Okay, I have never had a credit card. (I'm 24 and have an income of around 38k) I don't particularly need one... but would like to get one for emergencies and to build my credit more. (I have good credit as is).
What do I need to look for in a credit card? What is a good interest rate? What is the difference between APR and interest rate? Is there a type of credit card you prefer? (capital one, american express, etc)
2007-02-03 07:21:43 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
Low FIXED apr, if you get a variable rate it will go up. If you look around you can get one around 6-8 percent. Don't ever get one higher than 9. APR is the interest rate.
capital one and american express are both very good. Though the american express APR is usually higher. I have both.
2007-02-03 07:27:58 · answer #1 · answered by stgennesse 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Having a card is a good idea. Traveling is a lot easier as booking airfare, rooms, rental cars, etc...can be next to impossible without one. Blelow is a link to a great source for credit cards. In fact, for everyone you refer, that gets approved, the company will send you $10.00. These cards are from Chase, Discover, and American Express as well as other well known companies.
Personally, I do not American Express. They have an annual fee of $75 or something like that and it's rediculous when discover and Mastercard/Visa have no fees.
A good rate for good credit would be less than 10%. A new card from the source below will most likely offer you 0% on purchases for 12 months.
As for Interest rate vs. APR...basically if you carry a balance, you start paying interest on the previous month's interest making the net effect the Annual Percentage Rate, which always a little higher than the interest rate. For lack of a better example, think of a savings account that offers 2.97 Interest with an APR of 3%. Since you earn interest on the previous months deposited interest, you actually end up with slightly more interest earnings than if you just got a flat 2.97%
Hope that makes sense.
2007-02-03 12:44:01 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look for no annual fee, a low interest rate (APR is annual percentage rate)...below 14% is good great if you can find a lower one. American express is good...but not accepted everywhere believe it or not. Visa is your best bet. Check with your bank....they almost always have their own Visa or MasterCard. To build credit use it and pay it off right away. Never charge more than you can afford to pay off that month or with in two months. I wish someone would have told me that when I got my first credit card....Be carefull and be smart with your credit!
2007-02-03 07:29:21 · answer #3 · answered by Barbiq 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stay away from them altogether. You're lucky to have gotten to age 24 without getting one. You can use a debit card for almost anything you would need.
For emergencies, save 3-6 months of expenses and put into a savings or money market account. Then you still don't need a credit card.
2007-02-03 14:53:31 · answer #4 · answered by Jen G 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For FIRST Credit Card
Here the card choice depends on your selection of the bank whose credit card you want to use or your most preferred promotional offer, without giving a thought to the brand on the card. Other than that, there is no difference between the two.
For SECOND Card
In this case, it makes sense to go for the competing brand of your first card and to opt for a different issuing bank. The logic is that when you have two different cards, both the banks will vie for your business (if your credit record is good). You will be given deals for 0% balance transfers, increased credit limits, and other benefits, since both the banks want you to use their card more. Also if you go to a merchant who accepts only one brand of card, you can use that specific brand to prevent being turned away.
2007-02-04 01:02:14 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do not reply to Internet offers that come to you as spam mail. As long as you don't carry a balance, it doesn't matter what the interest rate is. Get one with a high interest rate which pays a premium such as frequent flyer miles or cash back or free gasoline. Just make sure your balance is paid every month. After a year or two of good standing, you will be inundated with better offers.
2007-02-03 07:30:44 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pay all your bills on time. Don't charge anything you can't pay for when the bill comes. In other words, pay the whole thing off when the bill comes. If you find that you can't pay the entire bill, pay as much of it as you can. Always pay more than the minimum they ask for if possible. If you have a $1000 limit, try not to ever go over half the limit in charges, eg, don't charge more than $500. The most important things are on time payments and keeping the outstanding balance low.
2016-05-23 23:56:55 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best one is the NOTTA credit card. You do NOT need a credit card to build more credit. If you need one for emergencies, get a debit card on your checking account.
If you want to build credit, talk to your banker/financial adviser.
2007-02-03 07:30:31 · answer #8 · answered by Hawkeye 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