My situation is this: I don't have a long credit history, but I do have an auto loan and a (recently acquired) mortgage, so this will change over time. I am on a good salary. I have nothing that I have defaulted on. I mainly want a card for: 1) Online shopping, to get the fraud protection and insurance on the goods 2) Damage insurance on rental cars I don't need a huge credit limit and am not too bothered about the interest rate, because I will pay all or most of it off every month. I am a US permanent resident. I have a Visa card issued by a British bank, but it doesn't show up on my credit report. I was thinking about AmEx blue, but how many physical and Web stores actually take AmEx or Discover, as opposed to Visa? Thanks
RE: Can anyone recommend a car Any garden variety visa with purchase protection, ie nextcard or citibank clik cards will do what you want. Amex is less accepted, and generally charges a higher transaction fee to its merchants. Discover, is even less accepted. MBNA visa offers one-time card #'s.
RE: Can anyone recommend a car Amex is harder to get. I would recomend Citibank Platinum Select. It's relatively easy to get, and has the best platinum benefits I've seen. They also have wonderfull customer service, I am speaking from experience because I had to deal with them a lot. Discover is nice also, you get 1% cashback, but the benefits are not as good as citi..
RE: Can anyone recommend a car Interesting. My mortgage is with CitiMortgage, so maybe that'll help my application. There again, maybe they won't take it into account at all. I'll let you know.
RE: Can anyone recommend a car What you're looking for is an Amex card. You're not likely to get it if your history is short. But being a U.S. permanent resident too, I found a solution that got me Amex while having virtually no credit history in the US. Apply for an Amex in your FOREIGN country. Having resided there for many years, you're much more likely to get it there. Once you have a foreign Amex, you can convert it to a U.S. Amex, thus building your credit history while having an excellent card that offers all you want and more. As for substitute card numbers, Amex was the first to introduce this feature. On average, it is accepted in 90% of the businesses accepting credit card payments. Saar
RE: Can anyone recommend a car Good idea about applying in the native country and then converting to US, but how would you do it without an address there? Just get everything (including the card) mailed to your parents' address or something? I have been in the US for 15 months, if that makes any difference. I had good credit back in the UK.
RE: Can anyone recommend a car I agree w/Saar... Amex is good - especially for purchase protection, privacy, and best value guarantee. THe value guarantee- which I was skeptical about at first- works, and it easy. I've already gotten over $400 back from the program. One thing to consider re: rental car damage insurance -- Amex, V, MC, and Discover are all SECONDARY. They only kick-in AFTER your regular auto insurance is used up. Diners Club - while not very accepted - is a great card for travel (airline, hotel, car rental), which provides complete PRIMARY insurance. They also allow 2 billing cycles for payment (62 days), no interest cash advances (you pay the 4% ATM fee- $4 per $100- and that's it, you have to pay it all back within the 62 days-- I like this for cash needs when I travel on business, as it helps keeps things separate). Another thing I like - a human always answers the phone - no menus, no "enter your card #" ... they really try to treat you with the utmost care and are excellent at resolving any problems. One more thing ... Diners is from Citibank, so your mortgage may help. Apply, and if you get declined, you can talk to a human about it. Good luck!
RE: Can anyone recommend a car A lot of them Amex is the best card around. I have enjoyed using it for more than 20 years. http://www.creditsense.com
RE: Can anyone recommend a car Andrew Broderick wrote: "how would you do it without an address there? Just get everything (including the card) mailed to your parents' address or something?" Yes. And when you get the foreign Amex, call Amex USA and apply for a "Structure Change" to make it a U.S. card. Good luck, and let us know how it went. Saar