Finances- First Time Help!

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Heya,


So up until now my parents have completely been taking care of my finances. I have had credit cards with my name, but they have been directly linked to my parents accounts etc.


I was wondering if anyone had any hints specifically about Credit Cards.


Should I be using my Loan Refund checks directly from my checking account/debit card. Or should I be paying for stuff with a Credit Card?


If so, which credit card would you recommend?


P.S. I have BofA for my checking.


The BofA credit card that is promoted atm is:

----Earn 1% cash back on every purchase, 2% on groceries, and 3% on gas (Quarterly maximum applies to bonus rewards on grocery and gas purchases). Plus earn a 10% customer bonus when you redeem into a Bank of America® checking or savings account§


----Introductory 0%† APR for your first 12 billing cycles only for Purchases and for any Balance Transfers* made within 60 days of opening your account.
After the Intro APR ends, a rate between 12.99% and 20.99% Variable APR, based on your creditworthiness, will apply to Purchases and Balance Transfers. (Balance Transfers are subject to a 4% transaction fee, no less than $10. Minimum payments are applied to lowest APR balances first and additional payments are applied to highest APR balances first.)



---Get a $50 cash rewards bonus after you make at least $100 in purchases within 60 days of account opening§

 

[Kevin Baker]

I try and put everything I can on CCs. You get a little bit back via rewards and all of my expenses are in one place so it is hella easy to track everything and see what I can cut back on. I personally go with Amazon's CC (1% back on everything, 2% gas, 3% amazon stuff plus a free $40) but there are better cards. Mint.com has a good rating system for reward cards.

The caveat with going the CC route is if you're not on your game, you'll get charged fees. But its free money if you keep up with everything. APR shouldn't matter as you SHOULDN'T be carrying a balance.

 

[armybound]

Any card will be fine as long as there's no annual fee and you pay it off in full every month. The issue most people have with credit cards come from all of the fees associated with keeping a balance and being late on payments.

 

[EgotiStick]

you pay it off in full every month.

This. IF you pay your CCs off in full and you get rewards points, they essentially hand you free stuff. I haven't paid for an airline ticket in 3 years.

The only reason CC companies part with rewards-items so willingly is because so many people carry a balance every month like idiots.

Make sure you know how much you can spend each month, and then reap the rewards of huge rewards accruals. I pay all my bills with one CC and use it for almost all my expenses as well, but I will never carry a balance. There are others in my class that have taken cruises over the summer solely paid for via rewards.

 

[ucbsmd]

If you decide to go with any of the AMEX cards, make sure you also have a visa or mastercard as backup since some local stores don't accept AMEX.

 

[medstud87]

Chase but make sure you pay it every month

 

[tndoc12]

Anyone know anything about the AMSA/Bank of America CC?

http://www.amsa.org/AMSA/Homepage/MemberCenter/MemberBenefits/BankOfAmerica.aspx

 

[bomgd3]

That BofA card seems like a pretty good deal. I have Chase Freedom which gives rotating cashback categories. Right now it's 5% on gas which is really sweet, but usually it's just 1% IIRC. Chase gives really generous signup bonuses, though. I have both a Freedom and Sapphire card, and got a total of $400 just for signing up for them.

 

[medstudent1113]

Credit cards seem pretty complicated at first, but they are really simple if you are on student loans. I would suggest getting a high interest, zero annual cost credit card as opposed to a low interest, annual fee credit card. The reason for this is that if you are on student loans, you already have money in your account to pay off the credit card every month, thus no interest on your credit card will acquire. And with no annual fee, you won't be forced to pay $100-or-so-dollars every year just to use the card (with a zero annual fee card you would not be forced to pay a fee to use money that is accumulating interest in the first place). Lastly, with using the credit card and paying it off every month, you will accumulate credit card points that can be used for stuff you wouldn't normally buy. For example, I'm saving up my points to by a DSLR camera which I will use when I go on global health missions.

