i am wanting to get a credit card but i dont know which one is the best and with the best rates with a low monthly payments?



i am wanting to get a credit card but i dont know which one is the best and with the best rates with a low monthly payments?





What kind of credit history do you have?
The credit cards are mostly based off of your history and/or/if you want rewards.
Because there ain't no tits on the radio



i dont have any credit history and want something with low interest and good arps





If you don't have any credit history, you'll probably have to start out with a pretty small limit ($200-500) and higher APR (probably in the 20% area).
I don't think there's any way around it. But if you are good and make timely payments, don't overcharge your account and all that nice stuff, you'll see a credit increase (and better offers in the mail) soon enough.
Because there ain't no tits on the radio
^^^ Yup. With no history you wont get the good cards.... its sad but true.





Yeup with no credit history I started out with a 300 limit with 23% interest. Now almost 3 years later of good payments its almost 1/2 that. Though bankrate.com has great charts for credit cards.
you live like an ivy vine
you can only survive by clinging onto trees
that's your flaw
put down some roots so you can stand on your own
-Kenpachi





Also, these days, even if you do have a long credit history, that credit history also has to be VERY good in order to get an approval for 'premium' credit cards carrying interest rates below 12%. Because of the losses to lenders stemming from the 'subprime' mortgage crisis, and because credit card default rates are now creeping up towards 5%, the financial institutions backing credit cards have recently tightened their creditworthiness standards as well as raised their regular and default interest rates.
So these days if you have no credit history and you have no documented 'regular' income you'll probably have to start out with a secured credit card with a $300-$500 limit - that is secured by you paying the financial institution the $300-$500 cash up front, with the financial institution then holding that money in escrow versus non-payment of your future credit card bills. In addition the regular interest rate will probably be over 20%. However, once you 'prove your financial responsibility' to the financial institution via prudent use of your secured credit card, after 6 months or a year the financial institution will probably extend you additional credit by raising your limit beyond the amount they are holding in escrow as a security deposit.
^^^ I believe they do everything in their power to lower the credit rating so they can increase rates. For example, if you don't use the card, great rates. Use the card they start playing the credit/debt ratio game. Blah blah blah.
If you can get by without a credit card, I really suggest not even getting one.
Open up a second bank account with a debit card against it. They will tell you you need credit cards to rent cars and other shit, but I have never had a problem using a debit card for such things.
The credit industry is very incompetent to put it mildly. All these missing credit numbers and security breaches. Then they tell you how they offer stolen id insurance on your cards. The internet is littered with how CC companies have screwed their customers by applying payments late and fighting over fees and other bullshit. There are few decent card companies out there and you will never get a card from them unless you are doing very well anyhow (which means lots of cash and assets.)
The rest of them prey on the fiscally weak and crippled.
Credit in the US is really becoming an incredibly (legally) corrupt business.
^^^
Deogol's right. They all suck. No matter how terrific a customer you are, they will find ways to slap on fees and raise APRs.
A debit card is a more appealing, money saving option. It won't let you spend money you don't have and it won't charge an APR.
If you insist on building a credit history with credit cards, pay off the balance every month. Never have a lingering amount. Never, never, never. It gives them an opportunity to kill you dead.
Responsible credit card use does not boast your FICO score much. A car loan through a bank or credit union (not some rinky dink car shack) effects your score more than VISA could ever.





I can answer some of these questions.
You are right that the 'duration' of an account is a major factor in Credit Rating math. This is the reason that I could not afford to tell Capital One to stick their Platinum Visa card up their a$$ when they recently unilaterally raised the interest rate on my card from 9% to 13.5%. All I could do was pay off the balance and stop using the Capital One card, while obtaining a new 7.9% card from another sponsor bank. I'll have to build a couple of years worth of history on the new card before I can finally tell Capital One to put my account where the sun don't shine - any sooner and my credit rating will take a hit cuz I've had the Capital One card for many many years !
I've been told that there's nothing sacrosanct about car loans counting any more heavily than other types of loans. What does seem to count is the AMOUNT of credit dollars involved. Thus in theory a $20k car loan and a $20k limit credit card account carry the same weight in this department. Obviously, the longevity factor with car loans works on a shorter period, since car loans typically only have a 3-5 year duration.
I've also been told that the 'payback habits' count a lot. Where car loans / mortgage loans or any type of fixed payment loan is concerned, the highest credit ratings stem from people who stick to the payment schedule exactly ... late payments count against your credit score, but so do EARLY payments !
Lastly I've been told that credit card contributions to the credit rating formula have to do with not only 'payback habits' but also average balance. Thus the best combination for maximum credit rating advantage is something like charging up your credit card balance to 49% of the credit limit every month, and making payments that reduce the balance to 33% of the credit limit or so. If you take on charges that send your credit card balance over 50% of the credit limit it counts against you, but so does paying off the balance in full every month.
Your available credit ratio counts in your FICO also. If you have a 10K card with 8K available it makes your score higher. You have a 10K card maxed out to 10K its bad.
You need revolving (CC) and installment (car) loans to quickly build your credit. The length of your credit history counts too.
And Ill say it again - if you want to buy a house you need credit and a debit card does not build credit but this is not an argument I want to get into again. Credit IS needed unless you have hundreds of thousands to pay cash for a house in the future. If you plan on renting for the rest of your life and paying cash for a car a debit card is fine.
A great book that explains credit is Suze Ormans "Young. Fabulous and Broke". I also have her book "Road to Wealth" which gets more into detail and talks about retirement, stocks, etc but I dont always understand what shes explaining in that book.
There will always be loans for "bricks and wheels" aka items that can act as their own collateral.





