Best Credit Card?

[Lady Dont Tekno]

Sorry to keep this hijack continuing, but since I have no credit history, I believe the only cards I can apply for (if I go w/ Citibank for example) are their cards for college students.

Looking through their T&C briefly I cannot find any major differences between their regular Platinum Dividend Card and the one for college students. Is there some sort of catch I should look out for?

Thanks! Your friendly credit card noob,
LDT

[Dazarath]

I'm not some expert at CCs or anything, but if we take the Citi Dividend Student Card, I think everything should be ok. Three things (that I can think of off the top of my head) you should look for right away are: annual fee, APR, and there's something called like a grace period or something, which is how many days you get to pay it off. If you pay off the entire statement every month, then the APR doesn't affect you. I think I might actually have the student version of the Dividend card. I don't know. My dad signed me up for it awhile back. I usually just suggest people our age ask their parents for information/help.

[csuf_gambl0r]

yo dawgs, im down with these credit cards also. Can someone give me more info about the cashback cards?

I already have like 3 credit cards. They are under my name but my mom signed me up for these and apparently shes the co-sign or something and she pays the bills so im not sure if im actually building any credit. I have a State Farm card which pays back 1%.

I tried getting a secured credit card at WAMU awhile ago but they went offering it.

So what the deallio with these citibank cards?

[Dazarath]

They offer 5% cashback on purchases at grocery stores/gas stations/drugstores and 1% on everything else, with no annual fee. The APR is higher than a normal card's, though, so if you don't plan on paying off your balance every month, then the interest you'll pay negates the cash you'd earn.

[gmandan]

You can get as many cards, whether the same or not, as long as you qualify for them from Citi. If you don't have the ability to payoff the balance each month, a rewards card is definitely not the way to go. In order for banks to offer such rewards, they usually compensate by having a higher APR than most other non-rewards cards. They're usually in the 15-20% range.

The student cards are no different than their regular cards except they just have lower underwriting requirements and I believe some are offer through Visa instead of just only MC. If you can control your spending and pay off in full each month, then I definitely recommend these cashback/rewards cards since they put a little bit back in your pocket. I have 4 cards spread out to cover all types of purchases to get the most of the rewards (5% or something equivalent to that rate):

Citi Dividend MC and Visa - groceries, drugstores, and gas get 5% back
Citi mtvU - books, restaurants also get the 5 ThankYou points for every dollar spent, i only redeem in gas cards since those are one of the only few items that get its' full $0.01 = 1 point value back.
Amex Clear - discounts, one of those cards used just in case

[aphoward]

I've had credit cards since my first year in college (about 6 years now), and I really wasn't too bright with them then. Of course not working regularly meant they just built up, but once I got out of college and started working a few years back, I paid off everything and basically started from scratch. Now I have a few different cards, a couple of which I use just for Gas, cuz they give 6% back with that, and one of which is my United Mileage Plus Platinum, which I'd rather have than the rebate ones you are talking about. With all of the bonuses that I make sure I hit, along with using the card solely for purchases that I pay off before the end of the grace period, I've eliminated using my debit card and I'm able to cover round trip flights from Chicago to Vegas a few times a year. I'm using my miles for my spring break trip and WSOP trip this year, and possibly once more. That makes it worth a lot more to me than $250 in rebates. There is a $60 annual fee, but when you're talking about $900+ in airfare free of charge with no expiration and no restrictions, I'll take that [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

I guess tho if you aren't responsibile enough to manage your own credit, you prolly shouldn't be gambling anyways, lol. Basically, credit cards can ruin your life if you use them poorly, but if you are educated and can manage things, they can set you up big time. I was able to get 0% financing when I bought my first car, without a co-signer, because of my great credit history (at age 19).

Also something I love is that I use Microsoft Money as my personal finance manager, and it is great. It connects directly to all my banks (Chase/Bank One, ING, Emigrant, and all my credit cards and brokers), and downloads all my info, and does all my online bill pay from my desktop. No more going to 8 different websites each month and trying to remember which bills are due when. I highly suggest it for anyone trying to get their finances in order. I pay all my bills online, so it's great.

[SUNYGrad05]

Is it true that you get cash back on purchases even if you pay the balance in full each month? I have a MBNA golf digest card and I earn points for "net purchases". I believe its the same with my discover card.I dont see how they can offer cashback like that if you pay the balances in full each month....wouldn't they go broke if everyone did that?

[Dazarath]

I believe credit card companies charge the stores a small percentage of the purchase price. That's where the money comes from.

[ColdCaller]

[ QUOTE ]
I dont see how they can offer cashback like that if you pay the balances in full each month....wouldn't they go broke if everyone did that?

[/ QUOTE ]

The banks make a percentage per transaction at a retail outlet, but even if they didn't, there's absolutely no way people wouldn't carry balances.

[Dazarath]

Yeah, too many morons think the greatest thing in the world is being able to buy a $3000 HDTV and only having to pay "$20 a month"!!! Sorry, for some reason, this mentality just aggravates me.