Students: Check with Your Parents

by CCC Staff on November 3, 2010

We know there’s nothing a college aged student loves to hear more than “check with your parents.” Yeah, right. Once you’re out of the home and off to college on your own, the last thing in the world you want to hear is that you should check with your parents about anything. But when the credit card companies come calling (and they will), take our free advice on this one: invite your parents to help you with the credit card comparison.

You see, there are a lot of different kinds of credit cards. They’re not all created equally. And while any of them can get you in trouble if you’re not careful with them, a little credit card comparison can go a long ways towards saving you money and hassle down the road.

Here are some things to talk about with your parents:

  • Should you get a rewards credit card, and if so, which kind? If you are going to school out of state and need to occasionally fly home, you may want to consider a credit card which offers frequent flier miles. Or, if you drive a lot, you may want a card which gives you reward points when you buy gas. Bet you didn’t even know those were options, did you? Your parents did.
  • How much of a limit can you afford to carry? It’s not always to your advantage to get a high credit limit. You can get yourself in a lot of trouble that way. Have your parents’ help you budget and figure out what kind of a balance you can afford to run on your credit card.
  • What kind of fees will you have to pay with this card? While all of the information is generally on the application for your credit card, a lot of it may be difficult to understand, especially if you’ve never dealt with credit cards before. Have your parents go over the fine print with you so that you really know what you’re getting into.

On top of talking with your parents about any credit card you are considering accepting, let us suggest that you keep the balance as close to zero as you can. If you’re like most students, you’re going to have enough to worry about paying off with your student loans. The last thing you need is a large credit card balance. We know, you’re going to get a job paying a bazillion dollars a year, but even still, you’ve got better uses for that money.

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Credit Cards and Fine Wines

by CCC Staff on October 27, 2010

Some things get better with age. Vintage cars. A fine Bordeaux red. And, apparently, credit cards. If you’ve done any research into your credit score, you probably already know that older lines of credit are better than newer ones. So, anytime you’re doing credit card comparison, think twice about replacing that older card with a new one.

Don’t get us wrong, there are times when it makes sense to transfer your balance or to start using cards which offer you a better annual percentage rate. But when it comes to building your credit, there’s more that you have to consider for credit card comparison.

The elusive perfect score

Perfect credit scores are rare, with only about one million people having them in the entire country. We know, a million sounds like a lot, but when you compare it to the US population, it really isn’t many. What the vast majority of those with perfect (or even very high) credit scores have in common, though, is seasoned credit.

So, if you’re aiming for the moon with your credit score (and you should be), hold on to your old credit cards. As long as the accounts are in good standing, it can really pay off to occasionally dust off the cobwebs and pull out that store credit card you’ve had since you were 20 years old. The longer your oldest accounts have been open, the better it will reflect on your credit rating.

Other factors

Of course, the age of your lines of credit isn’t the only factor in determining your credit score. We all know that we need to pay our creditors off in a timely manner to keep our scores high. Most of us also know that it’s better to occasionally charge something and pay it off than it is to avoid credit altogether (at least when it comes to improving your credit score). It’s also important to keep your debt to income ratio manageable. The less debt you carry compared to the amount of income you make, the better.

Still, any trick that will raise your credit score a few points can save you a bundle of money, to say nothing of allowing you better access to credit sources. So, if you have an older credit card, or some other seasoned line of credit, use it occasionally. It’ll raise your score.

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Managing Credit Cards

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How to Build Your Credit with a Credit Card

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Should I Have a Credit Card?

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48 Articles with Tips for Obtaining Good Credit Cards with Bad Credit

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46 Blog Posts on What Your Credit Card Use Says about Your Credit Worthiness

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Credit worthiness is more than just your credit score. Credit worthiness is based on how you pay your current debts. It involves many factors, including your available resources to repay your debt and your history of repaying your debt. If you are trying to obtain a loan or a credit card, lenders are going to [...]

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Credit Card Comparison: How to Perform a Thorough Analysis

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Knowing how to do a thorough credit card comparison is the most important skill you can have when choosing a new credit card. To perform a thorough credit card comparison you need to break down what you are looking for in a credit card. You must consider your credit history, what you will be using [...]

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Choosing Your First Credit Card

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Choosing your first credit card takes some very careful credit card comparison. Doing a thorough credit comparison when deciding on your first credit card is very important, as choosing the wrong card can cost you a great deal of money and even leave you in debt. There are many factors that you must take into [...]

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Black AmEx Centurion or Visa Black Card?

July 14, 2010

The black American Express card, known as the Centurion, is the original black card. You have to meet very stringent requirements to qualify for the Centurion, and until recently people had to be invited by American Express to even apply for the Centurion card. Black Card LLC responded by coming out with the Visa Black [...]

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