I want to get a new card, i have kick ass credit and want one with the best benefits...ie cash back and stuff. Also no interest on balance transfers wouldn't hurt either

4/17/2008 12:57:56 PM

i know there are a bunch of threads on this, but can't find them since search ir broken

4/17/2008 1:03:01 PM

http://bensbargains.net/deal/62185/
http://bensbargains.net/deal/61869/
http://bensbargains.net/deal/61239/

4/17/2008 1:07:32 PM

obligatory credit cards are horrible & will unavoidably lead to you being in debt up to your eyeballs


don't forget to look for no annual fees

4/17/2008 1:13:25 PM

Quote :

"i know there are a bunch of threads on this, but can't find them since search ir broken"

i know, so i made a new one

4/17/2008 1:16:39 PM

http://www.google.com
type

Quote :

"site:http://www.thewolfweb.com infoyouaresearchingfor""

click search

...profit

--------
i don't know which is the best. i seem to remember people thinking citibank(?) had a good card. i have a capital one visa signature card and i have no problems or complaints. i get rewards points then just use them to pay my cc bill.

[Edited on April 17, 2008 at 1:23 PM. Reason : ]

4/17/2008 1:18:35 PM

message_topic.aspx?topic=515097&page=1

4/17/2008 1:22:46 PM

Quote :

"here's my arsenal discover: 5% on certain categories (changes every 3 months, sign up for cash back program online; apr-jun is clothes/home repair) advanta business: 5% on gas, utilities, electronics (need good credit to apply, lowest apr) chase freedom: 3% (in top 3 categories you spend) + $50 sign-up bonus walmart/warehouse purchases and airline purchases do not get cash back on advanta and chase. they might on discover, but i'm not sure -- i'm only getting .25% since i don't spend more than $1500/yr with discover. i probably need another card, just to be a total credit card bonus whore."

in short, def get the advanta business card. 5% on gas will help slow the bleeding this summer.
and imo, every college student should have chase freedom.

4/17/2008 2:34:36 PM

I personally only carry Discover.

I had some trouble being a stupid college kid like 8-10 years ago, and Discover card is the only company that stuck by me and helped me get out of the debt.

I know this was in thier best interest, but several other cards gave a shit less about me or my situation. Only Discover was willing to help, and be very friendly about it too.

4/17/2008 2:48:46 PM

i've had my "student" visa since i turned 18...i still use it since it's pretty much locked at 4%

i have a mastercard debit card from ING Direct that i can supposedly use as credit card if i set it up, but i've never used it

4/17/2008 3:05:07 PM

I have a BofA Visa, and it rocks, but I'm pretty uptight about paying it off.

I have a capital one card, and it rocks but I'm pretty uptight about paying it off monthly.


dunno, haven't really used any rewards or whatever yet.

4/17/2008 3:39:24 PM

american express blue

4/17/2008 4:26:21 PM

my financial adviser said that, despite my credit score (just a few points shy of 800), you should carry a small balance on your card each month to boost your overall score

in nearly 8 years, however, i've only carried a balance for two months, so he might be wrong

4/17/2008 6:46:38 PM

the number isn't everything... the amount of credit history that you have also says a lot about potential risk.

4/17/2008 7:33:57 PM

SECU

they've got good rates, and top notch customer service.

i just joined. they are awesome.

4/17/2008 9:24:21 PM

I like my BoA worldpoints VISA

4/18/2008 9:37:29 AM

I looked into the Advanta card, and the 5% cash back on the qualifying items is only up to $1200 per year, and only 1% beyond that.

Quote :

"Cash Back rewards are earned based on your annual level of Net Purchases, excluding Bonus Qualifying purchases, as follows: .25% on up to $3,000 in purchases; .50% on purchases between $3,000.01 and $5,000; .75% on purchases between $5,000.01 and $15,000; and 1% on purchases in excess of $15,000. Cash Back rewards are also earned on Bonus Qualifying purchases, which include purchases in the following categories: "gasoline and diesel fuel," "computers, computer supplies, electronics and office supplies," "online advertising services," and "utilities and telecommunications." Cash Back rewards on Bonus Qualifying purchases are earned as follows: 5% on up to $1,200 in annual purchases; 1% on purchases in excess of $1,200."

I've had an AmEx Blue Cash for about 5 years now, and I really like it. It does have the tiered rewards/cashback program like most other credit cards, but once you spend $6500, you get 5% back on gas/groceries/drugs. The problem is that you have to spend $6500 before you get the full benefits. But if you charge everything you can on the card, it's easy to spend that in no time.

