buy into the line about airplane miles, months of carry, 1% cash back, blah, blah, blah. It’s all bs. Ask yourself honestly if you spend more when using your card as you would using a debit card or cash. If you really think using credit vrs cash has no influence on what you spend and when you spend then go ahead and charge away. But do you really think you would have spent the same 40k if you paid cash?

LBriscoe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No I didn’t get into trouble with cards, but I’ve > seen plenty of people that have (smart people to > boot). People buy into the line about airplane > miles, months of carry, 1% cash back, blah, blah, > blah. It’s all bs. Ask yourself honestly if you > spend more when using your card as you would using > a debit card or cash. If you really think using > credit vrs cash has no influence on what you spend > and when you spend then go ahead and charge away. > But do you really think you would have spent the > same 40k if you paid cash? Briscoe, let me start by saying I understand your point, which I think is this: It’s easier to not get into trouble with a credit card if you simply don’t have one. This kind of “nudge” towards good fiscal behavior is the same as the reason I don’t deposit all of my paycheck in my checking account; if I deposit 10% of my paycheck into my savings or investing account, surprise surprise, I usually find I can live without that 10%. However, the trade-off you are suggesting is pretty extreme. Going wholly without credit - and having a massive down payment (not just 20%, but the 20% plus considerable liquidity that the bank expects someone without a credit score to have) is a big opportunity cost. Justin88 said it pretty bluntly(“If you can’t figure out to not get “scammed” by credit cards, you probably don’t belong on a financial analyst forum”), but I’d tweak that slightly. If you don’t have enough self-control and presence of mind to set up your credit cards so you’re likely to use them responsibly, you probably shouldn’t be using credit cards yet. …And maybe should take a step back from institutional finance into the realm of personal finance. DISCLOSURE: Long credit cards. My credit score rivals comp_sci_kids score on the math portion of the SATs.

supersadface Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > LBriscoe Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > No I didn’t get into trouble with cards, but > I’ve > > seen plenty of people that have (smart people > to > > boot). People buy into the line about airplane > > miles, months of carry, 1% cash back, blah, > blah, > > blah. It’s all bs. Ask yourself honestly if > you > > spend more when using your card as you would > using > > a debit card or cash. If you really think > using > > credit vrs cash has no influence on what you > spend > > and when you spend then go ahead and charge > away. > > But do you really think you would have spent > the > > same 40k if you paid cash? > > Briscoe, let me start by saying I understand your > point, which I think is this: It’s easier to not > get into trouble with a credit card if you simply > don’t have one. This kind of “nudge” towards good > fiscal behavior is the same as the reason I don’t > deposit all of my paycheck in my checking account; > if I deposit 10% of my paycheck into my savings or > investing account, surprise surprise, I usually > find I can live without that 10%. It’s not really a nudge, I just that don’t see why people need to borrow money in order to make simple purchases. A 1% kick back? > > However, the trade-off you are suggesting is > pretty extreme. Going wholly without credit - and > having a massive down payment (not just 20%, but > the 20% plus considerable liquidity that the bank > expects someone without a credit score to have) is > a big opportunity cost. > I didn’t say to go without credit, I’m just saying that you don’t need to borrow money from citigroup for simple purchases. My scenario of 20% down with liquidity isn’t extreme at all. I get the opportunity cost argument which is why I would advocate borrowing money to make a first time home purchase. Although, I wouldn’t advocate leveraging myself to the gills to make it happen. > Justin88 said it pretty bluntly(“If you can’t > figure out to not get “scammed” by credit cards, > you probably don’t belong on a financial analyst > forum”), but I’d tweak that slightly. If you > don’t have enough self-control and presence of > mind to set up your credit cards so you’re likely > to use them responsibly, you probably shouldn’t be > using credit cards yet. > Justin88 needs to realize the difference between CFA finance and personal finance. These are the same people who stretch out their student loan until their late '40s because “they can get a better return in the market” (except when they don’t). I never said CCs are scammers, I only said to stay away because they’re unnecessary and people fall into trouble when they use them. Again, if you’re so confident that you’ll never miss a payment (which destroys your credit by the way) or if you honestly believe your behavior doesn’t change when you use them then go ahead and use them. Me personally, i don’t like to borrow money, particularly for disposable income. > …And maybe should take a step back from > institutional finance into the realm of personal > finance. Again, i get all the arguments with yields, carry interest, returns, and etc. for corporations, but it’s different for personal finance. There’s psychology involved, you’re not paying vendors or stocking inventory – we’re talking day-to-day expenses. > > DISCLOSURE: Long credit cards. My credit score > rivals comp_sci_kids score on the math portion of > the SATs. Credit score is another joke. I’ve hardly a credit card over the years and, while i have no idea what my credit score is, i know my quotes for mortgages at pretty much as good as it gets (looking into 15 year mortgages). Again, if you really need to build credit for issues outside of buying a house (family issues, starting a business, etc.), then maybe you need to use a CC to build credit. But if you only plan to buy a house then you really don’t need a credit card.