One more piece of advice - I never understood why the financial aid guys at my school were so adamant about staying out of credit card debt. I recently got a credit report in the mail which showed an itemized list of all of my debts (school loans and my credit card). At the time, I had $1000 out on my credit card; that amount paled in comparison to the $200,000 I've already accumulated in school loans from undergrad and med school. My credit card was a drop in the bucket as far as I was concerned... but it's really up to you. Hope this helps.

 

[pkwraith]

The BofA credit card that is promoted atm is:

----Earn 1% cash back on every purchase, 2% on groceries, and 3% on gas (Quarterly maximum applies to bonus rewards on grocery and gas purchases). Plus earn a 10% customer bonus when you redeem into a Bank of America® checking or savings account§


----Introductory 0%† APR for your first 12 billing cycles only for Purchases and for any Balance Transfers* made within 60 days of opening your account.
After the Intro APR ends, a rate between 12.99% and 20.99% Variable APR, based on your creditworthiness, will apply to Purchases and Balance Transfers. (Balance Transfers are subject to a 4% transaction fee, no less than $10. Minimum payments are applied to lowest APR balances first and additional payments are applied to highest APR balances first.)



---Get a $50 cash rewards bonus after you make at least $100 in purchases within 60 days of account opening§

That sounds fine. Is there an annual fee?

 

[richse]

This. IF you pay your CCs off in full and you get rewards points, they essentially hand you free stuff. I haven't paid for an airline ticket in 3 years.

The only reason CC companies part with rewards-items so willingly is because so many people carry a balance every month like idiots.

Make sure you know how much you can spend each month, and then reap the rewards of huge rewards accruals. I pay all my bills with one CC and use it for almost all my expenses as well, but I will never carry a balance. There are others in my class that have taken cruises over the summer solely paid for via rewards.

I would recommend the Amex Blue Cash credit card. If you are planning to put everything on it and pay it off every month then the cash back from this card is the best deal around.

 

[MightyMoose]

Anyone know anything about the AMSA/Bank of America CC?

http://www.amsa.org/AMSA/Homepage/MemberCenter/MemberBenefits/BankOfAmerica.aspx

My girlfriend has had this card for years. She uses it for all her purchases and pays it off at the end of every month. As a result, she has a ton of reward points. We could take a trip to Tahiti and stay at a 5 star resort for a week on just the points she has accumulated.

I think I'm going to get this card as well.

 

[mdquestion]

If you live in a city with a Costco, I'd highly recommend the American Express Costco Card. It's free with your $35/year Costco membership (which, is worth it as a med student and pays for itself very quickly). Benefits: 3% back on gas. That's 12 cents/gallon with $4.00 gas. Adds up quickly. 2% on travel and restaurants. 1% back everywhere else.

Hint: If you have money to pay for part of your medical education....some schools let you pay your tuition bill with a credit card. This is amazing. Gives you 1% back on a huge purchase 🙂

 

[MightyMoose]

Hint: If you have money to pay for part of your medical education....some schools let you pay your tuition bill with a credit card. This is amazing. Gives you 1% back on a huge purchase 🙂

That is a great idea! I'm going to have to try that.

 

[JohnGT]

Citibank has a pretty darn good promotion now for their Thank you Premier card. You get 50,000 thank you points for signing up and spending $2000 in first 3 months. The 50,000 thank you points equates to nearly $500 in cashback. Heres the link:
https://creditcards.citi.com/credit-cards/citi-thankyou-premier-card/

 

[DocHawk117]

MINT.COM is the best financial creation I have found thus far. I suck at remembering to budget and write down my purchases, and mint.com does it all for me. I also have the app on my iPhone, iPad, and iTouch so I can look at my finances on the go as well. The most important part about becoming financially savvy is to be aware of what you have and what you are spending. I would def check that website/app out.

 

[410322]

One more piece of advice - I never understood why the financial aid guys at my school were so adamant about staying out of credit card debt. I recently got a credit report in the mail which showed an itemized list of all of my debts (school loans and my credit card). At the time, I had $1000 out on my credit card; that amount paled in comparison to the $200,000 I've already accumulated in school loans from undergrad and med school. My credit card was a drop in the bucket as far as I was concerned... but it's really up to you. Hope this helps.

