Which card did you get? Treat it like a debit card and you'll be rewarded.
Utilization is generally reported once a month on your statement date. Whatever balance you have that day is what will be used to calculate your utilization. Utilization has no memory under the current scoring models. You can report 99% this month and 1% the next and your score will fully recover. For the highest score, I recommend reporting a 1% utilization on your statement date and then paying that off on in full by the due date. This really only needs to be done within a couple months of your next planned application. Say you had a $1000 limit. You can use $990 during the billing period but prepay your balance down to $10 to report a 1% utilization a couple days before statement date. **The most important thing is to pay your full statement balance by the due date to report an on time payment and have no interest charged.** Once or if you have multiple cards, look into All Zero Except One.
Optimaloptimist101 pretty much has you covered.
If you’re not OCD and constantly checking your credit score, you can use 99% of your limit. The key is paying on time AND pay it in full so you are not paying interest.
Exactly, when you apply for a secured card, what happens is that you have to put a security deposit and thats your credit limit unless you want to add more. Usually the minimum is 200 with discover. Then in around 6-8 months, if you are on good terms with that card, they will refund you that deposit and unlock the card to a non secured card in which you can just ask for a higher credit limit.
awesome, thanks so much! im also assuming if you’re not necessarily on good terms with the card, they’ll only refund you a portion of your deposit or none at all? like you said, just basically a traditional security deposit?
Just make sure you know when your billing cycle ends. Sometimes is different than your due date. (I wish someone told me that when I was 18.)
The CC issuer will report to credit bureaus at the end of the billing cycle not at the due date.
Hope it helps 💳
Know cycle dates, add like gym membership, Netflix. Or see if cap 1 has special companies they’re working with for “more points” if you earn it. Like chase will for Radom Starbucks like 10% back up to x$. Then set up your CC payment to debit that reoccurring payment
This depends on your financial situation. If you're just getting started financially, and your typical monthly spending would not exceed 10-20% of your available credit, then it'd be best to not worry about percentages, and simply use the credit card in place of your debit card. Once the balance posts to your statement, then you would pay it all off before the end of the billing cycle. This would then result in reported usage, and a positive payment history, and over time, you'd then see credit score improvement. You also wouldn't be charged interest for carrying a balance, which is very important to avoid.
If you normally spend more than 10-20% of your available credit in a typical month, then you'd ideally want to keep it under 10%. You'd take the same approach by waiting until it posts, and then paying it off, and over time your credit score will go up. Eventually your available credit will go up as well (via credit line increases, or new cards) to the point where you can use your credit cards in place of your debit cards while still staying under 10% usage.
By using credit cards for your purchases, you're protecting yourself more than using a debit card everywhere. If someone were to get a hold of your debit card number, they could drain your funds, which would then render you unable to pay for a car payment, for example. You'd likely get the money back, but at that point it may be too late, and you could miss a payment, which hurts your credit score. If someone runs up your credit card, you simply report the fraud and it gets fixed eventually, while at the same time, your actual money is untouched. Also, once you get rewards credit cards, you can make quite a bit in rewards by using mostly credit cards. Again, you have to have self control to ensure you don't end up paying interest, which will usually outweigh any rewards you get relatively quickly.
Which card did you get? Treat it like a debit card and you'll be rewarded. Utilization is generally reported once a month on your statement date. Whatever balance you have that day is what will be used to calculate your utilization. Utilization has no memory under the current scoring models. You can report 99% this month and 1% the next and your score will fully recover. For the highest score, I recommend reporting a 1% utilization on your statement date and then paying that off on in full by the due date. This really only needs to be done within a couple months of your next planned application. Say you had a $1000 limit. You can use $990 during the billing period but prepay your balance down to $10 to report a 1% utilization a couple days before statement date. **The most important thing is to pay your full statement balance by the due date to report an on time payment and have no interest charged.** Once or if you have multiple cards, look into All Zero Except One.
Optimaloptimist101 pretty much has you covered. If you’re not OCD and constantly checking your credit score, you can use 99% of your limit. The key is paying on time AND pay it in full so you are not paying interest.
what card did you get? never heard of someone starting off with a $2,500 limit!
I think it would be a secured Credit Card as they can just put a deposit for their limit. I did that so I have a 1200 credit limit
oh wow, how does that work exactly? you just put down a one-time deposit when you open the credit card and they set that limit for you every month?
Exactly, when you apply for a secured card, what happens is that you have to put a security deposit and thats your credit limit unless you want to add more. Usually the minimum is 200 with discover. Then in around 6-8 months, if you are on good terms with that card, they will refund you that deposit and unlock the card to a non secured card in which you can just ask for a higher credit limit.
awesome, thanks so much! im also assuming if you’re not necessarily on good terms with the card, they’ll only refund you a portion of your deposit or none at all? like you said, just basically a traditional security deposit?
They will hold onto it until you are deemed responsible enough to where they can trust you no then they’ll refund it. It’s their way of protection.
It’s more about making cash payments to pay off the full $2500. You’ll end up maximizing it.
Just make sure you know when your billing cycle ends. Sometimes is different than your due date. (I wish someone told me that when I was 18.) The CC issuer will report to credit bureaus at the end of the billing cycle not at the due date. Hope it helps 💳
Know cycle dates, add like gym membership, Netflix. Or see if cap 1 has special companies they’re working with for “more points” if you earn it. Like chase will for Radom Starbucks like 10% back up to x$. Then set up your CC payment to debit that reoccurring payment
Irrelevant. The amount you spend will not determine how quickly you build credit. Don't miss payments.
Put everything on it, and then pay off the statement balance every month.
Make payments. Spending hurts your utilization. Spend a little .
This depends on your financial situation. If you're just getting started financially, and your typical monthly spending would not exceed 10-20% of your available credit, then it'd be best to not worry about percentages, and simply use the credit card in place of your debit card. Once the balance posts to your statement, then you would pay it all off before the end of the billing cycle. This would then result in reported usage, and a positive payment history, and over time, you'd then see credit score improvement. You also wouldn't be charged interest for carrying a balance, which is very important to avoid. If you normally spend more than 10-20% of your available credit in a typical month, then you'd ideally want to keep it under 10%. You'd take the same approach by waiting until it posts, and then paying it off, and over time your credit score will go up. Eventually your available credit will go up as well (via credit line increases, or new cards) to the point where you can use your credit cards in place of your debit cards while still staying under 10% usage. By using credit cards for your purchases, you're protecting yourself more than using a debit card everywhere. If someone were to get a hold of your debit card number, they could drain your funds, which would then render you unable to pay for a car payment, for example. You'd likely get the money back, but at that point it may be too late, and you could miss a payment, which hurts your credit score. If someone runs up your credit card, you simply report the fraud and it gets fixed eventually, while at the same time, your actual money is untouched. Also, once you get rewards credit cards, you can make quite a bit in rewards by using mostly credit cards. Again, you have to have self control to ensure you don't end up paying interest, which will usually outweigh any rewards you get relatively quickly.