24 Looking to build Credit... What are some good tips on your first Credit Card

[cl-1b]

 

Used my chase Marriott card for a quick stay in Miami this wknd at a Marriott property.. Got 6am early check in and 3 pm late check out the next day no charge.

Gotta look into this card. I stay with Marriott the most, people think this is the best one to get?

If you consider all the properties in the network Ritz included it really works out. Every anniversary after 1 year,  you get a free nights stay as well. I travel a lot and i feel like there might be better cards out there but i really like how they treat you with this one... Esp if you are interested in racking up Marriott rewards as well. 

 

[isco]

Got an offer in the mail for the AMEX Delta Skymiles card and accepted (spend $1k in the first 3 months for 60K bonus miles). Since I was copping an engagement ring, I just used the card to buy that and paid it off . I already have 30k miles with Delta, so it'll make for a nice round trip somewhere.

The problem I currently have is that I have a platinum card right now. I've had it for about 2 years (had the Gold before that). The annual fee just not worth it anymore and want to get rid of it. Since its a charge card, getting rid of it will not affect my score?

If u get rid of it..ur utilization will go down..so it will affect ur score overall..but if u don't want to pay the fee it's not the worst thing to get rid of

 

[cl-1b]

Man dont close it. See if you can switch to a different charge card like the green or something. The platinum is great tho i wouldn't get rid of it. 

 

[bhzmafia14]

If u get rid of it..ur utilization will go down..so it will affect ur score overall..but if u don't want to pay the fee it's not the worst thing to get rid of

I was thinking since its a charge card, there is no set limit (at least from a credit report perspective?). Whenever I look at my utilization on credit karma, it doesn't include anything from my AMEX since its a charge card. The amount I spend on the AMEX is on the credit report, but not included in the utilization (which still confuses me at times)

Man dont close it. See if you can switch to a different charge card like the green or something. The platinum is great tho i wouldn't get rid of it. 

The card definitely has some good benefits, especially when traveling. I just figured I'll rather switch one of the charge cards over to a credit card. I'll probably be using the Delta charge card a lot more just to rack up mileage. Its a $0 annual fee in the 1st year for the Amex Delta card and $95 after that. Would there be any good AMEX credit cards you guys could recommend if I did decide to switch?

 

[pdino]

 

[dam itz lou]

Got an offer in the mail for the AMEX Delta Skymiles card and accepted (spend $1k in the first 3 months for 60K bonus miles). Since I was copping an engagement ring, I just used the card to buy that and paid it off . I already have 30k miles with Delta, so it'll make for a nice round trip somewhere.

The problem I currently have is that I have a platinum card right now. I've had it for about 2 years (had the Gold before that). The annual fee just not worth it anymore and want to get rid of it. Since its a charge card, getting rid of it will not affect my score?

Nice! I got an offer for 50K. They gave me until the end of April to apply. I'll wait it out and hope for the 60K.

You can't convert a charge card to a credit card though.

 

[cl-1b]

Bhz don't quote me on this but I remember reading that charge cards like Amex report your highest balance in a single month as your credit limit on your credit report.

I'm not sure if you are able to switch the charge cards to credit card lines.

My platinum is the business version and it's my most used card in my wallet. I wouldnt get rid of it but the fee is pretty high if you plan on putting it in the drawer lol

 

[brockbo]

Ok so back in august before leaving for school I received a collection for a direct tv account I had no knowledge of and after applying for my first apartment I found out somebody had opened the account in my name back in 2013 and ill be honest I haven't followed up on it since but I see it as ruining my credit before it even got started I went in signing this leasing there was literally not a thing on my credit report and it blindsided me. Now its time where I need to build my credit and I don't even know where to begin because of the any advise would be great

Thanks guys

 

[wrightone86]

Ok so back in august before leaving for school I received a collection for a direct tv account I had no knowledge of and after applying for my first apartment I found out somebody had opened the account in my name back in 2013 and ill be honest I haven't followed up on it since but I see it as ruining my credit before it even got started I went in signing this leasing there was literally not a thing on my credit report and it blindsided me. Now its time where I need to build my credit and I don't even know where to begin because of the any advise would be great

Thanks guys

I had something similar when I was graduating....got a collections from AT&T wireless and I was still on parents plan with VZW and never had AT&T. 

If I remember right, you dispute the charges with each credit bureau, listing the reason, call the collections company and notify them of the stolen identity occurrence, and then file a stolen identity report with your local police department and send a copy of that to the collections dept. For me, this was like 8 years ago though, so it might have streamlined a bit since then I would think/hope. 

 

[isco]

I was thinking since its a charge card, there is no set limit (at least from a credit report perspective?). Whenever I look at my utilization on credit karma, it doesn't include anything from my AMEX since its a charge card. The amount I spend on the AMEX is on the credit report, but not included in the utilization (which still confuses me at times)
The card definitely has some good benefits, especially when traveling. I just figured I'll rather switch one of the charge cards over to a credit card. I'll probably be using the Delta charge card a lot more just to rack up mileage. Its a $0 annual fee in the 1st year for the Amex Delta card and $95 after that. Would there be any good AMEX credit cards you guys could recommend if I did decide to switch?

What is ur limit ur are allowed to charge? Add that to all of ur other cards the figure out how much u used

 

[shiznut123]

Bhz, call them and ask them to cancel your platinum card. They will ask why and then cite the annual fee is not worth it. They may give you a credit to offset it depending on your account history to stay.