My credit score is like 770. I am very proud of this.

waaaat i carry gold for all my daily transactions

Discover and Amex blue are supposedly the “best” no-fee ones. check online and you’ll see many credit card sites recommend these cards.

LBriscoe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Justin88 needs to realize the difference between > CFA finance and personal finance. These are the > same people who stretch out their student loan > until their late '40s because “they can get a > better return in the market” (except when they > don’t). I never said CCs are scammers, I only said > to stay away because they’re unnecessary and > people fall into trouble when they use them. > Again, if you’re so confident that you’ll never > miss a payment (which destroys your credit by the > way) or if you honestly believe your behavior > doesn’t change when you use them then go ahead and > use them. Me personally, i don’t like to borrow > money, particularly for disposable income. I get the impression that you are overly conservative/risk averse with your personal finances. Nothing wrong with that, hey it’s your money/life, but I disagree with everything you’ve said. There are lot of lessons from “CFA finance” that are directly applicable to personal finance. One of which is understanding and optimizing sources of capital, the importance of the availability of lines of credit, and more generally that debt (i.e. leverage) can be a good thing when used intelligently. Finally, missing one CC payment does not hurt your credit appreciably, let alone “destroy” it. Occasionally missing payments makes you a great customer…

justin88 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > There are lot of lessons from “CFA finance” that > are directly applicable to personal finance. One > of which is understanding and optimizing sources > of capital, the importance of the availability of > lines of credit, and more generally that debt > (i.e. leverage) can be a good thing when used > intelligently. I agree with this part, which is what I was trying to say in my first post. > Finally, missing one CC payment does not hurt your > credit appreciably, let alone “destroy” it. > Occasionally missing payments makes you a great > customer… Disagree with this part (at least the first bit). On average, missing a credit card payment drops your credit score by about a hundred points, depending on the specific reporting bureau. Most recent bill payments/misses are weighted very heavily; the assumption is that they’re the most timely information regarding your ability to pay. A missed bill is more likely to be followed by more missed bills (because the people who miss bills due to finances being stretched typically don’t miss just one). I don’t agree that this is how your credit score *should* be impacted, but it simply is how it *is* impacted. There are a couple of studies out there where you can see the numbers, and myFICO.com and some other credit education/monitoring sites will show you how your score can be impacted by good/bad events.

Wow all people do is complain. Ill try to help I have 3. One that i have had with wellsfargo forever. Visa. i really just need to cancel. One Amex premium rewards gold which is actually just a charge card, cant carry a balance, but the benefit is there is no limit. And most recently a Amex delta gold. But really you asked the wrong forum for this. flyertalk has all the dirt on cc choices if your trying to make them work for you. ie, earn something for doing what you do anyway. now the amex cards do cost money(150 & 100 i think), but the first year is free, if you feel like you arnt getting a benefit then just drop the card. I use the amex cards for many reasons. -not in order of importance- 1.Better customer service 2. Rewards, read flyer talk, the PR gold just hooks me up on the points 3. amazing warrenty extensions just for buying it with the card, doubles the warranty on most products you get, if you buy a 5k watch and loose it, they replace it. ridiculous stuff. 4. When purchases do get messed up its not you that is SOL, Its AMEX’s so they got your back until the situation is resolved, try getting good help with a debit-that $ has already left your account. If you dont really spend much though dont expect to get much back. I literally charge everything i purchase from a pack of gum on up, and i pay it off in full (well with the PR gold i dont have a choice if i wanted to) every month. I just dont happen to be a idiot who needs to feel cash in their finger tips to not spend it, i understand the value of something when i sign the paper just as im sure most of you understand the value of something in a excel file.

What did you go for OP?