Got My First Card!

[Anonymous]

I turned 18 a week ago. Besides being an AU on my moms Marriot Rewards Premier Visa I have 0 credit history. I've got a fairly large account in my name at chase with a year of college tuition. I think that that was a contributing factor in my approval for the freedom. If I get into my first choice college (Villanova) I'll be going to London second semester of freshman year and if not I will be going abroad junior year. So I will definitely need something with EMV and no foreign transaction fees. Am I better off building a relationship with Chase, going for CSP and holding off on amex?

[Anonymous]

Not knowing your income, CSP would not be my first choice. Amex either because of the FTF. I would suggest a Barclays (after 6-9 mos) , Cap 1 or BoA Travel

[Anonymous]

My income is pretty high for a high school student (I work a lot) but still really low. I do want to start a relationship with amex but also want something that I can use internationally. So I guess I'll shoot for an amex green in a year or so and go for whatever international travel card has the lowest (or no) yearly fee.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My income is pretty high for a high school student (I work a lot) but still really low. I do want to start a relationship with amex but also want something that I can use internationally. So I guess I'll shoot for an amex green in a year or so and go for whatever international travel card has the lowest (or no) yearly fee.

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I don't think you will have issues getting approved for the green card. The Amex charge cards are not really that hard to get.

On the other hand, your odds of approval for the CSP are very very slim.

[Anonymous]

For the CSP to be beneficial, you are looking at $30k annual spend. There's nothing wrong with starting your membership with Amex but you'll find they are not widely accepted in Europe. Stick to Visa/MC, one with no FTF, chip enabled IMO

[yudeology101]

Congrats, OP!  Treat your first baby well and it will treat ya even better later on. 

[Anonymous]

Ok I'm definitely going the amex route and when the time comes I'll figure out what the most reasonable travel card is. Thanks for all the advice! I look forward to building my credit!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Ok I'm definitely going the amex route and when the time comes I'll figure out what the most reasonable travel card is. Thanks for all the advice! I look forward to building my credit!

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All CapitalOne and Discover cards have no FTF.

Merrill+ also has 0 AF and no FTF fees.

Barclay Arrival has a $95 AF, waived first year, no FTF fee, and also comes with a nice sign-up bonus for travel

There's certainly a lot of options available, and by the time you are ready to apply next year, you should have no problem getting approved for most of the cards.

[Anonymous]

I like the sound of that! I still can't believe I got approved for the Freedom with no credit history