Credit Cards

If you are in college, or have a college age child and you want the best opportunities for building a great credit history, these credit cards will give you the best deals with the lowest fees.If you've been listed as an authorized user on your parents credit card accounts, or you have even a couple of positive credit references on your credit file, then unsecured credit cards are your best option. If you do not have any sort of a credit history yet, you may not be able to get the credit cards listed in this section- so be careful. Applying for credit lowers your credit score slightly. If you aren't sure whether or not you qualify, you can try applying for the one that you think is best. If you get it, congratulations!If you are not approved for your first choice, the best thing you can do is apply for some of the secured or prepaid credit cards further down the list. This will prevent your credit score from dropping because you have too many unsuccessful inquiries.

Whenever possible, I use a credit card for making purchases while abroad. Hotels, transportation, sightseeing tickets, and so on. However, most credit cards are pretty expensive when it comes to foreign currency purchases. Visa and Mastercard charge a standard 1% "conversion" fee on top of the wholesale "interbank" exchange rate. Many major credit card issuers like Citi, Chase, and American Express charge you another 2%-3% on top of that. You're losing up to 4% off the bat. Find out here what's the Best Credit Cards for you.