Advice for someone who is deciding on a first credit card?

DO NOT GET A CREDIT CARD, EVER.

That is my advice.

You don't need a credit rating if you buy everything with cash.

A credit rating is just another way of saying "I would love to be a slave of a bank".

I haven't had a credit card for almost 8 years now and love it. I own everything I have, I save money and live free.

Nothing feels better than living free.

You can look up the reports from all three credit agencies free at the Federal Trade Commission website, www.ftc.gov. I recommend you do that to know what is actually there and if you have a report on file at all. Probably not. Since one report from each company is free, you might want to get one, then wait 4 months or after you get your card to see the changes.

Since you overdrafted and I think that credit cards are dangerous for first time users and because all you want to do is get a credit rating (I don't see the point. You can do it later on by buying a car or getting a credit card once you have a job, apartment, etc.) you might want to start with a prepaid card. That will show you how tempted you are to go over the limit.

Using the card as you say, three or for times for $50 is fine but is $150 to $200 you will have to pay by a specific date. Some people keep the cards only for emergencies. It is financially ruinous to pay anything but the full amount unless you are pushed to the wall with expenses you must pay like hospital bills and, even then, there are better ways to go about it.

Go for a card with no annual fees to keep it. Discover has one - I use it as my main card. It also has cash back - you build up an amount based on what you charge and can get it back as a check, payment to your account, buy something from one of the merchants connected with them or donate it.

Right now, credit card companies can raise the interest due anytime they want, so if you are paying it partially every month, your minimum payment could double and the length of time it would take you to pay it off would lengthen substantially. This will change when the new legislation goes into effect sometime in 2010. So you have to read the fine print and see what the specific company promises you.

Because you are young, I recommend you go with a card with a low limit - something you could pay off if you get in trouble - but some cards won't stop you from buying an item at the retailer. If they do, it would be embarrassing to have the card refused but better than going overboard.

http://money.aol.com/top5/credit/best-student-cred... is an article with some recommendations about student credit cards. Read it and everything else you can get your hands on. I don't see a publication date - check individual cards to see if what they say about interest rates is still true. The article references www.cardratings.com for information - I've never used it.

Go to www.bankrate.com - this page

http://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards.aspx where the information is legitimate. I've used this site to track down CDs that pay the highest interest and have seen it mentioned in all sorts of financial articles. They also have articles explaining how cards work, interest rates, etc.

If you have any questions after that, ask again or contact anyone whose answer seems best (even me).

make sure the card is very low interest, you only really need to use it once a month to build credit. dont spend more than half your limit because makes your credit score go down. really shop around for the right one for you because closing out accounts can have negative effects on your credit. you should ask yuor parents for help when choosing one, they know more about credit cards and can help u get the best deal. alot of places have special student credit cards like bank of america.

Don't use it at least you actually have the money to pay it right away, not that you have to - its just a good idea to only use it if you have the money in another account say, to pay it back. you should really only be using it to build credit.

I hope this link will be helpful to you - http://www.bills.com/no-credit-credit-card-article...

get the lowest credit limit possible, because whatever it is will end up being used.