Credit Card Recommendations

[Savage Pumpkin]

I already have a Visa check card/ credit card that grabs available funds out of my checking account. But I am looking for another credit card. Are there any good ones out there with no stupid annual fees or other weird fees? Any recommendations would be great (websites too!).

 

[nailz]

What do you want from a Credit Card? There are all sorts of types and all sorts of perks from all sorts of credit cards. Do you want rewards? Gas? Free flights? Do you want low interest rates? 0% Balance Transfers? The ability to return purchases to the Credit Card Company vs. the store that sold it to you? Do you plan on paying it off every month? <--if the answer here isn't yes, don't get one.

All of these questions are ones you need to ask yourself.

Then go to http://www.creditcards.com/ and find one.

 

[mëtålspëd]

Anyone but MBNA/Bank of America. Those bastards can't keep their records safe if their life depended on it. I have MANY different cards, from different banks, and they are the only bank that has ever had a number lifted. In fact.... I just had their card number lifted from me this week. It is the 4th time over the last 6 years. I use it with the same frequency as my others. For what its worth.

 

[Pellaz]

Best thing to look for (aside from no annual fee) is the interest rate. Reward programs and such require you to spend money and accrue debt, and are a poor payback.

 

[Yippee38]

Avoid Chase. Yardley has a Chase card and they are always screwing things up.

 

[Magius]

Citi has a lot of different rewards cards.

 

[Diamond45]

I'd avoid Capital One. I've heard bad things about them.

I'd start with your own bank to see if they have a VISA or MC card available. I'm still using the card from a bank that I used about 16 years ago (though the bank is about ready to be bought out... again!).

If you belong to Costco, you can get their American Express card. While I'm against most payback programs, this one works well. Typically I charge a lot on this card and get quite a bit of cash back. Last year I took some of the cash and put it towards a High-Def TV.

I've also had a Discover card for MANY years. They were the first card to have a payback system and still have it to this day. When gasoline was really high I would get quite a bit back, but now it has gone down. I only kept the Discover card for these years as a backup card, but now I use it primarily for gasoline (except at Costco where I use the Amex card).

 

[kellsco]

Reward programs and such require you to spend money and accrue debt, and are a poor payback.

While I do agree that you have to spend money, you certainly don't have to accrue debt. I've earned three free flights on my Visa since I got it in March 2007....and have never paid a penny in interest.

 

[freakchylde]

I have the Chase equivalent of American Express, no problems there (outside of being required to sign up for a stupid fraud detector thing). But my favourite card is my Credit Union visa. Low credit line, but helps me out with the credit union if I need a loan for more money.

 

[freakchylde]

Do you plan on paying it off every month? <--if the answer here isn't yes, don't get one.

You can't develop a good credit rating unless you're paying off your debt every month, or at least paying it down. Having a bank card will not give you a good credit rating.

 

[MetalRose]

Avoid CC's all together. I don't own one and never have. I have a debit card, and it's good for my budget. Meaning if I don[t have the money, I can't spend it. Sure It sucks when trying to rent a car, but I only do that maybe once every 10 years...

-MetalRose

 

[nailz]

There are other ways to enjoy a credit rating without becoming involved in credit card debt. It took me 5 years to RE-pay off my credit cards, having racked up $10,000 after paying them off the first time. The lesson it taught me was that if you carry CC debt, you're buying things you cant afford in the first place.

 

[Magius]

You can't develop a good credit rating unless you're paying off your debt every month, or at least paying it down. Having a bank card will not give you a good credit rating.

Not entirely true. Each card you have increases your total credit line. If you're not carrying a balance this is benificial, as a larger credit line with low debt does increase your credit score.

Cash back cards are definately attractive if you don't carry a balance, since the card issuer in effect pays you to use their card. Citi's Dividend card and Discover card are good options. However, in some countries Discover is frowned upon, because they have a reputation of being slow to pay the merchants. Some other rewards cards require that you redeem points for merch or services which you may not really want or need. Cash allows you to use your rebates wherever you want.

 

[freakchylde]

Not entirely true. Each card you have increases your total credit line. If you're not carrying a balance this is benificial, as a larger credit line with low debt does increase your credit score.

