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So I'm looking into getting my first credit card
ParisInFlames
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I've been reading around and it seems as though I'm kind of screwing myself by just using checks, debit and cash when I could be building credit. At first I didn't get one because I was afraid I'd get myself into debt because I would spend money I didn't have and drown myself. But I'm a person who lives within my means. Also I want a credit card so I don't have to enter my pin number in public places and have more security for my money if something happens. Plus it seems like cash back is a pretty sweet deal if you're always paying off in full.
So I'd like to get a credit card with no annual fee and good rewards that I can just pay off immediately. I don't imagine I'd almost ever let a charge carry over to next month, but if I did I would like a decent APR. Do any of you have suggestions on which provider would be the best for this sort of situation?
So I'd like to get a credit card with no annual fee and good rewards that I can just pay off immediately. I don't imagine I'd almost ever let a charge carry over to next month, but if I did I would like a decent APR. Do any of you have suggestions on which provider would be the best for this sort of situation?
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Regardless of whether or not you intend to carry a balance, my best advice would be to see what your bank offers. (Especially if your bank happens to be USAA.) I say this because they generally offer some form of cash back (though maybe not as nice as some) and their interest rates are generally lower for the offchance that you do some day need to carry a balance. Alternately, if you're a CostCo member you can go that route as well, but they only offer AmEx, which means you'll need to carry something with a Visa/MC logo in your pocket as well. (Though for that purpose a credit-branded debit card can suffice.)
Mainly 'cause they seem to be the most likely to give you one.
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edit: So I looked and wells fargo has this cash back platinum card. . How is that apr? Would this be my best option?
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If you are sensible, you'll have the total balance of your card paid off every month by direct debit. This does require you to be careful, and organised. However, it makes APR irrelevant and allows you to simply focus upon getting the best offers available. Be that air miles/cashback/whatever.
Does Wells have this?
Its great, I've gotten $200 bucks cash back over the last year. I believe it does have a yearly fee though, something like $19 bucks, which isn't too bad at all. I pay the fee for the convenience of being able to view my bank account and credit account activity through one login on the wells fargo site.
The visa is a regular cash back card... they just deposit a small amt of money in your account based on your spending... with most cash back cards you get less reward, but it's cash, and it goes straight to your account
the master card is a rewards card... i have to order stuff of their website when i want to redeem the miles... as with most reward cards, this one gives you "more" rewards, but you have to choose something from a limited selection of items
My family was part of one.
I was part of it through high school, college, the Army, buying two cars, couple different jobs local and government related. It gave me an atm and credit card, and they work in a fair number of machines, around the country.
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Most people I know who run businesses don't accept American Express because of the fee they charge the business to process the charges. American Express charges the cardholder, then charges the person accepting it as payment. It's kind of a ridiculous racket.
That being said,
Go to your bank and apply for the card you want, even if you think you wont get it. They will nearly always refer you to an alternative if your credit turns out to not be enough for that ultra platinum master visa.
i too am looking at getting a credit card and have bofa, but i cant find this feature, im signed in to my online banking and everything, how did you find it starman?
All credit cards do that, not just Amex.
All credit cards charge a transaction fee. Amex charges the business a flat monthly rate on top of this. Which is why a lot of restaraunts don't accept it.
Cards like the Amex blue are credit cards, where you can carry a balance, and are charged interest but (usually) not an annual fee.
The reason the Amex fee to retailers is higher is because Amex users (the green, gold and black cards) usually have higher lines of credit, better credit scores, and more income. So, they on average purchase more goods with said green, gold or black card, offsetting the fees Amex charges retailers to take the card.
:edit: Forgot, the platinum Amex is a charge, not credit, card too.
Yes, retailers. If you want to go out to eat or do pretty much anything that isn't shopping at Macy's, you wont be using an Amex.
You're pretty much straight up wrong on this. The only places you won't see Amex taken are mom-and-pop stores honestly.
You know where Visa isn't taken?
To the OP - there was an excellent post in here a few days back with all the info you could ever need re: interest rates on credit cards, and I would strongly suggest you take a look. I'll see if I can find what I'm talking about...
If you want my 2 cents, get whatever card you can that doesn't have a fee, use it, and pay off your balance every month without fail. I personally like cash back, but I guess points or frequent flier miles have there places.
EDIT - Here we go! Big ups to Pony, who put this together.
My name is Pony, and I used to be a Customer Service Agent and Fraud Investigator for American Express.
