<p>So I'm looking to apply for a credit card and I'm trying to decide between Bank of America's Student Platinum Plus and Citi's mtvU Student Platinum Select.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any advice on which I should get? Their APR's are pretty similar and Bank of America offers WorldPoints (for purchases) while Citi offers ThankYouPoint (for purchases AND good GPA/on-time payments)</p>
<p>I currently have a checking account with Bank of America so I wanted to go with them but I just wanted to see the best deals first.</p>
<p>I disagree with danny. I got a credit card my senior year, and my only regret is not getting one sooner. As long as you're responsible with it (meaning you don't use it to buy things you wouldn't have bought otherwise), you're building credit and earning points for free ****. I'm not familiar with the two you mention, but the Amazon card from Chase is really good...it gives you a free $30 on Amazon just for signing up, plus 1% of all your purchases back in the form of Amazon gift cards.</p>
<p>Get a credit card iff you can pay it off at the end of EVERY month. But if you CAN use it responsibly then definitely do get one, they're extremely useful. BoA has online bill-pay that'll sync up easily with your checking account there, so that's a plus. You shouldn't be worried about APRs because you shouldn't EVER be carrying a balance on these cards, although yeah, the lower the better I suppose.</p>
<p>My favorite card (and the only one I use now when possible) is my American Express. It's not accepted everywhere but I can probably count on one hand the number of places that have turned it down. I get rewards and the online bill-pay is a little easier than my BoA card.</p>
<p>I’m a big proponent of credit cards. The reason why credit card debt is rather prevalent among our age group is almost entirely due to ignorance. Credit cards aren’t sources of free money. If people used credit cards the same way they used debit cards (i.e. only buy what you can afford to pay in full), then credit card debt wouldn’t be as common.</p>
<p>As long as you pay your balance in full and on time, APR is 0%, therefore irrelevant. For whatever card you pick, make sure there’s no annual fee.</p>
<p>I would echo the recommendation that you shouldn't worry about APR, because the rule should be to pay it off in full each month. Also, get cash rewards rather than points. More versatile. Also, obvious, don't get one that you have to pay an annual fee. Many Am Ex require annual fee.</p>
<p>Well I currently have a part-time job and I've used a credit card under my parent's account for over 2 years and I never spent more than I can afford so yes, I will pay off the balance every month. I think I'm going to go with Bank of America so I can sync my online bill-pay as chuy suggested. Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>I applied for the mtvU card from Citi, but I haven't gotten it yet. They sent me a letter asking for a copy of a current student ID, which I mailed to them yesterday.</p>
<p>And I got another letter from 1st Financial Bank USA yesterday as well with an application for their student card. I'll be applying for this too because they offer 0% APR on balances under $250 (19.95% on balances over; this is where Citi's card comes in).</p>
<p>what i recommend is getting a credit card OFF your parent's credit account. if you can't pay it at the end of the month, they can cover for you in the meantime and you can pay them back. however, this may mean you may become a freeloader off your parents = leading to bad bad bad debt. with your parents. which is not pretty when you go back home during the holidays! </p>
<p>i've heard chase is pretty good too, i'm planning on that =)</p>
<p>^but then you don't get any credit. Besides, the OP also said that he has one off of his parent's account.</p>
<p>I've heard good things about Chase and Citi, but I haven't heard about the student ones. If there is a cash reward option, you should go for that and just have it applied to your bill. Often with the points, you end up having to get something that you will never use because they are about to expire or you get a gift card that makes you go out and spend money that you could have just saved by having it applied to your bill.</p>
<p>Chase is good but their lack of branch around the us is really annoying. citi is okay, you might have some customer service problems, but once you threaten to leave they basically brown nose you alot. right now im with chase and i dont pay any interest unless im over the limit.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how the online credit card applications work? I understand that once you fill out the application they give you your credit limit at APR, but once you hit submit on the application do they automatically say "your limit is, your apr is, and here is your card!"- or do you get a chance to deny it?</p>
<p>I've been afraid to fill out an application due to the fear of being stuck with a card with terms that I don't like...</p>
<p>I signed up for a Bank of America Student Platinum Plus credit card a few months before graduating high school. They started me out at $500. After using it for a year, they've increased my limit to 2k and gave me an emergency card. I pay off the bills every month and I never exceed my budget. As long as you use it wisely, you can build credit and learn more about finances. The reason why people are in so much debt is due to our society (nothing wrong with it) but it's mainly due to the fact that they don't know how to spend wisely. They don't know anything about money and that gets them into trouble.</p>
<p>They will mail you one after a week or two. You have the choice of activating it or not activating it.</p>
<p>I don't remember if there's a next-to-last step where you can say, "No thanks." If you get a card that has terms you don't like, don't use it. Just cancel it.</p>