Looking For Good Credit Card Advice
Author: azyan111
Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2006 2:50 am
Post subject: New kid looking for credit card advice! Please Help!
Hi everyone, I'm a new member to this board and I would like to apologize in advance if this question has been asked and answered in some other thread...my situation is as follows: I'm 18 years old and will be entering college this fall...I want to only get ONE, hopefully, good card that I will use to buy books/clothes only...I've been on the lookout for good credit cards for students for awhile now but I'm still confused...On cardratings, to get a student credit card, it seems you have to have "good credit" already...I have no established credit whatsoever and am wondering if I should be looking at the "no credit" credit cards category instead...
If it's any help, I have had a personal checking account for almost a year and a half now....I HAD a steady job for about 10 months but I quit it a few months ago...which leads me to another question...do these cards depend on the student having a source of income? even though i do not have a job now...I am very responsible when it comes to money matters and i know that i will be able to pay IN FULL EACH MONTH for what i charge even though i don't have personal income from a job (i will pay using mostly the money I've saved from my job and parents' allowances that i deposit into my account)...how will not having a job affect me though?
As I've mentioned, I've been doing research on potential credit cards and have made a list of things to look for...is there anything i might be missing?
interest rate: which is better? fixed or variable? i'm confused on this...
no annual fee..
if possible, discounts rather than rebates...
fraud protection..no liability on unauthorized charges
oh..and what's the difference between secured/partially sercured/unsecured cards?
I apologize for the long post but all details are appreciated! thank you so much!!!
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Author: shan
Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2006 8:16 pm
Post subject: Looking For Good Credit Card Advice
I am not a student, but am new to credit, so I know how it is. I started 7 mo ago with a secured card from BofA. Secured means you deposit money into a savings account that they hold as collateral. Your limit reflects the amount that you deposit. You make monthly payments as usual(with interest if you don't PIF), but if you don't pay they will use your deposit. It's a great way to start if you don't have any credit history. They report to the CBs each month(make sure that they do) and help you build your credit. Watch out for banks that charge high fees on secured cards though. The best one I found was BofA.
You may not need to go the secured route since you are a student. Banks are more lenient. I don't think your income or credit history matter as much. I don't know more about them though-sorry. Scan these boards-there are other posts about student cards. I also found some helpful credit card info on www.financeglobe.com It gives you details about what the requirements for approval are for each card. Thay have a specific student card category(although not all cards are listed, but you can search by bank name also) I would look into BofA or Citi Student cards.
Also, in doing my research it seemed that most APR's are variable. Which means they can change according to the market. If you can get a low fixed, go for it. But right now that probably isn't going to happen. The lowest variable that you can get is what you should look for if you might need to carry a balance. If you think that you will PIF each month, then it doesn't matter and you might want to look for rewards instead.
After 7 months of PIF on time, my credit scores are around 709(which is at the beginning of the good range). I recently applied for 4 cards and was approved for 3 and still waiting to find out about the other! I'm really stoked!!
Hope this helps! Good luck!!
Last edited by shan on Sat Aug 05, 2006 1:04 pm; edited 1 time in total
Author: timmbukk
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 12:00 am
Post subject: Looking For Good Credit Card Advice
I am in grad school and still apply for some student cards, they usually do not ask for income.
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Author: azyan111
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 12:47 am
Post subject:
Thank you so much for the replies, shan and timmbukk! A special thank you to shan for so much great information! Thank you shan!! I really do appreciate you guys sharing your experiences.
Anyone else with deeper or different advice regarding my questions (particularly students)? Please feel free to post...no advice is too obvious for me Thanks in advance!
Author: Board Monitor
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 9:45 am
Post subject: Looking For Good Credit Card Advice
Quote:
It gives you details about what the requirements for approval are for each card.
Wouldn't trust that list. Only the card issuers know the specific requirements and they ain't talking!
Here is our list of student cards (much more comprehensive):
http://www.cardratings.com/studentcreditcards.html
Quote:
On cardratings, to get a student credit card, it seems you have to have "good credit" already
That was a typo. So sorry for the confusion. You don't need credit to get a student card!