4/18/2008 10:28:26 AM

Quote :

"my financial adviser said that, despite my credit score (just a few points shy of 800), you should carry a small balance on your card each month to boost your overall score in nearly 8 years, however, i've only carried a balance for two months, so he might be wrong"

I think the phrase 'carry a small balance' is frequently misunderstood. It's often understood to mean that you shouldn't fully pay off your credit card each month, which is foolish because that results in interest charges.

What I believe it really means is that you shouldn't pay off your credit card until you're billed for it each month. This way your credit report shows that you've repaid a debt. If you pay off your credit card before you're billed for the balance, then your bills and credit report will continuously show a zero balance, which is interpreted as you not using your credit.

[Edited on April 18, 2008 at 10:57 AM. Reason : ]

4/18/2008 10:56:30 AM

SECU Card

4/18/2008 12:02:52 PM

secu has no rewards system thingy

4/18/2008 12:03:24 PM

I also have a capital one card for several years and have never had a problem

4/18/2008 12:32:41 PM

Quote :

"I looked into the Advanta card, and the 5% cash back on the qualifying items is only up to $1200 per year, and only 1% beyond that."

crap, missed that fine print. thanks for pointing that out. but for the frugal college student, it's still not a bad card. it also has the lowest apr, at the prime rate.

the break even point between 5% amex blue cash and 3% chase is $13,000 (assuming the first $6500 on amex is entirely on gas/groceries/drugs and assuming chase purchases are made within 3 categories). if you spend more than $13,000 in a year, amex is the better card. i know my monthly credit card purchases aren't more than 1000/mo, and i don't think the average college student's are either. i could be wrong on that though, i dunno. kids these days.

'carry a small balance':

Quote :

"Keep your balances low Another big part of your score is the share of available credit you’ve used. Lenders get worried if it looks like you’re maxing out your cards. Keep card balances below 25 percent of the credit limit, 10 percent is even better. It’s the amount you charge that counts, even if you pay the balance in full every month."

4/18/2008 1:49:21 PM

i'm ditching my capitol one card - i went slightly over my limit and they charged me plus there is a yearly fee

i asked for an increase on my limit after i paid off the whole card and they wouldn't give it to me

i went and got a BoA VISA with 6 months no interest and WorldPoints a few days ago

4/18/2008 1:49:46 PM

definitely NOT best buy's credit card... they call 5 times a day before the fucking bill is even due.

4/18/2008 1:56:32 PM

do not get a best buy credit card - i didn't realize they charged you $29 even if you were a day late

this caused me not to pay my 18 months no interest off in time

i wanted to kill myself or them or somebody

4/18/2008 2:38:13 PM

Thats right folks. Paying your credit card bill late is solely the fault of Best Buy.

4/18/2008 2:42:23 PM

even my capitol one card had a grace period

if i paid my bill online on the 31st it would not register until the 1st

bam

now i pay everything early

4/18/2008 3:25:17 PM

Quote :

"i know my monthly credit card purchases aren't more than 1000/mo, and i don't think the average college student's are either. i could be wrong on that though, i dunno. kids these days."

They weren't that much for me when I was in college, either. But now that I'm out of college and working, drive a lot, have insurance, and lots of bills, and because I try to charge every thing under the sun to my card, it adds up!

Quote :

"do not get a best buy credit card - i didn't realize they charged you $29 even if you were a day late"

I agree about not getting the Best Buy credit card. I purchased an LCD TV using one of their credit cards which was same as cash for 24 months. I always schedule the payment online through their website to pay on the due date. One time, a scheduled payment (for which I even had a confirmation number) got deleted or lost in their system. I noticed the debit didn't show up on my credit card and I even got an email from them saying they didn't receive my payment. I called, gave my confirmation number, and gave them every bit of proof that I scheduled the payment and that they were in error, but nevertheless I couldn't get out of the $39 late fee. To hell with them

4/18/2008 3:40:20 PM

coastal federal credit union

inifinity visa

4/18/2008 6:25:06 PM

"i know my monthly credit card purchases aren't more than 1000/mo"

by that, i meant to say my monthly purchases for gas/groceries/drugstores, which is what the amex 5% applies to. if you had a spouse and shared a joint account, this prbly would be the best card to get. but for me, i'm maximizing the cash back rewards with chase, discover, and advanta combined. it's not great money by any means, but it is 'free' money nevertheless, and i'm building credit while 'carrying small balances.' also, it's important to note that many of these rewards cards have a high interest rate (besides advanta), so it's a good idea to pay off balances in full. lastly, it's not a good idea to shop impulsively thinking that you're getting a huge discount.

on a sidenote, hi seapunky!

