So I got a credit card as a way of establishing credit history...

[rasczak]

your monthly utilization should be 30% of the total credit limit at the most per month. Anything higher and you get dinged.

 

[highland145]

Possibility of being an authorized signer of parents/family cards?

YMMV if they have poor credit.
https://www.creditkarma.com/article/how-being-an-authorized-user-affects-credit

 

[pete6032]

Each time you check your credit score you are probably doing a hard pull.

No.

 

[highland145]

No.

this

 

[HardcoreRobot]

Which credit card, issued from where? Is it at least a rewards cc where you get % or miles?

Charge everything, except for <$10 restaurant purchases when you can pay cash.

Pay it off every month.

Rinse and repeat.

Can you elaborate on this?

 

[boomerang]

Another thought - if utilization on a low-limit card is causing problems, then pay off the balance BEFORE the statement is cut. That way your utilization is zero or close to it.

My understanding is that that strategy could possibly work, but it hinges on when in the cycle the bank reports to the credit reporting agencies.

 

[kranky]

My understanding is that that strategy could possibly work, but it hinges on when in the cycle the bank reports to the credit reporting agencies.

Exactly right, but most places report when the statement closes.

 

[boomerang]

Exactly right, but most places report when the statement closes.

That would make perfect sense. Just to add, I ran across an article somewhere that was talking about making weekly payments. I guess it depends on how busy you want to be. I don't recall seeing any CC sites that allowed scheduled payments at that frequency.

 

[pete6032]

That would make perfect sense. Just to add, I ran across an article somewhere that was talking about making weekly payments. I guess it depends on how busy you want to be. I don't recall seeing any CC sites that allowed scheduled payments at that frequency.

I pay mine off every few days to make sure there's no fradulent activity. I know my statement posts once per month so I make sure I have a balance on it when it posts and I'm good to go.

 

[MrDudeMan]

You have to keep it below 20% if you want no impact and 30% if you want minimal impact. Above 30%, you start to get dinged pretty hard. It bounces back as soon as your utilization returns to the target regions. I monitor my credit weekly and I see this trend with no uncertainty. Plus, I've been told that information directly by credit agencies and underwriters.

Use it to get gas and other small things and pay it off each month. After a while, it will be a huge boost to your credit portfolio and it will allow you to get other lines of credit. Be careful asking for a credit line increase too frequently because a denied request is not insignificant.

Can you elaborate on this?

What doesn't make sense? It's pretty straight forward. You buy stuff for X regardless of how you pay for it, but with a credit card you get X * Y in return where Y is typically 1-3%. Note: some places charge fees for certain types of cards or simply won't take cards at all, but those places are an uncommon exception. Case in point, I got $386.22 last month from a credit card company to which I've never paid a single penny for doing exactly as Rossman suggested.

 

[MrDudeMan]

This page has a pretty good analysis of how to maintain and improve your credit.

 

[Jeff7]

Which credit card, issued from where? Is it at least a rewards cc where you get % or miles?

Charge everything, except for <$10 restaurant purchases when you can pay cash.

Pay it off every month.

Rinse and repeat.

CapitalOne Mastercard, issued through CapitalOne. 1% reward on groceries and maybe a few other things, I don't remember specifically. I only really used it on groceries so that I'd be sure I'd never go over the limit, as that cost is quite consistent.

Another thought - if utilization on a low-limit card is causing problems, then pay off the balance BEFORE the statement is cut. That way your utilization is zero or close to it.

I usually do this. Based on what I'm seeing in this thread, it sounds like the utilization only counts if the dollar value shows up on the end-of-month bill.

I'd recommend Credit Karma, if you're not already using it. Free "fake score," warnings about potential dings, and suggestions for improving your score.

I shall have a look.

If this is your first credit of any kind, your score is going to take a while to build up. I would suggest opening 1 or 2 more cards, if you aren't the type of person who will max them out/spend any available money (which it sounds like you aren't). Just put a few charges on each one every month and pay them off. Give it a few years (you'll temporarily drop your average account age by opening new cards) and you should have a pretty decent score.

Not a problem.
I primarily got this card for the purpose of building credit, and overspending is not an issue for me. I suppose I could get an Amazon card.


I do try to keep the whole "rewards" thing out of my mind though. Statistically speaking, that sort of thing causes people to spend more than they otherwise would have, and the credit card companies wouldn't be offering something that would net them a loss. The human mind kind of sucks at math sometimes. ("Oooh, I can afford this now! I'm getting 1% cash back if I buy it!")

 

[highland145]

I usually do this. Based on what I'm seeing in this thread, it sounds like the utilization only counts if the dollar value shows up on the end-of-month bill.

Maybe. We're guessing because the public doesn't get to look behind the curtain.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

You have to keep it below 20% if you want no impact and 30% if you want minimal impact. Above 30%, you start to get dinged pretty hard. It bounces back as soon as your utilization returns to the target regions. I monitor my credit weekly and I see this trend with no uncertainty. Plus, I've been told that information directly by credit agencies and underwriters.

Use it to get gas and other small things and pay it off each month. After a while, it will be a huge boost to your credit portfolio and it will allow you to get other lines of credit. Be careful asking for a credit line increase too frequently because a denied request is not insignificant.



What doesn't make sense? It's pretty straight forward. You buy stuff for X regardless of how you pay for it, but with a credit card you get X * Y in return where Y is typically 1-3%. Note: some places charge fees for certain types of cards or simply won't take cards at all, but those places are an uncommon exception. Case in point, I got $386.22 last month from a credit card company to which I've never paid a single penny for doing exactly as Rossman suggested.

i bolded the part i wanted emphasis on, which you also did not address

 

[highland145]

i bolded the part i wanted emphasis on, which you also did not address

1 answer is that the business has to pay a percentage on every credit card purchase and for low amounts, the store isn't making any $$.

Just a guess.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Mint.com gives you your Equifax score for free now.

You can get your TransUnion one from CreditKarma.

Apparently I have 702 from Equifax and 726 from Trans.

 

[ahenkel]

Mint.com gives you your Equifax score for free now.

You can get your TransUnion one from CreditKarma.

Apparently I have 702 from Equifax and 726 from Trans.

I've been using a combination of Credit Karma (Transunion),Quizzle, (Equifax)and Credit Sesame. (Experian) Shows a score and a report from all three. Its free but they want you to subscribe for more services.

 

[dank69]

You've paid off student loans and a car loan and they only gave you a $500 limit? Dafuq?

 

[Jeff7]

How often are you checking your score? Each time you check your credit score you are probably doing a hard pull. A hard pull will lower your credit score.

This is the first time I've checked my own score. So, "not frequently."

You've paid off student loans and a car loan and they only gave you a $500 limit? Dafuq?

The one that approved me did. I was rejected by others for having insufficient credit history. Avoiding debt in general or paying it back early or on time evidently doesn't count for as much as you'd think.


I've paid the bills on time, so now I'm all the way up to $750/month.



Edit: Now >$2000/month. That should certainly help with the monthly %-usage stat.

 

[Raduque]

How often are you checking your score? Each time you check your credit score you are probably doing a hard pull. A hard pull will lower your credit score.

Whoever you're using that is generating a hard pull to check your own reports, you need to drop them like a bad habit.

It should ABSOLUTELY NOT cause a HP to check your own scores.

I've been using a combination of Credit Karma (Transunion),Quizzle, (Equifax)and Credit Sesame. (Experian) Shows a score and a report from all three. Its free but they want you to subscribe for more services.

All these guys give you FAKO scores. None uses an actual FICO algorithm. They're good for monitoring and alerts if you don't want to pay for it though.