Linked to The First Business Trip thread. I’m going to be going on a business trip to the Seattle area for 3 weeks in May. This is the first time I’ve been on a long term trip like this alone, and it occurred to me that I really should have my own credit card so that I don’t have to risk running out of money there. Over the past couple of years, I have lived paycheck to paycheck and have changed jobs a couple of times, and the last thing I wanted to was to be building up additional debt which I couldn’t account for, which is the main reason I haven’t acquired a real credit card. Right now I have an American Express Gold card which has my name on it, but is linked to my parents account. I also have a Visa Debit card linked to my Bank of America checking account – whenever I use it, it draws cash from the account immediately.
I expect that by the end of the trip, I am going to put about $1000 on it, most of which will be reimbursable after the trip ends. $1500 to be safe.
I want to be really careful that I don’t get into a sucker deal here. I know some plans have you paying back a lot more than what you actually charged on it. I’ve been throwing out those “you’ve been approved!” junk mails (some of which claim to come from my bank) my entire life. First of all, who should I contact to get this going? Do I want to go through my bank, or somewhere else? Visa, Mastercard, Amex…Discover? Which one do I want? What questions should I be prepared to answer? And how exactly does billing work for credit cards? Do I mail them a check each month, or give them my bank account #? What is the turnaround for paying back what I charged to it? I really DO want to stick to my morals of not having hanging debts, so if possible (unless there’s any GOOD reason not to) I would want to pay back everything I put on it as soon as possible (won’t be possible before June 5).
I dunno, if you have your own job and are supporting yourself then I don’t see any reason to continue to use a card linked to your parents’ account. Especially if you’re using it for work expenses, your parents shouldn’t have to worry about when you’ll get that $1500 reimbursement check.
All my credit card stuff is online now, I sign up online to pay the card online from my checking account, once a month I go to the Discover card site or whatever and pay off the balance. You just have to stay on top of the due dates, the late fees can kill you.
If you do online banking a lot then it might not be a bad idea to get a card from the same place you have your checking account, that way (I would presume, if they have a decent system) you’ll see everything each time you log on. Just make sure you get a card with no annual fee. I’d be surprised if any of the Bank of America cards to out to be a scam, but I’m not an expert.
I would say you should definitely get your own card, although I say that assuming you can get a card that won’t cost you anything. If there are fees and the like I am not convinced paying money to avoid your parent’s card would be the way to go.
Is your company reasonably well organized? In other words, will they reimburse you before your credit card bill is due? If you have enough cash to cover this then it doesn’t really matter if they are slow, but either way pay it back in full every month so you don’t pay a cent in interest!
I travel on business pretty frequently and typically I buy everything on a personal card, have it reimbursed within a week of filing and pay back the card immediately. This is a great way to rack up rewards points, so make sure the card has a good program.
I will have enough cash from my regular paycheck direct deposits (which always come on time) to cover the first credit card bill, assuming that #1 it is due later than June 5 (the charges will be made between May 11 and May 31), and #2 isn’t for a greater amount than what I actually charged during the trip. My company gives themselves 30 days to pay back reimbursements (infact, they still owe me for some local travel expenses from the first week of April) so I likely won’t have any of it back by the time I receive the first bill. As I said in the OP, how much time do the cc companies usually give you to pay a bill?
I took a look at the BoA website earlier today, and I’m pretty lost. They have a bunch of snazzy NO ANNUAL FEE cards, but they have terminology which is foreign to me, such as “variable APR” and “Fee for Balance Transfers”. They also act like it’s a big deal to get a card with a sports team logo on it. The most basic card I looked at was called a “secured card”, and they want me to pay my credit balance up front (i.e. if I want a $2000 limit, I have to give them $2000) AS WELL as getting monthly bills. Why would anyone want a deal like that?
I still need to get some more details for this trip before I talk to my mom about this, but I think the advice of just using her card and paying her back myself would be a better solution, especially since I still don’t want a long-term credit card.
Call your bank and talk to them about a credit card. The sooner, the better since you’re leaving next month. Secured cards are for those with bad or little to no credit. I would recommend applying for a “real” credit card first. Look for one with no annual fee and a good grace period.
