Credit Card Advice

[jds2006]

I've recently turned 18 and am looking to build my credit by applying for credit cards. How many credit cards should I apply for? Is it bad if I have too many credit cards? Or should I just stick to one credit card?

Edit: Also, whats the difference between mastercard and visa? Would it be bad is all of my credit cards are visa or mastercard?

 

[KLin]

Get a gas card and pay it off every month.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: jds2006
How many credit cards should I apply for?

One, for now.

Is it bad if I have too many credit cards?

As long as you're not racking up balances (or losing track of due dates, etc.), there's not really such a thing as "too many."

Or should I just stick to one credit card?

Long term, definitely not. Short term, yes.

Also, whats the difference between mastercard and visa?

Think of it as AMD vs Intel. Honda vs Toyota. They both sell essentially the same product for essentially the same purpose. You should be more concerned about what provider you get it from (rather than the VISA/MC branding).

Would it be bad is all of my credit cards are visa or mastercard?

It wouldn't hurt you either way, virtually no place that takes one is going to deny the other (unlike AMEX which a lot of people don't take). Don't pick cards based on MC vs VISA, for the cards you'll be getting right now there is essentially no difference. In high(er) end cards there are some perks to things like VISA Signature cards (and probably a comparable MasterCard program) but you won't have any of those for a while.

My advice?

Start off the easy way - Find a good secured card, put the deposit down, & use it responsibly for a while. I would start with Citi's secured card, to get your foot in the door with what is arguably one of the best companies to deal with. Why secured? Guaranteed approval. They have nothing to lose, & you don't rack up inquiries waiting for your first approval. Use the card for a while, & convert it to unsecured when they let you. By then you should have sufficient history to get other cards without too much trouble.

Or you can always go the typical 18 y/o route & apply for cards at random until you get approved for one. In the long run it won't make that much of a difference, my first approval was a Citi (Sony Card, back in the days when it was Citi) & my 3-4 inquiries before that approval never really hurt me. But guaranteed approval the first time is nice.

Viper GTS

 

[Pepsi90919]

mastercard ftw

 

[shinzwei]

im 18 too and was wondering should i sign up for a wachovia checking account and then get a CC...

 

[bignateyk]

get as many as you can. Its free money, so the more you get, the more money you can spend.

 

[imported_Imp]

Don't know much about this 'credit building' stuff I learned about in school and still hear about. All I know is that I had a chequing account with the bank I applied for my first credit card at, and they gave it to me. Also, it may help to 'overqualify' for requirements (i.e. household income <i.e. they can go after your parents if you don't pay>). Oh, and have some sort of income.

 

[Trikat]

Get only 1 or 2 cards and to make sure they are good cards not some crappy Capital One $500 POS. It's been years and I got upgraded from $300 to $500. Whoop de do...
My Citi Platinum Select was at $1000 and another Citi at $1000. I merged them and retained the Citi Platinum Select features + $2000 limit. Now it is somewhere at $5400 or some thing like that. It's even pretty good on gas and misc purchases.

Your first credit card will be the "base" of your credit score so I didn't want to cancel my capital one credit card even though I REALLY wanted to.

 

[Meuge]

Originally posted by: jds2006
I've recently turned 18 and am looking to build my credit by applying for credit cards. How many credit cards should I apply for? Is it bad if I have too many credit cards? Or should I just stick to one credit card?

Edit: Also, whats the difference between mastercard and visa? Would it be bad is all of my credit cards are visa or mastercard?

One credit card is enough. The only reason to get more than one card, is if you're going to get various store cards, in order to get discounts. I am 25, and I only have 1 credit card, and only had 1 card at a time from the age of 17 (yeah... somehow I got one at 17), but my credit rating is around 780... which is pretty much as good as you can get... and my credit limit is over $20k, so you don't need more than one card.

I would say that for a beginning card you should ASK for a secured card... where your purchasing limit cannot exceed the amount of money in your bank account.

After a year or two you can get rid of that limit.

 

[OulOat]

Get a student Citi reward card, like the student dividend with cash back. Easier approval for students and money back from purchases. I think it's a MC.