best credit card to build credit score

[byronic]

As it stands right now I have no credit and I have between 13-16 months before medical school starts. I've been looking at opening a credit card and ive seen a number of possibilities.

I think what I am looking for is a card with no annual fee, high cashback rewards, and a high interest rate (i plan to pay everything immediately, so the interest rate is irrelevant. higher interest rates = better cashback rewards?)

anyone have any advice on which credit card i should sign up for? to reiterate, i have absolutely no credit history up to this point.

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[UserNameNeeded]

The visa card offered by Charles Schwab offers 2% cashback on everything. Every month, the cashback gets automatically deposited into your Schwab brokerage account. There's no annual fees as far as I know. I also pay it off monthly, so I don't care/know what the interest rate is.

 

[byronic]

i would jump on that...but it seems that schwab doesnt offer it anymore.

 

[Bacchus]

I'm not CC savvy, but I still have a Student Platinum Citicard with a $3000 limit; my limit could be increased to $4000. My rate is 12.224% but will raise to 29.XXX% if I miss a payment. It is 1% cash back, but if you use the online marketplace rates can be much higher. Having the card for about a year, my credit score raised from just over 600 to about 740. I had changed nothing with bills, except for the fact that I accrued a lot more debt for medical school. I have a 4-5 year history of credit starting with undergrad loans.

 

[thesauce]

The visa card offered by Charles Schwab offers 2% cashback on everything. Every month, the cashback gets automatically deposited into your Schwab brokerage account. There's no annual fees as far as I know. I also pay it off monthly, so I don't care/know what the interest rate is.

Best card ever!

 

[southerndoc]

Best card ever!

Agreed! No FOREX fees when using overseas either!

 

[byronic]

Anyone have any suggestions in terms of available credit cards...?

Sigh if only i looked into this before march...

 

[lovemesomeTJ]

Sort of related, but here's an article that talks about how to build credit.

 

[blanche]

Agreed! No FOREX fees when using overseas either!

i too am a fan of this one!

http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/why-schwab-visas-2o-percent-rebate-may-fall/

here is a link about the schwab visa on NYT's money blog....if they are not offering it anymore, i know fidelity is still doing their 2% cashback AMEX. However, it is AMEX (if that matters to you) and does not waive foreign transaction fees, like schwab. the schwab card is money, every month i see more money magically deposited into my linked acct....a nice way to set up a 'rainy day' fund

 

[thesauce]

What about cards specifically for gas? I've heard of some that offer 5% back on gas and I thought it might be nice to carry one of those in addition to the Schwab card. Any suggestions?

 

[lovemesomeTJ]

I like bankrate.com because they really break down all of the credit cards. If your credit score is good to excellent, there are some really good cards out there. I did a search for you.

 

[ChiDO]

Best CC ever made: https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/...ntId=COLLEGE&CONTENT_TYPE=constituency_detail

5% on supermarket, drugs, gas for 6 months, then 2%. 1% on everything else.

 

[Bacchus]

Best CC ever made: https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/...ntId=COLLEGE&CONTENT_TYPE=constituency_detail

5% on supermarket, drugs, gas for 6 months, then 2%. 1% on everything else.

That's the one I have and talked about above. Good card.

 

[DOctorJay]

Pentagon Federal card for gas (5% off all gas purchases)
Charles Schwab card for everything else (2% off everything + benefits noted above)

 

[dukeopt]

I recently did some research to find credit cards. Use nerdwallet.com to compare. I ended up using capitol one venture which is 2% cash back (reimburses for any travel expense).

 

[avatarftw]

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[Dr McSexy]

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/711457/

If you are really interested in the cashback rewards, my suggestions would be to track what you spend for a month and catergorize what you spend. If you are pretty even across the catergories, get a card that offers a flat cashback rate across all categories. If there's areas where you seem to spend a bulk of your money, you may want to consider getting a card that caters to your spending habits (i.e. 5% back on gas, fast food, etc. and 1% on all others).

The link I posted above is a collection of various cards some of which may have been discontinued. Nevertheless, it's a good collection of the various cards with cashback on a variety of categories.

 

[blingeorkl]

For the Citi card, do medical school students qualify as 'college students'? There's no mention in the terms and conditions about if graduate schools count.

 

[johnconner]

American Express Blue Cash - 5% cashback on groceries, gas, and drugstore once you reach over $6500. (1% before that).

Google the blue cash calculator.

 

[TMP-SMX]

Citi mtvU Visa.

Up to 2000 ThankYou Points per semester for maintaining a good GPA
25 ThankYou Points per month for paying your bill on time and not exceeding your credit limit
5 ThankYou Points for every $1 spent at restaurants--including fast food--bookstores, music stores, video rental stores and movie theaters
1 ThankYou Point for every $1 spent on all other purchases

Other one I use mainly is Citi Driver's Edge.
• 6% rebates on everyday purchases—at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations—for the first 12 months.
• 3% rebates at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations after your introductory 12-month period.
• 1% rebates on all other types of purchases.

Also get a penny a mile you drive in rebates.

 

[avatarftw]

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