I will be getting a Chase Freedom card, as they have a very good cash back policy of up to 5% on purchases in bonus categories up to $1500. I also picked it as it is available even to low income individuals with credit scores in the 600s. A credit score is your comparative rating establishing how much of a risk you pose as a customer to credit companies. It decides whether jobs will want you, what kind of rates you will get, etc... Good credit starts at around 700. Bad credit could result from having a lot of outstanding debt, having lots of monthly payments i.e. renting furniture, and apartment, etc... as opposed to owning. At a credit card balance of $1000 with a 16% interest with a minimum payment of $20 it will take 83 months. The real cost of items bought on credit is their original value plus interest.