4/19/2008 2:07:51 AM

Quote :

"SECU Card"

While I love them for every other service in general they offer/provide you with very very low credit limits b/c they're very conservative (from what friends have told me I have never applied b/c i go through USAA for this service).

A credit limit of 500 or 1k is pretty useless because it looks bad if you use more than 30% of it.


My current card I use the most if the Black American Express USAA card, which is offering 5% back on almost everything for the first 650 spent each month and even though I never carry a balance the interest rate is like 8% in case I needed to. I wonder when Amex is going to ban them from issuing these "black cards", while they look a bit different from the real black Amex, I have had a shitload of people comment on the card.



[Edited on April 19, 2008 at 6:51 AM. Reason : .]

4/19/2008 6:41:08 AM

usaa amex: https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_utils/McStaticPages?key=bank_credit_cards_amex
"5% cash rebate on your first $650 of gas, grocery and dining purchases each month for the first year."

seems i already reached my $1200 limit for advanta for the year. looked online for a gas card and found: https://www.discovercard.com/cardmembersvcs/acqs/app/getapp?sc=K3LE&iq_id=b39447471
"5% Cashback Bonus®*on your first $100 in gas and auto maintenance purchases each billing period"
basically a $1200 annual limit, but i can use this card just for gas and save my advanta for best buy purchases. looking to upgrade tv later this year.

4/19/2008 1:47:04 PM

starbucks duetto card IMO

4/20/2008 6:05:27 PM

check out this month's Money magazine...they have an article on "the best" credit cards divided up into each category (cash back, low interest rates, etc.)

4/20/2008 7:15:45 PM

http://www.chasefreedomnow.com/home/

I was searching for the best rewards card last nov. There is a signup bonus of $50 applied to your cash back. If you wait till you get $200 in rewards, you get $250 sent to you.

Basically, its 1% on everything and an extra 2% on certain things you spend a lot on.

I put everything on the card and pay it all off at the end of the month. So not only do I collect interest on money I'm not spending, but I end up with about $15 cash back a month. After about 6 months I'm almost ready to get my $250 check.

4/20/2008 10:22:51 PM

^ that sounds like a really good idea.

4/21/2008 9:48:39 AM

Quote :

" looked online for a gas card and found: https://www.discovercard.com/cardmembersvcs/acqs/app/getapp?sc=K3LE&iq_id=b39447471 "5% Cashback Bonus®*on your first $100 in gas and auto maintenance purchases each billing period" basically a $1200 annual limit, but i can use this card just for gas and save my adva"

Get the BP Visa. For the first 60 days its 10% back on BP gas, 4% back on travel dining, 2% on everything else

After that its 5% gas, 2% travel/dining and 1% everything else. none of this tiered bs, and no limit on rewards.


That USAA card looks cool, but it looks like they only give you the 5% for the first 12 months. After that its that BS tiered thing where u have to spend 15K to get a measly 1.25% (on everything tho)


I just want something that will give me 5% on grocery and dining...for longer than a year. anyone know of a card like that?

4/21/2008 10:15:23 AM

I actually just applied for the Chase BP Visa today, we'll see how that goes. I don't usually go to BP, but I will start now to take advantage of that rebate.

4/21/2008 5:56:19 PM

^^ thanks for the info. bp is expensive, but i'm planning a road trip next month and getting a plane ticket month after (i'm assuming airfare will get 4%). i'll def put it to use first 2 months.

oct-dec last year was 5% on movies/dining, and 5% groceries in dec with discover. but that's only 2% more than year-round chase freedom (extra measly $2 for every $100 spent.)

4/22/2008 1:15:58 AM

ok im gonna go into some fun 3am advice. ive recently re-entered the credit game after having to take time off for a while because of some stupid choices way back when. (one positive thing about being almost 30!) -- as soon as i cuss this guy out!!!1 (but decent info will follow if you read it all, i guess. i tend to ramble)

Quote :

"Thats right folks. Paying your credit card bill late is solely the fault of Best Buy."

