Credit Cards for People with Limited Budgets

Last week, I wrote a blog post entitled, Young People and the Chains of Credit Debt that urged young people to be careful with obtaining credit cards. After I wrote the article, I heard from some friends that the article might possible scary people from getting credit cards. That was not my intention.

As much as having credit card debt can hurt your credit score, not having credit cards can hurt your credit even more. Many young people, I work with obtaining their first mortgage, are under the assumption that the less credit cards one has will translate into a higher credit score. Most of the time, people who have one or two credit cards have low credit scores. This is not a stead fast rule, but more of a professional observation.

Since you need credit cards to maintain a good credit score and the easiest way to travel for free is points, here is a list of 5 credit cards that I think are great for people with limited monthly budgets.  Each of these are public links, I do not get commission for you clicking on them. I would recommend taking a screen shot of landing page for your records, just in case something happens later on.


1) US Airways Mastercard - This credit card offer gives you 40,000 miles after your first use of the card. In addition, the card gives you a 5,000 mile discount on award travel. Therefore, your first use will give you the ability for two tickets in the USA. The annual fee is waived for the first year -  $89 fee after your first year. This offer says for Preferred Chairmen only, but many people, including me have used it without status.

2) Delta Gold AMEX - This credit card offers you 30,000 miles after your spend $500 in the first three months. If you are participating in the Delta Grandslam (see here), you will earn a bonus of 5,000 miles for getting the card.

3) Chase Hyatt - This credit card gives you two (2) nights at any Hyatt Hotel worldwide after spending $1,000 in three months. I used my two nights at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, normally $500+ a night. On your card anniversary, you will receive a free night certificate good at Calgary 1-4 hotels.

4) Chase Priority Club  - This card gives you 60,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first three months. The card comes with platinum status. The $49 annual fee is waived for the first year. What makes this card a keeper is that on your card anniversary, you receive a free night certificate good worldwide, well worth the $49 fee.

5) Hilton AMEX - This card gives you 50,000 points after spending $750 in the first three months. The card has no annual fee.

I would highly recommend the Hilton AMEX, as one of your first cards. One of the criteria for credit is the length of time that one has credit. Therefore, it is important to keep your oldest card open.  Since the card has no annual fee, the card can be kept for indefinitely making this a great first credit card.

I hope this list helps you start on your path of traveling for free. As I stated in my post last week, please only charge what you can pay off monthly. Please only bite what you can chew, because no amount of points is worth long term credit card debt.

Happy Hump Day!