So I want a credit card

[BusterStacks]

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you really shouldn't be worrying about what rate you get because you should be paying it off every month. having credit card debt absent some sort of emergency that requires it is one of the more bonehead financial moves you can make.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea, that would be as boneheaded as having a credit card not building any credit.

Since I'm sure you don't get that joke, that's what happens if you pay the entire balance each month.

[Leo99]

I disagree. Paying it off monthly still builds your credit.

[Bukem_]

not really. I got rejected when I was younger and paid off my balance every time because I didn't ahve a credit history..

When i had a balance carrying over my credit greatly improved.

[BusterStacks]

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I disagree. Paying it off monthly still builds your credit.

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You can disagree if you want, but it's not an opinion. Walk into a bank and ask them.

[Leo99]

Where do you live that anyone working in a bank knows anything about credit cards?

[BadBoyBenny]

try and get a citibank dividends. They give them out to poor college students with relatively high rates and low limits, but if you pay them off the rewards are great.

[Screwtape]

If you want a credit card for convenience of paying then pay off your balance. If you want to build "credit" then run a balance. A good lendee is someone who will make the lender money not just use their service for free.

[jar]

I've never paid interest on a debt in my life other than the one time I was a few days late with a credit card payment. I recently had a credit check run for my new apartment, and the agent said my score was in the 700s, which is apparently pretty good.

[Michael Davis]

The credit card companies don't care where your money comes from, they shouldn't even know.

-Michael

[The Dude]

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You can disagree if you want, but it's not an opinion.

[/ QUOTE ]
BusterStacks is right on this one. The best way to build credit with a credit card is to max it out, let it sit for a month, then pay it off completely. This is not a matter of opinion, it is fact. Now, some credit card companies report what your credit limit is, not your highest balance. With these it won't matter, but until you obtain one of your own credit reports, you won't know whether they report credit limit or highest balance. The best way to be sure is to max it out, then pay it off, that way your current balacnce shows "$0," but your high limit shows the maximum.

The Ultimate Credit Handbook by Gerri Detweiler is a good book on learning how the whole credit reporting process works.