Credit card

Water Cooler
#1

Hi all,

So I’m 23 and I’m beginning to think about loans and mortgages for the future. However I have no credit score since I’ve never owned a credit card (I never wanted to get into the habit of borrowing). I use my debit card for all purchases since it prevents me from overspending. Now I realise I should have open one up…

What’s everyone else’s experience with credit cards and any words or advice?

Thanks

#2

I recommend the Magnises credit card

#3

Hey, I just watched Fyre on Netflix. Awesome documentary.

OP - Get a card with good rewards (cash back is my preference but if you travel a lot there are some great options out there for points) and pay it off in full each month. The other thing you can do, if you have the money, is go out and buy a big ticket item from Best Buy or Nebraska Furniture Mart (or whatever) and apply for their credit card (generally they have 0% interest for x months) and pay it off. That’ll help your score and you can justify getting a 70 inch 4k TV.

#4

You should get a credit card. Besides having a credit line that will be necessary for loan applications like mortgages, you get extra fraud protection compared to debit cards. It’s easier for financial service providers to cancel pending credit card transactions than cash transactions. Credit card rewards also tend to be better than debit cards. For instance, you can get 5% back at Amazon if you use their credit card.

Credit card issuers make this money back through interest from people who have outstanding balances. If you just make sure to pay off your credit card every month, this won’t be an issue for you. You can usually set up automatic payments of outstanding balance.

#5

cash back is best. pay in full always. best cash back card is prolly 2%:

https://www.fidelityrewards.com/credit/benefits.do

for travel there are better ones, i prefer orbitz, since you can get about 10% cash back on hotels.

https://www.orbitz.com/rewards/visacard/

also you should always keep low rate loans. such as student loans, car loans. mortgages. as they are excellent ways to build credit.

avoid the 0% interest free purchases. their benefits are just that 1 time thing. and you might end up playing the transfer game, paying 3% up front each clip.

if you are a costco member, this is the best!

https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/credit-card-details/citi.action?ID=Citi-costco-anywhere-visa-credit-card

not to mention they got 5 buck rotisseries chicken. and coke and hotdog for 1.5 bucks.

#6

citi cash back 2%

if you use amazon get the 5% cash back card

#7

Even though I travel rarely. I use a points card, since the point cards have better values than cash back. Look at sign up bonuses for Credit Cards when you do pick, you can get several hundred in sign up bonuses.

https://thepointsguy.com/ is a good resource.

#8

If you’ve never had a credit card before, it will be somewhat difficult to get approved for any of the better ones.

The Discover IT card is a good place to get your feet wet. The Citi DoubleCash is a pretty good 2% cash back card. The Uber card from Barclays is another pretty good cash back card (higher % cash back on dining, bars, etc). If you’re a Costco member, the Citi Costco Visa is a good card.

I could make this incredibly complex after this, but won’t.

#9

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/bank-of-america-cash-rewards-card-now-lets-you-choose-your-3-category/

Bank of America is going to let you choose categories to get 3% cash back.

#10

What do you guys think is the biggest category expenditure? Is it shopping or grocery.

#11

I would find the credit card that has the overall best cashback offer (i.e. 2% cash back on all purchases) and start charging all of your purchases - and pay off the balance each month. I don’t like the points and travel ; I find that the credit card companies are always changing the points programs, or they stop it and introduce a new program after you have accumulated a bunch of points.

I charge all of my house bills (that you can) on my credit card, and all of my monthly spending. I seldom use cash.

I’m actually considering getting the Costco Capital One MC because it pays 2% on gas purchases, and 3% on dining. I’d use my BMO World Elite MC @ 1.5% for everything else.

Although, I should just say ef it and get this one: http://www.luxurycard.com/goldcard

#12

I would recommend the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/blue-cash-preferred/

6% cash back at supermarkets, 3% cash back on gas, 1% on everything else.

I use it for all grocery shopping and gas and have earned over $2,000 cash back over the last four years or so. Always pay it off in full each month to avoid interest charges.

#13

^ that card looks pretty good. Just watch the fine print; 6% doesn’t apply at warehouse clubs or superstores. (So no Costco or Walmart superstore). The same applies for these retailers who sell gas.

#14

But sometimes you get the 6% if you buy grocery store gas #protip

#15

i think i prefer costco card. less fees. more people accept it. plus costco is awesome. i can get grocery and shopping done with discount upon discounts!

#16

Another #protip is to use the Amex card to buy store gift cards in a supermarket (e.g., Amazon gift cards, Home Depot gift cards). You’ll also get the 6% cash back on those, effectively getting 6% cash back at non-supermarkets.

#17

I have two credit cards. One Amex and one local. And I have another Master-card which I use mostly in travelingpurpose. Can’t bring tons of cash while I’m abroad. That’s why all those cards.