Credit card debt is murder for your credit rating. At some point, unless you live in NYC or SF or DC, I assume you will want a house. Unless you've kept $200-300k in liquid assets in your bank (stupid) you will need a mortgage. The rate on your mortgage, which can be higher than your education loans, will be unforgiving. Credit card debt = bad debt; education-related debt (eg your Stafford) = good debt.

 

[MB333999]

MINT.COM is the best financial creation I have found thus far. I suck at remembering to budget and write down my purchases, and mint.com does it all for me. I also have the app on my iPhone, iPad, and iTouch so I can look at my finances on the go as well. The most important part about becoming financially savvy is to be aware of what you have and what you are spending. I would def check that website/app out.

looks awesome.

bump thisssss

 

[richse]

Credit card debt is murder for your credit rating. At some point, unless you live in NYC or SF or DC, I assume you will want a house. Unless you've kept $200-300k in liquid assets in your bank (stupid) you will need a mortgage. The rate on your mortgage, which can be higher than your education loans, will be unforgiving. Credit card debt = bad debt; education-related debt (eg your Stafford) = good debt.

That's not really true. Having some cc debt is good to build credit as long as your available/current debt ratio is high. If you make payments regularly and only have 20% or less of your available debt used then it will be a good mark on your credit. Having too many cards is bad for your score so the best thing is to have a few cards with higher limits. I'd say 2 or 3 cards max but 4 is probably ok. I know 7+ is a big red flag. Another thing is to have a couple of cards and stick with them since length of time holding the accounts is helpful too.

 

[richse]

looks awesome.

bump thisssss

Mint is awesome, but they email you a net worth update each week and ever since I added my loan accounts when the email comes I die a little on the inside.

 

[QuickKat]

Does anyone know a credit card with good airline rewards? I'm doing the long distance relationship thing. :/

 

[Girfaroo]

Does anyone know a credit card with good airline rewards? I'm doing the long distance relationship thing. :/

I got the Delta American Express card this past year. No annual fee the first year (but I might end up keeping it past that), 25,000 miles for signing. I also got another 10,000 miles for spending $1000 in the first three months, but I'm not sure if that's a standard offer or was just there when I signed up. Then $1= 1 mile, which adds up quickly, since it's the only card I use. Oh, and the free bag thing is nice too.

 

[konare law]

hy guys, Anyone know anything about the AMSA/Bank of America CC?

 

[backside_attack]

Any card will be fine as long as there's no annual fee and you pay it off in full every month. The issue most people have with credit cards come from all of the fees associated with keeping a balance and being late on payments.

Agreed 100%.

Also, what kinds of things are you interested in and would you spend most of your time doing? We have credit cards with great travel benefits because that is my hobby/passion. If you really love eating out, then get one that gets you points for dining out. Doing a lot of commuting? A gas benefit card.

You should start with a Visa or MasterCard (not everywhere takes Discover and AmEx) and pick some of the "easier" ones to get --> Chase Freedom, CapitalOne Venture, Southwest Airlines card, Chase Sapphire. Read about their benefits. Google around for ones with different benefits (those are mostly travel/dining, because that is what I like).

Once you PAY OFF YOUR BILLS ON TIME and establish a good credit history, you can qualify for higher tier cards with even better rewards (Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Prestige, American Airlines Aviator, etc.).

Biggest consideration: don't don't don't don't spend more than you can pay off in a month.

 

[sharkbyte]

For those of you who are experienced with using rewards credit cards (particularly the airline miles ones), do you have advice or tips on how to get started with those? I've seen more than a few people (including some of my classmates) say "I haven't paid for a flight in X years" and it seems like it's a nice luxury to have to be able to fly by redeeming miles. What is a good card to start with that offers good rewards?

 

[backside_attack]

For those of you who are experienced with using rewards credit cards (particularly the airline miles ones), do you have advice or tips on how to get started with those? I've seen more than a few people (including some of my classmates) say "I haven't paid for a flight in X years" and it seems like it's a nice luxury to have to be able to fly by redeeming miles. What is a good card to start with that offers good rewards?

There's an excellent blog about this (www.thepointsguy.com) where my spouse and I learned it all - literally haven't paid cash money for a flight in 4 years.