22 Yrs. old... finally decided it was time to get a credit card.

[ptrakarn23]

Creditcard baller.... do it

 

[ac4three]

Don't carry a balance - it's as simple as that...

 

[j d0t c0medy]

I'm 22 and I've been building credit since 19. It's helped me a lot especially on with my Business loans & Business credit cards. Other thanthat don't spend money on things you can't afford.

I've justified spending ridiculous amounts of money on stupid things, Yeah i've paid them off and I'm not even a $1.00 in debt but I easily couldbe atleast $50,000 in debt if I didn't care about my future.

 

[martin and co]

I'll be happy to point you and Michael (illmatic) in the right direction.

Right now is a tough time for cards BUT:

1) Its not nearly as bad as people say it is

2) A lot of the negative stuff is random


I think your first step should be to go on truecredit.com and pull all three credit reports and scores. Its not necessary but knowing your credit score isimportant for the most part b/c underwriters have been changing their guide lines so sometimes what used to be a "good" score is now consideredmarginal, so you wouldn't want to apply then get declined and have an inquiry on your credit report for no reason (if its not transunion its usually easyto take off, but who needs the hassles).


Picking just one card? oh where to start! I guess it really depends what you want out of your card. There are cards you can get cash back on for signing up,frequent flier miles, prestige (ala amex), there are so many, ha.

I recommend not really carrying a balance (unless its on the 0% intro apr), but if you must keep it at 30% of the total credit limit, any more and it dentsyour score and is not a good look when you apply for other financial products.

Regardless of what people say, credit cards are a GREAT thing to have, as long as you're responsible. However, nowadays, making payments doesnt guaranteethings to be hunky dory. I've heard of people getting their CL's chopped by amex, some even asked to pay their monthly bill before the end of thebilling cycle. People are also getting the Amex's famous "financial review" a lot more often (crosses fingers), where they're asked to signoff on 4506-t forms or asked for tax returns or other stupid stuff.

I think the "perfect" arsenal would be

1. Amex green or gold (green is easier to get, and afterward they offer an upgrade to the gold or you can apply yourself. Although, I've heard of peoplegetting the gold as a first amex card, but who knows how an amex UW felt that day)

-Its a GREAT card that you can use to charge all the expenses you want to pay for at the end of the month.

2. A secondary AMEX thats not a charge card style, like blue or one of their Frequent flier or hotel rewards cards.

and

3. A non AMEX just in case. Chase is usually good about CL's, not hard to get 20k with them.


I think THE BEST STARTER CARD FOR PEOPLE WHO NEVER HAD A CARD BEFORE IS:

Capital one Classic platinum
http://www.capitalone.com...?sol=10682&tc=10&credit=2


You're pretty much guaranteed to be approved. They gave me my first card when I had no credit.


If you're someone like illmatic who's had a card, Chase platinum is fairly easy to get and they give good terms and CLs. Bank of America is similar,but they have HORRIBLE customer service and generally speaking have CSR's that don't care much and help you out if they're in mood. AMEX has thebast CS. EVER.

Also please remember there are cards that pay you anywhere from $100-$250 or like 25,000 FFM , just to sign up! You need to know the promo, and if you have aspecific card you want i MIGHT be able to find it. Amex gives you 250 to sign up for gold as of recent if you do it with the promo.

Um, so thats credit cards in a nutshell. Redundant stuff : PAY ON TIME! One day late and the 10ish apr goes to 24! If you have a solid history with them theyMIGHT let you slide.

 

[djprestige21]

Just take it slow, just because you have a 5k limit doesn't mean that you should use all 5k.

Spend maybe 100 bucks a month on it and have no doubt in your mind that you will be able to pay it back.

 

[martin and co]

also let me add:


-Its great to pay with cards (especially amex), because if the product is bad or something, they will help you fight the charge!


-Business cards are GREAT because they DO NOT report to your personal credit (except Citi professional). Its best to really incorporate or buy a shelf company(for age), because amex for example might ask you for your Articles of incorporation or state tax lic.


Jdot- I know what you mean, but this kid is 16 with a Centurion (black card) (word to authorized users)

http://www.blackcardsourc...ck-card-harrison-gevirtz/

Spend maybe 100 bucks a month on it
Normally I'd say your right but AMEX is CLOSELY monitoring spending habits and your demographic info (home prices in your area, where youspend, etc) so I'm not 100% sure about other cards, but limits are getting cut and its random. They base it on spending habits. You spend little, smalllimit now!

also when i speak about limits and amex, I mean cards that arent green, gold, plat, etc. ALTHOUGH people think you can "spend as much as you want",amex secretly (well, not so secretly, they dont put it in such blunt terms, they say "no preset limit") does have hard limits on those cards,especially now. If it doesnt fit your spending patterns, who knows what they will do (if anything).

