Credit Cards

[YoungTraveler]

Hey guys, I'm just a noob here so that means 1st post/topic. Go easy on me.
I've been frantically searching for credit card info but everything seems confusing. I was wondering if you guys knew which are the best credit cards for college students. So far the ones that seem "appealing" are Citi mtvU Platinum and Discover Student Card. Despite being young I know how to manage money rather well, unfortunately... I have no knowledge on this field and everything they tell me makes no sense. 
If you guys can dumb it down and tell me which one is best suited for traveling and building a nice credit for my future, it will be much appreciated. I want to travel and have a VERY nice amount saved up.

[Greg]

Hey Youngtraveler, welcome!

A little bad news...your chances of getting a Discover card accepted anywhere in a foreign country are pretty slim.  All rewards programs
aside, if you want a credit card to carry for travel it would best be a Visa or Mastercard.  No matter what you choose to carry, don't get a card
with an annual fee and pay the damn thing off monthly....no need to make the banks richer with your travel funds!

You rarely use a credit card as a budget traveler anyway, lots of places tack on a big fee for using one.  They are best reserved for booking
flights, travel agencies, and maybe paying dive shops.....I carry one pretty much for emergency only.

If you are wanting a credit card to use at home and earn skymiles/rewards - I think the American Express Blue Sky is great - and there is no
annual fee.  Here's the link: http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=ijAihH890C0&offerid=132189.10001247&subid=0&type=4

Best of luck!

[YoungTraveler]

So that leaves me to one last question.
For those of you that do indeed use the credit card for whatever reason (whether emergency or bookings), do you guys make a separate banking account or use your everyday credit card? I heard of frauds going on so wouldn't it be wise to make one specifically for traveling (just in case)?

[Applette]

Hi YoungTraveler!

I carry 2 credit cards when I travel, one mastercard and one visa. They're the regular cards I use at home, but like Greg, I only use for them large purchases (airline ticket, or large persian rug  ) and as back up in case of emergency.

One thing I suggest is that you call your credit card company before you leave to let them know you may be using the card overseas. Otherwise, when foreign currency charges appear, they might freeze your account thinking it's fraudulent activity....last thing you want is a frozen, inactive credit card when you need it most.

When I call, my cc company usually asks for the dates I'll be traveling and which countries I'll be visiting. They make a note in my file and I've never had issues.

[Greg]

I definitely have a separate card (mastercard) that I use for travel because all of my automatic billing is done to another credit card that
I leave at home.  If the one gets lost or stolen while I'm traveling, it won't disrupt my automatic billing back at home when I cancel it.

Applette is 100% right, only I learned the hard way when they turned my card off in Cambodia!  Call the CC company and tell them at least
roughly where you will be going so that they can put a note on your file....once I simply just said "Asia" and that was fine.

I also suggest making a copy of the card number and keep it somewhere separate from the card (maybe hidden deep in an email account). Plus, look up the out-of-country phone numbers
to call in case it gets lost....or ask the representative when you call them, you might not be able to dial a "1-800" phone number from a foreign phone!

[YoungTraveler]

Thanks for the great tips.
I might of done something really dumb... so you guys are real life savers!! 

[Vagabond Vince]

My 2 cents: I had an American Express Blue and a Visa with me.
AMEX was awesome.  Multiple vendors over charged me when converting to dollars and AMEX took care of it.  The only down side was I had to figure out the calculations first... but at least AMEX fixed it.

Visa or Mastercard ... have one, they're accepted everywhere unlike AMEX.  My gf swears by her Bank of America Visa; she claims the service is better than AMEX.  I have a Wells Fargo Visa, no complaints.

Also... always payoff 100% of your balance so you don't get in debt.  No debt = easier time vagabonding.

good luck!

[Greg]

I second that.....don't make the bankers richer.....PAY THE DAMN THING OFF!

[Alex]

If you don't have any sort of credit history and they give you a hard time giving you a credit card, any credit card, you can start building your credit and have a credit card by asking them to give you a "secured" credit card. What that means is that you give the bank that issues the credit card a certain amount of money (e.g. $1000) and then they issue a credit card with that limit (e.g. $1000). They give a meager interest. You will basically use your own money, which sucks a bit. But you will build your credit and get your money back after approx 1 year and be able to keep that credit card (now unsecured) and get others later.