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which credit card for a first timer?

Christian Waiau

Christian Waiau

Jun 16, 2005
3,584
31
las vegas/maui, nevada/hawaii
Disclosures
Endorsing Artist: Spector, Aguilar, Darkglass
#1
I'd like to get my first credit card. What i want to do is build credit and have something for emergencies. I need help with what i should look for in a credit card and also what i should watch out for. Ive never had one before... so im new to all the terms and conditions. :help:
 
#5
When I first got into credit, I got a student Visa from my bank, Navy Federal. They gave me a small limit which was easy to manage. You might want to inquire with your bank about those.

I think it's easy for a lot of teens to get suckered into those supposed "great" credit card offers you get in the mail. Problem is, people get too many damn cards at once and are stuck with tons of debt a year or two later. So long as you can avoid that pitfall, you'll be alright.
 
#6
I'd go with an Amex...it's not really a credit card but a charge card. You gotta pay it off each month. If you don't you can be f'd up pretty quick, but if you keep it in good standing they are great to work with if you have a dispute and they have a more lenient grace period. If you don't go that route get a card with a small max, say $500. Just be careful...I spent many of my post-college days paying off credit cards.
 
#8
RandomEvent said:
When I first got into credit, I got a student Visa from my bank, Navy Federal. They gave me a small limit which was easy to manage. You might want to inquire with your bank about those.

I think it's easy for a lot of teens to get suckered into those supposed "great" credit card offers you get in the mail. Problem is, people get too many damn cards at once and are stuck with tons of debt a year or two later. So long as you can avoid that pitfall, you'll be alright.
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yeah the last thing i want is to be in dept.. im pretty good about paying my bills off asap so hopefully i wont get in to it
 
#9
discoboo said:
I'd go with an Amex...it's not really a credit card but a charge card. You gotta pay it off each month. If you don't you can be f'd up pretty quick, but if you keep it in good standing they are great to work with if you have a dispute and they have a more lenient grace period. If you don't go that route get a card with a small max, say $500. Just be careful...I spent many of my post-college days paying off credit cards.
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i remember my teacher talking about amex... i dont really want to go down the amex card route. not as a first card at least. thanks though!
 
#11
diechris said:
I'd like to get my first credit card. What i want to do is build credit and have something for emergencies.
Click to expand...
What you want is to start building a savings account. That is your "emergency money". It's not fun and won't allow you to go buy that new shiny thing at the store. Five years from now it won't have you cursing yourself for spending 3x as much for that shiny thing as it actually cost.

diechris said:
I need help with what i should look for in a credit card and also what i should watch out for. Ive never had one before... so im new to all the terms and conditions. :help:
Click to expand...
Get a bunch of applications. Spend an evening making pro/con lists of the terms and conditions. Realize that there's a reason it's such a pain to decipher them: they are out to screw anyone who is too excited about having that purchasing power to consider it an idiot tax.

On the other hand, all of that interest being paid by people who don't know any better is part of what's keeping our economy propped up. It didn't work so well with that subprime home loans thing, but don't let that stop you from doing your part to help out your fellow man. :)
 
#12
msquared said:
What you want is to start building a savings account. That is your "emergency money". It's not fun and won't allow you to go buy that new shiny thing at the store. Five years from now it won't have you cursing yourself for spending 3x as much for that shiny thing as it actually cost.


Get a bunch of applications. Spend an evening making pro/con lists of the terms and conditions. Realize that there's a reason it's such a pain to decipher them: they are out to screw anyone who is too excited about having that purchasing power to consider it an idiot tax.

On the other hand, all of that interest being paid by people who don't know any better is part of what's keeping our economy propped up. It didn't work so well with that subprime home loans thing, but don't let that stop you from doing your part to help out your fellow man. :)
Click to expand...


thats very good advise. i really would like to be able to NOT rely on a credit card.. but it seems like the quickest way to have some sort of emergency income and at the same time build credit.
 
#14
Amex likely wont take someone with new credit, they are one of the more difficult cards to get. To establish credit, it's going to take a lot more than one card.

My best advice is to get a secured card....meaning if you want a $500 limit, you need to deposit $500 with them. Sure it seems silly, but it still reports as a regular card in the part it plays on building credit.

You're likely in for a rough road if you look at a credit card as "emergency income", or any other kind of income. It is a high interest liability, nothing more. I understand life happens, but personally I wouldn't be comfortable charging $XXXX if I didn't already have the amount to cover it.

It's too easy to get into a BAD way. Trust me on this one......
 
#15
I have to agree on the savings account. If you're going to get a card, it would be a good idea to open up a savings as well. Put a little in it each time you get paid. It adds up pretty fast. Then if you have an emergency, you can cover it with cash, or at least pay off a large chunk of it when the bill for your card comes. A lot of cards have a %30 APR, and minimum payments are calculated so that you're barely paying off the monthly interest accrued. It can get pretty ugly.

Check out Link Removed. I've used them for a couple of years now. They offer a pretty good rate on savings accounts. You can also set up automatic transfers from your bank accounts for easy saving. In the event of an emergency, it only takes a couple of days for them to move money back into your bank.

EDIT: The bottom line is, you probably don't want to be in the same boat as the "Average American" with $8000 in credit card debt. Saving some back for emergencies is a good way to avoid that.
 
#16
irjason said:
I have to agree on the savings account. If you're going to get a card, it would be a good idea to open up a savings as well. Put a little in it each time you get paid. It adds up pretty fast. Then if you have an emergency, you can cover it with cash, or at least pay off a large chunk of it when the bill for your card comes. A lot of cards have a %30 APR, and minimum payments are calculated so that you're barely paying off the monthly interest accrued. It can get pretty ugly.

Check out Link Removed. I've used them for a couple of years now. They offer a pretty good rate on savings accounts. You can also set up automatic transfers from your bank accounts for easy saving. In the event of an emergency, it only takes a couple of days for them to move money back into your bank.

EDIT: The bottom line is, you probably don't want to be in the same boat as the "Average American" with $8000 in credit card debt. Saving some back for emergencies is a good way to avoid that.
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+1 on all that except I would have at least a small savings ($1000) in a bank instead of ING before I started building ING savings simply because of the 2 days or so it takes to get the ING transfer done. Many emergencies require immediate cash. Also, I don't use cards for emergencies...that's why I have emergency cash. My emergency cash is enough to cover any emergency I can think of.

Also, decide in advance exactly what an "emergency" is so that you don't start dipping into your savings for things that aren't so much emergencies.

bc
 
#19
DigMe said:
+1 on all that except I would have at least a small savings ($1000) in a bank instead of ING before I started building ING savings simply because of the 2 days or so it takes to get the ING transfer done. Many emergencies require immediate cash. Also, I don't use cards for emergencies...that's why I have emergency cash. My emergency cash is enough to cover any emergency I can think of.

Also, decide in advance exactly what an "emergency" is so that you don't start dipping into your savings for things that aren't so much emergencies.

bc
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gotcha. things could come up fast then i can save a good deal money. hopefully i'll be drafting later this year and i'll have a better amount of money coming in. im just sorta worried about the next 6months.
 
#20
Fontaine said:
im thinking, you can always have more:D:rolleyes:
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haha. i dont get trash nearly as much as i did... its a shame really. i feel like im "getting to that point" ...paying bills, looking to buy a house, started a career.. living with the girlfriend.

its hard too.. im between bands at the moment so i got rid of a lot of stuff and i want to get back in to it but i cant justify getting a larger rig unless im in a band... and its hard to audition for a band with a 110 cab.. money is tight too i can NOT believe i passed up a gk600 bl AND 112 mesa cab for 300$.....
 

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