Best Credit Card as a Mid?

dav1y

dav1y

USNA '26
Joined
Aug 5, 2019
Messages
421
Hi!

Was wondering what y'all recommend for a credit card as a mid - should I be getting one through NFCU, my local bank, or another bank? I know the Amex platinum card used to be popular but apparently (not sure about this) they don't waive the annual fee for mids anymore? Regardless, any recommendations would be great! Thanks again :)
 
One option for an easier-to-get card that worked for DS was to find a specific branded card, say the airline you will likely use most or similar) and grab the bonus points/miles. That is covering at least 3 round trip flights home for free.
 
Does the Mid have a credit history? If not get the NFCU secured card and use it regularly.
 
dav1y said:
Hi!

Was wondering what y'all recommend for a credit card as a mid - should I be getting one through NFCU, my local bank, or another bank? I know the Amex platinum card used to be popular but apparently (not sure about this) they don't waive the annual fee for mids anymore? Regardless, any recommendations would be great! Thanks again :)
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Konnichiwa! I’d recommend the basic NFCU Blue Rewards credit card. I use it as does DS. There’s a Navy Federal Credit Union right around the Mid Store to help with any problems. I advised DS to have his credit card balance paid, in full, through his NFCU savings account. I have told all my children that credit card companies do not like people like me and their mother for paying in full. They prefer to make money off of clients that pay a high APR on over due balances. Credit card companies have never made a nickel off of us. Good luck to you and get some sushi, and tempura, before I-Day.
 
WT Door said:
Konnichiwa! I’d recommend the basic NFCU Blue Rewards credit card. I use it as does DS. There’s a Navy Federal Credit Union right around the Mid Store to help with any problems. I advised DS to have his credit card balance paid, in full, through his NFCU savings account. I have told all my children that credit card companies do not like people like me and their mother for paying in full. They prefer to make money off of clients that pay a high APR on over due balances. Credit card companies have never made a nickel off of us. Good luck to you and get some sushi, and tempura, before I-Day.
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Actually the credit card companies like you too. They do in fact make money off you. How? They get a % of every time you purchase with their card. The merchant charges you $1 and the card company pays them less (typically about .98 ). Instant arbitrage. The business model includes you and those that pay the APR. Money in motion always costs money!
 
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I would get a card from any bank that optimizes your benefits. I have 2 cash back cards - one is Amazon Prime so I use that where it pays higher cash back (Whole Foods, Amazon) and then I have another that pays better on other purchases (restaurants, gas, etc.). However, in the case of the second card I have to maintain a checking account with the bank with no less then $5k rolling balance and I have to pay the CC out of that account. So that might be more pain than a MIDN should take on for a few measly bucks. Check all the details and optimize your outcome. A card with miles might be a good choice, but I get cash to spend however I want which is better for me.

I'm also with @WT Door as I pay it off monthly and always have. The CC loves me though as I put everything on card so they like the ~2% they get on all my purchases.
 
A somewhat related question - do MIDN get personal financial training at the academy? It seems you don't want officers that are carrying CC debt and making other Dave-Ramsey-Rant-Inducing-Decisions with their money.
 
Skipper07 said:
Amex still waives fees, but you won’t get approved. They changed their formula and no one I know has been approved in the last year.
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DS commissioned last year through NROTC and was approved for the AMEX platinum. He did have a credit card during college that he used sparingly., so he did have at least some credit history.
 
If you do not have a credit history the best thing to do is to start with a "Secured" credit card, they will ask you for a deposit and you borrow against your own money. Only use 25% of the credit limit and payoff balance as soon as you get the bill and continue to do the same. To get credit scores you do need to have 2 to 3 lines of credit reporting to the credit bureaus for at least 3 months. Lower scores mean higher rates, higher scores mean lower rate. You can always negotiate your rate with banks but with today's market, rates are not going to be pretty so you always need to focus on high credit scores.

If you already have 1 or items reporting to the credit bureaus then you want to make sure you have a low balance and payments on time for a minimum of 6 months before applying for an additional account as this will help you get a better rate and at this economy you really need to review and wait for the right moment.

You need to use your credit smartly and understand this can affect one day the rate on a car or home loan so do not just apply because you want a credit card, apply because you want to start a credit history that will benefit you in the future. Keep in mind that credit is something you need to work for and will benefit or affect you for a very long time.

I do recommend you talk to your parents if they are credit savvy and have a good credit history, ask them to add you as an authorize user to 2 of their credit cars (as long a s they have a low balance on these, if they do not then do not even consider as they will start you on the wrong track). Once you have 2 lines of credit for a minimum of 2 months you can apply for your own, by this time you have a chance to get a much lower rate.

