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Im with BOA
School me on Credit Cards vol. Getting no money vol. Thread Change
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never go over 30% of your max, it will hurt your credit score
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If you're at BofA then apply for a CC through them. Makes it a bit easier to manage. If it's for credit building purposes then just use it to get gas or groceries once or twice a month and then transfer the money from your checking account to pay your cc (convenience of checking acct and CC at same institution).
If you don't have credit and you get declined then get a retail CC, which isn't nearly as stringent to get approved. You could also go the secured CC route, which I don't know if BofA offers that, but I know Wells Fargo did (as recent as this summer).
If you don't have credit and you get declined then get a retail CC, which isn't nearly as stringent to get approved. You could also go the secured CC route, which I don't know if BofA offers that, but I know Wells Fargo did (as recent as this summer).
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Possibly one of the best movies ever made.
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I'm trying to build mine too thanks for the tips.
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- Nov 16, 2001
BoA doesn't make it any easier than any other CC to apply/pay your bills. Their credit card department doesn't talk to their retail banking department, so you're not going to get any "perks" from sticking with the same bank. Same goes for any of the other large banks too.
Applying for a retail credit card is about the worst thing you can do since you can only use it at that store and the interest rate is usually in the high 20% range. If you're really desperate to build credit, keep your limit low (around $500-$1000) so you can't get in too much trouble like 60% of consumers out there.
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- Mar 2, 2009
Capital One No hassle
Chase Sapphire
Amex Costco Card
Some of the cards you should look into however most of these cards you do need good credit to get.
Chase Sapphire
Amex Costco Card
Some of the cards you should look into however most of these cards you do need good credit to get.
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- Oct 1, 2011
Not sure if OP is a student or not, but I've had the MTV Student U CitiBank CC for about 2 years now (started w/ 1000 limit)....I didn't really have a credit history when I applied but I was able to qualify for one, but the biggest piece of advice that's been said here is pay that **** on time if not early. I only use the CC to build up thankyou reward points, etc and will only get stuff if I know I have the cash in my bank acct to pay for it, but with this card after 8 months of consistent payments I just requested a 1000 increase and they didn't have to do the "hard pull" or whatever (which effects your Credit Score negatively) but they just looked at my payment history and asked the manager there and I got my limit up to 2000....theres no annual fee, you can get exclusive rewards, and they seem to accept you regardless of your credit score, I used a site like this to figure out what I wanted to do: http://credit-card-review.toptenreviews.com/
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- Jan 28, 2003
This advice is more pertinent to people who have already built some credit.
These are the cards I have.
1. American Express Gold Rewards
2. Chase Freedom Visa
3. Barclay Visa
4. Wells Fargo Debit
5. Brooks Brothers Store
6. Amazon Store
I use my Amex for everything that I can. The perks are the best there are for an average to above average consumer. It's easy to rack up points. Triple on airfare, double on gas and groceries, single on everything else. In addition, they have a lot of great online offers for points (5x for Apple, Target, Neimann Marcus, etc.). They have great travel, entertainment and retail offers exclusive to gold card members. They provide terrific insurance, fraud protection and the best customer service there is. Plus they do frequent specials for all Amex cards, like small business Saturday ($25 statement credit for shopping at a designated small business on SBS) and the gift chain (I got $140 in Amex gift cards, $20 to Starbucks, $54 statement credit, etc. all for doing my holiday shopping online). It's $175 a year after the first year, but the benefits are well worth it if you use the card enough. And you have to pay the balance at the end of each month. It keeps you in check.
Chase Freedom gets used for all my purchases that I can't use my Amex for. It's a cash back card that also gives you $200 back if you spend $500 in the first three months. No fee for owning.
The Barclay card is from a few years back when I was first establishing credit. I don't use it anymore outside of once a month just to keep the line active.
I don't use my debit card ever. It doesn't give me any benefits, so there's no reason to use it. I don't use cash for the same reason. I also try to pay all my bills with my Amex when I can, which includes pretty much everything outside of rent (I could do that too, but the cost outweighs the benefit).
The Brooks Brothers card gives you 4x points on Brooks Brothers purchases. When you get to 2000 points ($500), you get a $20 gift card. I shop there enough that getting 4% back on my purchases is a a huge plus.
The Amazon card was just another card I got early on that I don't really use much because I don't shop on Amazon much. But I use it for textbooks and medical tools.
So for a quick run down, one rewards card, one cash back card and your debit card. That's all you need. My credit score is around 750 right now. Haven't had problems getting approved for anything. I have never carried a balance over once on any of my cards. If you're carrying a balance over from month to month, you can't afford what you're spending.
These are the cards I have.
1. American Express Gold Rewards
2. Chase Freedom Visa
3. Barclay Visa
4. Wells Fargo Debit
5. Brooks Brothers Store
6. Amazon Store
I use my Amex for everything that I can. The perks are the best there are for an average to above average consumer. It's easy to rack up points. Triple on airfare, double on gas and groceries, single on everything else. In addition, they have a lot of great online offers for points (5x for Apple, Target, Neimann Marcus, etc.). They have great travel, entertainment and retail offers exclusive to gold card members. They provide terrific insurance, fraud protection and the best customer service there is. Plus they do frequent specials for all Amex cards, like small business Saturday ($25 statement credit for shopping at a designated small business on SBS) and the gift chain (I got $140 in Amex gift cards, $20 to Starbucks, $54 statement credit, etc. all for doing my holiday shopping online). It's $175 a year after the first year, but the benefits are well worth it if you use the card enough. And you have to pay the balance at the end of each month. It keeps you in check.
Chase Freedom gets used for all my purchases that I can't use my Amex for. It's a cash back card that also gives you $200 back if you spend $500 in the first three months. No fee for owning.
The Barclay card is from a few years back when I was first establishing credit. I don't use it anymore outside of once a month just to keep the line active.
I don't use my debit card ever. It doesn't give me any benefits, so there's no reason to use it. I don't use cash for the same reason. I also try to pay all my bills with my Amex when I can, which includes pretty much everything outside of rent (I could do that too, but the cost outweighs the benefit).
The Brooks Brothers card gives you 4x points on Brooks Brothers purchases. When you get to 2000 points ($500), you get a $20 gift card. I shop there enough that getting 4% back on my purchases is a a huge plus.
The Amazon card was just another card I got early on that I don't really use much because I don't shop on Amazon much. But I use it for textbooks and medical tools.
So for a quick run down, one rewards card, one cash back card and your debit card. That's all you need. My credit score is around 750 right now. Haven't had problems getting approved for anything. I have never carried a balance over once on any of my cards. If you're carrying a balance over from month to month, you can't afford what you're spending.
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- Dec 14, 2003
If your starting off get something with your bank. Also something that has no annual fee since your most likely to never cancel this card.
I have B of A too. I have the Power Rewards card, which helps me rack up air miles like crazy.
I have B of A too. I have the Power Rewards card, which helps me rack up air miles like crazy.
