Best credit card to get for a student?

[randomlinh]

I am paid into and pay bills out of a primary debit account and move small bits of money to a second one--that second one is the only one I carry around in my wallet, this protecting me against more than 200-300 bucks maximum at any one time if my wallet is ripped off me

That's a good idea. Never thought of that. Though, I haven't had a problem with maximizing my chase rewards. On the same note, it's becoming much more difficult to find a decent 3% back on gas and groceries making it less and less attractive.

 

[Bignate603]

You should get it and not use it. I wouldn't bother using it in place of debit, it sets a bad precedent. So who cares about points, that will start addicting you to the stupid notion that everything you can put into the car you should. And you _will_ spend more than you ought. This is a statistical fact that influences the majority of people. Just get one, use it every few months, keep it in your wallet and forget it. That is quite frankly all you need to do to get your foot in the door of credit.

Building credit from scratch, once you can get started with a credit card is *very* easy. You can have a 700+ from nothing in no time at all and then you never again need to worry about building credit, so don't overthink it.

I disagree with that. My wife used her debit card almost exclusively until I checked our account online one Sunday morning to find out that somebody had stolen her card information. In a few hour period they had charged almost $1000 onto our bank account. I called the bank and they shut down the card (they had actually already blocked another charge the thief tried to do because it was suspicious). We eventually got the money back but it wasn't immediate. This all happened in the few weeks before finishing college and starting my job so money was very hard to come by. We needed that money to pay rent and we almost didn't get it back in time.

Now everything gets put on a credit card, we check our balance often and it's set up to automatically pay the full amount each month. We haven't spent a dime on interest and get a few hundred in cash back every year. If somebody swipes the card information it's not money out of our bank account that's tied up while they investigate.

 

[AtlantaBob]

I think what really makes new users fall into debt is treating credit cards as temporary floaters. Instead, as you use a credit card, mentally allocate the same amount in your checking account towards the next monthly payment. As long as you keep in mind that all charges will be paid immediately out of your current checking balance, it should serve as a deterrent to maxing the card every month. Unless you're looking at a $2-500 limit, in which case, you probably will max it out often if you use it for all your expenses.

This is good advice, but I'd go a step further and write it down somewhere. These days, a lot of college kids have iPhones/iPod Touches (and if you do, there's a great free app called "Balance" by a guy named Conner Wokamo (something like that, at least -- his name stood to me because a.) I love his product and b.) what a weird last name) that you can use to balance your checkbook. (Although you have to add multiple account support via a $2.99 in-app add-in). Using something like this (or, if you like paper, a check register) to note your purchases in real time is a FANTASTIC way to make sure that you can pay the balance at the end of the month. I'm sure there are other similar products for other smartphones, PDAs, etc.

Also, just in my experience (and yours and others may vary), Chase is a horrible bank. I still use them to deposit checks locally, but I try to shift my "real" money to USAA (a much better bank--although deposits are still a pain if you're not a full member) or CapitalOne (who I have a credit card with, and like their rates on Money Market accounts; however, my parents think that they're evil).

/For what it's worth....

 

[Bignate603]

This is good advice, but I'd go a step further and write it down somewhere. These days, a lot of college kids have iPhones/iPod Touches (and if you do, there's a great free app called "Balance" by a guy named Conner Wokamo (something like that, at least -- his name stood to me because a.) I love his product and b.) what a weird last name) that you can use to balance your checkbook. (Although you have to add multiple account support via a $2.99 in-app add-in). Using something like this (or, if you like paper, a check register) to note your purchases in real time is a FANTASTIC way to make sure that you can pay the balance at the end of the month. I'm sure there are other similar products for other smartphones, PDAs, etc.

Also, just in my experience (and yours and others may vary), Chase is a horrible bank. I still use them to deposit checks locally, but I try to shift my "real" money to USAA (a much better bank--although deposits are still a pain if you're not a full member) or CapitalOne (who I have a credit card with, and like their rates on Money Market accounts; however, my parents think that they're evil).

/For what it's worth....

How do you have an account at USAA without being a full member? I just got an account and insurance through them and there's no problem depositing stuff into their accounts. I agree though, so far USAA has been awesome. You call and an actual person that speaks understandable english answers. Not only that, they can actually help you get what you want, it's practically unheard of.