Credit Cards

[endodoc]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Can anyone tell me what is a good card for MD's? I have very little US credit thus far, and want to start to build my credit more. I am medical resident, starting PGY2, so have income and contract.
I hear ACP and MBNA have good programs, but wanted to see what everyone else thinks.

Thanks

 

[tlew12778]

Personally I don't think it makes one iota of a difference that you are an MD. It's not like your credit score will be weighed any differently.

That said, I have had many, many cards -- Capital 1, Bank of America (was Fleet then they got bought), Providian, Amazon.com card, Citibank (both visa and MC), Discover, Chase, GM Card... I am sure I am missing some.

I have since closed some of those accounts, but right now I am using a mix of MBNA, Citibank (both visa and MC), and Chase. MBNA is ok but their interest rates are always the highest out of all the banks in general. They are known to give insanely high limits. I have had to resolve 2 disputes with them and it was easy (albeit by mail though which is archaic nowadays).

I really like both my Citibank cards and my Chase card. Both have rewards on them. You get one point for every dollar you spend then you can turn the points in for stuff (or cash back/credit). The main reason I like citibank is bc I am a citibank banking customer so I can transfer payments easily (although you can just as easily do an EFT to any other CC as well).

I don't carry balances on any of my cards so I don't really bother with the interest rate or grace period lengths. I really just like the points thing and the ease of managing the account online (Citi is better than Chase in this regard IMO).

That's just my $.02 anyway.

 

[endodoc]

Personally I don't think it makes one iota of a difference that you are an MD. It's not like your credit score will be weighed any differently.

That said, I have had many, many cards -- Capital 1, Bank of America (was Fleet then they got bought), Providian, Amazon.com card, Citibank (both visa and MC), Discover, Chase, GM Card... I am sure I am missing some.

I have since closed some of those accounts, but right now I am using a mix of MBNA, Citibank (both visa and MC), and Chase. MBNA is ok but their interest rates are always the highest out of all the banks in general. They are known to give insanely high limits. I have had to resolve 2 disputes with them and it was easy (albeit by mail though which is archaic nowadays).

I really like both my Citibank cards and my Chase card. Both have rewards on them. You get one point for every dollar you spend then you can turn the points in for stuff (or cash back/credit). The main reason I like citibank is bc I am a citibank banking customer so I can transfer payments easily (although you can just as easily do an EFT to any other CC as well).

I don't carry balances on any of my cards so I don't really bother with the interest rate or grace period lengths. I really just like the points thing and the ease of managing the account online (Citi is better than Chase in this regard IMO).

That's just my $.02 anyway.

Thank you for your info. I just have little credit in the US. my husband has me on one of his retail cards. So I am not sure if I will get any card.... When I first got my SS#, I sent app. for a AMEX card and was not approved, but I think this was due to the fact I only had my SS# for 1 week and didnt start residency at that point.

 

[AJM]

IMO you should definitely get at least one credit card to build your credit, so that you can save yourself from lots of headaches in the future. If you ever will want to buy a car or house and need to apply for a loan, you will be incredibly hard-pressed to find someone to lend you money if you have no credit history.

Here's a poignant case example: A friend of mine moved to the US several years ago and never got a single credit card since he's been here -- he didn't think they were important because they aren't really used in his home country. He's an attending now, and decided that now that he's got all this extra money, he wanted to buy a house. He was incredibly shocked when he found out that he was denied on all his home loan applications because he had a literally nonexistant credit report. This is even after he showed the loan companies documentation of a stable physician's salary and documentation that he pays all his rent/utility bills on-time. He has now obtained several credit cards and is using them to build his credit, but it's going to take him some time, and is therefore requiring him to put off buying a house for probably a couple of years.

You don't have to get several credit cards, just one major one would be sufficient IMO -- I would recommend that you make sure to get either a Visa or Mastercard. You don't have to keep a balance on the card, just use it and pay off the balance each month -- it's a sure way to build up your credit.