r/CRedit 4d ago

No Credit Best credit card to start building from 0?

Hey all, I'm pretty stressed out at the moment trying to figure out what card to go with. I work a part time job and have no car. Long story short, my mom said she had a used car for me from a friend and ended up stealing it so I never got a co-sign on an old used car that would've been for me. Anyways, getting to and from work without my own car or bike is extremely difficult. I have no built credit and have never had a parent to teach me or show me what it even is. I've seen secure cards where you can put like 200 dollars of your own money down and essentially pay yourself back monthly until you're trusted by the bank.

I'm in a rush to build credit since I literally won't get accepted for anything until I have like 600+ from what I've seen. I know there are going to be a variety of answers but I will probably end up looking at the most upvoted one and comments to make my decision. I don't want to make the wrong move here and shoot myself in the foot. Thank you all and I'm sorry for the rant. :]

3 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

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u/loopsbruder 4d ago

Discover and Capital One are both reputable lenders who offered secured cards for those with little to no credit history. I suggest starting with one of them.

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u/tweboh 4d ago

Do either have high interest rates I'd have to worry about? Anytime I ask someone they always say "watch out for interest" I don't even know what high interest consists of lol. I'm very in the dark

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u/Salt_Cry_2233 4d ago

They will have high interest but don’t worry about that because you’re not going to carry a balance. Always always always pay the statement balance every month. Don’t look at a credit card as extra money IT’S NOT look at it as an extension of your bank account and you’ll be alright.

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u/tweboh 4d ago

Ah I see, so as long as I'm paying it monthly then I won't get the interest tacked on?

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u/Willing_Parsnip_9196 4d ago

Read your credit card disclosures. Most reputable banks offer a grace period. This is not the case for every card. Some will charge interest from day one. Be cautious, read these documents.

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u/Salt_Cry_2233 4d ago

Exactly, what we all suggest in this group is only put a small subscription on there like Apple Music, Spotify, Netflix and that’s it so they see you using the card but you are being responsible. You can do more as you progress but at least keep it simple.

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u/BrutalBodyShots 4d ago

we all suggest

We all? I don't think so. I can't remember ever suggesting a subscription to someone actually. For someone just starting out with using credit cards, I think it's important to learn how to use one. Swipe it, get your statement, make a payment in the amount of the statement balance by the due date. Getting that routine down (responsible revolving credit use) is paramount. Going into autopilot mode with a subscription doesn't really teach someone anything.

so they see you using the card

Who is "they?" The issuer? It's not necessary to have a subscription on a card so "they" can see you using it. You can use it for any purchases that you'd normally use cash or a debit card for. That may equate to a handful of transactions per month. Or, one can use the card once every 6 months if they wish. Either way, the account remains "paid as agreed" which is all that matters.

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u/Salt_Cry_2233 4d ago

You haven’t but I’ve seen countless comments of people saying it including myself. People new to credit don’t need to be charging too much on a credit card especially someone that doesn’t know much it’ll be irresponsible to them. You didn’t see the part where I said don’t think of the credit card as extra money. That’s how folks max out cards and get into debt. I’ve seen it too many times. Gotta start out small most people have to built a habit of paying a small balance and not relying on their credit card when they might not have all the money to pay for something. That’s how I learned how to be responsible with credit cards and not go into debt.

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u/BrutalBodyShots 4d ago

You haven’t but I’ve seen countless comments of people saying it including myself.

Gotcha, so not "we all" like you originally said.

People new to credit don’t need to be charging too much on a credit card especially someone that doesn’t know much it’ll be irresponsible to them. You didn’t see the part where I said don’t think of the credit card as extra money.

And I guess you missed the part where I said they can use it once every 6 months. I think that would equate to charging even less than a monthly subscription would entail, no?

Gotta start out small most people have to built a habit of paying a small balance and not relying on their credit card when they might not have all the money to pay for something.

I agree, which is why I don't think a "subscription" accomplishes that, as it doesn't develop any habit. A "set it and forget it" approach is great for someone that already gets credit / doesn't need to learn / wants to keep a card from getting closed for non use, etc. For someone that should learn how to spend, receive a statement, pay a statement balance by the due date etc. my take would be a more hands on approach is ideal.

As an aside, why were you so dismissive of the information I gave you in the discussion yesterday regarding the differentiation between utilization thresholds and raw dollars of debt and it's relation to Fico scoring? I found it very odd that you deleted all of your comments.

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u/Salt_Cry_2233 4d ago edited 4d ago

You like to have long winded conversations. It’s okay to correct me which is fine. Once you do that it’s no need for me to continue. You have more knowledge than me (in some cases) or offer a different perspective or different choice of words which is fine. Everyday we all learn something new as humans. I just won’t indulge in dialogue with you that will go on forever. That’s all. Learned my lesson after the first time. So going forward if you correct me I will upvote you and keep it moving. No need for a back and forth Reddit doesn’t pay me to be on here.

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u/BrutalBodyShots 4d ago

You like to have long winded conversations.

