Chase, finally!

Posted on by Richard the MBA

The first time I spent an extended stay in New York, I was amazed by a lot of things. In the mind of a recent college graduate with a bachelors’ degree in economics, New York was a finance kingdom, a prosperous land for financial institutions. This impression was enhanced by the presence of millions of banks and offices in tiny, packed Manhattan. It didn’t take long for me to realize though, that there is one bank that seems to have offices and ATM’s on every street corner? When I hang out with friends in New York and come out of a bar non-sober and see everything as patches of color like an impressionist painting, the most prominent color I observe is blue. It is the same kind of blue on emergency posts that I was used to at Colgate. It is the blue of Chase.

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Continue reading Chase, finally!

Credit cards for credit builders: what are your options? – Part 4

Posted on by Richard the MBA

If you have filled out an application for a credit card, you’d you know that one of the mandatory fields is ‘annual income’. Other than your credit profile, this is the single most important factor that creditors use to determine your eligibility for credit. But what if you’re going to school and not making any money? You still have money from your bank accounts or from family, but you don’t have a regular income. No worries: financial institutions will take care of that for you. Many creditors offer a student version of their cards, which is just about as good as the regular version.  Continue reading Credit cards for credit builders: what are your options? – Part 4

Credit cards for credit builders: what are your options? – Part 3

Posted on by Richard the MBA

Option 3 for credit builders: secured credit cards

I have previously described my personal experience with Bank of America’s Bankamericard Cash Rewards secured credit card. A secured credit card is a risk-free way for financial institutions to extend you credit: the money you deposit is also your credit limit. In other words, you spend your own money; the bank doesn’t lend you anything. Yet you still have the opportunity to build up your credit profile by making on-time payments which would be reported to the Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA’s). Continue reading Credit cards for credit builders: what are your options? – Part 3