Building Credit Score - Tips & Tricks

[loba2000 2]

No, only credit lines are reported

You mean if I have a credit card with them and I close that Credit Card only that will hurt my credit score/history

[usmsbow 795]

You mean if I have a credit card with them and I close that Credit Card only that will hurt my credit score/history

It's complicated. Not necessarily. If you close the CC and don't get another one, but have the same level of CC spending, then your credit score will go down a bit. If you close your CC, and get another one, and keep your same level of CC spending, your score will hardly change. Your credit score is partially based on your credit cards' "utilization rate".

For instance, you have 2 credit cards with $5,000 limit each, so $10,000 total credit limit. You spend $1,500/month on them combined, paying them off all the time- great! Now if you close one credit card and thereby lowering your credit limit to $5,000, but continue to spend $1,500 a month, then your score will be hurt because your utilization rate is 30% (while it was 15% before).

I recommend reading ggodi's post on the 2nd page. It's a good explanation of the impact of closing a CC.

[Fan_Dancer 171]

Well, guys, you can do it. 7 months into it, my score is in the 700s, and I was approved by Amex. My credit lines aren't big, but I am still in my first year.

[SimonBelgium 49]

Updated the main post

[Kat&Jon 84]

This is an excellent post with a lot of spot on information! I just want to share my thanks with Ggodoi and SimonandKimberly! Since I work in a bank I get questions like this on a daily basis and all of this information is correct! I almost want to send all my customers to this post to read all the information!!!

The only thing I would add is the "fine print" that might help others. It does not hurt your credit score to add your husband/wife to your credit card. In fact I recommend that you do, and make sure to include their full SSN when adding them. This way they are reported as having access to credit, but that they are not the owner of the credit card. This still shows that you are responsible when it comes to credit, just that you aren't the owner. This is how you are able to build a score from nothing.

The only way it would hurt your score by adding your husband/wife is if your significant other took their credit card and maxed out your account which would then make a dent in your credit utilization as noted previously OR if you were not aware of the charges and ended up being late on making a payment. Also, if in the worst case you are ever late on making a credit card payment I would hope it would put your mind at ease that you are provided a 30 day grace period to get your payment in without incurring a hit to your credit score. This is because banks will not submit past due data until the customer is 31+ days past due. This is actually part of the Fair Credit Act enacted by the government.

Paying your account on time is the biggest and most important thing when it comes to your credit score! You don't have to pay in full every time, just make sure you pay as much over the minimum as you can! I definitely recommend that if you can pay your balance in full, certainly do so, but the only negative thing about not paying in full would be interest charges and the affect of your credit utilization percentage.

One last tip... for those of you that have kids, I would also recommend adding them to your accounts when you can. This is something my parents did for me when I turned 16. They did not give me a credit card to use, they just let me sit on their account and start building a score, similar to what everyone will be doing if they add their husband/wife. This allowed me to easily get my own credit card when I turned 18 and went to college. I highly recommend this for any parents out there!

Remember, whenever you add an authorized user to your credit card account it is not required to send out a card for that person so if you don't want the person you add to have a credit card to use, they don't have to have a physical card, but they still get credit towards their own score!

Hope this helps!

[pinayanne27 8]

Hello everyone.

I plan of applying for credit one secured one this week. How much do you guys recommend me to deposit: $49, $99 or $200?

[SimonBelgium 49]

Hello everyone.

I plan of applying for credit one secured one this week. How much do you guys recommend me to deposit: $49, $99 or $200?

Normally, a secured CC has a credit limit equal to the amount you deposit. So knowing you should only "use" up to 30% of your available credit, I deposited 1000$ to start, giving me a safe 300$ a month to "spend"

If you don't like using credit cards, you should find something you can pay monthly on it, so you have steady usage, and just keep the card for that only. Again take into account the 30% rule.

[pinayanne27 8]

Hello everyone.

I plan of applying for credit one secured one this week. How much do you guys recommend me to deposit: $49, $99 or $200?

Sorry what i meant was Capital One. I would like to apply for a capital one secured card. Edited October 4, 2015 by pinayanne27

[SimonBelgium 49]

Update on post 1 regarding Amex

[pinayanne27 8]

Hi everyone.

I got my credit one secured card last month and used 30%. Is it okay to pay in full before i receive my bill? Or should i wait for my bill?

[SimonBelgium 49]

Hi everyone.

I got my credit one secured card last month and used 30%. Is it okay to pay in full before i receive my bill? Or should i wait for my bill?

You want to make sure you post between 1 and 30% on your bill every month. If you need to use the card during the month for more than 30%, you can, and then just make a payment before the account closes for the month. You should inquire with your bank when that day is. Then just wait for the bill and make the payment before the due date stipulated therein.

[Toy 18]

Hello guy's,

Has anyone been able to get there credit score from other credit reporting agencies apart from trans union?

Was Equifax able to provide your credit score for you?

Also which mobile network is ok based on your your credit score(building credit).

[Yoveeta 36]

I'm interested how long does it takes for credit history to start to build up, I'm on my husband's credit card for more then month, and got my own credit card today (to my surprise), though still can't register on Credit karma, because my information is not recognized yet.. So when I should be able to start tracking my history?

[jagirl 8]

I too had the same occurrence with credit Karma. They requested I send in via snail mail 2 forms of ID, (social and D/L). After that I was able to gain access to my account which I had been building over 3 months. I had gotten a $300 secured visa from Wells Fargo, a $500 loan from a small town credit union and only been here for 5 months and my credit rating is already 640. Good luck

[GF1804 12]

I took a secured card from Citi when I arrived. I gave them $1,000 and over the last 14 months used it for gas, groceries and online purchases. Always paying it off in full when it became due and never going too close to the $1,000 limit. After 14 months the card issuer wrote to me advising that as the card had been used and paid for responsibly I could now continue to use the card and they would give me back the $1000.

I closed the card, received my $1000k back into my account and then took out a better non-secured card with a better limit with the same bank.% rate lower too. My credit score hovers around 735. Utilizing a secured card and paying off helped me get approval for our mortgage and our car. Takes time but the advice on here was worth it!