admin answers:

It is usually easier to get get credit from a store/gas station. (dont apply for too many credit cards)

The best way to build credit is pay your balance in full every month and never miss a payment.

Go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp and get a free credit report every year. It will not give you a score but it will give you an idea of what someone pulling your credit would see. Its also a good way to see if you have an open credit card and forgot about it, or someone stole your identity and opened a card in your name.

Pay off current balances on whatever credit cards are still open. Do not carry a balance into the month.

Utilization > If there is a 1000 credit limit and you are using 900 dollars of your credit ‘allowance’ that looks bad. Using under 30% of available credit is good.

Applying for too many credit cards can hurt your credit score. If you apply to one or two in a month wait at least 3-4 months before applying to other cards.

If you have a credit card, use it. If you dont use a credit card at all and make no payments it does not help at all.

Its also important to have some emergency savings for 3-6months of bills in-case bad stuff happens (you get fired, car blows up, you fall down some stairs, ETC) Rainy days do happen, expect them.

I have also read that having a savings and checking account can make it easier to get accepted for a credit card.

admin answers:

Like the other users said, you could get a secured credit card; however, you really want to stay away from credit cards period! They are bad news; if you ever have hard times, they will pursue you relentlessly and even sue you if you can’t pay. Like someone else said, get a debit card with a VISA/Mastercard logo. There’s no need to even have a credit card if you do this. I will never have another credit card after all I’ve been through with the different companies. By the way, Capital One is the worst. They’ll give you a card easily enough, but if you ever get behind, they will not work with you and won’t settle out for a lesser amount to close the account. They also like to sue. This is how they pay for their expensive TV commercials. This is just my experience with them. Keep your life less complicated and just stay away from credit cards altogether.

admin answers:

UNLESS you have been in business several years and have an established business credit record the credit is gained through your own personal credit reports.

admin answers:

To get a good credit rating you must have obtained and used credit. There are several ways to do this but getting a secured credit card and never charging more than 1/3 of your limit and paying at least double the minimum payment every month is merely the easiest way to build credit.

Right now, to rent an apartment, you need a co-signer with good credit.

Generally it takes 2 years from when you first get a secured card and being good with it, to be considered to have any sort of credit rating.

A secured card is where you take say $500 and put it in a savings account in a bank and they freeze that amount for two years and then issue you a credit card for that amount. After the two years, if you have been responsible with the card, the account is unfrozen and you get the money back. If you have been irresponsible, they use the money in the account to pay off the card.

When I first moved to LA from Canada, I had no credit in the eyes of US banks and I had Wells Fargo freeze $1500 for 2 years to re-establish my credit in the US.

admin answers:

That is a good plan to build credit. I do recommend (if you are going to use a credit card) paying the balance in full each month, and not carry a balance. When you carry a balance from month to month you are charged interest on the balance. I recommend never charging any more than you can pay off in full when the statement is available.

admin answers:

Generally, each time you open an account there is a small temporary drop in your score (think the 15 to 20 point range). If you have revolving debt it is possible that your score can even increase due to a drop in overall utilization ($2000 debt with $4000 total available will reflect much more poorly than $2000 debt with $7500 available). As your accounts age this temporary hit will vanish.

If you plan to apply for a mortgage, avoid opening new cards at least six months prior to that date. Avoid applying for new credit before looking into a car loan.

Existing creditors sometimes become nervous when you open numerous new accounts. If you open three new accounts at once this can lead to potential trouble, especially if you aren’t familiar with your current creditors (they all respond differently). Provided you aren’t already dealing with a number of creditors I would suggest picking out two of your favorites, applying for them, and then going back to snatch the third about three months later. Only apply for a card you expect to use and be careful about annual fees (unless they are plenty well justified as might be the case with, say, an AmEx charge card).

The more extensive your credit profile, the more cautious you should be about opening multiple new accounts in quick succession.

admin answers:

First you would need to find a credit card with low interest. From there you would need a credit limit to cover the 4 debts. From there you just tranfer balances once you open the card. Problem solved.

admin answers:

Actually it is more like 30% not 50%, and you can spend more you just need to keep it below that after you make a payment. I.e you have a limit of 1000, but you charge 800$ on it. You then need to make a payment 500$ to keep it below the 30%. They will report you balance every month to the credit bureaus after your payment is due. I have heard you should keep about a 10% balance on your cards for the best results in building your credit. You want to provide a solid payment history so use it for small purchases then make the payments, I dont think making minimum payments would be good. As for credit cards to get… You can go to your bank and get a secured card (you will have to put 300$-1000 down to get one, 300 is minimum, or you can get a orchard or first premier card. These cards have some fees attached to them but you do not have to put any money down to get them.

Http://creditcardwarehouseonline.com

admin answers:

1. I have 5 or 6 credit cards, each has at least 5,000 limit. I use 3 of them regularly and pay the entire balance each month. The others I use very rarely. My credit score is around 810 and I have never been questioned about my revolved credit (I do own a home, I don’t know if that makes a difference).

2. Close some of the accounts if you want, they’ll eventually roll off. Just don’t keep opening new ones and closing old ones (that gets harder these days with ID theft and all).

3. I personally use several of my cards regularly and others I have not used in months (maybe years). I do know that a low balance-to-limit ratio is good and if you close accounts that, in affect, raises your ratio since your limit went down even though your balance did not go up. Run your balance-to-limit ratio here…

Http://creditcard.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Balance-To-Limit-Ratio

4. It’s always a good idea to check around for the lowest APR you can get.

5. 35% of your FICO score is based on paying all your bills on time. 30% is from Balance-to-Limit ratio. 15% is from the length of your credit history. 10% is from new accounts and recent “new” credit applications. And 10% is based on the mix of credit card and other loans.

Sounds you best chances for a higher FICO are improving the mix of credit card, retail cards and other loans plus getting some “new” credit like a retail card, but don’t get too much new credit all at once. Maybe you could request higher limits on some of your cards and get rid of some of the lower limit ones. That would keep your balance-to-limit ratio low while reducing the number of open accounts.

It’s all just a bit confusing. Good luck to you.