<p>Up until now I've been using an Amazon Visa Card because it's allowed me to accumulate points which can get me gift certificates from Amazon.com. It works out great for me because I buy from there a lot. Anyways the problem with that is that I'm just the co-holder of the card along with my mom and I'm not really building any credit. So I figured I might as accept the offer of one out of the hundreds of letters I get in the mail for credit cards. I've been reluctant to get one, especially since the APR for purchases is usually within the 18-24% rate. From what I hear this is a normal rate for students since most don't have any credit history. Alright so here's where I need help. As far as I know, the lower the APR the better off you'll be, but that's about it. (I've never had to pay any interest on my Amazon card because I simply pay the bill the next day after I receive it in the mail.)</p>
<p>I've sorted out my mail and I've seen 7 offers which look pretty decent. If someone would be kind enough to explain the terms and what they mean I'd appreciate it.</p>
<p>APR for purchases
Balance Transfer APR
Cash Advance APR
Default APR
Overdraft Advance APR
Finance charge (I've noticed some cards have this)
Transaction fee for balance transfers
Transaction fee for cash advance</p>
<p>Here are some of the offers I've received with the details. I'm not sure which one to choose. I finally got one from American Express which is pretty cool since I hear it's hard to get one from them. Or maybe I'm hearing wrong.</p>
<p>APR only matters if you don't pay your balance in full every month. If you're looking to build credit, this is probably the number 1 thing you should do: pay off your card every month. Go for a card that doesn't have an annual fee and maybe gives you some sort of rewards (citi has a lot of good ones, imo).</p>
<p>Yea that's the thing I always pay my credit card in full every month. So far none of these cards seem to have any annual fees. The only reason I worried about APR is because you never know when emergencies come up where you have the money ready to pay off the bill but must use it to pay for something that came up unexpectedly at the last minute.</p>
<p>Since you pay off your balance every month, you should be indiffierent to the apr. That's the only way to use a credit card. Use the float from the bank rather than paying them any interest. Look for a card without an annual fee. Apr is only important if you think you'll carry a balance, which I recommend you don't. Since you took adavantage of the reward program with Amazon, you might want to look for another card with a reward program.</p>
<p>APR for purchases: interest rate for buying stuff with your credit card and carrying over a balance
Balance Transfer APR: interest rate for paying off another credit card with your card if you're carrying over a balance
Cash Advance APR: interest rate for withdrawing cash against your credit card if you're carrying over a balance
Default APR: Absurdly high rate that they start charging if you "default", usually meaning paying late, going over credit limit, falling delinquent
Overdraft Advance APR not sure what that means
Finance charge (I've noticed some cards have this): Don't worry about this. It's minimum fee that the card issuer charges the merchant that accepts your card.
Transaction fee for balance transfers: usually a percentage of the balance transfer amount, charged when you pay off a credit card with another card.
Transaction fee for cash advance: usually a percentage of the amount of the cash advance, charged when you withdraw cash from your credit card.</p>
<p>What kind of rewards does Citi MTVu card offer? I see you can get a lot of points for doing absolutely nothing but what are the rewards you get in return? It says you can get gift cards but doesn't specify for what.</p>
<p>Damn it I hate that Amazon won't approve me for a credit card on my own. :(</p>
<p>The reason Amazon and other cards won't issue you a card is because they are not designed for college students who don't yet have any credit history.</p>
<p>I know that. It just sucks because I've been using it since I was 17. And I've gotten like $150 in gift certificates from Amazon but none of that has contributed to my credit history.</p>
<p>I'm not a big fan of Amex because its not accepted at a lot of places. Any card with a Visa or Mastercard backing (Cap1, Bank of America, and many many others) will be accepted nearly anywhere. Discover is good and has good rewards, but not accepted everywhere. </p>
<p>Expect a low credit limit: usually around $500: but after you have had the card for 6 months to a year, call up and ask them if they can raise your credit limit. The ratio of balance to credit is used in calculating your credit report so having a card with a 500 dollar limit that you might put $300 on and pay off each month, won't help your credit as much as a card with a $1500 limit, for example.</p>
<p>I have a couple. I have a Discover that I use for pretty much gas only since I get 5% back on gas purchases right now, I have a Visa from Bank of America that I put small other purchases on, and I have a mastercard from Cap1. I use each every month and never carry a balance on any of them. I've been doing this for 4 years and have a spotless credit history. Once you get one card, its easy to get another and as long as you pay off the balances, you can really establish a fantastic credit history this way.</p>
<p>I used to feel that way about Amex as well. I've been pleasantly surprised at the number of places that now do accept it. The nice thing about the Amex Bluecard is that after you spend more than $6,500, you get 5% back on gas and supermarket purchases and 1.5% back on everything else. It's not likely that a college student can take advantage of this.</p>
<p>In looking at reward cards, read the fine print. Some cap the annual amount of the rewards. The nice thing about the Citi card is that there are ways you can earn points without purchases: on time payments and good grades.</p>
<p>so your saying getting multiple credit cards will help your credit rating go up quicker? i completely forgot about the credit limit on the credit card btw. altho that won't be much of an issue i guess. what i don't get tho is why $300 spent on a $500 limit isn't worth as much as (if not worth more, in terms of the impact on your credit score) $300 spent on a $1500 limit.</p>
<p>Applying for multiple cards will hurt your credit score. But having a card open and active for a number of years and building a good credit history with that card <em>helps</em> your score. So right now since you don't have a credit history, opening two cards and keeping them open for years along with spending on both cards will help your score if you pay off the balance every month. Closing old cards with good history actually can hurt your score, something people forget when they realize that they might have a department school card that has been open for 10 years and decide to close it, for example. </p>
<p>The deal with carrying a low balance or not using the full amount of your credit limit. Some experts say you want to stay about about 30% of your credit limit and that credit bureaus do care if you go higher than this, even if you pay it off every month. "They're interested in how much of your available credit you use. If its excessive, your credit score will drop." [<a href="http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/CreditCardSmarts/Your5MinuteGuideToCreditCards.aspx%5D%5B/url">http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/CreditCardSmarts/Your5MinuteGuideToCreditCards.aspx][/url</a>]
So by increasing credit limits once you card will let you and not increasing your spending, you are using less of your available credit making you look like a more attractive credit candidate. Would you want to lend to someone that uses 80% of their credit, or only 20%? The person that uses less of their available credit looks like a better person to lend too. </p>
<p>k_jo already gave you a lot of really good advice so I don't have too much to add...</p>
<p>Applying for a couple of cards really won't hurt your credit score that much so don't worry about it.</p>
<p>I posted details about the Citi MtvU card in the link that someone gave earlier. Rewards are through the Citi ThankYou Points Rewards Network which offers a wide variety of giftcards/travel options. It looks fairly decent. For that card specifically, you can also get cash back at the full point->dollar rate using the Tuition Rebate option for which I believe you can get a check. It's a good Visa card but the rates are a little high... What do you expect for a student card?</p>
<p>I also like American Express Blue Cash (Rebate). It's a good card, but it's not for everyone for the reasons that you brought up and for the fact that you need to spend quite a bit per year for a college student to get good rewards.</p>
<p>I think your AU status still counts toward your credit score for two of the three credit reporting companies until Sept 1st, but I may be incorrect.</p>
<p>Applying for too many credit cards will hurt your score so I dont' recommend that. Just get one card that meets your needs and go on from there.</p>
