Thread: Best credit cards to establish credit?

I've always paid cash or debit in the past. I have no established credit history. My bank called the other day and I have $700+ racked up in fraudulent charges from Budapest. I have no idea how they got my number, I'll be able to file a dispute with the bank... but I'm pretty worried about it, since it was a debit card.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to go through my local bank (which I've been a customer of years) because if they don't okay my dispute and refund my account, I will be switching banks.. Hopefully they will though.

This prompted me to look for a credit card. I've been researching for days, and just when I think I've found a good choice, something scares me off... a bad review, or customer services inability to give me a straight answer to my questions.. most of the sites that advertise cards appear to be sponsored by credit card companies. So, now I'm here seeking the advice of real people.

• First thing you should know is APR is not a major issue, I will pay in full every month.
• Secondly I'm a teacher.. sometimes teachers get discounts... but I have no idea if this applies to any credit cards.
• Thirdly - I want a card that reports to all 3 credit bureaus

So, far I'm leaning toward:

1. household bank secured mastercard
2. capitol one secured mastercard
3. first progress secured mastercard
4. orchard bank secured

And I'm very much interested in other suggestions, as I've read rip-off reports and horror stories about all of the above cards to establish credit.

If someone out there has had a great experience with no credit or bad credit, credit card I'd to hear which are the best companies can be trusted.

Another question- using your credit card to spend more $$$ monthly increase your credit at a faster rate? For example, if I just used my credit card to make 30 $10 purchases in one month, will that increase my credit as fast as using that card to make 30 purchases $20 purchases in a month.. or 50 $40 dollar purchases?

Would getting 4 different credit cards (that all report to the 3 bureaus) and making a small number of purchases on each card increase my credit faster than using one card for all purchases?

Any help is appreciated.. especially help picking out the best card (a trustworthy company, with decent support) for someone with no established credit.

Thanks for your time and assistance!

If it were me starting over again, I'd certainly start out with the Household Bank card, strictly because of the 2% cashback for every purchase. They also do report to all three major credit bureaus, and you can read more about it on another thread/page

Credit Cards For Fair Credit

Yes, it does have a $39 annual fee for the secured version, but with 2% cash back, you'll make that $39 back after spending, what, $1,950 on the card? I'll easily spend that much and more a year on bills and food.

However, despite all the hate that Capital One gets, don't underestimate them. I had my first CC with them (had for four years, became inactive because I didn't care about credit at the time, but always paid in full) and second (is currently on its 5th statement, credit limit to be increased to $750 next month) credit cards.

At this point, I'm approved for Amex's Zync and actually got approved today for Chase's Freedom card with a $1,000 credit line. They (C1) report to the three credit bureaus, and offer 1% back for everything depending on what card you apply for (I got the newcomers card). I've never had to deal with bad customer service (or rely on their customer service in general) in my experience, and it's been smooth sailing since I've worked with them. Sorry that was one big run-on.

But with any of your four choices above, I don't think you can go wrong. You have to start somewhere.

As far as credit limit increases go, hopefully someone else can chime in. I know Capital One has an automated credit line increase after the first six statements or similar, but they haven't been lenient in accepting credit line increase requests.

However, there is another story amongst the threads here about near maxing out your credit line, as long as you pay it back down, and repeat if you certainly need to spend more on a particular card. I think the poster of the thread received a credit limit increase because of that activity, but I wouldn't trust it 100%.

I would suggest either Household bank or Merrick bank. If you have a checking account, see if your bank offers secured cards, they are usually better than most credit card banks. The interest rate is usually lower and so is the annual fee, however they are more dependent on your credit score.

Household will tell you through a soft credit pull what card you will most likely be offered and the terms for the card. I recently got a Household Platinum card with no annual fee, I was offered an Orchard Bank card with a $39 annual fee at the same time. I realize they really are the same bank, but one offered me the $0 fee, so I took that one.

Capital One will also use a soft credit pull and offer you up to 3 different cards for you to choose from. This allows you to take the best offer. Get the rewards card, as it does not hurt to get some rewards to offset the annual fee. They may be hard to credit limit increases on. I have not had a credit limit increase in 1 year and 2 months, even though I maintain my account excellently! Never gone near the limit, never paid late, and often pay the account off in full.

Remember, a low limit can keep your score low.

The First Progress Card says it has Platinum benefits, but the only benefit it actually has is helping you build your credit history. I called and asked about what the benefits were and was told that was the only one. They will not give credit line increases unless you deposit more money and the card is not eligible for a refund of security deposit unless you close the account. This is all information that you can readily get from calling them.