Credit cards

timmi

timmi

Active member
im looking into getting a credit card. not gunna spend a tonn on it, just building up credit.

my brother is trying to get me on this card called starwood prefered guest card, so i get free stays in hotel rooms. but i was wondering from you guys experience, what do you like?

im canadian by the way.
 
personally, im against credit cards. mainly because i know that id buy way too much ski gear and rack up a nice bill that i wouldnt be able to pay.

my only advice is to read the super fine print.
 
i use a bank of america visa debit card
i jsut have a savings and a checking account that the card services and bank of america is reliable and easy to use online
it's not too expensive, but it's also not the cheapest
 
Aren't you like 16 or something? A little young to be thinking of a credit card. There are a few reasons for that. If you are under 18, you will need a car with a cosigner. That means that a parent or older relative will be responsible for your card if you don't pay it. I think these limit how well your credit will build, even if you pay it meticulously. Also you don't really have a need for one under 18.

As for the starwood preferred guests cards....First of all, they are american express I am pretty sure. This means that you will not only be paying a yearly/monthly fee to be a Starwood member, you will also be paying a fee to use this 'premium' credit card (AmEx) that has higher interest rates, higher caps, etc. My family is part of Starwood, these cards are pretty nice. This is how they work, for every dollar you spend, you get one StarPoint. You can spend StarPoints to get nights at hotels. One night at a decent hotel will cost you about 4000-10000 star points, or the equivalent of 4000-10000 dollars if you were to pay it straight up. It isn't REALLY that much, because you are essentially getting a free room for however long you want to stay there, but you need to spend alot of money to be eligible for that. The only real advantage to the starwood cards is if you are a timeshare owner, and you can also get a free room upgrade if you are paying for a hotel because you are a "preferred guest"

All in all, you will be spending alot of money for two reasons with that. One is because its a starwood card, and two because its an American Express, at least my parents are. Your BEST bet is to wait until you are 18 and find a card that does not need a cosigner. These cards will have no rewards or things like that, but that is ok. Cards that sound almost too good to be true with all the awesome rewards they give are just that...too good to be true. You will be paying for it in the long run. So like I said, wait till you are 18, get a visa or a mastercard that has a low limit, no monthly/yearly fees and no cosigner. That will be the best way to build good credit provided you pay your bill ontime.

*phew* that was alot of text.
 
i am 18 hommes. and this starwood card is through visa i beleive. my brother has it and there are no fees, pretty high interest rates, but i am going to try pretty hard not to run into that problem. initially, i am getting it for the 5000 points that you get the first time you use it, so i can stay in quebec for a night with my bro (cause we all know what you can do there at 18) but thanks for the info. and i see how you couldnt guess my age. my posts dont really reflect that.
 
i like visa. it's not too hard to find a card out there that's 30 days same as cash, no annual fees etc. not a bad idea to start building credit. it helps. by the time i was 23 my credit was good enough to by a car and house on my own without any cosigners. just pay your bills on time!
 
make sure you're getting a credit card, not a debit like that one dude was saying. cus debit just draws straight form your checking account, you don't actually get a bill at the end of the month and don't build any credit.
I just have a visa through my bank and there's no annual fees but i don't get any benefits from it so that starwood sounds kinda sick
 
All these weird card companies are a little sketchy in my opinion.

Myself I got my visa through CIBC, nothing special, no fees just the basic. Its safe, free and my credit is building. I'd suggest you do the same, but you may need to be 19?
 
if you shop at Sobeys regularly. get an airmiles card. They always ask for it. I feel like I could have like 10000000 points by now.
 
a air miles card isnt a credit card as far as i know. its just a card that you get and you give them as you purchase stuff and it collects reward points. a lot of places use them. the companies track peoples buying habbits and sell it to marketers.
 
Nope. Mine costs 0$/yr

Go with the regular free Visa that comes with minimum reward accumilator (sp?) I think for every 20$ you get 1 point.. Or something less, either way it's free
 
to be honest, i didn't really read any of the above posts. however, you should get a credit card around 18. if you charge like simple things to your card (clothes, videogames, ski shit...etc) and can pay them off well, you'll build up credit, which is imperative to buying a car/house/etc... i mean, i'm 19 and i have no credit because i always pay cash, but its probably a good idea to get some credit. it'll help you out.

i know my word isn't shit online, but credit = good. just make sure you can pay it.
 
having good credit is a good thing, but seriously, just go for a debit card. Saves you the trouble of thinking that you suddenly have a lot of money. Never, EVER get into credit card debt.
 
if you are 18 i strongly suggest you get a credit card, like you said above. I applied for one when i was 18 years old and i treat it like a debit card ( i only spend what i know i have). its been three years later and i have never missed a payment and have always paid in full and i have very good credit.

by the way, if you miss a payment, and then pay it off in full, it stays on your record for 7 years.
 
