<p>I had a few credit cards in high school but they were mostly applied to department stores (Macy's, Sears, Victoria Secret). I've paid off all the balances and haven't used them in over a year. I'm looking into getting a MasterCard or Visa that I can use for all transactions.</p>
<p>I've compared some options online but I'd like some personal testimonies before I lock myself into a contract. I don't have much credit but I also don't have bad credit. I've never missed a credit card payment and I've never acquired any late fees. My balances were always under $500. The purpose of having a credit card today is simply to buy credit towards applying for future loans. I'll only be making small purchases (such as gas, food, and small expenses) so I doubt that I'll have a continual balance, therefore, I'm not too concerned about my APR, so long as it's not over 20%. It would be nice to have frequent flier miles, but this is not necessary.</p>
<p>What would be some good credit cards to go with? I thought I'd ask the parent form since I'm sure parents know more about credit then college students! Thank you!</p>
<p>I’ve never had a department store CC and see no point to them - they only offer them as a means to entice you to spend more at their store.</p>
<p>I have a cash-back Costco card where they pay me $500 or so cash per year to use their CC. I have a Visa/MC type card for everything else.</p>
<p>I recommend getting rid of all the dept store CCs, getting just a single Visa/MC with no annual fee and preferably one that’ll pay cash back or if you can’t find one of those, one that’ll pay decent miles. You can consider supplementing with the Costco AmEx or Discover to get cash back but Visa/MC are accepted at more places than AmEx/Discover so those cards aren’t good standalone.</p>
<p>And, always pay the balance off every month. Paying interest on a CC is a bad deal and should be avoided.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that Discover/American Express has limited transactions. I’ve worked in retail for several years in high school and I’ve always had trouble with certain AmEx and discover cards. I’d like to avoid them especially if I’m using this card for a variety of transactions.</p>
<p>Would it be hard to find a card with cash-back benefits if I have limited credit history? I thought about going to Capital one, but I’ve never heard any personal reviews on this card.</p>
<p>This is my understanding: Your credit score is based on how much actual credit you have vs. how much you owe and on time payments in general. If you close your accounts your available credit goes down and that will make your credit score go down. Lower credit score equals lower chance of getting another card and higher interest rates.</p>
<p>I suggest getting a MC or VISA that pays you money back on your purchases. Do not close out any acounts at this time. Discover is great but not accepted everywhere. USAA has a great credit card program for students. Good luck.</p>
<p>I’m not sure of how the approvals will be for CCs right now and I’ve heard they’re tightening up a bit. There are some cash-back Visa/MC CCs but the ones I’ve checked aren’t as good as the Costco AmEx which I can use at all gas stations, most restaurants, the grocery store, all department stores, airline tickets, hotels, rental cars, all online transactions I’ve done, and most other places including internationally. The smaller mom and pop places are less likely to accept it. Discover is accepted at more more places except internationally where I’ve received blank stares whe I’ve tried to use it. Visa/MC are accepted virtually everywhere.</p>
<p>Look at the deals since even form the same place, like Capital One, they have many offerings. Again, look for no annual fee, no interest charge if paid back each month, cash or miles back with a preference of cash, theft protection, etc. If you expect to ‘ever’ carry a balance, which you should avoid, pay attention to the interest rates otherwise it’s a mott point.</p>
<p>vehicle - Here’s some “outside the box” thinking. (1) If you pay off the balance each month, it doesn’t matter what the interest rate on the card balance is. (2) If you use the card regularly, a $500 balance will be inadequate. (3) You may face obstacles trying to obtain a Visa/MC in your own name if you’re under age 21, but it can be done if you are persistent and flexible! (4) You are being very smart about this … keep at it. Good luck.</p>
<p>I also second not getting the store cards, they have obscence interest rates and if you don’t pay it off quickly the 10-20% savings to open it is soon gone in fees.</p>
<p>Do not close out the store cards! They are important to your credit rating. In fact, you might want to charge one small thing to a one of them and then pay off the balance, the next month do the same to another…
Go to the websites for Visa and Mastercard and look at their student card offerings. You are miles ahead of most kids your age in knowing about and caring about this important part of your financial life!</p>
