Thinking about getting a credit card

[Harper]

What do you guys recommend for a 21 year old student?

Don't do it.

 

[Oreo]

If your phone's billing account is under your name and not your parents' names, then yes it counts.

Yep all under my name.

 

[PP Mguire]

I don't have an overdraft.

Payments are totally declined if I get more than £50 in debt, which I havn't done in a long time.




Does Spotify, Phone bill and Uploaded.net and Netweather.tv subscriptions count ? If so my credit score should be okay.

That can change depending on a lot of things. I specifically signed a document with my bank saying I wanted NO over draft and to decline purchases. They kept putting over draft on my account back on and when I took my case to a lawyer he said there was a clause in fine print on one of the sheets I signed saying they have the right to blah blah blah. Basically what I'm saying is, get a hold of your finances and know when you are going to run out before you get the declined message.

 

[lacerz]

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.

 

[Oreo]

That can change depending on a lot of things. I specifically signed a document with my bank saying I wanted NO over draft and to decline purchases. They kept putting over draft on my account back on and when I took my case to a lawyer he said there was a clause in fine print on one of the sheets I signed saying they have the right to blah blah blah. Basically what I'm saying is, get a hold of your finances and know when you are going to run out before you get the declined message.

I've had my bank account since I was 13. It has been upgraded a few times at the age of 14 and 18, but it's always been the same account pretty much. Never had an agreed overdraft and like I said on the few occasions i've gone more than £50 in debt they have fined me £25 and declined every payment. I think if they were going to force me to have an overdraft they would of by now. And even if they did I wouldn't go into it anyway I remember someone on here raising the point about what would I do if my car needed a repair at the end of the month after spending my money, which was a good point. I got a couple hundred in cash now saved in a safe, that's my own version of an overdraft

I know exactley how much I spend and how much I have left, I use the HSBC Balance App to check my recent transactions and current balance. I use it pretty much every day. I also use an app to record every purchase I make, it's a good app, it tells me how quickly I will run out of money at my current rate of spending, how much money for the month I have left, and what money was carried over from the month prior.

 

[y2adre]

I work for a bank as an asst manager, and have had cc's since 2007 after graduation. My suggestion and it's because of great service, great communication from the company, also speedy service with requests. Amex is the BEST card. i have the free one and am contemplating on getting the preferred that cost 75.00 a year but I use it so much that I got back 600.00 in cash last year. My rate has never changed 7.24%. I am extremely happy with AMex and would recommend it to anyone.

 

[PP Mguire]

I've had my bank account since I was 13. It has been upgraded a few times at the age of 14 and 18, but it's always been the same account pretty much. Never had an agreed overdraft and like I said on the few occasions i've gone more than £50 in debt they have fined me £25 and declined every payment. I think if they were going to force me to have an overdraft they would of by now. And even if they did I wouldn't go into it anyway I remember someone on here raising the point about what would I do if my car needed a repair at the end of the month after spending my money, which was a good point. I got a couple hundred in cash now saved in a safe, that's my own version of an overdraft

I know exactley how much I spend and how much I have left, I use the HSBC Balance App to check my recent transactions and current balance. I use it pretty much every day. I also use an app to record every purchase I make, it's a good app, it tells me how quickly I will run out of money at my current rate of spending, how much money for the month I have left, and what money was carried over from the month prior.

Was just a friendly warning, take it or leave it so we don't get into that again. I had my bank for 2 solid years before they started pulling crap on me. I always keep paper on hand with my finances and on the statement it all added up but they would hold charges till the last minute and dump them all at the same time to make me go over. Like, I would pay my phone bill, it would go through instantly, then a few gas purchases from the week prior and like Wendy's would all hit when I was practically broke. Every pay day after my phone payment I always made certain I would have 40 dollars left over for gas but not after they started dumping **** on me. Bank of America started doing this to me as well and I didn't even have an account with them technically.

 

[iFargle]

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.

Don't do it.

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.

 

[Fat.Clown]

couple articles #1 and #2 that I thought may be helpful.

the bullet points towards the end of article 1 is a good set of guides to go by.

 

[iFargle]

After reading those, the only one I think I'll have trouble with is the diversification of credit. Maybe in a year or two when I have my own place, though. Paying off student loans, too