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If you are here reading this forum/thread, you probably have heard, seen or know someone who has been leveraging credit card points for free or very low cost travel and want to get involved. While it may be very tempting to jump right in and apply for a bunch of credit cards, it is advisable to read through the forums before doing so.

For those who have no credit history, building your credit score is strongly recommended and may even be needed before applying for any credit cards.

Step 1 - Try and get added as an Authorized User (AU) on an established credit card. This card should be kept in good standing and preferably have a low credit utilization ratio.
Some have had success with Amex to get your card backdated to the primary cardholders "member since" date. Having this done will increase your credit history to that of  the account holders first Amex card.
UPDATE Amex no longer backdates any cards. Any authorized user card will show up on the AUs report as a new account, opened on the date that the AU was added. Amex is now one of the worse choices to get added as an AU to, for credit building purposes.
Chase, Citi, Bank of America and others are more likely to show the full history of the primary cardholder on the authorized user's report than Amex is.

Additional Option - In conjunction with being added as an AU, you can  sign up for a secure credit card.
A secured credit card works almost like a debit card (you need to lay out your credit limit), but this functions as a regular credit card and will help build your credit score.

Step 2 - Once you are setup as an AU, it is best to wait a few months before applying for your first card.

Your first card should be a store credit card, which are easier to get approved for, especially with very limited credit history.
Some of the store cards people apply for are Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Kohl's, Macy's, Target etc. While these cards will not give you major signup bonuses to travel with, they do give you access to exclusive promotions and other perks when purchasing from the store.

Additional Options - The CapitalOne Journey card seems to be easier to get approved for, though understand they will pull your credit from all three agencies, while most banks only pull from one.

Discover has a student card you can apply for here. This can also be an easier option to getting approved for your first card. Their regular IT card (not student) seems to be pretty easy to get approved for with little to no credit history as well.

Step 3 - Pay your bill before your statement closes (cut off date), but leave a minimal amount remaining to be paid after your statement closes. This will help ensure that you have both a low CC utilization while establishing a good credit payment history. (This applies to new spending from this month.  Anything already 'due' should be paid in full.)

Step 4 - After using your first card for a few months, you will be ready to apply for the cards you will have read and heard so much about. Remember that getting accepted for a credit card is a combination of many factors like credit history and your credit score, but it is also dependent on the income that you claim* you make.  Income is not part of your credit report or score.

Step 5 - This is a brief synopsis of what to do when applying for credit cards. There are additional factors one should understand before applying for credit cards. DDF is a great resource and there are many people willing to answer your questions (which you should ask, albeit after attempting a search) 

*If you are under 21, you are legally only allowed to report personal income. Personal income, however, can include allowances and scholarships.
If you are over 21, you can claim any income which you have reasonable access to in order to pay back the bill, which includes the income of others in the household (spouse/parent), or anyone supporting you. Additionally, while most banks will not have you verify your income, it does happen and you should be prepared to show them. This is particularly prevalent with American Express, and is known as a Financial Review (FR).
« Last edited by S209 on September 09, 2018, 01:45:26 AM »

Author Topic: Credit Card For Beginners  (Read 918306 times)

Offline Cappy

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4080 on: December 04, 2016, 11:19:16 PM »
Thanks. Does the freedom unlimited get hit by 5/24?

From DOC:

What Cards Aren’t Affected?

The following cards don’t have this rule applied to them:

Chase IHG
Chase Hyatt
Chase British Airways
Chase Disney
Chase Fairmont
Chase Marriott Premier business card
Chase Ritz-Carlton
Chase Amazon
Chase AARP

Offline LoLo

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4081 on: December 04, 2016, 11:24:01 PM »
IIRC, the Marriott card IS affected. IMBW though.

Offline mmgfarb

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4082 on: December 04, 2016, 11:25:28 PM »
IIRC, the Marriott card IS affected. IMBW though.
Marriott personal us, business is not.
"JS [is] a fetid cesspool of unvarnished linguistic manure, with lots of useless drivel and post-padding." -Moishebatchy

Offline aarondeutsch95

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4083 on: December 05, 2016, 12:38:18 AM »
I asked this question earlier about the day or month and it seems like it's the month.

So you wouldn't be Eligible until January.

But I can still get 300$ credit for 2017 and 2018 and get hit with one AF until Jan 2018?

