Credit Card Thread

Quote from Sportsaholic : it still gives an error when you click on apply now.

That was just FYI.

How's the Chase student credit card with karma points? I rather have all my banking with one bank ><

Quote from skwz : Any card you get will build your credit which should be your top priority. Get a card without an annual fee and has a decent rewards program. APR shouldn't be a concern since you're ALWAYS going to pay off your balance in full. Remember, as a college student, you're not going to be spending enough to make rewards worthwhile (generally) and your primary goal is to establish a good credit history. That said, I recommend Discover Student More Card and Citi Forward (wait out to see if annual fees are tacked on).

I agree with most of what you say, but I don't agree with the APR part. Stuff happens (most of the time, it's due to bad decisions), but putting yourself in a situation where carrying a balance is 2x as expensive as it could have been is a bad idea. Maybe purchase APR shouldn't be a primary concern, but it's definitely something that should be considered.

If I were looking for a first card, my priorities would be:
No annual fee
Low purchase APR
Ease of use (I know that AMEX isn't usually a first card, but it's not uncommon to find a business that simply doesn't pay it)
Rewards

Quote from quazywong : How's the Chase student credit card with karma points? I rather have all my banking with one bank ><

TBH, pretty crappy. If you want a Chase CC, look into their freedom card. Do you have any prior credit history (i..e being an AU on a parent's account?). If not, you're probably limited to cards aimed towards students or people with poor/no credit.

Quote from skwz : Can the Amex Plum be considered slick with a $185 annual fee?

Depends on rewards......

Im going to give everybody a little bit of advice if you have a hardship and you call your cc company. Make sure you ask for a lower payment first. I deal with people with hardships all day and from what I have heard internal hardships work like this. Usually it is a 6 month to 5 year program and when they lower your payment they will tell you a new rate.

Also when you call lender/credit card company cut out all non-essential living expenses when you talk to them or you will not get any help. Common sense stuff (gifts, eating out).

And stay far away from settlement companies. You dont need a third party to work out a settlement you could hold on to your own money and work out a settlement on your own.

Quote from skwz : Can the Amex Plum be considered slick with a $185 annual fee?

It gives 1.5% back. (it also happens to be the card Mr. Slickdeals uses for office purchases)

Quote from thelnel52 : It gives 1.5% back. (it also happens to be the card Mr. Slickdeals uses for office purchases)

Eh. If you really think about it, if that's ALL that it gives (e.g. 1.5% on everything, no larger %'s for certain types of purchases), then you're only gaining 0.5% over other cards that do not have the annual fee.

So you're paying $185 for 0.5% more back. In order to break even you'd need to spend $37,000 on the card per year.

Sometimes you can get the fee waived or reduced if you threaten to close the card....credit card companies need us more than we need them remember that.

Quote from Dr. J : Eh. If you really think about it, if that's ALL that it gives (e.g. 1.5% on everything, no larger %'s for certain types of purchases), then you're only gaining 0.5% over other cards that do not have the annual fee. So you're paying $185 for 0.5% more back. In order to break even you'd need to spend $37,000 on the card per year.

The rewards for new Plum signups must have changed. I signed up back when Plum came out and I'm still getting 2% back on everything. Must be a charter member thing. Bandwidth & servers for SD isn't cheap.

Even at 1.5%, it might be worth it depending on your business expenditures.

Quote from skwz : Any card you get will build your credit which should be your top priority. Get a card without an annual fee and has a decent rewards program. APR shouldn't be a concern since you're ALWAYS going to pay off your balance in full. Remember, as a college student, you're not going to be spending enough to make rewards worthwhile (generally) and your primary goal is to establish a good credit history. That said, I recommend Discover Student More Card and Citi Forward (wait out to see if annual fees are tacked on).

Already have one to build a credit history. But from what I've heard, I will eventually have to get a regular card (not student) credit card in order to maintain the history after graduating, correct?

Edit: what about chase sapphire, got some of those spam applications saying an variable APR of 15.24%...?

Quote from compuguy1088 : Already have one to build a credit history. But from what I've heard, I will eventually have to get a regular card (not student) credit card in order to maintain the history after graduating, correct? Edit: what about chase sapphire, got some of those spam applications saying an variable APR of 15.24%...?

No. No differentiation is made as to whether your card is a student or non-student. Just maintain some activity to prevent your account from being closed and you're set.

I don't know about Chase CC's, but they often have promotions running (i.e. $50 cashback for Chase Freedom) if that's any consolation. Since you've already established credit and are in good standing (hopefully), the choice is yours to make. Decide which factors are a priority (Chase branded, low apr, decent rewards program, etc...) and then pick a card you see fit.

Quote from thelnel52 : It gives 1.5% back. (it also happens to be the card Mr. Slickdeals uses for office purchases)

The Amex Blue Cash card (which Im surprised is missing from this thread) gives a tiered reward structure (up to 5% back on gas/grocery/drugstore purchases and 1.25% on everything else once you've spent $6500 on the card). Overall, based on the cash rewards I've received so far, it ends up being ~1.5-1.7% cashback annually, and there is no fee for the card.

Quote from skwz : No. No differentiation is made as to whether your card is a student or non-student. Just maintain some activity to prevent your account from being closed and you're set. I don't know about Chase CC's, but they often have promotions running (i.e. $50 cashback for Chase Freedom) if that's any consolation. Since you've already established credit and are in good standing (hopefully), the choice is yours to make. Decide which factors are a priority (Chase branded, low apr, decent rewards program, etc...) and then pick a card you see fit.

At last check, my credit score via credit karma (only one of the scoring companies) was in the low to mid 700's.