While I can't comment on the particulars of some of the potential special offers and provisions that your individual bank may be offering (0% interest for 9 months, etc.) and encourage you to call them to clarify these issues, I can give you some basic information that applies to all credit cards.
Finance Charges = Interest. The terms are interchangeable. Some companies prefer the term Finance Charge, some like calling it Interest, and other companies use both (AmEx uses both). They mean exactly the same thing.
If you are getting charged a Finance Charge, it is because you have been unable to completely pay off the balance in full before the due date (the technical term for this is "revolving a balance"). Even if you make the minimum payment, or even above the minimum payment, if you do not pay the balance in full before the due date you will get charged Interest/Finance Charges, unless you've got some kind of special deal (see below).
While I've never heard of any bank offering "No Interest for X amount of months" on credit cards (it certainly isn't an industry standard), it is entirely possible that this is the nature of the deal you had on your credit card, which may explain why you haven't possibly received any Finance Charges before now. Nonetheless, I would definitely encourage you to go over your credit card statements for the past few months with a fine eye and double-check that this is the first time you have received a Finance Charge.
I'm also going to take a moment to explain how Finance Charges are calculated and applied to your account. This is general information that applies to all credit cards and, with the exception of some kind of special deal that exempts you from interest for a given period of time, it's how it works on your's too.
Every credit card tells you your interest rate as a given percentage. Usually, this percentage is expressed as APR (Annual Percentage Rate).
Let's say, for example, your credit card says you have an APR of 14.5% (common for starting credit cards)
This does not mean you are charged 14.5% of your balance as interest each month (that would be insane!)
What the APR represents is how to calculate your DPR (Daily Percentage Rate). Your DPR is an accurate indicator of how much interest you will actually get charged.
To figure out your DPR, you divide your APR (14.5%, for example) by the number of days in your credit card's payment cycle. Your payment cycle is the number of days between your statement issue cut-off date (the day they print and send you a statement) and your statement due date (when they expect their money by).
For most, but not all, credit cards the payment cycle is 21 days. So, using the example of 14.5% and a payment cycle of 21 days, you would have a DPR of approximately 0.69%
When your interest is calculated by your credit card company, they take the previous months balance per day of the payment cycle and multiply it by your DPR. They then add up this incremental daily interest amount and express it as a complete value, and this is the interest they actually charge you on your statement.
Sound confusing? It can be. More importantly, it makes calculating the actual amount of interest you are getting charged to make sure it is accurate a massive pain in the ass.
Here's the part that gets even more confusing: Once you start revolving a balance (not paying your credit card in full before the due date) not only are you going to get an interest charge on that statement, even if you pay it in full before the next due date you are still going to get charged what is called a Residual Finance Charge.
Because interest is technically counted every single day that you are revolving a balance, it is being counted even after they cut a statement and send it to you. If you pay the balance in full after a due date, you are still going to get charged the DPR multiplied by balance that existed for the number of days in-between the due date and the day the company received the payment of the account in full (which is not, necessarily, the same day you made the payment).
So even when you finish paying off the balance in full, if you had revolved that balance for months previously, you are going to see a final interest charge on the statement after you pay the balance in full.
What I'm trying to impress upon you here is that interest and credit cards are in fact extremely complicated and difficult to figure out and if you don't understand how or why you are getting charged what you are getting charged, you should call your credit card company for more information.
Hope this is helpful!
I can't edit my post (Stupid jailed status!) so I have to add that I actually showed how to calculate DPR incorrectly.
I blame being tired and skipping a step.
To calculate your DPR, you actually divide your APR by 12 to figure out your MPR (Monthly Percentage Rate) and divide that by the number of days in your payment cycle (typically, but not always, 21), and there's your DPR.
Some people, including some credit card customer service agents, will simply tell you to divide your APR by 12 and poof, that's how you calculate interest.
This is inaccurate, and will always produce results that are off by anywhere from a couple of cents to a couple hundred dollars, depending on how your transactions over the month broke down.
Trust me, the number of calls I had to deal with where people didn't calculate their interest properly and assumed they were getting overcharged...
It's complicated.
Long story short, interest is so bloody complicated, it's best not to deal with it in the first place. Not sure if this is still the case, but you may also get some better perks (2% cash back as opposed to 1%) if you're willing to accept a slightly higher APR.
And the last thing I need is an incentive to spend more money on Amazon. Getting the iPhone app was a bad, bad decision.
Oh, and for the OP, check out Bankrate.com - should help you find what you're looking for.
I feel like my wallet is going to forever regret asking this, but... what iPhone app?
It is the devil..