Credit Cards

Sup Veeky Forums, I need some help.

I've been lurking for about a month. Already I have opened an account with charles scwhab and began putting in small amounts in index ETF's each month, so thanks for helping me start that habit.

Anyway i've noticed a lot of you all talk about how important credit is. I'm going to open up a credit card, but what do I look for in a credit card, which ones are the best and why for starters?

I currently have a debit card through my local bank, I plan on using my new credit card for everything and then just paying the balance off each month with my debit card, will this build my credit even if i'm only spending like 300-600 bucks a month (i'm a neckbeard in my parents basement, i don't have many expenses)?

What else can I be doing to build my credit? Thank, this board is actually helpful.

Ask your parents to add you as a user on one of their cards instead. Providing they have good credit that is.

this is good advice if you're under 17, otherwise it's time to put your big boy pants on

Op, all you need to do is make 1 small purchase on your credit card each month and pay it off right before the due date. it's important you carry the balance for utilization bonus.

DO NOT USE YOUR CREDIT CARD FOR EVERYTHING

only spend money you have, your credit card is for BUILDING CREDIT, that is IT

Is pic related accurate?

Yep. I got up to 750 in less than two years with my very first credit card from Wells Fargo just from carrying a small balance and paying in full each and every month. It's so fucking easy if you aren't a retard. You can also request credit increases but at the time I just let them increase my max automatically (they'll do this if you behave) because I didn't need loans.

How do you check your credit score without getting your info sold by those credit reporting sites?

I've had a credit card for a few years now. I routinely spend about 50% of my max, but I never carry a balance. That card's through a credit union, and they've never increased my max.

I just got approved for a second card through Fidelity. I'm planning to use that card to move away from debit cards/direct debit entirely.

How much do I have to spend to qualify for a "small balance", or can I literally buy a candy bar on the 1st of each month, and pay it off on the 30th?

How long do you have to carry a charge for it to qualify for a utilization bonus?


Also I've read in my 5 minutes of research that i'll have to open up a protected credit card since I have no credit history? Is this true?

And again which credit cards are the best? For someone first applying for a credit card what should I be looking for.....?

>How do you check your credit score without getting your info sold by those credit reporting sites?

There are a lot of ways to check your credit, but I'm not too sure what you're asking here. Keep in mind a guestimated ~10% of your credit score is from account inquiries, so you shouldn't be doing it very often at all.

>I've had a credit card for a few years now. I routinely spend about 50% of my max, but I never carry a balance. That card's through a credit union, and they've never increased my max.

I've only ever used bank-issued cards. Hve you checked your score lately? It is not recommended to utilize your max above 30%. Anywhere from 15-30% would be ideal.

>How much do I have to spend to qualify for a "small balance", or can I literally buy a candy bar on the 1st of each month, and pay it off on the 30th?

That's literally all you should be doing, at least until you're more comfortable. Ideally you're in the 15%-30% utilization range each month, but for the first 6 months or so, you should get comfortable making 1 purchase and paying it off on time. Billing cycles can be confusing at first. A candy bar would do just fine; I recommend a protein bar.

>How long do you have to carry a charge for it to qualify for a utilization bonus?

Sorry, I worded this oddly. There is no "bonus" per say- proper utilization helps your score, over-utilization hurts it. You should not carry over 50% balance on your credit card unless it's a result of emergencies.

>Also I've read in my 5 minutes of research that i'll have to open up a protected credit card since I have no credit history? Is this true?

Not unheard of, but nothing I had to go through. I also signed up as a student with Wells Fargo, so that's probably why. It truly depends on who you decide to go with. Don't be offended or think you're doing something wrong, if this turns out to be the case.