<p>Because of where I expect S will be in school in the fall, I applied for a Southwest Visa online last week; it came today. It’s from Chase; I have two other cards from Chase, a MasterCard and a United Airlines Visa. I don’t use the MasterCard at all, and now that I have the Southwest card (and tuition to pay, which means the United miles I’d been saving up for two years for a trip to Europe this summer which I will not be taking may be for naught ~~ sigh ~~), I’ll be using that instead of the United card.</p>
<p>I also have a Citibank MasterCard, which I’d put various large expenses on because they offered 0% interest for a year. </p>
<p>The Southwest card is a better deal than the United card, assuming one lives somewhere where taking Southwest is feasible.</p>
<p>We have USAA for our son, it’s actually a pretty low limit for freshmen, but it goes up each year they are in college. If you know you’ll be good about paying off your card each month, (that’s what we do), I agree the interest rate is irrelevant. If you can get a card that reimburses you or donates to a favorite cause that’s always nice. I would get Master Card or Visa because there are many places that don’t take Discover or American Express.</p>
<p>I’ve had a Discover Card for about 20 years and an AT&T Universal Card for about the same amount of time. They are both owned by Citi now. Citi sent me a notice telling me that they were going to close the card because I haven’t used it in a long time. I could call them up if I wanted to keep it. I probably haven’t used it in three or four years.</p>
<p>I use the Discover Card for just about everything and enjoy the cashback feature. There is a $3,000 threshold to get to the 1% cashback level but I can pay all of the kids’ tuition bills with the Discover Card so that’s not a problem. We use the Discover Card to pay for groceries, gasoline, etc. I have run into a few places that don’t take it (typically online stores) and I just use my Credit Union card for that but I don’t recall using it for at least the last year.</p>
<p>I was going to get a credit card for our son before he was a freshman but I ran out of time to do so so I just added him to our checking account. He has a debit card and can grab $10K if he wants to but he’s never used it. His wallet frequently has a lot more money than mine thanks to his part-time job.</p>
<p>BCEagle…your student will pick up your credit rating being on your card. Both kids are on mine. Should help them along the way with interest rates on loans.</p>
<p>Keep in mind the rule changed recently and have tightened up. Getting more than $500 may be difficult on a decent card with no job (if that’s the case). However, you should look at companies that your parents deal with that have cards. E.g., USAA insurance is pushing financial stuff for kids. For those that are with them (they are limited to membership – but top Customer service surveys), you can apply on line and instantly get $500 card with good rates etc. That’s what D did. There are other companies that do similar stuff, AAA does cards now. You really have to be careful however. For example because of her card she gets all sorts of pre-approved offers for larger credit amounts, but if you read the fine print they are really bad deals. And I tend to agree you probably want Visa or Master in terms of be taken most places – though I have found Amex does a better job if you have a complaint – but it can depend on the bank.</p>
<p>If the issue is to have credit, i.e., spend money you don’t have it’s one thing; but since you pay it off, another option is a prepaid card. Which gives you the flexibility of a card – don’t carry cash, with limited exposure. D has both, plus a debit card. Her limit will go to $1,000 shortly if we ask, but she does not use it that much.</p>
<p>Finally, a number of cards use rewards point which can go towards travel (airlines), but check out if there are annual costs. Also, to be realistic, a $500 or even $1500 limit will not allow you to easily accumulate much in the way of air travel in any reasonable time. I have one and put everything on it, and pay it off each month, still take time to get decent airline tickets.</p>
<p>If you are planning to travel abroad in Europe in the future, Capital One is one of the only cards that does not charge extra fees for currency conversions. </p>
<p>If you open a checking account, most banks will give you a student VISA or MC along with the package. Be sure to pay it off every month.</p>
<p>Freshman D just got a credit card (Visa) in her name with a $1000 limit from the bank she uses for her checking/debit card. She has learned from me to only charge what she will pay off at the end of the cycle, and to avoid fees or interest. They sent her the offer, probably because she already had a banking relationship with them. We didn’t look for points or rewards at this stage, just for her to begin building some credit history.</p>
<p>Be sure you read the fine print. D’s B of A card looked like a good deal until they sent her a notice that liability for purchased items would only be covered in the state the card was issued in (NM) even though she was going to school and doing most of her purchases elsewhere (OR). We got her another card pronto.</p>
<p>That is true, about the fine print, Citi cards are covered everywhere, but some aren’t. It pays to ask. I remember one mom last year that said her daughter got stuck when she did something “outside of the range”</p>