American Express is a great card for someone that will really benefit from it and having the annual fee will not affect when you get all the perks and points otherwise it is not worth it. If what you are looking is for a card that offers good point system for future flights check this link or look for other options and see what works for you, everyone is different and we all have different spending habits so what is good for me may not be good for you and vice versa

Whatever you decide at the end, do your homework, just like when you were looking into applying for the academies see what they have to offer, put everything into perspective and see what is the best for YOU. This is the beginning of your credit history and this will stay for years in your record, you want to make sure you can get the best available for you.
 
Huursoldaat said:
A somewhat related question - do MIDN get personal financial training at the academy? It seems you don't want officers that are carrying CC debt and making other Dave-Ramsey-Rant-Inducing-Decisions with their money.
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There is also a MIDN financial advisor at the Academy who is an active duty supply officer. It is nice to work with someone who knows the ins and outs of military finance and benefits. With most things in the military, the information/resource is out there, it is just on the person to go find it.

As @Capt MJ said, not everyone takes heed to the financial training. Poor financial management can give one difficulties in obtaining/maintaining a security clearance.

On the CC front, I would go with NFCU initially for convenience. They are the only bank with a branch on the Yard. The CC also has a progressive credit limit so you get an automatic increase each year without it affecting a credit score. A fork in the road is at the 2/C Loan. Both NFCU and USAA provide loans. If you go with USAA, you have to open an account with USAA and do most of your banking with them. It'd make sense to get a CC with them if that is road that is embarked upon.

One other pitch for NFCU is that there are plentiful branches/ATMs in fleet concentration areas (where there is a big Navy presence). USAA has very few brick and mortar locations outside of corporate offices. USAA in Annapolis is the only non-corporate location I have seen. The rest are ATMs.
 
NFCU is also a part of the Co-Op network. A network of credit unions that allow you to use their ATMS with no fees. I belong to another credit union on this network and whenever I am out of my home area and need cash, I go to their app and can find the nearest participating credit union ATM.
 
My daughter got Discover IT cash back card. No credit score needed. No annual fee. 1 year after she got it they raised the credit limit 2 times since her credit score is now 740+.
 
Navy fed blue card -> Amex Gold and Platinum.
I would stick with the Navy Fed card for ~6 months and build credit. You can set it to automatically pay itself off and the branch on the yard is very convenient. Most switch to USAA eventually so they can use their loan during 2/C year.

The benefits of the Amex are awesome. You need some credit history, but you should be approved with the fee waived. Some people struggle to get it waived, but I didn't have any trouble. Seems kinda hit or miss depending on how you apply.
 
Get a Navy Fed card. The physical branches on overseas bases are extremely convenient, particularly if you happen to lose your card (and not limited to Navy bases, been to Army and Air Force bases with them). No foreign transaction fees, and they reimburse ATM charges.

If your APR is above 10%, ask the branch to lower it. They might do it if you ask nicely enough.

The best benefit of the AMEX Platinum was the ability to use it to stack points and miles on TAD and PCS travel. In the very near future, the GTCC will be required, and travel/lodging paid with a personal card will not be reimbursed.

On that note, when given an opportunity to get the GTCC, do the paperwork as soon as possible. When your travel claim isn't processed for months and you have bills for thousands of dollars of lodging costs to pay, the GTCC will save you from putting that debt on your personal card and paying interest on it. Had a couple new ENSs tell me they spent some time sleeping out of a car in Norfolk during PCS. Completely avoidable.
 
Don't Give Up the Ship said:
Actually the credit card companies like you too. They do in fact make money off you. How? They get a % of every time you purchase with their card. The merchant charges you $1 and the card company pays them less (typically about .98 ). Instant arbitrage. The business model includes you and those that pay the APR. Money in motion always costs money!
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Points well taken as I am aware of transaction fees. I just don’t want credit card companies liking me too much ;). I am quite happy with NFCU having been a member for, let’s just say, a long time. @Capt MJ ’s post on an adjacent NFCU thread post reminded me why I am such a big fan. I recently put some “money in motion”, not sure how much it cost though. I had all our rewards points converted to cash and sent to our savings account. Instead of buying merch and gift cards, we’ll give greenbacks for special occasions. Lots of good advice for young people on this and the other NFCU thread. I wasn’t privy to this kind of information back when.
 
No matter who you bank with, make sure to get a USAA membership started if only for the Personal Property Insurance and if you want to stay with NFCU or a local bank, at least a minimal amount in USAA's bank to get established. A huge benefit of USAA down the line is the Subscriber savings account which is each member's share of the company so to speak. Once you have enough in it, you start getting annual payouts which can be a thousand dollars or more. The reason that I'm advising to get started as early as possible is that there is a second "tier" bonus called the Senior Bonus" which starts after 40 yrs as a member. My Senior Bonus is larger than my regular payout so the combined amount is a very nice thing to get each year.
 
Some credit cards offer referral bonuses. The person referring an applicant gets a reward such as cash, reward points, etc. This turned into a network marketing scheme as Mids referred other Mids as soon as they were approved for a card.
 
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