Help choosing my first CC?

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone,

I'd like some guidance on which credit card(s) to apply for.  I'm 30 years old, and have a Debit card which I use frequently. I use this to pay for gas, groceries, student loan bills, etc. However, I have never had a credit card. Ideally, I'd prefer a card with no annual fee, and that has a good cash back% without a low capping point. I have a decent amount of savings (~15k) and thus have started to travel more. In these instances, I've been carrying just my DB. Since I will be going overseas this summer I think now is a better time than any to start applying for a CC, not only to build my credit, but also for credit security when I am traveling. I'm not sure if I would benefit much with a card that gives back travel miles because I only travel 2-3x a year. Is that something else I should look into? And what should I look for in a second CC?

TL;DR - 30 yrs old. So many options - need help choosing 1st CC. 

Thanks again!

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello everyone,

I'd like some guidance on which credit card(s) to apply for.  I'm 30 years old, and have a Debit card which I use frequently. I use this to pay for gas, groceries, student loan bills, etc. However, I have never had a credit card. Ideally, I'd prefer a card with no annual fee, and that has a good cash back% without a low capping point. I have a decent amount of savings (~15k) and thus have started to travel more. In these instances, I've been carrying just my DB. Since I will be going overseas this summer I think now is a better time than any to start applying for a CC, not only to build my credit, but also for credit security when I am traveling. I'm not sure if I would benefit much with a card that gives back travel miles because I only travel 2-3x a year. Is that something else I should look into? And what should I look for in a second CC?

TL;DR - 30 yrs old. So many options - need help choosing 1st CC. 

Thanks again!

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If you don't yet have a FICO score, best place to start would be to apply for Capital One platinum, or a secured card from Capital One, Discover, or Citibank. I don't believe you will have many choices until lyou build up a credit score.

If you do have a FICO credit score then I would need to know what it is to advise you on which cards might be best for you to start off with.

[Anonymous]

@ Jamaica

I don't believe I have a Fico score simply because I've never had a credit card. I'm not sure what other ways there are to build my Fico score without one.

Is there a specific Discovery or Citibank card you can recommend? And do you know what would qualify/disqualify someone like me from the approval process?

Thanks again!

[SecretAzure]

School loan, auto loan, home loan would all affect your credit. If you've never had any of these things you're at square 1. I recommend Discover It or BoA for starters because they often will fall back to a secure card if you're new to credit. So you apply for a regular card, they counter-offer with a secure card. I know that with Discover the card can graduate to a non-secured, not sure if BoA does the same but it might.

If someone else here can verify that everything I've just written is correct that would be great. Please feel free to tell me i'm wrong on something because I don't want the OP to make a mistake on my part...but I'm KIND OF sure what I just wrote makes sense.

Anyways, with whatever you decide on, I'd look at Amex EveryDay or Amex BlueCash EveryDay as your second card (some months to a year after your first card) as their limits grow ridiculously fast ridiculously quick and other lenders will see that you're more trustworthy very soon after.

[Samac]

You definitely have a fico score because you have student loans. You can pay $1 to get it from Experian to give a baseline. It's hard to advise you without knowing where you stand.

[Anonymous]

you do have a FICO score since you have a student loan... it might not be uber amazing but if you've been making good payments on student loans for a bit, it's likely in the "acceptable" range at the very least... I think getting your credit score is hands down step one in this whole process...

Outside of that... I think Capital One Quicksilver the the best "overall" credit card right now... There are 2 version of it... one with an annual fee and one without... they have the same benefits... it's just the one with the fee is for people with a lower credit score... however, I don't believe that the requirements for a regular (no fee) Quicksilver are particularly high and you might be able to qualify just with consistent student loan payments...

The card is great... you get $100 signup bonus (not the highest, but it's still a bonus), you get 1.5% cash back (again, not the highest but it's better than standard 1% plus it posts right away and has no redemption minimum so you can redeem any time for any amount and you don't have to wait for a statement or two like you do with Citi Double Cash for example)... it has no foreign transaction fee so it's good if you travel, plus Capital One seems to be a bit more generous with their limits and APR, which is good for someone that's just starting out...

It's not the best card in any single category, but it's above average in pretty much everything... which makes me think that it's the most balanced card overall... If I had to only own one card, that's probably what I would go with

However... if your FICO score is too low, Capital One also has a secured card which will help you get your foot in the door and step up to Quicksilver once you get some CC history on your report...

That's my personal $0.02...

TL;DR please, pay a few $$ and find out your FICO score (you can get Experian for $1 now if you cancel within 7 days)... come back here and tell us what your score is and we'll help you more... but overall, I think Capital One Quicksilver is a very good, balanced card which will serve many roles for people starting out...

[Anonymous]

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@SecretAzure wrote:

If someone else here can verify that everything I've just written is correct that would be great.

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My first CC was a BofA secured card (w/ annual fee) that was later graduated at the 1 year mark. Auto Cli from 300 -> 1400 within 2 years (no more AF). It is possible to PC once you've proven your worth.

[Anonymous]

PDC_First:  Try applying at Capital One first.  See if you

can pull a Platinum Card at first since you have a Student

Loan and must have a FICO over 600 if paying on time/no lates.

If that Fails; DEFINITELY get a Discover Secured

Card with no Annual Fee and Rewards.  Use $1K of

your savings to Secure it.  I wish this had been avaiable

to me with I started re-building 3 years ago!!!  Best of Luck to you. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

you do have a FICO score since you have a student loan... it might now be uber amazing but if you've been making good payments on student loans for a bit, it's likely in the "acceptable" range at the very least... I think getting your credit score is hands down step one in this whole process...

Outside of that... I think Capital One Quicksilver the the best "overall" credit card right now... There are 2 version of it... one with an annual fee and one without... they have the same benefits... it's just the one with the fee is for people with a lower credit score... however, I don't believe that the requirements for a regular (no fee) Quicksilver are particularly high and you might be able to qualify just with consistent student loan payments...

The card is great... you get $100 signup bonus (not the highest, but it's still a bonus), you get 1.5% cash back (again, not the highest but it's better than standard 1% plus it posts right away and has no redemption minimum so you can redeem any time for any amount and you don't have to wait for a statement or two like you do with Citi Double Cash for example)... it has no foreign transaction fee so it's good if you travel, plus Capital One seems to be a bit more generous with their limits and APR, which is good for someone that's just starting out...

It's not the best card in any single category, but it's above average in pretty much everything... which makes me think that it's the most balanced card overall... If I had to only own one card, that's probably what I would go with

However... if your FICO score is too low, Capital One also has a secured card which will help you get your foot in the door and step up to Quicksilver once you get some CC history on your report...

That's my personal $0.02...

TL;DR please, pay a few $$ and find out your FICO score (you can get Experian for $1 now if you cancel within 7 days)... come back here and tell us what your score is and we'll help you more... but overall, I think Capital One Quicksilver is a very good, balanced card which will serve many roles for people starting out...

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Very well written post! And I agree. Quicksilver is an excellent starting card.

If you're looking to get a couple cards at once, for the second I'd look at something that has better rewards for your specific usage. There are a lot more options there depending on what kind of spending or rewards you want to focus on.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all!

All very interesting recommendations. I have been referred to Discover IT & Quicksilver more than a few times. I've read Discover has a great bonus program for Amazon as well, which is nice since I am a Prime member. Also, I think it has no FTF fees which is great since I plan to do more International traveling in the years to come.  Hopefully by then I will have built my credit high enough so I can upgrade to preferred cards.

I'll look into acquiring my FICO score and post it on here. Hopefully it's within a good range and will able to help widdle down my CC options.