What should I consider when picking out my first credit card?

6 Comment(s)

1. Get an American Express Card, pay a yearly fee, and pay off your charges every month.
   Stay out of debt at least till you finish college and at that be frugal.

   Ribs | Nov 1, 2009 | Reply

2. If you had never had a credit card, or loan you have no credit history, and therefore no credit report. When you apply you will get denied.

   If thats the case, get a secured credit card and start building credit

   You can check what kind of history you have on for free.

   If you are ready to apply for a card, look for 0 percent on purchases for at least 6 months, 0 percent on balance transfers is not necessary as you dont have any debt, and some sort of points or rewards. Look into annual fee free credit cards.

   Apollo | Nov 3, 2009 | Reply

3. Your first card doesn’t necessarily have to be a secured credit card but it may have to be. Try applying for a Discover Student Card.

   James | Nov 4, 2009 | Reply

4. Go to your present bank and apply for a plain vanilla Mastercard or Visa through them. Do pay it in full each month. Stay away from cards with an annual fee. You simply don’t need that.

   Do not use your card often. It is great for buying online as you have more protections than a debit card. Don’t charge anything if you don’t know where the money is coming from to pay it.

   There will be lots of people trying to get you to go, go, go with credit but that is not prudent in the long run. Pay cash for what you need first. Save up for what you want. Old-fashioned prudence will lead to a sound future and far less stress.

   Sharon T | Nov 7, 2009 | Reply

5. Although some credit cards have strict requirements, there are a lot of manufacturers that are giving both high school and college students the chance to get their own credit cards. Student credit cards can be used the same way as a traditional credit card, although they do come with certain restrictions and limitations that other credit cards don’t normally have.

   The key area you’ll need to look at and compare is the APR (Annual Percentage Rate). The APR is what you will pay on what you purchase when the incentive period runs out. APR rates will vary among credit cards, so it is always in your best interest to compare and shop around. The lower APR rate you get, the better off you’ll be.

   Another concern with choosing your credit card is the minimum payment amount. Most minimum payment balances will start around 3%, although some can be lower while others tend to be quite a bit higher. The interest free period is a concern as well, as you will obviously want to choose the longest period that you can keep the payments down.

   Another important area to look at when choosing your credit card is the incentives. There are several cards out there that will give you incentives, such as reward points and even cash back with purchases that you can use towards paying back what you owe. There are several incentives out there with credit cards, all you have to do is look around and compare.

   dan | Nov 10, 2009 | Reply

6. Well, I checked out a student credit card site (findcollegecards) and this is what I’d look out for –

   * No annual fee
   * Reward based system
   * Major logo (visa, etc)

   Don’t worry about the APR because as long as you pay it off in full, you have nothing to worry about!

   Good luck.

   T2 | Nov 10, 2009 | Reply

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