A couple of points...
First, if you do recurring payments, make sure the payments are submitted prior to your statement being issued. Otherwise, you will accrue interest charges.
Second, if your goal is to build credit, keep your monthly charges under 30% of your card's credit limit and be sure to pay in full each month. Going over that 30% threshhold will actually harm your credit, even if you pay the amount in full.
Yep, I've already had a bit of trouble with this with my Chevron Texaco card (The payment was entered twice. Not a big deal, I just owed whatever was the difference between that month and the next month)
Second: Yeah I don't spend that much, so I won't have much of a problem there
I spend maybe 30% total on everything including cell phone, insurance, gas, and whatever else I may buy.
I've heard this quite a lot, and I do tend to agree with you. I'm a bit mature for my age though. None of my friends can keep more than $500 in their accounts. I keep enough in my account so if something happens to say my car or I incur some kind of huge medical bill I can pay it (mostly) off. Rainy day check!
I'm saving for a car too, so that's.. well all of my savings pretty much.
Actually, 750+ would be A+ tier.
As PP said, the charge card is still credit based and gets reported to your credit, doesn't matter that it can't be used elsewhere. Still, good to have multiple accounts on your credit.
You may also consider doing a share pledge loan, or a small personal expense loan. Something like 500-1000 bucks for 6-12 months or something. Looks better to have different types of accounts, not just credit cards.
If you have any loan questions, I'm the guy to ask. I specifically work with loans at my job all the time.
I got one when I was going through college, just to build my credit up so I could buy a new car. As long as you make *full* payments on time, I don't see a problem.
I had planned on taking out a loan when I buy my next car (Camry Hybrid, yaaaaaay smaller gas bills. I wish I could afford a Volt or something)
Should I take out a loan just to build my credit? Or do the loan when I get the car? Because I really have nothing expensive I want to buy other than the car
BTW the car will be bought hopefully around April to June of next year if everything goes according to plan.
One thing I should probably start doing is keeping a written record of all my transactions. I tend to let Mint.com do my finance organizations since it does a pretty good job of things. I do go down the list every once in a while and see if anything weird pops up, but that's about it. I look at a charge "From Walmart... what did I buy at walmart.. oh yes, I bought <x>. Moving on", but that's about as... organized as I get. I realize though once I start having more bills to pay things will become more important, especially when those bills are creeping up on my total monthly income.
When I get the card I do plan on using it quite extensively, doing all my purchases on it (What I would otherwise buy with my Chase debit card) and doing credit score checks until I buy that car.