26yo w/ previous good credit - What is the best credit card for me?
Credit Card
beachylilly asked:
I opened a bank account about 7 years ago. At that time, I had an excellent credit score (due to my parents I think) and I have only used my debit card since then. I need to open a credit card to maintain my credit score. Which one should I get? Has my credit score been hurt since I haven’t used a credit card in the last 7 years?
Juan
I opened a bank account about 7 years ago. At that time, I had an excellent credit score (due to my parents I think) and I have only used my debit card since then. I need to open a credit card to maintain my credit score. Which one should I get? Has my credit score been hurt since I haven’t used a credit card in the last 7 years?
Juan
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Stacey
WATCH out for the fees!
or compare at
May 25th, 2009 at 7:04 am
Marilyn
I wouldn’t say there’s specific one or bank card to get. I would look out for ones that offer the lower APR or 0% for the first year. Also, if you have good or decent credit, its unnecessary to take any card that requires an account fee or an annual fee. Although I have had a decent experience with citibank, they often offer cards @ 0% for the first 6 months to a year, and they do not require an annual or account startup fee.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:10 am
Pearl
If you are opening a credit card to improve your credit score, don’t get distracted by cards with frequent flier miles or bonus cashback or whatever. They tend to have higher rates and sometimes a very short amount of time from when you receive the bill to when the payment is due. The card that has had the lowest interest for me since the 1980’s is a basic mastercard issued through my credit union. They have also offered me the lowest rate on student loans, car loans, etc. I don’t even live in the same state anymore, but I keep my credit union accounts open for the reasons listed above. I know that in some parts of the U.S. it is difficult to join a credit union (like where I live now), but it could really be a benefit on rates if you can get in to one. In answer to the second part of your question, lots of things affect your credit score. The most important thing to do is to pay all of your bills on time. Also, be aware that applying for credit cards and then cancelling them knocks your score down. So, choose carefully the card you want, and then keep it to build credit. Don’t accept one card, move your debt to another and close the first one. Any credit checks and closures of cards will affect your score. So, just get a basic no-frills card to start off with that has a good rate (not just a good temporary teaser rate,) pay it on time every month and keep it for a long time. All those things will really help.
May 27th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Andre
try creditcards.com and this will help u find the card for u
May 28th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Darlene
It’s hard to say how your credit score will look after 7 years without a credit card. I would get a copy of your credit score just to be sure. But I would guess your credit would still be good enough to apply for a ’standard’ credit card. You can find a great list of offers here:
Since many credit card issuers have credit cards designed specifically to ‘build’ or ‘improve’ your credit, you could also consider one of these offers. But I would try a ‘regular’ card first.
If you’re worried about being approved, I would highly recommend the Chase Platinum Visa Card. Since Chase has the loosest approval guidelines of all the major credit card issuers– this might be your best shot at getting approved!
Otherwise, you’ll be paying higher interest rates and additional fees to build your credit back up with a ‘bad credit’ credit card…
Hope this helps. GOOD LUCK!
May 31st, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Sally
It didn’t really hurt your credit score, but you haven’t built it . But nothing is destroyed…
Try with your bank. It’s the best option.
June 2nd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Rosa
go here to compare them ,
June 4th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Elaine
Apart from no annual fee feature of the American Blue Express it also gives cash returns on specific purchases. Users of the American Blue Express also enjoy protection against fraud for online credit card transactions. This card tries to right the various wrong notions about the American Express credit cards, one of which is that it is a credit card only for rich or those who have money to keep a credit card.
June 5th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Monica
Your strategy should be to use a rewards credit card for your normal, everyday spending and then pay off the balance each month. That way you’ll build your credit, avoid all interest, and earn rewards.
The only challenge then is to figure out which card will pay you the most cash back rewards (or other rewards) for your normal spending profile. The rewards calculator at this site can do that:
Basically, you just plug in your monthly categorical spending profile and it calculates how much you’ll earn in rewards per year from each of the various rewards credit cards.