Credit Card

I do not have one and am looking for one but don't know where to begin. Does anyone have one that they recommend? What should I look for? What should I avoid? Thanks.

Dont do it

Bank of America is the Devil!

See what kind of rates and terms your local bank can give you.

karstic said:

Dont do it

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X2...Unless you create a strict payment schedule, whereas you pay the entire balance off at the end of each month to get frequent flyer miles or to build your credit score, otherwise credit cards are a terrible thing.

All true, but I like my Amazon card since I get money back. If you pay off the balance each month, a big if, it's a good deal. Ent Credit Union offers pretty good terms for credit cards, but I have a mortgage with them, so they love me.

What Fred said. I do believe your local bank or credit union would be the best place to start.

One more thing, avoid any credit card that charges an annual fee.

Thanks guys. I had one when I was younger and did get into trouble but I haven't had one for 15 years. The purpose for getting one now would be to build my score up because I may be looking for a newer vehicle within the next 2 years.

Get one and use it to build credit. A friend of mine got one in his name at 16 with his parents on it too. Used it to buy their new truck and then paid it down so he build credit history. By 18 he had better credit than most college grads without an ounce of debt.

Depending on the person credit cards can be extremely evil or a decent tool to get some sort of return. Find a card that has some sort of straight cash or equivalent money (REI or the like) as a return. If you can pay some bills with it on a regular basis and keep the balance at zero while having solid income, that will definitely crank your score up. If you can't maintain control to keep a zero balance you're in for a world of hurt.

I have the REI card and pay bills with it, then immediately pay off the card with the money I had budgeted for the bills anyway. I usually end up with a hundred dollars or so in "free" REI money every year. My favorite trick? If I have a large purchase to make at Home Depot, Lowes, or whatever I will buy gift cards at Safeway with my REI card. Then I get gas points for cheaper gas along with the money back on the card, all for the same expense I'd have to make anyway.

as i do not have credit cards, having a rei or a kohls card can you you use them for gas grocerys ect or just at the stores that issued them ???

REI, yes. Kohl, not sure. There is a difference between an in-store credit card and a company-branded credit card. I have the REI card since my wife is a member.

my nickles worth? if you dont have the extra income to manage the monthly bill from it dont get it.
you need the ability to pay it and if your income is always changing up and down dont do it. you would be better served to get small personal loans from a credit union and pay them off. do one or two year and pay off and then try a loan for a car. you can do a one or two year loan. small amount of 500 to 1000 dollars. the loan good point is the bill is the same every month. what they want is solid history of paying on time. regular payments on time that YOU can afford will do that.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I appreciate it. Like I said, I got into trouble in my late teens with a credit card so I know all too well what can happen if you are not careful. I am in a different position now in terms of maturity (shut up) as well as income. I know I will likely be looking for a newish vehicle possibly as soon as next summer and I'd like to be in a position to get better rates. I had not considered taking a loan from my credit union. I suppose I could take one and just leave it sit in an account or actually use it to buy something.

In addition to regular payment history your credit score is affected by how much credit you have, debt to credit ratio. It's better to have credit and not use it. Awhile back I had a card I wasn't using so I just cut up the card. I think I had something on autopay like Comcast and I just paid it each month. But I didn't use it for anything else. Eventually the card expired and I got a new one in the mail that I carry now. Again not using. But it helps to have credit, change that credit to debt ratio. So even if you got a loan from a credit union, get a credit card from them too and then just let it sit.