I'm not advocating having a set-up like I have, or even having multiple credit cards to use when one hits the ceiling. That's just a train wreck waiting to happen. But having a couple that you carry a regular balance and pay off regularly, you're developing your credit. However, not having one, or not having any line of credit that you can develop means no credit, which is pretty much what I was saying.

 

[MetalRose]

There are other ways to enjoy a credit rating without becoming involved in credit card debt. It took me 5 years to RE-pay off my credit cards, having racked up $10,000 after paying them off the first time. The lesson it taught me was that if you carry CC debt, you're buying things you cant afford in the first place.

Which is why I don't have a Credit Card.

If I can't afford it, I don't buy it.

-Metal

 

[Diamond45]

I use credit cards, but I pay the full balance when the bill comes in. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it. Simple as that. If the money is not in the checking account, I don't buy it.

I know not everyone can live that way (especially with the rough economy now), but if you let it get out of hand, you'll be hard pressed to get out of debt.

 

[nailz]

I know not everyone can live that way (especially with the rough economy now), but if you let it get out of hand, you'll be hard pressed to get out of debt.

This is the way everyone should be living, ESPECIALLY right now.

 

[Pellaz]

I'd avoid Capital One. I've heard bad things about them.

Agreed. They tend to cater to higher-risk borrowers (i.e., with higher interest rates) and those who are susceptible to credit offers, like college students. They are NOT a deposit bank, solely a card issuer and lender.

I've also had a Discover card for MANY years. They were the first card to have a payback system and still have it to this day. When gasoline was really high I would get quite a bit back, but now it has gone down. I only kept the Discover card for these years as a backup card, but now I use it primarily for gasoline (except at Costco where I use the Amex card).

I boycott Sears and Discover because after I filed bankruptcy many years ago now, they were still reporting my account as open-and-delinquent instead of included-in-bankruptcy.....which negatively impacted my credit rating for over four years. There was a class-action suit brought against them over it, but for some reason I wasn't included in the class.

There are other ways to enjoy a credit rating without becoming involved in credit card debt. It took me 5 years to RE-pay off my credit cards, having racked up $10,000 after paying them off the first time. The lesson it taught me was that if you carry CC debt, you're buying things you cant afford in the first place.

Heh, I racked up about four times that much in CC debt before I finally threw in the towel and consulted Consumer Credit Counselors (anyone who's in financial trouble, don't go anywhere else). And they told me to file bankruptcy, since they couldn't really help me that much.

Now I use my debit card for most transactions, since it's basically like writing a check, and the two remaining active CC cards for things like rental cars and hotel rooms. They have low rates, too.

Not entirely true. Each card you have increases your total credit line. If you're not carrying a balance this is benificial, as a larger credit line with low debt does increase your credit score.

As well as the length of time the account has been open.

Citi's Dividend card and Discover card are good options. However, in some countries Discover is frowned upon, because they have a reputation of being slow to pay the merchants.

This is true; they do. MasterCard is actually the quickest payer. Discover is relatively unknown overseas, so if you're a frequent overseas traveller, it's a poor choice.

signed,

-- Paul "actually has a reallllly good credit score now" C.

 

[Diamond45]

This is true; they do. MasterCard is actually the quickest payer. Discover is relatively unknown overseas, so if you're a frequent overseas traveller, it's a poor choice.

The only two cards that are pretty much universally accepted around the world are Visa and MasterCard. If you order anything online from an international (outside US/Canada) merchant, those two are pretty much the only cards they'll take that are issued in the US. I think Visa is either affiliated with or also called "Delta", while MC is either affiliated with or referred to as "Maestro" in Europe.

Both Discover and Amex are not taken everywhere in the US, but I carry my Visa and MC cards as backups and use them when I can't use my other cards.

My employer recently changed contracts from BoA Visa to Citi Visa. I just hope that the customer service at Citi is much better than BoA.

 

[freakchylde]

One note for Scandia, I had the biggest problem over there with my business check card. So if you are going over there, make sure you have an actual credit card and know the pin number. Otherwise, you'll be paying a good bit in ATM fees.