^^^ not if new 'save the poor homeowner' laws are passed, there won't. If mortgage lenders are legally barred from foreclosing on delinquent homeowners and therefore legally barred from selling the property to recoup part of their principal as long as the delinquent homeowner continues to make his 'teaser rate' or 'negative am' introductory mortgage payments indefinitely, can the house still be considered as constituting collateral ? Or will future subprime mortgages become de-facto unsecured loans ? If the latter is true, then banks will charge interest rates similar to other unsecured loans for future 'subprime' mortgages unless some other means of guarantees against losses is provided (i.e. guaranteed US taxpayer bailouts) !
OK. But ya better have highly verifiable income and a large 20-25% DP to qualify with no credit.





Actually I have been told by people in the know that 50% is the 'magic number'. Thus if you have a card with a $10k limit, running up a balance that exceeds $5k will LOWER your credit score. This is based on the premise that people who are carrying a lot of debt as compared to their available credit are encountering difficulties in paying their bills.Your available credit ratio counts in your FICO also. If you have a 10K card with 8K available it makes your score higher. You have a 10K card maxed out to 10K its bad.
I think I worded that badly. It says $8k of available balance. Yes over 50% is bad. Ive been told not to pay off in total but leave a running balance of around 10-20% monthly....





^^^ the same people in the know have also told me that paying your monthly credit card balance down to a value below 25% can also lower your credit score ... because it increases the expense to profit ratio for the card issuing bank by lowering the balance upon which interest charges are leveed.
So its 25% and not 10%!? OK, makes sense.
Oh, another thing that should be mentioned. Too much available credit is a bad thing too.... stupid.... but I guess theyre afraid youll turn around and go on a charge spree or something...
I like my Bank of America Visa. They started me off with a fairly high limit -- $6000 -- and automatically doubled it six months later. It came with 0% APR for the first six months, which was nice because during that time, I wasn't making enough money for living expenses so it allowed me to put my necessary expenses on credit card while also giving me some time to pay off the balance before the 0% promo period ran out. It is a rewards card and if you spend enough money on the card, you are eligible for cash back refunds and other stuff.
The only disadvantage of the Bank of America rewards card is the high APR -- 21.24%, soon to be raised to 23.24% due to the credit industry's tightening as an effect of the subprime credit collapse. But if you pay off your balance in full, you don't have to pay any of this interest. Also, they sometimes off low-interest balance transfers in case you have any recurring balances on other credit cards -- e.g., right now they're offering 3.99% APR on balance transfers for the next 6 months. I am transferring my other card's balance(currently at 5.99% APR, soon to be raised back to the regular 12.99% APR next month) to this card because the 3.99% APR is a "bargain" compared to the 12.99% I'd otherwise be paying. As long as I pay off this balance before the 3.99% APR ends in June 2008--which I'm planning to do--I save money by making this balance transfer.
The one thing that annoys me about Bank of America is the way they've been tightening the reigns on credit limit increases ever since the subprime collapse...I'm nothing but a great customer with a 700+ credit score, yet they haven't raised my limit since last spring...but I think that happens with almost ALL credit card companies these days, due to the subprime collapse.
I'd avoid high fee subprime cards like First Premier or Aspire like the plague. I'd also avoid Capital One, which doesn't report credit limits, thus hindering your credit score. I'd also avoid HSBC/Household Bank, which has attempted to screw, trick, and cheat me a few times despite my consistent on-time payments.
My sister in law had one thing on her CR - a car loan. After having the car for a little over a year she applied for a card with her bank (USBank) and got one with a $5000 limit. I think she said its somewhere around 12%...
Not to mention... shes had the car 2 1/2 years and the card 1 year and her score is 725. Having the CC (revolving credit) made her score go way up than what it was with JUST the installment loan (car)
I tried to edit my previous post...but my computer is being really slow with that function, so...
Here's a link to my bad experience about HSBC, so you'll know why I'm telling you to avoid them like the plague:
It took SEVEN MONTHS to clear up their mess!![]()




Wow.. every time I go into the bank to deposit money, they offer me a credit card with a $3000 limit at 5.9%. I guess that's good, huh? Maybe I should take them up on the offer next time. I only have a debit card, it suits me fine.. but I guess if I got a real credit card and used it only a little, and paid it every month, it would improve my credit. Hm.
Yes that is a great offer and as long as you think you have the credit to obtain it, you should get it. Having revolving credit accounts drastically builds credit. Although you might only NEED a debit card, a debit card does nothing to establish credit or a credit score.
However, be aware that most banks' so-called "pre-approved" offers aren't actually pre-approved. There's still a chance of rejection. But if you have a solid credit score and no bad marks, I doubt you'd get rejected. You could also try searching for your bank's credit card on online boards such as whogavemecredit.com to compare your credit score/history against other people that applied and got approved for the card. That'll give you a rough idea of how lenient or stringent the bank is with extending credit.
yup ^^^ i get those offers too and know theres no way ill actually get approved...




For more information go to http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/
Also keep in mind your FiCo score is differant than your credit score. Credit Score is established solely on payment history by Transunion, Equifax, and Experian. Your Fico score includes that information plus debt to income ratio etc.
Nature knows no indecencies; man invents them. ~ Mark Twain
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