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Credit Cards...

ipodtoucher

ipodtoucher

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 13, 2007
1,684
1
Cedar Park, TX
Ok so I have no credit and I am looking to get a credit card to help build credit. My main purchase is going to be the new D90, and pay that off. I really only want to pay that off and then only use it to pay for stuff I can pay off as soon as I buy it. I know that my ideal limit is $1600, because the camera is 1400 haha and I need a bit extra for the battery grip. Now I have some money towards it which would pay off a little chunk. I just don't know what card would approve me....

So mainly I don't understand CCs. If I apply and am accepted I can turn it down right? Just to see what my limit would be...

I know Credit Cards are the devil, but i just want to prepare for when I really need that credit rating in the future...

Some help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
ipodtoucher said:
...
I know Credit Cards are the devil, but i just want to prepare for when I really need that credit rating in the future...

Some help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Your plan is good. Apply for a few cards, keep the limit low, like under $2K. And pay it off when yo get the first bill. Do NOT get a card that has an anual fee. Can you turn it down? Kind of, All you have to do is cut it up and throw it in the trash.

Nothing wrong with CCs. I never pay cash. Just don't buy stuff you can't pay off completely when you get the bill.
 
Also, try to get one that has like 12 months 0% introductory offer. This will give you time to pay off things without accruing any interest.
 
ChrisA said:
Nothing wrong with CCs. I never pay cash. Just don't buy stuff you can't pay off completely when you get the bill.
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I never pay cash either. I use my CC for everything but pay it off entirely every month. I rack up a ton of reward points that way.
 
I also use CCs only when I have the cash in my account to pay them off every month. If you do get into a situation where you can't pay it off, make as big of a payment as you can. If you don't pay at least the minimum, your credit will get dinged - however if you pay only the minimum it will take you a very long time and you'll have to pay finance charges and interest much higher than you want to
 
ChrisA said:
Your plan is good. Apply for a few cards, keep the limit low, like under $2K. And pay it off when yo get the first bill. Do NOT get a card that has an anual fee. Can you turn it down? Kind of, All you have to do is cut it up and throw it in the trash. .
Click to expand...


Throwing it in the trash does not cancel the account in any way shape or form. The account will remain active and will show up on your credit report. if you apply to a whole bunch of cards and they all get accepted, this can be detrimental to your credit rating in some cases (they don't want to see a lot of revolving credit accounts on your credit report). you need to call them and cancel it.

Also, its a bad idea to apply for a whole bunch of cards. This will show up as a user initiated pulling of your credit report. In the long term, this does no harm, in the very short term, this lowers your credit rating. as a result, each subsequent card you apply for will see a lower credit score.

Your best bet is probably to go and see if your bank offers one (not a visa debit card, a real credit card). may be easier to get since you have a relationship with your bank already.

Credit cards aren't the devil at all. I love mine. I got a nice rewards card that gives me 1% back on everything and 3% back on gas. I never buy anything I can't pay for in full at the end of the month, and as a result, I save money and have a stellar credit rating.
 
ipodtoucher said:
Ok so I have no credit and I am looking to get a credit card to help build credit. My main purchase is going to be the new D90, and pay that off. I really only want to pay that off and then only use it to pay for stuff I can pay off as soon as I buy it. I know that my ideal limit is $1600, because the camera is 1400 haha and I need a bit extra for the battery grip. Now I have some money towards it which would pay off a little chunk. I just don't know what card would approve me....

So mainly I don't understand CCs. If I apply and am accepted I can turn it down right? Just to see what my limit would be...

I know Credit Cards are the devil, but i just want to prepare for when I really need that credit rating in the future...

Some help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
get an amex or discover if you can and just like you said, do NOT let it tempt you. it is a nice convenience and should be used as such. I pay my balance every month. I wish I could say that about my student loans:rolleyes:
 
yep. get one with a good "rewards" program (money back, point redemption...) and always always always pay off your entire statement. never carry it over. then you can make it work for you.
 
Thanks for all the replies!!!

I'm just wondering say, I go apply for the Chase Freedom card and get accepted, does that mean I will get the card. Being a novice, I assumed that you would apply and then you would have a choice to accept that card or discard the offer.
 
ipodtoucher said:
Thanks for all the replies!!!

