Credit thread

self-bump

Use the credit card in place of your debit card for unavoidable monthly purchases (gas, groceries, etc.) Pay the balance off on/before the monthly due date as you're doing. Never under any circumstance (unless it's absolutley necessary) should you spend more than you can afford to pay off completely before the due date. Stick to this plan, and you'll maintain a strong credit history. You'll also reap the benefits of your card's rewards, which is a nice little incentive.

You can also help your credit building by proving that you can maintain a set of payments on a term loan. The most common example would be for a car. Maintaining a good credit score through your responsible credit card utilization will help you secure a decent interest rate on whatever loan you might consider. Meet the minimum payments until the end of your term, and you'll see your credit score impacted positively.

Good luck.

>>1448038
1 year into my credit journey
>Car lease
>Chase Freedom $4k limit
>Pre-approved (and being sent) for Chase Slate with $9,800 limit
>No missed payments

Chase Slate yet to arrive, but it's already in my online banking and I can check my score for the first time since migrating
>731

Negatives appear to be
>7 credit pulls in the past year - 2 x rentals, 1 x car lease, 2 x cc's, the other 2 must be utilities or something (3 or less is 'good')
>12 months history (10 years is 'good')

Positives appear to be
>0% utilization
>no delinquencies

Overall, surprised to be in the 730's after just 1 year of being in USA. It would be easy for people who grow up in USA to be at 800 before finishing college.

>>1448089
>Just remembered 1 credit pull would be when I complained about my Chase Freedom $800 limit and asked for an increase. They obliged me with $2,000, but then a few months later they doubled the limit anyway

Another negative
>Only 2 'accounts' (the car lease and Chase Freedom) - 3 is viewed as 'better' and I assume when my report updates to reflect the Chase Slate it'll bump up a bit

>tfw want to check score but afraid
What site do you guys use?

>>1448099
CreditKarma.com

Discover also has a free service, won't hurt your credit score, don't need a Discover account.

>>1448095
It's better to have more credit products than less. But with every new product makes the average age of your credit history less, which can hurt your score overall.

Sounds like you're established pretty well for the time being. I would suggest using your Chase Freedom for typical purchases you intend to pay off for the rewards incentive, and keep the Slate available for emergencies or balance transfer needs. Try not to open any new accounts for the time being so you can expand on the age of your credit history.

>>1448099
Most banks will offer a free credit score to users who have signed up for online banking. Creditkarma is free, but the scores are a little exagerated.

>>1448099
Discover gives you a FICO score without requiring you have a card with them, which should be more accurate than your Credit Karma score but they should be pretty close either way.

>>1448099
>tfw the government recommend site wants my social
:_;

>>1448109
I'm going to buy a new laptop with Slate for between $1.2K and $2k (20% utilisation) and maintain that balance for a few months since it's 0% and there'll be no urgency to repay. Free money etc.

That's all I plan on doing with it other than making regular use of the free FICO score.

Freedom will continue to be the only card in my wallet.

In 12-18 months when the Slate stops being 0% interest I'll apply for a Discover or whatever I happen to receive pre-approval for

I'll also have my wife add me to one of her cards that are 10+ years old. Still need to get around to doing that but I don't need credit for anything... it's just fun to play the American game