How Do I Get A Credit Card?

[BRIK]

Use PayPal?

[darthmunky]

Use PayPal?

Not every online store supports PayPal and even if they do, it kind of sucks that it takes at least 10 days to transfer money from my bank to my PayPal account.

[BRIK]

That is true I guess. For some reason though after a while my PayPal's starting going through instantly. Don't know if it has to do with my bank or what, but I'm not complaining.

[Luke]

We already have a thread for this

[MrPopo]

Another thing that will really help build your credit rating is to get a loan and pay it off diligently. I bought a car when I was in my early 20s based on a small loan from the bank. I paid my monthly installments and it did wonders for my credit rating. Now I get too many credit card applications.

This. And your first card is the toughest to get. When I was in college I applied to a ton of cards online until I finally found one that would give me a card. But once you have that card your credit will grow pretty quickly. By the time I graduated college my credit limit had gone from an initial $1000 to $8000 without me having to do anything.

Credit cards are great for online shopping, but they way credit card scores work, as aforementioned, is weird.

My policy is "don't buy it unless you have the cash to pay for it", but if you're buying a home/car/boat/etc. you probably need credit. There is a term in the credit card business called a "revolver", which best describes me. I use it, pay it all off at once, and then get a new card. You are actually penalized for being responsible, and paying your bills on time. It's a fantastic business model, and a great service at that, plus...in life you're going to need credit so my advice is to use the card as little as possible on large purchases and to pay slightly above the minimum balance.

I actually didn't have a problem getting a great credit score just from having a single card that I paid off every month. It got me a great rate on my auto loan. Then the loan boosted my score even higher, so I got a kickass mortgage rate.

[Luke]

I actually didn't have a problem getting a great credit score just from having a single card that I paid off every month. It got me a great rate on my auto loan. Then the loan boosted my score even higher, so I got a kickass mortgage rate.

Well yeah, the more you use the better the score (if you pay), but I hardly ever use my credit card and although my score is awesome, it isn't perfect. I was just naive to think that paying off all debts in a quickly fashion would equal a perfect score. It's better to accrue debt and pay it off monthly than to pay it all off at once as that's how credit companies make their money (I know I'm not telling you anything you didn't already know). But as a young adult, I really thought I was enhancing my score by not keeping a balance, but oh no, you want to keep a balance.

[Bradtemple87]

Funny we have been talking about this, my credit limit just automatically got raised again today

[darthmunky]

I need a no-fee credit card that won't cost me any more than the price of what I'm buying with it.

[MrPopo]

I need a no-fee credit card that won't cost me any more than the price of what I'm buying with it.

Lots of credit cards don't charge annual fees; generally it's the ones with rewards programs that do (and not even all of them). And if you pay off your bill every month then using your credit card is no different than if you used a debit card.

[Hobie-wan]

I need a no-fee credit card that won't cost me any more than the price of what I'm buying with it.

Credit card companies aren't charities. Like Paypal, it takes money to run them. However as Popo says, there are ones that don't have a yearly fee that can be free if you always pay them off and never use them for cash withdrawals.