LogFAQs > #986528806

Treat a credit card like cash (don't spend more money than you actually have) and pay it off every month. If you do those two things, credit cards can't harm you in any way, and are only a benefit in that they build credit, and give you free cash back via the points system.

As for this specific card, broadly I'd say to avoid mail offers, but it totally depends on your habits. My question would be what is Kroger Pay? Is it easy to use/something you use a lot? 5% back is fantastic, but that implies to me that maybe there's a catch or it's hard to use consistently. 2% back in Kroger stores is good, but of course only good if you spend a lot at Kroger.

Personally I'd do some research to find a card that will give you 2% back on everything, and see if you can get that. That way there's no catches/gotchas, and very little to think about for how you best need to optimize your spending habits in order to get points. Points aren't something you should base your spending around, spending more on things than you would otherwise just to get them; you should optimize your cards to your spending habits, if you even want to optimize at all. Again, that's why the Kroger Pay bit has me wondering, and why a simple card that works equally well on everything is pretty hard to go wrong with. Citi Doublecash was one 2% back card a couple years back that probably still exists.

Once you have a good "everyday" card and get the feel for it, if you have particular stores or things you spend money on (say, travel) then you could get different cards that do more for you in those areas. The two Chase cards mentioned earlier in this thread do that: The Freedom Unlimited is a flat 1.5% back on everything, but the Sapphire Reserve then lets you spend those points on travel at a 1.5x multiplier, i.e. 2.25% back on travel in total. If you travel a lot, this is great; otherwise it's just unnecessarily complicated and you'd be better off with just a straight 2% back card.

tldr:

• 2% back is about the best you'll get "on all purchases" with any one card. Grab one of those first if you can get approved.
• Pay it off every month, don't spend more than you have, and you will never get into credit card debt. Don't let yourself slip on this, that's how you get into debt.
• If you find yourself liking having a card and want more optimized points earning to match your spending, then do some research on the best cards available to you.