Never had a credit card before... how to look for a simple one?
I'm in my thirties and have never had a credit card before. I don't really want rewards, and I am only getting it to improve my credit score in case I ever want to finance something and be able to rent cars if ever needed, and for the protection of…
I'm in my thirties and have never had a credit card before. I don't really want rewards, and I am only getting it to improve my credit score in case I ever want to finance something and be able to rent cars if ever needed, and for the protection of charge-backs. I don't know that I want specific recommendations so much as how to find them and what to look for. I'm hoping for something beginner-friendly, simple, and easy to understand the terms of. Also, if I can find a way to set up an auto-pay, that seems like a good idea to avoid fees.
Collected discussion
As this is your first CC, you can’t be picky- priority is getting approve for one from a reputable and non-predatory bank. Check pre-approval from Discover, Capital One, or BofA (lookout for their student cards). If nothing, then grab something from your debit card/local credit union bank or the Chase Freedom Rise. If still not successful, then you have to go the secured route- put down whatever deposit you are comfortable with and that will be your credit limit. Whichever one you end up with, form and establish following the golden rule of CC: always pay off your statement balance (monthly bill) in full before the due date each month. This makes any CCs’ APR irrelevant and this, you will never a pay a dime in interest. Pay your CC 1x a month, in the form of that bill before the due date every month- nothing more, less. Toggle on autopay for statement balance, should you fail to manually pay (life happens). Also ignore anyone or source that says to stay under a certain usage/utilization (i.e., 10/20/30%).
What bank do you use? Fidelity visa is probably the best one card no af set up