Okay.. I've never had one and now I think it's time for me to get one to build my credit.. I know...I probably should've start earlier..But oh well.

Any suggestions on which ONE to get? Thanks!

 

Easiest is probably a VISA (or Mastercard) from the bank you already have an account with.

Tom

 

Approach with caution. Making minimum payments will take 30 years to pay off, and more the quintuple what you pay for something.

It's ok to float a balance for a while, as long as it's less than 33% of your maximum. IOW, let's say you spring for a new turbo with your new found credit. Make every effort possible to pay it down to less than 33% of your max within 6 mos. That will do a couple of things, first and foremost, it'll keep you out of trouble. Secondly, it demonstrates excellent credit management, and this is what will increase your credit score...in addition to time.

A single card is a good start, but keep in mind that you'll need 3 accounts with a minimum of $1000.00 limits in order to purchase big ticket items on credit (cars/land/housing).

Store cards are black holes on your credit report. IOW, they don't do nearly as much for you as VISA, MC, and Discover. Stay away from AMEX for now, that's just a trap.

And last but not least, your credit card company doesn't exactly want you to pay off your card, or make timely payments. They want you to pay late fees, and to jack up your rate, and get you caught in an endless cycle of paying the minimum. They will probably float you a very large max on your second or third card and bet that you'll hurt yourself financially and they collect thousands of dollars in interest and penalties before you even start chipping away at the balance.

- Good bye, and good luck.

 

^^^+1

Just be careful, as they are dangerous. I'm paying my cards from college because I hit a rough patch for 6 months and pretty much paid for everything with my cards making only the minimum payments. I'm paying for it now, but at the time, it was either that or drop out of college.

For your first card, just get whatever sort of Visa you can. Then after you've had it for a little bit, try to get one that gives you some sort of incentives, like airline miles, but don't pay a fee for it, there are plenty of free ones out there. My fiancee's sister puts everything on her Amex Gold card and pays it off every month, and because of it, the three of us are flying to Vegas for free in a few months and she'll have miles to spare.

 

Thanks guys!

 

and just say NO to Capital One, if you're trying to build a positive credit report. They are among the worst positive reporting companies.

 

That's true..but they're also one of the best for rewards (points). If you already have a great credit score and don't need to build it up more, Capital One Visa isn't a bad way to go. My wife and I put everything we can on that card just to build points...gas, groceries, clothes, vacations, misc. stuff. But we NEVER carry a balance. I always pay off 100% of the balance each month. We've been doing it for a few years now and I have never paid them one penny in interest.

 

make sure you see what rewards they offer too. i had a citi master card that gave me 5% back on all purchases from supermarket and gas station purchases. so guess where the only places i used it was?

i like the paypal plus mastercard, gave me a pretty nice credit limit and i use it to pay for all the online purchases i make for my car.

 

I would say just be carefil and mindfull on what u buy with a card...cuz im paying up my butt now from when I was in a credut card stage about 4 years ago....I regret it and wouldnt want someone else to suffer the same

 

chase freedom. visa. cashback... F*** da points.

 

As everyone has already said, be VERY careful. I was also digging myself out of the hole because of all the stuff I bought while I was in college. Some of it was car stuff, but alot of it was food, books, expenses for 4 years.

I lucked out though, and my parents just fronted me cash that would cover my entire balance. 99% of the time though, its not that easy to get out of debt. I definitely learned my lesson and am very grateful to have a clean slate again, because for a few months the cards were taking a toll on me mentally and physically...

 

*watches*

i was wondering the same thing

is 18 to early to start building my credit?

 

no, if you're not going to make huge money, and still want a house, a great credit score is what you need, and those take time.

 

18 is not too early... I started when I was 17. (with the help of a co-signer).

 

Heck no. It's never too early. Just make sure it's GOOD credit that you establish! Bad credit can haunt you forever.
A good rule-of-thumb to use is: If the only way you can buy something is to use a credit card, you can't afford it.

 

i figure, get a visa from my bank, and buy random stuff, but only if i have the cash, so i can pay it off right away. Like buy cars parts and pay for it that month or somthing.

good plan?

 

Avoid Capital One at all costs. Capital One reports a little quirky to the bereaus. Let me explain. If you have a limit with Capital One of say 5,000 and you charge only $1,000.......on your credit report it will show your high balance (in this case 1,000) as your credit limit giving the impression you are maxed out when in acuality you still have 4,000 available. It seriousley damages your true rating for having that card. I do not know why they do this but it's why alot of people do not do business with them...me included.

 

I'll have to look into that one. My statement from Capital One clearly shows a $30,000 limit (minus whatever my current balance is). If they show it on my statement, I wonder why they wouldn't report it on a credit check?

 

No need to pay it off completely right away, and in fact that might negatively hurt your score a bit as you aren't making the credit merchants enough money. I have no evidence whether it does or not, but still, as long as you can pay whatever you want off in 6 mos, you'll be just fine.

BTW, good credit isn't just about buying houses, land, cars, and boats anymore. Credit is now used to determine whether or not you can get insurance and determine the amount you'll pay. Companies are now using it determine whether or not to extend offers to candidates as well.

 

Go to a website like freecreditreport.com and try and order a free 3 bereau report or something like that. I have been doing alot of research on cards lately becasue some are good and some suck period. But yeah get a copy of your bereau and check to see what it shows your limit as.