_________________
Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
http://www.CardRatings.com
20K+ Credit Card Reviews
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2006 2:50 am
Post subject: New kid looking for credit card advice! Please Help!
Hi everyone, I'm a new member to this board and I would like to apologize in advance if this question has been asked and answered in some other thread...my situation is as follows: I'm 18 years old and will be entering college this fall...I want to only get ONE, hopefully, good card that I will use to buy books/clothes only...I've been on the lookout for good credit cards for students for awhile now but I'm still confused...On cardratings, to get a student credit card, it seems you have to have "good credit" already...I have no established credit whatsoever and am wondering if I should be looking at the "no credit" credit cards category instead...
If it's any help, I have had a personal checking account for almost a year and a half now....I HAD a steady job for about 10 months but I quit it a few months ago...which leads me to another question...do these cards depend on the student having a source of income? even though i do not have a job now...I am very responsible when it comes to money matters and i know that i will be able to pay IN FULL EACH MONTH for what i charge even though i don't have personal income from a job (i will pay using mostly the money I've saved from my job and parents' allowances that i deposit into my account)...how will not having a job affect me though?
As I've mentioned, I've been doing research on potential credit cards and have made a list of things to look for...is there anything i might be missing?
interest rate: which is better? fixed or variable? i'm confused on this...
no annual fee..
if possible, discounts rather than rebates...
fraud protection..no liability on unauthorized charges
oh..and what's the difference between secured/partially sercured/unsecured cards?
I apologize for the long post but all details are appreciated! thank you so much!!!
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Author: shan
Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2006 8:16 pm
Post subject: Looking For Good Credit Card Advice
I am not a student, but am new to credit, so I know how it is. I started 7 mo ago with a secured card from BofA. Secured means you deposit money into a savings account that they hold as collateral. Your limit reflects the amount that you deposit. You make monthly payments as usual(with interest if you don't PIF), but if you don't pay they will use your deposit. It's a great way to start if you don't have any credit history. They report to the CBs each month(make sure that they do) and help you build your credit. Watch out for banks that charge high fees on secured cards though. The best one I found was BofA.
You may not need to go the secured route since you are a student. Banks are more lenient. I don't think your income or credit history matter as much. I don't know more about them though-sorry. Scan these boards-there are other posts about student cards. I also found some helpful credit card info on www.financeglobe.com It gives you details about what the requirements for approval are for each card. Thay have a specific student card category(although not all cards are listed, but you can search by bank name also) I would look into BofA or Citi Student cards.
Also, in doing my research it seemed that most APR's are variable. Which means they can change according to the market. If you can get a low fixed, go for it. But right now that probably isn't going to happen. The lowest variable that you can get is what you should look for if you might need to carry a balance. If you think that you will PIF each month, then it doesn't matter and you might want to look for rewards instead.
After 7 months of PIF on time, my credit scores are around 709(which is at the beginning of the good range). I recently applied for 4 cards and was approved for 3 and still waiting to find out about the other! I'm really stoked!!
Hope this helps! Good luck!!
Last edited by shan on Sat Aug 05, 2006 1:04 pm; edited 1 time in total
Author: timmbukk
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 12:00 am
Post subject: Looking For Good Credit Card Advice
I am in grad school and still apply for some student cards, they usually do not ask for income.
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Author: azyan111
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 12:47 am
Post subject:
Thank you so much for the replies, shan and timmbukk! A special thank you to shan for so much great information! Thank you shan!! I really do appreciate you guys sharing your experiences.
Anyone else with deeper or different advice regarding my questions (particularly students)? Please feel free to post...no advice is too obvious for me Thanks in advance!
Author: Board Monitor
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 9:45 am
Post subject: Looking For Good Credit Card Advice
Quote:
It gives you details about what the requirements for approval are for each card.
Wouldn't trust that list. Only the card issuers know the specific requirements and they ain't talking!
Here is our list of student cards (much more comprehensive):
http://www.cardratings.com/studentcreditcards.html
Quote:
On cardratings, to get a student credit card, it seems you have to have "good credit" already
That was a typo. So sorry for the confusion. You don't need credit to get a student card!
_________________
Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
http://www.CardRatings.com
20K+ Credit Card Reviews
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
posted by CardRatings.com at 8:34 PM
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