I'm just wondering say, I go apply for the Chase Freedom card and get accepted, does that mean I will get the card. Being a novice, I assumed that you would apply and then you would have a choice to accept that card or discard the offer.
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They assume you want it or you wouldn't be applying in the first place so there's not really a moment where you accept or decline an offer. Basically you would have to contact them and tell them you want to close the account.
 
You may have trouble getting a card with that high of a limit considering that you have no credit. I haven't seen anyone, even with a nice high balance in savings and checking and applying at their own bank get a first card with a $1600 limit. To be honest, the highest I've seen on a first card is about $900 with no previous credit. You can always try though.

You can give Chase a try, I got denied when I applied with no credit for a student card. Capital One is another good bet, its pretty easy to get a card from them (but don't expect much of a limit, maybe half of what you've listed above).
 
rhsgolfer33 said:
You may have trouble getting a card with that high of a limit considering that you have no credit. I haven't seen anyone, even with a nice high balance in savings and checking and applying at their own bank get a first card with a $1600 limit. To be honest, the highest I've seen on a first card is about $900 with no previous credit. You can always try though.
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unless you've taken any other sort of loan before? or if you make butt loads of money?
 
You should apply for one card. Pick carefully after closely reviewing the offers. Since you have no credit, they will probably only give you a $500-1000 limit. And to answer your questions, when YOU apply, it means you want the card. If they accept you, you get the card, there is no chance to accept or decline.
 
do not exect to get high of a credit limit with this card as this would be your first credit card. By the sounds of it you have not started paying back your student loans so you have no credit there.

You might get $1000 credit limit if you are lucky. They just do not hand out larger ones early on.

Apply for one card and see what happens. If they turn you down then apply for another. Generally you will find out in a few days.

Lastly using a credit card is considered one of the worse ways to build credit. Credit card debt is considered bad debt (compared to a car loan, Mortgage which is considered "good debt")
 
I seem to always post a link to http://www.creditcards.com/ in these threads.

Your problem as others have stated is that if you don't have much of a credit history (no loans, no credit cards) getting a decent first card with a high balance is near impossible (I speak from experience). So I'd check out the "No Credit" section at creditcards.com (there's only one no annual fee card).
 
To echo the sentiment of others, I think that you're not likely to get a card with a credit limit above $1,000. In all probability, your card's limit will be between $500 and $900.

What I found when I had first gotten my first credit card was that your credit will build very quickly as long as you pay off your bill in entirety every month.

For example, I had gotten my first card around Christmas time my freshman year of college (as in a card that was exclusively mine and not tied to my parents' account). The limit was a paltry $500. I never charged very much on it (maybe $100-$200 per month) and paid the bill on time every month. By April I was approved for a card with a $2,000 limit. By Christmas later that year, I had worked my way up to a Citi Mastercard that pays cashback bonuses on all of my purchases, and on some purchases (gas and groceries primarily) up to 5% cashback!

So, the moral of the story is that it won't take long to work your way up to a better card, but I don't think you can buy that $1,400 item right now. :)
 
If it does help I do have a small student loan, not much. But I doubt it would give me much help...

The real hard part is convincing my mom, yes I am 19, but she has gone through such bad things with credit cards that she really hates the idea of me getting one.
 
$1000. That's the maximum limit I can see any company extending to a virgin credit user. Do you have any credit unions? They are usually more generous.
 
ipodtoucher said:
If it does help I do have a small student loan, not much. But I doubt it would give me much help...
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If you've been making payments towards it, then yes. If not, then it probably won't help because it is a mark of credit that you have drawn against, rather than payed towards.
The real hard part is convincing my mom, yes I am 19, but she has gone through such bad things with credit cards that she really hates the idea of me getting one.
Click to expand...

Well just explain to her that building credit responsibly is important, especially because you are still working towards your ultimate financial goals (whatever they are).

If she doesn't budge, then just get one anyway; you are "of age." ;)
 
strider42 said:
Your best bet is probably to go and see if your bank offers one (not a visa debit card, a real credit card). may be easier to get since you have a relationship with your bank already.
Click to expand...

I went this route with my bank (Wells Fargo) when I was 18 and got a $1000 limit right away. And you can check your spending report on the same site as your checking or savings accounts.

Worth a look for whatever bank you use. (some examples)
Credit card page for Wells Fargo
Credit card page for Bank of America
 
well everytime you try to get a new credit card, they will pull out your credit report. then your credit score will get lowered by pulling out the credit report. so dont just open the acct to see ur limit.
 
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