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Monday, February 20, 2012

Which Credit Card Should I Get? Asks a Recent Graduate

Which credit card? Well, you can spend hours searching and weighing various options. You can chase down 0% financing and then transfer your money when the rate goes up. You will drive yourself crazy and may mess up.

OR you can follow my advice. If you are SURE you can pay off each month, you should get a free card with a rebate.

If you might EVER be late in payment or carry a balance, then you should get a card from your credit union. They offer consistently lower rates and are more apt to negotiate with a cardholder than the big scary companies with the arcane rules.

Not eligible for a credit union? Guess again. I became a member of the Postal Employees Credit Union by asking if non-workers could join.

Now you can spend your time appreciating the universe.

3 comments:

Duchesse said...

My point of view is probably all wrong but I would take an air-miles reward card despite the annual fee, because
1. High interest would make the person very unlikely to rotate the charge (one hopes)
2. Young people are always longing to travel and the reward points are so appreciated.

I know this is flawed. The risk to abuse the card and pay 20%+ interest is real, and paying for a card probably irritates you. So I like the zero interest plus rebate too.

Shelley said...

Annual fees are an interesting thing. When my credit card instituted one I rang up to cancel the card, explaining that I wasn't prepared to pay an annual fee. 'Oh well, then, we'll make a note that you aren't to be charged an annual fee. So you'll keep our card, right?' Simple as that. I was dumbfounded and I felt sorry for all those people who just shelled out the money...like I would have done at one time.

Frugal Scholar said...

@Duchesse--I agree for people with resources, but kids with a first cc need to see how they do with one. Also you need about 25000 points for a trip...and most new cc-holders shouldn't be charging that much.

@Shelley--Great story and truly a reminder for the rest of us.