Credit cards: A quick questionFollow

Hey, I had a quick, mostly insignificant question that I would like to take a bit of your time to help me with >.<

I applied for a Discover card, (Classic) yesterday. I am a student in college, just transferred my job from San Antonio to Austin, but I havent actually had a check here yet.

Those of you with experience, how long does it take for the damn thing to come in the mail? Considering my situation, is it possible that I won't be qualified at all?

Im in a crunch here, and I want to know if I can count on that card.

Thanks for your time everyone ^^

Awww.../sniffle

I wouldn't count on it, but generally I think credit card companies like to give out cards to students because they know that they'll rack up a heap of charges and be paying interest until hell freezes over.

Yay!

Oh..and...4-6 weeks?

Listen to Nobby. Credit Cards are not free money. Just 3k in debt can take you 10 years to pay off if you can only afford slightly more than the minumum payment and you will never pay the thing off if you pay only the minumum payment.

Like I say, no food or roof over your head? do what ya have to.

Otherwise stay clear. I see too many street-sleepers who started out with good jobs and CCs to be confident.

Pay it off at the end of every month. If you can't do that, then get a better job.

Oh by the way, I only use my credit card. I get 1 airmile for every dollar charged to it. I do pay my credit card off in full every month.

I know people in the UK are anti-credit card. You all have those switch cards and what have you, but there is nothing wrong with credit cards. You just shouldn't use them as a loan, that is what lines-of credit are for.

Edited, Thu Oct 7 18:40:30 2004 by Reinman

I have several credit cards (VISA, Amex, Master; You need them when you're switching countries) and a Switch. Pay by Switch until the end of the month, use CC when payday is a while away, but only when I know I can pay it off.

True. The problem is that the interest rates on CC's available for salaries below $100K are crazy. You pay off $50 a month when the interest is $75 a month. Easy trap.

Just saying.

First question, Telesis: Why do you want a credit card? If you can avoid one you should do so to the utmost of your ability.

Second question: Why Discover? If you absolutely are determined to get a credit card, go with Mastercard, a much more universally accepted piece of plastic across the globe.

Third, but not a question: Assuming there is no annual fee, do this-- make a purchase of, say, a candy bar in January. Pay the balance off immediately. Put the card away in the bottom of your sock drawer till next July. Rinse, repeat. Your credit will build from it's use, but you won't ever build debt. Better yet, buy a home, buy a car, pay off your college loans. Any of those will be better for your credit rating than using a credit card.

Totem

You should have to be 50 to get a credit card.

If that was the case, credit card companies would make diddly


Let me shed a tear for the companies who couldn't make money from 18 year olds with no income spending more than they should.

My "sympathies" lie in a slightly related direction. Personally, if people aren't responsible enough by 18 to realize that they're spending way more than they make, they deserve to go through the years of interest payments.

Of course, I do feel for the people who use their credit cards for actual needs, e.g. food, rent, tuition. It's the douche bags who charge 4 kegs, 100 pizzas and a stipper when they work at a McDonalds that I feel no pity for.


Their parents just pay the ballances off, naturally.

It's exactly what everyone else said. If you *** up your credit at 18 you can count on not being able to get a decent interest rate until 24, and thats if you realize your mistakes early. Many of us have done it, Many are still doing it, and eventually it will catch up to everyone.

Don't take up more debt than you have to. That DVD player will still be there in 4 months when you save up the cash. It will actually probably be less expensive. A car that you can afford will go just as fast as the car 2 times out of your price range.

Please be carefull with credit all of you that are just getting into it. Avoid all of that extra debt from buying stupid crap at outrageous interest rates and only make responsible purchases within your price range. Take out a small very short term loan or two for <$2000 and pay it off on time. Never make a 30 day late payment on anything. By age 25 you will have enough credit to qualify on the best interest rates on damn near anything you can afford. Your house payments will be low, your car payments will be low, and you will be able to get a good loan when you need it on nothing but your signature.

I wish I would have listened to this advice at 18 and I hope you listen to it now. It doesn't take very long to wreck your credit but it takes an assload of time and money to fix it.

I'm going on 27 without ever having a credit card. I just use my credit union debit/ATM card if I need to.
I built my credit by getting small loans and paying them off regularly ($1500, $2k, etc) then when I got a decent job I financed a car and rented an apartment...I did however ***** myself with the liability insurance on the lien, but at least I don't have $30k in debt. Then again I never went to college so I never had to deal with that crunch.