<p>What credit cards are the best to get? How many is too many? Do any students have Amex? And how easy is it to get credit cards at 18 as a college student?</p>
<p>I'll answer the last part - EASSSSSYYYYYYYYYYYYYYy. They want your money, badddddddd.</p>
<p>Well that does make a lot of sense.</p>
<p>Any is too many if you don't use them responsibly... and most use them irresponsibly. Don't charge things you can't afford.</p>
<p>A debit card is a nice thing to have -- you can use it as a credit card and buy things online, etc., but it's linked to the actual money in your checking account so you don't go overboard.</p>
<p>I have a Capital One card, which I like. I have a $200 credit limit on it per month - basically, once I hit $200, it shuts down, which is great, because thats all I can afford. I also have a debit card linked to my checking account and a copy of my parent's card for emergencies only. I use it for buying books, too.</p>
<p>I have a Few from Citi. They have the MTV U card which is nice, you get prizes and stuff for doing good.</p>
<p>Citi is good becasue there is no hassle. No id needed and no sighing any papers. They pretty much just send it to you.</p>
<p>Don't get Amex. Their fee for merchants is too high, so many places don't accept it.</p>
<p>Almost EVERY place that accepts credit cards accepts Visa/MasterCard</p>
<p>I actually don't remember seeing any place accept credit cards but not Visa/Mastercard. Usually the credit card that does not get accepted as often is American Express, and sometimes Discover.</p>
<p>I already have a debit card, but it isn't establishing any credit in my name. And I thought amex (in addition to a mastercard) would be good b/c it would force me to pay my bill full every month, so I wouldn't have the temptation to spend money I don't have. I don't know of any other credit card that requires that. Maybe I'll get a citi mastercard for students.</p>
<p>Just get a Capital One card. The starting rate for someone with no credit will be about 14%+ APR. However, it doesn't matter if it were 100% APR if you don't keep a balance on it. I've had a credit card since I turned 18, and it has not cost me one cent in interest because I always, always, always pay the balance in full at the end of the month.</p>
<p>From my experience, it doesn't matter what credit card you get. The gaps of APR between each cards is not big but its pretty significant if you owe a lot. It also varies depending on your credit rating, age, etc. but I usually get 14-18% on Visa/MC and 18-21% on Discover. I have maybe 5-6 credit cards but I only use 1 most of the time and I pay it off within 2 months period.</p>
<p>I wouldn't recommend AMEX because of the annual charge which is about $100/year. The benefits are ok with that card but its not worth it especially with us college students. A lot of cards out there has great benefits too with no annual charge. Just stick to something like Visa and only have 1 card...that's it! Pay as much as possible with cash and don't rely on your credit card 'cause its hard to rebound once you accumulated so much debt; I couldn't imagine maxing on multiple cards. That would be a nightmare! I know a lot of people that has multiple cards, loans and debts and they've been stuck for years.</p>
<p>I know this is a little off-topic but try saving your cash and be smart when it comes to money when buying. Credit card are only tools; use it to your advantage but only use it if its really necessary. Another tip is to pay it off as fast as possible so it doesn't accumulate/compound interest.</p>
<p>I wouldn't recommend AMEX because of the annual charge which is about $100/year.</p>
<p>Thats not true. It seems like everyone is talking about AMEX like it's one card. American Express offers many cards. I have an AMEX Blue for Students. No annual fee, decent APR, etc. Personally, I pay for everything I possibly can with credit cards. I build up my balances, and I get credit limit increases pretty often. Right now, I have about $6500 in credit on two cards (the AMEX Blue and a Citibank Mastercard). As long as you pay in full each month, I say go for credit cards as much as possible in college. Your FICO score will thank you later.</p>
<p>Doesn't the amount of available credit to you that you use considered in the FICO score? Isn't it bad to even go near your limit on the cc, even if you pay it off in full every month? And, as for the amex card, how is one supposed to know what their credit limit is if it says "no pre-set spending limit?"</p>
<p>Not all AMEX cards have the no pre-set limit thing. The Blue card isn't like that. And so much more goes into your FICO score than just your utilization % (which is what you seem to be referring to - the percentage of your available credit that you use in a given month). It is true that your FICO score goes down a few points the higher your utilization is, but its not as big a deal as having a late payment on your report or a collections account, which can totally kill your FICO. Other things that weigh heavily are the age of your credit accounts (which is why its a good idea to get started immediately in college and keep the same accounts for a long time), what type of credit it is (revolving credit vs. installment credit - revolving is what credit cards are, and installment is things like loans). Probably the biggest factor is just your payment history.
I have had a perfect payment history on my two cards for the past 2.5 years, and my FICO scores are around 750 (the highest you can get is 850).</p>
<p>btw - Its also bad to have a $10,000 limit and be using only $500/month because people that you try to get credit from will see that as a risk because any day you can walk out and all of a sudden have $10,000 worth of bills so they won't be willing to loan you as much. So ya, if you're only going to be spending $500/month ...get like an $800 limit in case of emergencies.</p>
<p>Just get one, because if you get too many and don't use some or all of them it will bring down your credit score - even if you pay them off on time.</p>
<p>I got a Capital One student card when I turned 16. (my mom had to cosign for it) I think my limit at the time was either $500 or $1000 a month. Once I turned 18 they wrote a letter to my house saying my moms name was no longer affiliated with my account and to use it responsibly - along with a limit increase. (imagine that). It's gone up a few other times since then too. I've always paid it off in full at the end of the month, and I believe my credit rating is higher than 67% of America - and that was when I was 21. I'm not sure what it is now.</p>
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I actually don't remember seeing any place accept credit cards but not Visa/Mastercard. Usually the credit card that does not get accepted as often is American Express, and sometimes Discover.
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<p>American Express is much more widely accepeted than Discover, and many places only take American Express, they just aren't places that most college students would go. Neiman Marcus and Costco, for example, do not accept anything but AmEx.</p>