One name...

Wal-Mart

It's a credit card that you put money on, but you can build up credit with it. Only thing is you can only use it at Wal-Mart.

It's amazing though. I have no credit whatsoever, but I haven't had my identity stolen or anything and I can't get this card. They are even giving this card to illegal immigrants. So i'm going to try this thing again.
 
I got a debit card when I turned 16 and it was awesome. And then when I turned 19 I got a credit through by bank that shows up on my internet banking and stuff. It is directly connected to my debit card so that I can pay off my credit card with my bank account I build up solid credit with it. I've got a like a 738 credit rating right now. I highly suggest getting a credit card with a super low limit and just treating like a debit card, only using it when you know you have the cash to pay it off.
 
I have a capitol one card. I have 0 interest for a year then it goes to like 15% or something, which isn't bad at all.

If you have self control, a credit card is fine. If you can't control yourself, then forget it.
 
basically thats the whole trick. pay your card bills on time, build credit and get reward points. if you don't, interest is impossibly high and they start tacking on stupid handling fees too.

best situation is to have a credit card thats affiliated with your bank somehow. i have that through bank of america and can transfer (pay off) money from my checking to my credit card as soon as i get home from the store.

because, you should never, EVER get into credit card debt.

 
i have two. i got one shortly after my 16th birthday, that one is directly linked to my parents, i just pay them cash. that card has a 20,000$ limit on it .

i also have one that is in my name,(got it after my 18th Bday) it is through the credit union i keep most of my money at. that one is MY card, my ass on the line, ect. i pay the bill online through either my checking, or i can pay it directly from my savings.

if you have self restraint they are great, but if you dont........... dont even think about it.
 
You can do that with any card these days. I have 3 credit cards right now, one is my Debit through LeSalle bank, but it also is a Mastercard if I need it to be. Then I have a regular mastercard through CitiBank and then I have a BP gas card. All 3 of them I pay off online and they pull directly from my bank.
 
Credit cards are wonderful inventions. I got a credit card as soon as I turned 18. It is so much better than debit, since I get charged bank fees if I have over 15 or something transactions per month. My credit card costs nothing.

It depends on what you are looking for in a credit card, there are a ton of options out there. Your best bet is to get a well known one ( Visa, MasterCard) and one with no annual fee. I wouldn't worry about the interest rate, you are going to want to always pay the bill every month, so that will never come into play. You can get credit cards that are affliated with air miles, aeroplan, various other reward systems, but a lot of those have an annual fee of around $100. I would start with whichever bank you have your accounts at, that will be by far the easiest solution, and it will be easier to just transfer and pay the card online.
 
im on visa with a 9% interest rate. if your a visa or mastercard client, and have good credit. phone them and demand a lower rate. the lowered mine from 18% to 13% then I phoned again 6 months later and its now at 9%.
 
ask your local bank for the best bet..they usually give out 'young person' cards with lower interest rates and lower limits.

credit cards aren't evil... its just peoples spending habits that are evil. if you have bad spending habits do not leave your house with your card... my best advice.

 
Credit cards are bad, but you need to build up credit so just spend money on little things like Starbucks or McDonalds or BK Lounge.
 
would you rather drown, or catch fire?

or here is the worst, fall into a pool thats on fire, and when you come up for air, a big dude punches you right in the face. that would be the worst!

 
don't get a credit card untill you need one. It's way easyer to fuck up your credit score than improve it. I've never had a real card (only bank visas )and I was able to buy a house
 
i eat fig newtons by the sleeve.

don't get a credit card until you are 18, end of story. there's no upside if you need someone to cosign. after that, it's just as a bunch of people said above, you have to exercise restraint and be responsible or you can screw yourself big time in a hurry. in fact, i would say that the harm you can cause is a potentially bigger than the good that building your credit at a young age will do.
 
everyone man wants to be part of a heist, you ask any man, and he will say yes.

he also wants a monkey to be hiding in his closet so he could fight it when he gets home from work. i mean, imagine how pumped you would be knowing there is a monkey hiding somewhere in your house just waiting to duel you.
 
my parents gave me a credit card last year, and i've been in debt ever since, so basically it ruined my life.
 
It only affects your credit score if you don't pay after 30 days of it being due. So you said you paid it a day later or whatever, so your credit score wasn't affected.
 
ya My dad works at a bank so he just got me a visa associated with his bank, But ya i don't think its worth getting all those random stuff that you have to pay yearly fees for its just stupid. Its like you paying them to charge you money.

No claim intended
 
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