YACT: I need to establish some credit!

[Saint Nick]

I know nothing about credit. I saw his sig (bettercreditcard.com) and I see all these numbers, acronyms, and other things that I don't know what they all mean! I am 19 and would like to establish myself a little bit of credit.

Repost Nazis and neffers are welcome to come on in, but any real advice is greatly appreciated

 

[Heisenberg]

Get a credit card, use it for various things, and make sure you pay it off every month.

 

[JLGatsby]

If you have no credit, you'll probably have to get a secured credit card to build a credit history.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Get a credit card, use it for various things, and make sure you pay it off every month.

indeed

the important part is paying it off every month, do yourself a favor and never count on doing int he month after. it wont happen

 

[imported_LoKe]

Get a credit card, use it to pay for your gas, lunch, etc. Instead of paying in cash, put it aside as soon as you get home that way you're sure you can pay it off at the end of the month.

 

[TripleAAA]

I started out with a gas card which kept me from using it unnecessarily and I would just pay it off every month. If you are mature enough to handle a credit card, you can get one of those too, but as soon as you get it, call up the company and make sure to put a cap or "limit" on the card, maybe at $250 or $500.

After having two cards for a year and paying them every month, you should be able to boost up your rating pretty well assuming you didn't do anything in the first place to screw it up.

Edit: I bought my first house at 23 and my credit score was 792. This enabled me to get the best possible deals on loans out there. Well worth it in the long run if you are good with your money.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Incase it helps, I just got the Charles Schwab card with a $100 gift card, turned 18 in January. As long as you can show a certain amount of income then you should be fine.

There are three things RossMAN told me over AIM to follow:
1) use it to buy stuff constantly.
2) pay it off ENTIRELY every month
3) do not apply for anymore credit for at least 1 year then get other cc's

 

[BigJ]

Go to citibank.com
Apply for Citi Student Dividend Platinum Select
...
Profit!

 

[RossMAN]

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=38&threadid=1817160

 

[mugs]

Are you a college student? It's easy to get a card as a college student. Apply for the one BigJ suggested.

 

[FleshLight]

Originally posted by: BigJ
Go to http://cardoffers.com
Apply for Citi Student Dividend Platinum Select
...
Profit!

Fixed

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: FleshLight

Originally posted by: BigJ
Go to http://cardoffers.com
Apply for Citi Student Dividend Platinum Select
...
Profit!

Fixed

Referrals techincally are not allowed on AT. Which is why I didn't tell him to go to bettercreditcard.com

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Get a credit card, use it for various things, and make sure you pay most of it off every month.

Fixed.
The card companies want you to carry a balance, so paying most of it is better than paying all of it, when you first start off.

 

[FleshLight]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: FleshLight

Originally posted by: BigJ
Go to http://cardoffers.com
Apply for Citi Student Dividend Platinum Select
...
Profit!

Fixed

Referrals techincally are not allowed on AT. Which is why I didn't tell him to go to bettercreditcard.com

He would make $40 through cardoffers. I wouldn't make anything

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Get a credit card, use it for various things, and make sure you pay most of it off every month.

Fixed.
The card companies want you to carry a balance, so paying most of it is better than paying all of it, when you first start off.

Total and utter BS. Pay it off in full every month avoiding any finance charges.

 

[Malak]

Never put yourself in the position where you are only paying the minimum fee. That'll kill ya, trust me. I've got lots of experience in that

 

[QED]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Get a credit card, use it for various things, and make sure you pay most of it off every month.

Fixed.
The card companies want you to carry a balance, so paying most of it is better than paying all of it, when you first start off.

Total and utter BS. Pay it off in full every month avoiding any finance charges.

What RossMan said.

Some people know that showing a very small balance on your credit report is typically better than showing a zero balance. However, what most people don't know is that you do not have to actually carry a balance from month to month on your credit card to have a balance show on your report.

Just use your credit card for a few small purchases, and pay it off in full each month. You won't have to pay the finance charges, but your credit card company will likely report a balance to the credit bureaus.