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I have freecreditreport.com and they are telling me one of the things negatively affecting my score was not having any credit cards open if I open one and pay it early will this help my score and how fast will increase?
Welcome to the forums Matt_spp!
A credit card will definately help your credit score but you probably won't see any huge boost in your score. I would say after having it open for atleast a year or two and you should see a significant rise in your credit score.
You could just use it for gas or something like that and just make sure that you pay it off every month. Most credit cards offer a grace period until your interest starts acrueing so if you pay your balance off every month right after getting your bill you will never have to pay any interest.
Another way of increasing your score is by having someone add you as a co-borrower on their credit card. Providing they have an excellent payment history with the credit lender of course. The benefit is that you get the history that has already been established with whoevers card it is. The card usually has a higher limit than what you would have as a new applicant starting a brand new account as well. The down side is that if they miss a payment or go into default with that card, you are personally liable along with the other primary account holder of that card. Another disadvantage could be that you may never be removed from that card unless the person whos card it is closes the account.
Hi Matt
It is true that if you open a new credit card and pay off the debt regularly, without making any late payments, your credit score will improve. But to open a new credit card, you need to have a good credit score, at least 650 and above. If you do not have such a score, you can go for secured credit cards, which you can get even if you do not have good credit score.
Yes, secured credit cards are easy to get because they are backed by your own money and you get the credit limit equal to the amount you deposit with the credit card company. You just need to make payments with the credit cards, (for example, pay your monthly utility bills) and repay them back within the interest free due date. Doing this you can build up a good credit history and can improve your credit score.
most local banks offer secured credit cards ,and if you have any problems it is real easy to go into your local bank and they should be able to answer any questions.
Yes, even with a low credit score or with no credit score, you can get a secured credit card because, these cards are backed by your own money and you get credit limit equal to the amount your deposit with the credit card company.