 

[pushak513]

I hate Bank Of America.. there terrible customer service, wont help you out at all and basically been screwin up my life for a few years now

 

[oo master chief oo]

Originally Posted by dmbrhs

Originally Posted by Crank Lucas

question: I have 0 credit, if I want to open myself a cell phone line can I do it?

That's one way people build credit.

not true you aren't borrowing money

 

[deletedelete]

if you spend more than 15% of your credit limit, that can adversely affect your credit score.

don't apply for too many credit cards, this too can have an adverse effect.

always pay in full and on time.

I was really interested in getting credit as soon as i turned 18, but many credit card companies are not prone to giving credit less people credit. Seeing asyou're 22 i'm going to guess that you have some credit eg phone bill & blahblah. but if you don't, the only credit cards that offeredme were 1st financial & capitalone. first financial is crap, and i actually like capitalone.

goodluck ;]

 

[deletedelete]

Originally Posted by oO Master Chief Oo

Originally Posted by dmbrhs

Originally Posted by Crank Lucas

question: I have 0 credit, if I want to open myself a cell phone line can I do it?

That's one way people build credit.

not true you aren't borrowing money

well you are borrowing their service, and paying them in return.

+ when i bought my iphone and made an AT&T plan, they had to run a credit check ( 720 btw

) my friend also applied for it but since she had no creditshe told me she had to pay some sort of fee. idk i wasn't paying attention but point of the story is to open your own phone line you need credit.

 

[retrojtino]

Man look, it's definitely not the best time to be pickin' up a credit card. But the best advice anybody can give you is, PAY ON TIME!!! No matter what.You're a new man once you have a credit card. Because you're credit is being monitored every step of the way, and everything you do with it will bestuck to you for the rest of your life. You might not be in so much danger right now, because I'm sure you don't have much credit. Say between 300 and500 tops. But that can still get you caught up. A don't would be just paying the minimum. Try to pay at least 50%. The lower your payment, the higher theinterest rate. As long as you can manage your money and stay on top of your payments, you should be ok tho. I'm fairly new myself, but I'm hangin'in there. Good luck.

 

[lilpro4u]

Creditboards.com

OP, I would say pretty much ignore EVERYTHING you've read in this thread so far.

 

[produccionfrescos]

Originally Posted by CROSSISOM

I need one, I'm broke as hell, for legitimate reasons though. I know how to manage my money though.

 

[solewoman]

never had one...lord willing, never will need one.

 

[meldr]

If you have to get one... get one with your bank (or better yet credit union they're cheaper and have less fees) and don't charge more that 50% of thelimit at any given time otherwise it brings your score down, and DO NOT make a late pymt at my credit union we don't report on any open credit unlessit's over 30 days past due so make sure the company you choose gives you a grace period...

I would suggest you get a low interest personal loan or line of credit which works like a credit card but its a much much cheaper rate see if your bank offersit.

 

[seniosoul]

just cut it up and stop spending money you aint got... hint *credit card

 

[lurkin2long]

credit cards are not a bad thing, they only bad if you dont know what you doin

 

[thunderchunk69]

Amex Blue + debit card is all you need.

I got a paypal card too in case I want to ball off snapback hats, lol.

 

[fade on you]

Just make sure you pay on time or a day or two earlier...and always pay the full bill, not the minimum.

 

[trethousandgt]

Congrats, at 22 it is most definitely a necessity, you need to start building credit or else good luck on ever buying a house, purchasing a car, renting anapartment. Don't listen to these guys saying now is the worst time etc. The times have nothing to do with your situation. What? Because our economy is inpoor financial times you should wait until your 28 or 30 to start building credit

? get the hell out of here, just be smart with your purchases, and pay ontime.

 

[queencitysneakerqueen]

Originally Posted by Lex Rockhead

Im 20 and im tryna get rid of mines.

 

[kingtre]

when you get it holla at me- got some stuff for sale-

 

[lurkin2long]

i just checked my credit score yesterday its 745.

when i was 18 that %+% was like 5 hundred range, credit ballin and late payments. you learn quick though

 

[kixofrinic]

Originally Posted by illmaticsoulchild

I really do need a credit card. Had one in college, never got into debt, but just used it to build up credit.

I do need one for emergencies though.

Same went for me, too bad my emergency was Christmas shopping last year.. Holiday shopping on credit FTL.

If u wanna establish credit try and see if you're parents can add you to their accounts thats how I established mine while I was young.

 

[cadillacflow]

Soon as it comes in the mail throw it away.