topic Re: New to Credit, what should I get next? in Credit Cards

New to Credit, what should I get next?

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 06:07:32 GMT

I'm usually just a browser on the forums so this is my first post!

I'm a college student right now at a four year university and I hold two credit cards so far. Wells Fargo Secure @ $500CL (will most likely be graduated to an unsecured card soon) and Capital One Student Journey @ $500CL (will get it raised to $750). Now I'm not thinking about becoming a hobbyist or carrying more than 3~4 credit cards until I graduate and get a higher paying job. But I do want to hold at least one more card to help rebuild credit and garner some loyalty with a prime lender.My credit scores last time I checked (a month ago) is in the low 700s for TU and EQ. Currently unable to check EX scores but I can assume that they would be in the low 700s as well.

So my question is what card should I aim for within this year? I'm thinking about cards with some good rewards/cash back but I'm not a big spender. I keep a low utilization and mainly spend money on books, eating out, and shopping when my paycheck allows for it.

My current thoughts are:

Chase Freedom

Citi Rewards, or

An American Express Card [not that I go to Costco often]

Any suggestions?

EDIT: And definitely no annual fees and APR doesn't matter since I PIF each month.

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

trumpet-205 — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 06:14:13 GMT

Credit score at this point is useless for you. You can have 750 FICO score and still be denied because your credit history is way too short.

I'd recommend Citi Forward, nothing else.

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 07:07:37 GMT

Hmm how long should my AAoA be until I can apply for some prime cards?

I've heard of people on this forum being approved for Chase Freedom with low credit scores but not sure about their AAoA.

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 08:31:42 GMT

What is your AAoA? If more than a year, you could go for Discover More, Citi forward (if instantly approved, might as well shoot for dividend on same day) or Chase Freedom. All options for students, of course.

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 10:28:49 GMT

It's one year and one month.

Unfortunately I'm current an international student in the process of a getting a green card so Citi will not issue me a CC unless I visit a branch. Problem is there are no branches in my state. *sigh* So at this point only Chase and AMEX will give out credit to non-residents.

Just curious though, what AAoA does AMEX like to see? And why is it so popular if there aren't many stores that take it? I've seen from other CC review websites that Chase Freedom is one of the best CCs out there with the highest review.

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

Revelate — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 11:15:01 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
It's one year and one month.

Unfortunately I'm current an international student in the process of a getting a green card so Citi will not issue me a CC unless I visit a branch. Problem is there are no branches in my state. *sigh* So at this point only Chase and AMEX will give out credit to non-residents.

Just curious though, what AAoA does AMEX like to see? And why is it so popular if there aren't many stores that take it? I've seen from other CC review websites that Chase Freedom is one of the best CCs out there with the highest review.

Amex Zync is only about six months (and is pretty much Amex's non-prepaid student card), with a year you'd be fine. Depends where you live, near me I've found exactly one place in the last year which doesn't accept Amex cards (in Los Angeles).

Chase Freedom is a good default CC for a lot of people, and it's pretty easy to obtain compared to many others as it covers everything from moderate subprime to high prime with their limits and terms.

I'd recommend either in your case, Freedom is admittedly a better card in most respects for everyday use, but Amex comes with some benefits later which you'll want later too.

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 11:44:08 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
It's one year and one month.

Unfortunately I'm current an international student in the process of a getting a green card so Citi will not issue me a CC unless I visit a branch. Problem is there are no branches in my state. *sigh* So at this point only Chase and AMEX will give out credit to non-residents.

Just curious though, what AAoA does AMEX like to see? And why is it so popular if there aren't many stores that take it? I've seen from other CC review websites that Chase Freedom is one of the best CCs out there with the highest review.

I don´t see how they would reject you. All you need is a SSN and proof of enrollment for the summer/fall of this year. Call them anyways and find out if someone in your position can apply for their cards. Just to give you an insight, my AAoA was 17 months when citi and amex took me and had one recent acc (1 month old). Oldest tradeline 45 months.

You should really go for amex within this year so later on you can backdate your future amex cards to 2012. Besides, I am yet to see a place that takes Discover and not Amex.

Good luck man !