I will leave this kind of suggestion to somebody more suited, I know there are a lot of fags on Veeky Forums that have a great credit card compendium. I'm just sharing my experience as somebody who had zero credit history going into college and came out with a score better than most I know. It's important to remember that as your financial life becomes more complicated, it won't be as easy as it was for me when i started - you have loans, more emgerencies that will result in higher utilization, more bills to keep track of - that's why it's important to follow the basics religiously and build a good score ASAP. But at that point, you should have a handle on things :)

Discover and CapitalOne provide credit scores for you from their agencies; CreditKarma will give you an estimated score as well

Student card (if you're still eligible) or apply to Discover, they give cards to almost anybody

Apply for Walmart or Discover for TU Fico 08, and there's also Amex for Experian

You think the paid sites aren't selling your info even harder.

No you're wrong its good advice for anyone under 25. it takes 7 years to max out the time on one fico. Or one 5 minute phonecall. Your choice.

My AMEX, Cap1, and discover, and barclays sallie mae card all give me a fico,

>candy
No that will fuck you. You need to call and find out the billing period and reporting dates.


protected, no get on authorized user status first. If you have 0 family, friends and are untrustworthy to the point where you can't convince anyone. Try AMEX charge card. first, you might get a credit card out of that deal with a phone call. Then try for a credit card somewhere else. Amex will often take a chance on nocreditfags.
You should only do secured after literally everyone denies you.

For your first credit card, just get one that has no annual fee ($0). The interest rates, late fee schedules, etc, don't matter as long as you pay on time.

Go for a Visa, Mastercard or Discover credit card. American Express is sometimes not taken at places I've tried to pay with it.

Also, in my opinion, Discover has the best website I've seen so far for managing credit cards.

>No you're wrong its good advice for anyone under 25. it takes 7 years to max out the time on one fico. Or one 5 minute phonecall. Your choice.

He's not wrong at all. This guy has clearly very little knowledge about credit cards, what makes you think his parents have amazing credit if they haven't taught him a damn thing about it? The advice your giving is very situational and not good for a new user.

Also, time on fico has little impact on score. Like other user said, you can get above 750 in a considerably short period of time, probably long before OP needs good credit.

So what is the point of getting a credit card if you're not meant to max it out?

I understand not carrying a balance, but surely if I'm maxing out my card and paying it off in full every month that speaks more to my ability to pay bills than using

Your credit card utilization is only reports to credit card agencies once per month, and forgotten forever. High utilization is often seen as a bad thing.

The point of getting a credit card is to:
- better fraud protection than debit cards
- rewards and cash back from spending
- give yourself a credit history of paying in full and on time

Not really, it means you're a riskier consumer. Paying a bill on time is paying a bill on time. It means you have to borrow more, which isn't necessarily a good thing.

Higher credit means you get better deals on loans, mortgages, etc. This means better interest rates and less money you're spending.

except apparently you're not supposed to use credit cards to spend money, because it increases your utilization

Utilization only really matters when you're applying for a loan, trying to get a mortgage, or something else requiring a credit check. If they look at your credit report and see you have high utilization, you'll be considered a risk and may not be approved, or given a higher interest rate.

However, utilization is only a month-to-month thing, so keeping utilization below 10% a few months before doing something that requires a credit check would be good.

Otherwise, spend as you desire.

You're welcome to utilize as much as your heart desires. These folks are just letting you know that its not going to help your credit score. Nobody is going to come knocking at your door for using your card for what it's for.

I think you need to realize that credit is a loan, from the bank. Put yourself in the banks shoes. Here is a line of credit for a thousand dollars, because we've decided your eligible. We will give you at most 1000, should you need it, but we would prefer that you kept your borrowing from us to a minimum. The more you borrow, the more it implies you didn't have at the time to make the necessary purchase. But hey, pay it off, and if you build good history with us, we'll let you borrow more in the future (and hope you fuck up ;)

don't condescend to me, faggot

if they don't want me to borrow the full $1000 why are they giving me a line of credit to do so?

Because if you fuck up, they get a shit load of money from interest, FAGGOT

you contradicted your own post, good job.

>have no source of income
>have money in the bank
>still can't get a $500 secured card

I guess I'll never build my credit then.

My credit report shows my highest ute ever, even though that was 5 years ago. Don't think it matters though.