Quote :

"definitely NOT best buy's credit card... they call 5 times a day before the fucking bill is even due."

why do you act like such a douchebag so much? if you think you know something, at least try to help some! a lot of these people are basically kids who don't know the harsh realities of why some people get into credit card hell, while other people get free trips

that one best buy card sounds like a problem i had on my chase card when i first got it. except it was a "good" thing... i hadnt had a credit card in about 10 years and i'd unlearned A LOT of responsibility over that time, and i remember how quickly you can get into big time trouble if you miss a payment on a 98% full card... so i made damn sure not to use more than i could pay in a month, and i had chase sending me emails, phone calls, and texts whenever it got within like 8 days of my bill due date.

but anyways, ive heard lots of horror stories about chase, but they're the only company i've used since ive used credit cards after my 18 year old days of getting free t-shirts and "free credit cards"... and they've been fine. they're always (well, 3 times since 2006) upping my limits and giving me offers for better cards (mostly rewards, not so much on the rates. i seem to be locked in at around 8-9%)... i've had it barely 2 years now, and the limit is way more than it was when i first got it. i got an offer in the mail from CITI for something that was 0% bla bla for whatever months and then like 6.99%. so i called chase and told them, and they offered me something like 5000 points (which is worth liek 50 bucks worth of random gift cards and crap), but they also PRETTY MUCH matched the rate. (pretty sure it goes to 7.99 in august - not really THAT close, but i really like my relationship with chase and that was close enough for me. it would be cool to have one so low i could transfer a mortgage to it, ha ha ha)

so i'm at 0% now on anything new that i buy. but of course they send me like 2000 checks a month hoping i'll use one and catch the 13.99% cash advance/balance transfer rate or whatever.... but i know better

i also checked at my normal credit union, and i could find competitive limits and rates that were SEMI competitive to my old 8.99.... but there's no way they could hang with the "rewards" that chase can give. and even if its just a stupid 100 dollar gift card here and there, its free money.

so for all the students i'd try to get a student thing. maybe get a parent to cosign if it will help your rate in case you get into trouble and cant pay it off each month... and just try to pay it off as much as you can each month. i just pretend that my card has a $X limit i can use each month and i dont cross that limit if i can help it.

but if you pay your stuff on time with them, they will kiss your ass and do whatever you want (within reason). if you fuck around and pay late and overdraft and all that, you're gonna be in for a shitty relationship with the bank.

take that credit stuff seriously, i can only imagine how much better the rates would be on my big (non-plastic) purchases if i hadnt treated my old cards as free money that didnt have to be paid back. it didnt hurt too much since it was almost a decade ago, but still. unless you plan on banking millions right out of college, you're gonna need some creditors on your side

ALSO, a little pep talk for all the people out there who are like 21 and screwed it up when they were 18. you'll seriously be good as new by the time youre 26 or 27 (especially if you're working or have a cosigner. then after a little while of steady payments, you're good on your own). thats how long mine took. could have probably gotten it over with sooner if i'd followed through with some of the stuff and got it on record that i actually "defaulted" at 18 instead of 20 like most of them said. but just know you're far from ruined. when i was 21, i NEVER would have imagined i'd have a good credit score at age 29

4/22/2008 3:06:56 AM

i was also careless and naive in college. had a few late payments, which takes 7 yrs to clear.
mistakes aren't bad if you learn from them, but it's better to learn from other people's mistakes than to make them on your own. spend wisely, build credit, and take advantage of cash back/rewards. but money isn't everything, help people around you every opportunity you get. it's good karma.

and btw jackleg, i'd buy your memoir.

4/23/2008 12:55:18 AM

Quote :

"I just want something that will give me 5% on grocery and dining...for longer than a year. anyone know of a card like that?"

dining/bookstore/movies/amazon: Citi mtvU (in the form of ThankYou points, though, not cash)
grocery/gas/drugstore: Chase Cash Rewards (not sure if you can still apply for this one)

[Edited on April 23, 2008 at 9:16 AM. Reason : d]

4/23/2008 9:15:22 AM

I have the BoA Platinum Plus Visa.

It doesn't have any cool cash back or rewards but there is no annual fee which is good because I rarely use my credit card.

I put a couple hundred balance on it per month, like when i stay at a hotel or buy something online I will use this to keep it active. then schedule to pay it off completely the day its due.


I have been searching through credit cards as well to find something with rewards but I just haven't found anything yet. I plan on using merril-lynch as a financial advisor later this year and they offer a airline miles/100% protection card that my dad has. I may get something similar.

4/23/2008 10:12:39 AM

Quote :

"What Is The Best Credit Card?"

duh, the one you can upload your own graphic for

what else is there to consider?

4/23/2008 10:18:43 AM