I did this last month and they gave me a $400 credit so I only paid $50 for my annual due. I did put roughly $60k on it last year and was never late so I think that gave me some leverage.

 

[bhzmafia14]

Nice! I got an offer for 50K. They gave me until the end of April to apply. I'll wait it out and hope for the 60K.

You can't convert a charge card to a credit card though.

Yea, I'm sure they will have another offer coming through the mail soon for you . I was hoping they would look at my history with them and hook me up with the credit line instead

Bhz don't quote me on this but I remember reading that charge cards like Amex report your highest balance in a single month as your credit limit on your credit report.

I'm not sure if you are able to switch the charge cards to credit card lines.

My platinum is the business version and it's my most used card in my wallet. I wouldnt get rid of it but the fee is pretty high if you plan on putting it in the drawer lol

I see. Most of the time I pay it off prior to the statement coming out, but the times where there is a balance on my report, it just shows the balance. However, its not added to my total utilization of my other cards. My Discover Card has the biggest credit limit ($15K), then I have 2 other cards totaling $5K. So, whenever I see my utilization on credit karma, it just takes the balance of those cards divided by $20k.

If AMEX doesn't allow me to switch to a credit card, I will probably just keep the plat. I'm sure it will still come in handy at times and I'll have to switch between each card every few months. I can also transfer the points I get from the platinum card to Delta miles as well. I use the platinum mainly to book vacations or large purchase items that I can pay off in a month. Then, you get some of the complimentary things if you stay at one of their selected hotels/resorts during the trip.

What is ur limit ur are allowed to charge? Add that to all of ur other cards the figure out how much u used

On the platinum? There's a limit, but no specified limit they tell you. Whatever it is, I definitely don't get close enough to it. I've used that "check spending ability" system on their website and it approved a $20k transaction.

^If you're looking for Amex I got the blue cash everyday. 100$ back if you spend 1k in first 3 months. 3% back at grocery stores/supermarkets. I just use it for my grocery shopping. No annual fee.

There's a 6% version with an annual fee if you do lots of grocery shopping.

Good looking . I will do some research on it later tonight.


Thanks for the advice guys. I'll definitely probably keep the platinum unless AMEX hooks me up with a charge card to credit card switch of some sort.

 

[capital sb]

If u get rid of it..ur utilization will go down..so it will affect ur score overall..but if u don't want to pay the fee it's not the worst thing to get rid of

It will not go down. It is a charge card with no limit it only reports his statement balance each month, only affect it will have on his score is his AAoA. SOme people say charge cards hurt you because they report a 100% utilization because you are using X/$0 . I closed my first card and didn't even have a big impact IMO I say either close the Plat card or try to downgrade.

 

[dam itz lou]

bhzmafia14 , I don't know if you know but you can use the $200 airline credit towards airline gift cards. You have to call and select an airline first. It's not suppose to work for gift cards so don't mention it to them.

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[polosanddunks]

are charge cards even worth it?

 

[townbidness]

are charge cards even worth it?

If you got the money to pay it in full every month then yes. Becuase you can make big boy purchases.

 

[polosanddunks]

..

 

[dam itz lou]

are charge cards even worth it?

If you like amex points and you're able to pay your bill in full every month then yeah. Amex PRG has a bunch of bonus categories and the Amex platinum is all about the perks. You can redeem the airline credits for gift cards and use them towards flights.

 

[Ritchie X Rich]

are charge cards even worth it?

I got a Amex plat charge, I've used it to upgrade my plane seats a couple of times with my airline credit and accessed the Amex lounge about a couple times too and I was able to bring friends for free. All you can eat food and drinks. I would say I made up the annual fee doing those alone already. I can get faster security pre TSA check for free through my card which ill apply for soon since I been traveling a lot. Note that When getting a charge card it doesn't factor into your utilization so if you ever need to do a big purchase and allow the statement to cut it won't jack your utilization percentage up and more so works as if it hid your high balance if that makes sense (it'll report highest balance but your high balance isn't factor in your utilization and won't go against your credit limit). In terms of paying in full, it doesn't affect me at all because credit card or charge card it doesn't matter I pay in full on all my cards I don't pay a cent of interest so my rewards and perks allow me to always be up. The gold prg charge is decent if you don't travel much and like the points system more. Bottom line, I say a charge card is worth it but it depends what your lifestyle is and how much you're spending or what you're spending on and crunching the numbers to see will the rewards outweigh the annual fee. If you're used to always rolling balances and never paying in full then that sums it up that it may not be for you regardless of perks.

 

[capital sb]

bhzmafia14 , I don't know if you know but you can use the $200 airline credit towards airline gift cards. You have to call and select an airline first. It's not suppose to work for gift cards so don't mention it to them.

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You don't have to call em Lou. Just do a google search on the airline to verify that AMEX will reimburse the gift card then purchase it. I buy $100 SouthWest gc's on SW site and give em to my mom.

 

[bhzmafia14]

bhzmafia14 , I don't know if you know but you can use the $200 airline credit towards airline gift cards. You have to call and select an airline first. It's not suppose to work for gift cards so don't mention it to them.

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:x im so late on this

i used the airline credits, but never to change them into gift cards.

 

[capital sb]

im so late on this

i used the airline credits, but never to change them into gift cards.

Lol I feel like this perk was kept so lowkey when it launched, I just found out about it in November.

 

[dam itz lou]

http://thepointsguy.com/2016/03/marriotts-plans-for-starwood-preferred-guest/

 

[luckyluchiano]

Damn already used my airline fee credit

 

[pitman13]

One day I'll be receiving this in the mail.

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