I definitely went down the credit card hole during my 20's. I was fortunate to get out of it by selling off a bunch of stuff, combined with a rising income level. Since then, I've been able to keep my spending under control to stay below my income level. Eventually this allowed me to build up enough of a buffer that a surprise bill isn't as much of a concern. But I didn't get to that point overnight. It took many years of discipline and saving.
Appleseed said:Steve_Jones said:My beef with capital one was every time i called to raise my limit, they did it. Good business for them, bad for anyone who went to an American high school and never got a lesson in credit, IE me.
That sure sounds like it's your parents fault, or your schools fault, or "surprise" your fault.
Nah, blame Capital One, must be their fault for giving you the opportunity to be responsible.I did not realize there were so many private school/non American school people in the USA because I know there are many with good credit here
That was very helpful.
It's about as helpful as not recommending a credit card because you didn't pay them, so I'd say we are even.
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
If you belong to a credit union, check into their cash cards first. If you don't belong to a credit union, but are eligible to join one... join one.
I say this as an employee of one of the largest for-profit banks in the country. I have a cash back card from my employer, too, but as an employee, I get different deals/rates on it.
Keeping a cash back credit card open that you're able to use responsibly (eg: pay off every month) is another income stream. I make the vast majority of my purchases on my cash back card, pay it off every month, and get $1000 or so every year from it.
My early excursion into credit was not nearly as bad as many people's but it did put me off of credit cards for years. Then I had my debit card skimmed right before an international trip, USAA was great at catching the fraud but still puts a major damper on things. I have the Amazon card and I don't recommend (or disrecommend) it. I pay it in full every month and when it gets skimmed it's a lot less of a pain than a debit card. I also set important things to pay from my bank account directly or from my debit, so things don't get upended when someone swipes my info.
As has been said, continue to exercise discipline with a CC and it's basically a debit with rewards. Do some thinking on your use case; where you spend, how you spend, and what matters to you when it comes to rewards. I like basic cash back, it either gets used on unavoidable 'zon purchases or as statement credit. Nerdwallet is a pretty good source of the pertinent details to help you narrow your search.
Don't use a bank debit card as others have said. Even with protections in place, if your account gets hacked you're without money until its fixed.
Chase screwed me many years ago by closing my account due to inactivity without telling me. Tried to check into a hotel and card was declined. Had to hit some ATMs and pay big fees to cover my stay.
Now i have 2 cards that get paid off each month.
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