BigSoccer Personal Finance and Credit Repair: New low 2% APR

Discover Card? Check it out, at least.

I'm from the 'old school' who thought Discover was accepted in so few places that it wasn't worth my time. But I've recently been pleasantly surprised to realize that it's accepted in at least as many places as my Amex.

Haven't yet (6 months now) had anybody who accepted MC/VISA not also accept Discover.

Strange new world.

 

Since I'm saving for a house or apt, I'm staying away from any credit card offer. However, one thing I know is that you can never trust the so called "pre-approved" credit card. They offer or promise you 10,000 or 5,000 in credit, but then in microscopy letter they say that based on your credit history you can be approved for just $250.00 or $500.00, which is insane. So dont buy that crap.

 

Do you think that high school business and economy teachers should include this topic on their curriculum?

 

Absolutely, no kid should be allowed to graduate High School that didn't get at least a B in a personal finance course that includes education on credit.

 

Personally I feel FF miles and such are close to worthless. Yes, it was nice to snag a free hotel room for a night on a recent road trip. But that was thanks that chain being big + offering enough bargains in the locations I was going to rack up those points. That is, no single purchase was made based on getting more points.

I would argue the same with the credit card. Yes, some will say "you're buying the stuff anyway so you should just earn the free trip for free". It makes sense but I feel it fails to account for all costs.

The restrictions on these FF programs and frequent stay programs are getting tighter. The amount of miles needed to redeem for a flight's gone up. There are very few seats that you can use in the first place. There are now extra fees to redeem them if you don't far enough in advance. Maybe this trend will reverse itself or at least level off. But the airlines are still struggling to make a profit so it seems unlikely.

More so you've not locked yourself into using a specific form. What if you're looking to make that trip to Boston but can't redeem those miles on the days you need for the conference? Despite that will you still be using the same airline to yet again pay for a trip? Will you even look to see if it's the best deal?

You're limiting your options. And at that often times for a flight that a lot of the time isn't all that expensive. THink about it, you probably won't be able to pull off redeeming those miles for that flight to Bermuda during the peak season. But if you're not flying during the peak season, you'll likely to be able to get a pretty cheap flight.

And that's why I would argue in the grand scheme of things these are crap. Worry about what deals are best at this moment and go with those. Otherwise you'll find yourself spending extra money with the hope that someday that you might have a chance of redeeming those points for something. An extra $20 bucks here or there might not seem like a lot but it adds up. Before you know, you've spent extra what it would've cost you to buy the damn ticket in the end anyway. Or if it's a matter of a credit card, what lower interest rate, cash back or other lesser costs are you passing up to get that one that allows you to rack up those miles?

Worry about the now and go with the best deals today. You'll keep your options open and probably save more money. But that's just my two-bits

 

The relative value of FF miles is ~ 1 penny per point/mile. Studies have shown that people who use credit cards as their primary currency (and pay them off in full) typically spend more on their cards than they would with cash.

 

I wish my college at least had the option of such a course, i don't even believe one is offered

 

What is the best way to build credit ? I heard it was through a secured credit card but are there any other ways that help build credit fast ?

 

The first thing you need to ask yourself is what do you need the credit for? In most cases it'll cost you money to build up a credit score because you have to loan yourself money to develop credit. If your goal is to buy a house, there are ways of doing it without an established credit score, such as manual underwriting. If your goal is to purchase a car, first seriously consider buying a cheaper car for cash only (I know if I could go back and do things over I'd never borrow money for a car, and I'd drive the cheapest one I feel comfortable being seen in, and comfortable driving).

Remember that the higher your credit score, the more money the banks have likely made off of you in interest.

If you do decide you want to build up your credit, a secured credit card is a good place to start, I recommend joining a local credit union and starting a checking/savings account with them. You can also look into doing a small personal loan to yourself. $1000 with a 12 month repayment term for example might be something a credit union could offer a newer customer with fairly limited credit.

You should also consider that many CUs do things differently than the bigger banks, which are more likely to use and report to the big three scoring bureaus, while Unions may use more internal data and their own agencies.

 

Does anyone know what does your credit score have to be in order to take out a mortgage loan? My credit score is 750. I wonder how long more do I have to build it til its good enough.

 

It's tighter now than it was before but if you have a 700+ credit score you shouldn't have much trouble finding financing.

 

Peledre, I strongly disagree with you. First of all having a good credit score does not garantee finding financing for a mortgage. This was true in the past, not now. I have a good credit and i just got a mortgage, but the score rating is just one of the requirements. Now that # 1 requirement is to have a decent job, not debts and have a solid bank account with money in it. There are people with good credit that are currently working flipping burguers in Mcdonands, but they dont qualify for a mortgage.

 

You're not really disagreeing with me, I'm operating under the assumption that anyone house shopping now has those prerequisites you mention. It ain't 2005.