Educate me on Credit Cards!!!

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

as someone mentioned above. look at a capital one card. they started me off with my first with a 300 limit. 1.5yrs later i have a credit limit of 2k. interest is a little high but the card is used for little things here and there. basically what helped me get a jump in my credit. later on i bought my car which boosted my credit. building credit with credit cards is slow, so don't expect to have the credit to go and buy a new car off the lot with only having a card for 3 months and not be denied. lawl.

 

[mdillon 10+ year member]

Cell phone bills don't help build your credit.

if its a contract they do.

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

if its a contract they do.

nope.

 

[igtree 10+ year member]

i wouldnt recommend getting one right away.... i had 8 of them like 6 months after i turned 18 and it was just a hassle... sure its a good way to build your credit but its also a good way to ruin it... just be careful........

 

[ace_800 5,000+ posts]

all you gotta do is pay the minimum amount you owe at the end of each statement and you wont get charged with anything.

You must not know anything about credit cards then, if you just pay the minimum they still charge you interest on the amount on the account. The ONLY way not to get charged anything is to pay it off each month for a zero balance.

An easy way to start credit is to go to you bank and get a small personal loan,

 

[porksoda 10+ year member]

Thanks for the great info guys!

 

[canadapettit 10+ year member]

Cell phone bills don't help build your credit.

They don't help your credit but they can sure hurt it. Having a phone bill in your name doesn't help cause if you miss a payment they don't report it to the credit bureau, but when a cell phone company, or any other company pulls your credit report that will lower your credit score. Thats why people who have a ton of cards end up with lower credit scores unless they are good at paying them off alot.

 

[IgnoreMe 5,000+ posts]

i got a capital one card as my first and only credit card. i got it at 21 years old. they seem legit to me, and i havnt had a problem with them yet.

they started me off at 2000, and within three months they gave me another 500. needless to say, times are hard and im sitting at about 2300 in debt. i was doing good for a while until shit hit the fan. the credit card saved my ***, but it does **** that you actually have to pay for the **** thing afterwards lol.

eitherway, i have never missed a payment and dont plan on it.

 

[1991Brougham 10+ year member]

I have stacks of credit cards ...I just charge them to the limits then throw em away when they don't work anymore and start on a new one..I never pay the bills either...I was told they were unsecurred loans...nothing they can really do.... They may go on your credit history or some crap...but in this day and time no one really looks at that anymore...I buy stuff all the time....on credit

ROTFLMAO!!!!

Back in 1992, things went south for me and I had a few thousand dollars of credit card debt. I just walked away from it and they never got a dime. 7 years later the statute of limitations on debt collections (Oregon's is 7 years) kicked in and then my record was clear. Even before it was cleared I still wound up with a credit card thanks to a catalog company I bought some stuff from on payments, which led to me getting an offer for a card.

Today I've got a walletful of that plastic and a max credit limit in the 20K's, all unsecured, with some pretty low APR's and no annual fees plus some goodies that come with the cards. Life is good:veryhapp:

Rick

 

[xplicitACTS 10+ year member]

avoid them....pay cash.....close thread.

 

[1991Brougham 10+ year member]

i got a capital one card as my first and only credit card. i got it at 21 years old. they seem legit to me, and i havnt had a problem with them yet.
they started me off at 2000, and within three months they gave me another 500. needless to say, times are hard and im sitting at about 2300 in debt. i was doing good for a while until shit hit the fan. the credit card saved my ***, but it does **** that you actually have to pay for the **** thing afterwards lol.

eitherway, i have never missed a payment and dont plan on it.

The funny thing to me is that Capital One gave me a $500 limit when everyone else was loading me up in the thousands. You got a good limit right off the get-go so good on you!

Rick

 

[UberAudio 10+ year member]

If you want a credit card make sure you have an assload of self control.

I just paid off 8k worth of debt today.

tore up the cards and am never going to use them again.

 

[Tiger Bass 5,000+ posts]

Step #1 in owning a credit card: Do not buy what you currently do not have the cash for or can afford! It WILL come back to bite you in the ***.

 

[SourDeez 10+ year member]

IF you want to build your credit like someone said just take out a loan, and either keep that money in a savings account (or spend it if you have a job to make the loan payments)

Thats what I plan on doing. I'm also 18.

I always think about it like this.. I already have a bank account with a debit card so I know how easy it can be to just spend money that doesnt seem like its really there..

For instance, you got a $20 bill in your pocket.. you see something you want for $5. Its so much easier to just slide the piece of plastic and thats it.. But you're not going to want to spend that money in your pocket on it.

I dont plan on getting a card.. Maybe one for gas that gives me points. Thats about it

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

or any other company pulls your credit report that will lower your credit score.

Not enough to really matter unless you are going crazy and having a few pulled each and every month.

Thats why people who have a ton of cards end up with lower credit scores unless they are good at paying them off alot.

No, the people with a ton of cards end up with lower credit scores because they have a ton of cards.