Suggestions for Student

[alph4]

Hi all. I've been reading the forums for a while but am just getting around to posting.

I am a 21 year old college student, about to start my senior year.

I have an American Express Blue Card (not student, regular) with a 3000CL that's 17 months old. I also am an AU on my parent's Amex Green card, which has an account life of 21 years. I have no bad items on my report (yet.) I do not carry any balances and PIF every month.  The last time I checked my CRs they were between 778 and 785.

My question is for any suggestions regarding what I should do next. I would like to ideally get one other credit card, either Visa or MasterCard, since many small merchants where I live do not take American Express. Ideally this would be a non-student card, so I could according to the terms still use it in a year. I prefer to use a credit card wherever I go in lieu of cash. I also prefer to avoid debit cards since I keep only a minimal amount of cash in my main checking and transfer it between high interest rate savings when needed. Using a credit card keeps a buffer between the merchant and my bank account.  Does anyone have any suggestions? As a student I don't have a large income but I do carry a part-time job with my 18 hour class load. I prefer not to disclose my parents income under household income when applying, so I only use my income.

Any help or suggestions are appreciated. :] 

[cobaltnv]

With those scores you should be able to qualify for a variety of the prime cards-basically whatever you want. Adding one or two cards would be good for you. I would do some research on rewards cards and see what strikes your fancy.

Personally I like my Discover More and Fidelity cash rewards cards. As you have probably read Chase is being a bit flighty, but I do like my Amazon Chase Visa--good rewards if you buy lots of stuff on Amazon. The other cards I have are an REI US Bank card (good rewards only if you frequently purchase form REI), and a BofA MasterCard. The rewards on the BofA card suck, but it is my oldest account so I like to keep it active.

Good Luck--keep us updated on your progress! 

[crosbyk1]

Maybe a Nordstroms visa.

[Peach8321]

Great scores and good for you for doing the credit thing early, I should have  (although at 24, I wasn't that much older when I started )

I want to second the Discover More card, the rewards are pretty nice as long as you PIF and the APR isn't super high.  Also, consider a CU...the school might have one, or you could see if you are eligable for a national one (I use USAA and love it).

Also decide if you want cash rewards, travel, low %, and then pick a card based on that.

[smallfry]

Citibank.

[alph4]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I have considered Discover, but I frequent many small/mom and pop stores. At these stores I am lucky they take V/MC. If I do get Discover, I think I would opt to get an AU card from my parents discover account. I believe they have had it for decades, have never abused it, and it has a high CL. So, I'm assuming it would help my CR, especially in terms of Age of Account.

Chase recently sent me an advertisement "inviting me to apply" for their Platinum card. It used to be all these ads came as "pre-approved" but I've noticed they've stopped this since the recession.

I like the look of the Fidelity Visa. Is that difficult to get approved for. As I've said, I don't think I have to worry about my scores in the approval process, only the income. 

[cobaltnv]

When my wife got her fidelity visa she had scores in the low 700's. She had also been a fidelity investment gold  costomer for quite a while (not sure if that had any influence or not).

I understand your concern with Discover not being accepted everywhere--this has been slowly changing. You could certainly get added as an Au on your parents account and that would help your scores immediately. However, I was under the impression you were trying to build up your own credit portfolio for the future. THe AU thing will help as long as you are an AU, as soon as you are removed that credit line (and history) disappears from your reports. If you are looking for an immediate boost go with the AU--if you are looking to build your file get your own card.

good luck 

[Anonymous]

The question is what do you want? Are you looking to increase your credit score or are you looking to get the most back in terms of rewards with a Mastercard or a Visa?

I did extensive credit card research during the past month and just got a Schwab Visa card for 2% cash back on everything which is probably the best deal right now. I also got an Associated Bank Visa card which gives 5% cash back on groceries. Citi Forward is also a really good deal.

[creditwherecreditisdue]

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@Peach8321 wrote:

Great scores and good for you for doing the credit thing early, I should have  (although at 24, I wasn't that much older when I started )

I want to second the Discover More card, the rewards are pretty nice as long as you PIF and the APR isn't super high.  Also, consider a CU...the school might have one, or you could see if you are eligable for a national one (I use USAA and love it).

Also decide if you want cash rewards, travel, low %, and then pick a card based on that.

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I would consider a CU and I would also consider USAA if you can weasel your way in. However, USAA is not a CU. It is a banking entity owned by the policy holders of the United Services Automobile Association, which is an insurance company.

[Anonymous]

Chase +1 Mastercard.  It takes a while to get approved, especially with a fraud alert that I had from LifeLock, but I got approved for $1500 while BofA, (maybe) Discover, Citi, and Crapitol One turned me down.  It took a total of 3 weeks to get approved, but i'm really happy.