Offline mmgfarb

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4084 on: December 05, 2016, 12:40:09 AM »
But I can still get 300$ credit for 2017 and 2018 and get hit with one AF until Jan 2018?
Yes
"JS [is] a fetid cesspool of unvarnished linguistic manure, with lots of useless drivel and post-padding." -Moishebatchy

Offline aarondeutsch95

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4085 on: December 05, 2016, 12:52:10 AM »
Currently, I have the AMEX ED card and that's it. Had a few other cards that I closed last year, but looking for some new cards with good bonuses. Besides the CSR (which i can apply for in January after 5/24), which are best cards to go for? Really just looking to get bonuses and close/downgrade within a year. My score is about 746 if that helps. I was thinking Freedom unlimited and a couple others, any suggestions?

Offline emjee

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4086 on: December 05, 2016, 04:21:57 AM »
Currently, I have the AMEX ED card and that's it. Had a few other cards that I closed last year, but looking for some new cards with good bonuses. Besides the CSR (which i can apply for in January after 5/24), which are best cards to go for? Really just looking to get bonuses and close/downgrade within a year. My score is about 746 if that helps. I was thinking Freedom unlimited and a couple others, any suggestions?
There are many options. Depends on how much you can easily spend, what over had before amd what you want out of the cards .

Offline devoramendy

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4087 on: December 05, 2016, 03:18:05 PM »
I need to purchase a new MacBook. Which credit card would be the best to use and why?

Offline aarondeutsch95

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4088 on: December 05, 2016, 03:43:01 PM »
There are many options. Depends on how much you can easily spend, what over had before amd what you want out of the cards .

I had a SPG and a Gold Premier Rewards, I can spend using serve, and will be off 5/24 in January. I would like to do CSR, FU, and one more maybe Southwest using 3BM. What do you think about that? Also I am now 21, so can use household income.

Really just looking for good bonuses, and good perks for daily spending.

Offline LoLo

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4089 on: December 05, 2016, 03:53:49 PM »
I need to purchase a new MacBook. Which credit card would be the best to use and why?
Amex, purchase protection/extended warrantee.

Offline devoramendy

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4090 on: December 05, 2016, 04:07:17 PM »
Any Amex?

Offline mmgfarb

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4091 on: December 05, 2016, 04:12:33 PM »
"JS [is] a fetid cesspool of unvarnished linguistic manure, with lots of useless drivel and post-padding." -Moishebatchy

Offline LoLo

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4092 on: December 05, 2016, 07:48:12 PM »
Yes
One that you're likely to keep open.

Offline Mendelssohn

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4093 on: December 06, 2016, 01:58:39 AM »
Currently, I have the AMEX ED card and that's it. Had a few other cards that I closed last year, but looking for some new cards with good bonuses. Besides the CSR (which i can apply for in January after 5/24), which are best cards to go for? Really just looking to get bonuses and close/downgrade within a year. My score is about 746 if that helps. I was thinking Freedom unlimited and a couple others, any suggestions?

For credit purposes, you should really focus on adding some cards that you want to keep open long term. 

Offline aarondeutsch95

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4094 on: December 12, 2016, 12:42:31 AM »
Best way to use serve card to churn chase cards? Is there even a way?

Offline mmgfarb

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4095 on: December 12, 2016, 12:43:30 AM »
Best way to use serve card to churn chase cards? Is there even a way?
I think you are very much confused my friend.
"JS [is] a fetid cesspool of unvarnished linguistic manure, with lots of useless drivel and post-padding." -Moishebatchy

Offline aarondeutsch95

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4096 on: December 12, 2016, 12:49:05 AM »
I think you are very much confused my friend.

I guess I am, I am just looking for an efficient way to spend on sapphire reserve, all I have is a serve. I guess my question is: Best way to churn these days?

Offline David Smith

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4097 on: December 12, 2016, 12:50:36 AM »
I guess I am, I am just looking for an efficient way to spend on sapphire reserve, all I have is a serve. I guess my question is: Best way to churn these days?
The definition of churning is to repeatedly open and receive the bonus on the same product.

You can try this.
Who do you think you are fooling? You think you are going to pull a quick one on your Creator? Good luck with that.
JTZ

Offline mmgfarb

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4098 on: December 12, 2016, 12:50:55 AM »
I guess I am, I am just looking for an efficient way to spend on sapphire reserve, all I have is a serve. I guess my question is: Best way to churn these days?
MS and churning are not the same thing. Nobody here is going to just tell you any MS methods that they know about that rent public knowledge. You can start by reading the wiki in the serve and bluebird threads.
"JS [is] a fetid cesspool of unvarnished linguistic manure, with lots of useless drivel and post-padding." -Moishebatchy

Offline PillanSmye

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #4099 on: December 12, 2016, 01:14:36 AM »
MS and churning are not the same thing. Nobody here is going to just tell you any MS methods that they know about that rent public knowledge. You can start by reading the wiki in the serve and bluebird threads.

Don't be misleading. This guy will definitely help out:

http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=69903.0