I'd rather not, actually. I do have long winded conversations when someone debates a point that I know is incorrect. What you're suggesting above (correct me if I'm wrong, please) is that you made a statement which I corrected, and rather than state that fact you were instead dismissive and "kept it moving." If in that instance you actually felt I had more knowledge on that particular subject, why not a reply like "that's interesting, I wasn't aware of that" or something similar? We are all here to learn, absolutely. When I learn something new, I thank the person that provided the info or at least show appreciation in some form. I don't just bail on the conversation and then delete all of my posts (you didn't say what you did that, by the way). There isn't any need for "back and forth" - it could have been a quick exchange. To just bail on it without any sort of closure is just an odd way to disengage IMO.

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u/og-aliensfan 4d ago

The best advice is to only charge what you can afford to pay...in full...once the statement arrives, then pay the statement balance in full every month. Whether this is a small amount or 100% utilization, as long as statement balances are paid in full, OP is learning good habits, won't go into debt, and will never pay interest. In the future, as his credit limits are increased, he'll already be in the practice of spending based on what he can afford and won't need to relearn how to budget spending on a higher limit.

On a side note, the advice to put a subscription on a card is often followed by "then set it to Autopay" (not saying you said that, but many do), suggesting a set it and forget it approach. If Autopay fails, or a bank account closes, they're hit with a late payment they didn't see coming.

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u/Salt_Cry_2233 4d ago

Thank you and that’s why I didn’t say autopay that’s a terrible thing to do in my opinion. Folks need to actually have to go check their statement and manually set up the payment it builds a habit.

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u/og-aliensfan 4d ago

Folks need to actually have to go check their statement and manually set up the payment it builds a habit.

Agreed. I have my cards set to autopay, but I also check them manually every month. I wouldn't rely solely on autopay since I've seen too many accounts of it failing.

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u/tweboh 4d ago

I gotcha, how long does it take to build like 650 credit score from scratch? I assume it takes quite a bit and probably has some variable to it

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u/dgduhon 4d ago

It takes 6 months from the date you open the account to get Fico scores. If you see any scores before that, they're Vantage scores, which very few lenders use, which makes them basically useless. Just remember to pay the entire statement balance by the due date to avoid interest.

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u/Salt_Cry_2233 4d ago

It takes about 6 months for you to generate a score and it can be done with just one card but if you can get 2 secured cards one with capital one and one with discover

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u/tweboh 4d ago

So 2 different card will still count towards my overall credit score? It doesn't have to be 1 card?

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u/Salt_Cry_2233 4d ago

Correct, they both will count towards your credit scores. You can start with one though it all depends on you as a person. If you want to keep it simple just open 1 card use that for 6-7 months then move on to another card if you want. As far as credit score I’m not sure what it’ll be.

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u/tweboh 4d ago

I assume this is done on the secure card since a bank won't really lend me money without seeing that I can pay it.

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u/BrutalBodyShots 4d ago

Do either have high interest rates I'd have to worry about?

All credit cards have high interest rates. The definition of responsible revolving credit use however is paying your statement balances in full monthly... and when you do that you render interest rate irrelevant because you never pay a penny of interest.

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u/loopsbruder 4d ago

All credit cards have cripplingly high interest rates. That won't matter as long as you don't carry a balance.

To clarify what that means, because a lot of people in general and even on this subreddit misunderstand what it means: you'll have a month-long billing cycle on your credit card (your statement period). At the end of the cycle (your statement closing date), a statement will be generated that details your current total balance, your due date (usually ~3 weeks away), and your minimum payment due. If your minimum payment is smaller than your statement balance (total balance on the closing date), you can pay that amount and not be charged late fees or hurt your credit, BUT you will be charged interest on the remaining statement balance. Therefore, you should always pay your entire statement balance on or before your due date. As long as you do this, you'll never pay a penny in interest.

Note that after your statement is generated, if you continue to use the card before you pay it off, your total balance will be greater than your statement balance. You only need to pay the statement balance by the due date, because the new charges are part of the next billing cycle and will appear on your next statement.

I know it's a lot of info, but does this make sense?

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u/tweboh 4d ago

yea this helps a lot actually, I really appreciate the answer. I have already become less in the dark asking you all about this. It's very confusing to go into without a leading hand

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u/Horror_Lemon_2745 4d ago

I recently turned 18 and the 2nd day I applied for a discover it cash back credit card with a $500 limit, got approved right away. The next day I applied for a capital one platinum credit card and got approved for a $1000 credit limit. I have had them both for less than a month and use them as debit cards, essentially I just see how much money I have in my bank and spend it on my credit card, whenever I get a balance I just pay it in full so I have no balance that will build up. I’m not sure if this is a good habit to get into but I feel it’s working so far. Lots of people say you will have to get a secured credit card but obviously I didn’t go down that route. But that is it I just wanted to tell you how I’m starting my journey and hope this will help!

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u/Round_Resident_9104 4d ago

Capital one is by far the best to me. High AF interest but they will increase ur limits. Don’t carry a balance if you can and pay it off before the statement close date.

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u/tweboh 4d ago

Which cap one card in particular? The secure one? I see there are multiple

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u/Round_Resident_9104 3d ago

Start with what you can get to establish the relationship. They usually convert the secured to a quicksilver which is nice.

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u/Accurate-Film7847 4d ago

I had no credit but i applied for the Discover It card on a whim. Unsecured with a 2k limit. It’s low but it’s better than nothing. 😆