BTW, the AmEx gold is actually a charge card and not a credit card.
Your company sucks - that is a long time for reimbursements.
Well, I am a strong believer in using credit cards for the majority of purchases and paying it off in full every month. So for me, the most important point is no regular fees. I don’t really care what the APR is, or if there are fees for balance transfers, since neither of those things will ever have any effect on me. After limiting myself to cards that have no regular fees, other factors are the rewards system (how many points do they give you for every dollar purchased on the card, and what are they good for?) and quality of website (how easy is it to make payments or review activity, etc).
My main credit card account statement closes around the 6th of the month, and my deadline for paying it is typically around the 27th of the month. Often this schedule is flexible, and you can change when the statement closes (although I suspect you cannot change the statement closing and deadline independently of each other!).
Fusoya, consider asking your company for an advance on your expenses. Most companies will advance you for known expenses (such as airfare, hotel and any per diems). You should not be expected to finance your company’s business activities (even for a few weeks).
Also, with a *charge *card (such as your parents’ Amex) the full amount has to be paid each month after you receive your statement. With a *credit *card, you can carry most of the balance forward (and pay interest, of course). If you pay your balance in full each month, there is no effective difference (i.e. you are using your credit card as if it were a charge card). If you are confident in your ability to consistently pay any amount due each month, don’t worry about a high interest rate on any card for which you apply. Typically cards with lots of freebies (e.g. no annual fee, frequent flier points, etc.) have higher interest rates. The average (debt-laden) consumer pays for those freebies through the high interest rate – if you don’t carry a balance, you come out ahead (rare when dealing with banks).
Good luck with your business trip. The first one is always the most fun…
I’m gonna hold off on getting a credit card. It turns out that I actually am getting a $40/day per diem, so I don’t even have to worry about a receipt or expense list. I’m gonna stick with my mom’s charge card. Thanks for your help. Sometimes the best advice I can get is DON’T do it.
The secured cards are a good way for someone with zero credit history to get a credit card - the issuing bank is at zero risk with those.
Most issuers offer a grace period of 20ish days to pay the bill without incurring an interest charge. Some shady issuers might not have a grace period at all. Read the fine print carefully.
Surprising that your company doesn’t reimburse you promptly and expects you to carry over and pay interest if you don’t have sufficient cash.
Will the company cover your hotel bills? or does that 1000+ need to handle that also? If so, that’s a very low estimate for funds needed - you’ll want to assume 100 bucks or more per day for hotel.
If you do wind up using the AmEx, see if this would trigger any “unusual activity” alerts.
I definitely would look into getting your own card in general, even if it doesn’t have sufficient limit to handle the upcoming trip. I’d bet that if you use it a little and pay it off promptly, they’ll raise your limit enough that in the future you won’t have any problem covering such a trip.
I’d avoid BofA, we’re pissed at them right now (they lowered Typo Knig’s credit limit, jacked up the fees, raised my interest rate, and jacked around with the payment due date in such a way as to make it highly likely I’d pay the following month late if I weren’t paying attention). Unless you have your bank account with them, that is - that’s the only reason I’d go with them (and then only because of the convenience of having all your online banking in one place).
(heh… should have read the posting IMMEDIATELY BEFORE MINE… moot point. Though I’d actually still suggest getting your own credit card to work on building credit history).
Thanks for the advice anyway. Your words will be stored for the next time a doper (perhaps myself) needs information on getting cards.
And the hotel itself is being paid for up front by my company. If I raid the minibar, that’s on my dime though.
Honestly, I’m totally fed up with BoA ($12 a month checking account fee?), and I would leave them if it weren’t for the fact that I have so much linked to it (including my direct deposits), since I’ve had that account since the 90s when it was called Fleet. Not ever having to worry about having an ATM is a nice perk, but it isn’t worth $150 a year.
Well. You made up your mind. But, I don’t see a problem with getting a credit card, using it and paying it off each month. If you go to a website like amazon you will see that they offer one that gets you points that you can use at Amazon.
It builds up your credit history. It earns you points which actually are quite fun when you use the right card. And, it does teach you a little about paying bills on time. I am glad I had a credit card for most of my young adult life.