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 13:09:36 GMT

Yeah unfortunately some banks will ask if you have a green card or not to determine if they even want to lend credit. While Citi doesn't disqualify you completely, they would like a face to face meeting before they approve any credit. Too bad there aren't any branches in North Carolina.

I prefer to stay away from the Zync card since there is an annual fee associated with it. As for Chase vs AMEX. Why would Chase be better for every day usuage compared to the AMEX Blue Cash Everyday?

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

iMacDrew — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 17:22:23 GMT

North Carolina really doesnt have many national banks from what I see... Ive only actually ever seen Wells Fargos, BofAs, and Firt Citizens banks in this state.

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

migliogiorni — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 18:00:30 GMT

I would first try the Citi Forward but since that isn't an option I would apply for the zinc card. If you get it you can backdate later and get a revolver. GL

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

LS2982 — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 18:01:44 GMT

I would go for the AMEX.

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 19:00:59 GMT

Thanks for the advice guys! I might just go apply for the Chase Freedom later on but I'm a little worried about the AMEX.

Do you think it will be hard for me to get the AMEX Blue Cash Everyday despite my clean record?

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

jsucool76 — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 19:24:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for the advice guys! I might just go apply for the Chase Freedom later on but I'm a little worried about the AMEX.

Do you think it will be hard for me to get the AMEX Blue Cash Everyday despite my clean record?

Their revolving cards tend to be harder to get than their charge cards because charge cards carry less risk (you are required to PIF every month), that's why many people apply for the zync to get their foor in the door with amex (since it is one of the easier cards to get) and then they later apply for a revolver. Once you are an amex member, if you apply for one of their cards and get denied, it is only a soft pull on your credit report, as opposed to a hard pull that any other lender would do. (hard pull is done if you are approved though)

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

migliogiorni — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 19:35:09 GMT

I second that. I would definitely go for the Amex. I've heard of ppl with only 6 months of history getting the zinc. Once you get the Zinc you can wait a year and try for the BCE. Your established history with Amex will help you get the revolver. I've heard Chase likes to see history. Maybe you should wait another year to app for chase. Give it time to grow.

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

migliogiorni — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 19:39:32 GMT

Additionally, if you are approved for the Zinc now and when you get the BCE in a year you will get it backdated to the date o your zinc card so it won't affect your AAOA.

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 03:01:12 GMT

Thanks guys, I might go for the Zync to get my foot in the door with AMEX. The AF isn't that high either, but the only benefits to this card is that it's an AMEX (so it gives extended warranty/PP/etc) and gets your foot in the door right? No cash back or membership points?

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

trumpet-205 — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 03:57:25 GMT

ZYNC uses MR Express, which is fairly worthless unless you,

* Redeem it for gift cards (not AMEX gift cards) for 1% return (but you can't earn rewards on top of gift card spending).

* Pair it with Green/Gold/Platinum and send the points to airlines frequent flyer program.

Overall MR Express is worthless. A straight statement credit is 0.5% cashback.

I used to own ZYNC, but I closed it after AMEX repeatedly said my internal risk score was high and refused to approve me a BCE card.

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

creditnocash — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 06:15:15 GMT

Go for chase. I'm a college student as well and got a chase freedom just the other day
Applied over the phone and was approved instantly.
My scores are in my sig.

Not too thread jack but what is so good about Amex? everyone wants an Amex.

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 09:23:46 GMT

I applied for the Chase and it said I need to wait. I think I'm going to call them up later to get a recon (technically it's not even denied yet).

But I did get denied for the AMEX BCE. I'm hoping they are open to recon, if not I'll try going for the ZYNC card since I am the demographic they are marketing it towards.

Thanks guys!

Re: New to Credit, what should I get next?

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 09:30:45 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I applied for the Chase and it said I need to wait. I think I'm going to call them up later to get a recon (technically it's not even denied yet).

But I did get denied for the AMEX BCE. I'm hoping they are open to recon, if not I'll try going for the ZYNC card since I am the demographic they are marketing it towards.

Thanks guys!

Should have gone for the zync first as it´s easier to get. Def recon the BCE and get in touch with Chase. Good luck !