What Credit Card Should I Get?

[russwest0]

Serious question here.

I'm 20 years old and have decided that I want to get a credit card to start making all of my purchases on.

I'm simply looking for the best credit card in terms of building up points and getting cash back or something along those lines. I am 100% confident that I will not go into debt or miss any payments or anything like that, as I'm a fairly light spender and will just set my bank account up to automatically pay the bill each month.

I've done some research online but you know how that is. Most websites just promote certain cards trying to get referral money.

Looking forward to the suggestions and advice from those who have used credit cards before. Thanks in advance

[bigkingsfan]

The American Express Centurion Black Card

[Derka]

My CapitalOne MC treats me alright.

WHAT'S IN YOUR WALLET, MOTHERF*CKER!

[Smook A.]

Definitely the Citi Diamond Card. All my friends who have it say its the best, and that's why I got it. Its absolutely great.

[magic chiongson]

what's your credit score like? if it's low any basic card (visa/mc) from a name bank with no annual fees should be fine. otherwise i'd get the highest rewards card

[russwest0]

Wait I'm looking up some of these and what is APR?

Does that mean they really charge you 10%-20% extra on all purchases you make?

[russwest0]

Basically I'm looking for a credit card that will work just like a debit card so long as I pay my bill in full every month. With the only exception being that I'm building up credit and possibly some sort of points that I can redeem for merchandise or cash back.

So I want no additional fees, no increase in percentage on what I actually spent, etc.

Do these exist?

[Rubio2Gasol]

Basically I'm looking for a credit card that will work just like a debit card so long as I pay my bill in full every month. With the only exception being that I'm building up credit and possibly some sort of points that I can redeem for merchandise or cash back.

So I want no additional fees, no increase in percentage on what I actually spent, etc.

Do these exist?

Of Course, but you usually need to show a certain level of income, usually $2000+

AND,

Keep in mind that the benefits come from spending. Most of these have incentives for big purchases within given time periods

[Jailblazers7]

Wait I'm looking up some of these and what is APR?

Does that mean they really charge you 10%-20% extra on all purchases you make?

APR is just the annual percentage rate. It is the rate you pay on any balance you carry over from month to month. So if you have a 20% APR you will pay around a 1.5% monthly rate on any balance you don't pay off on you're monthly bill.

I have a Discover IT card. You get 1% cashback on all purchases. I don't really care about that tho I'm just using it to build credit. I just charge my utility bills to it and pay it off every month.

You probably want get a very large credit limit because of your age, low income, and lack of credit history. I only have a $500 limit right now simply due to lack of history.

[arkain]

Go for cashback rewards. You'll get best rewards and build credit.

1. Chase Signature - my favourite
2. Discover it
3. BOA Better Balance - not cashback rewards but they give you $25 back every quarter if you don't miss a payment. So $100 a year as long as you don't miss payments.

Those would be my top 3. I have all those currently and a couple AMEX cards.

Also Chase and Discover often have promotions for those cards, they give $200 cashback if you spend $500 within the first 3 months. I'd check when that deal is available and get those then.

[rezznor]

if you like to travel, get the chase sapphire card

[InfiniteBaskets]

If you're not into rotating categories (like 5% cashback in restuarants this week, gas stations the next, groceries, etc...) and don't want points back in the form of travel points, then Fidelity American Express Rewards is the one I recommend.

It's straight up 2% cash back on everything you purchase, with no annual fee, which is the highest I've seen anywhere despite Capital One lately placing a bunch of ads touting it's 1.5% cashback on everything. The only catch is that the 2% cash back goes into your Fidelity brokerage account (thus you have to open a Fidelity brokerage account). If you own investments then it's perfect. If not, just transfer that cash out to your bank account.

If you're into travel, I think the Chase Sapphire card is good for that, plus it being weighted makes it look more high class than it really is.

Keep in mind you need great credit to be eligible for either of these cards. If you're like I was when I was 20, you're only going to be eligible for a simple card with limited rewards.

[russwest0]

Damn, some very good info in some of these recent posts.

So far looking like the Discover IT and Fidelity American Express Rewards Card are my favorite two. I don't earn very much monthly and am only 20 years old though so who knows if I'll get approved.

And just to clarify, so if I pay my bill in full and on time each month with each of these cards, then I won't have to pay a dime more than I would if I were using a debit card?

[russwest0]

applied for the chase freedom card, if I get accepted I'll get 200 back after spending 500 in 3 months

and applied for the discover IT card.

[magic chiongson]

i would've gone for a visa or mastercard. not all stores accept discover/amex