• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Money Management
    • Debt Reduction
    • Credit
    • Mortgages
    • Mutual Funds
    • Tax Strategies
    • Loans
  • Budgets
    • Saving Money
    • Income
  • Banking
    • Checking Accounts
    • Check Writing
    • Fraud
    • History
  • Entrepreneurs
    • Entrepreneur Interviews
    • Money Making Ideas
    • 3D Printing
  • Resources
  • Retirement
  • About
    • Privacy Policy

Personal Finance Blog

Tips And Stories To Help You With Managing Money

  • Privacy Policy
  • Saving Money In 2018
You are here: Home / Money Management / Credit / Credit Cards Help Build Your Credit

Credit Cards Help Build Your Credit

February 12, 2015 By Twila Van Leer

Younger people need to understand how having a few credit cards can serve them well.
Younger people need to understand how having a few credit cards can serve them well.
More people are opting not to have a credit card. Studies show that 63 percent of those is the Millennial group (ages 18-29) don’t have a card. Thirty-five percent of those over 30 ditto, according to Bankrate.com.

Lacking plastic can, in fact, simplify your finances, but it also can cause complications in your financial dealings. Such things as renting cars or checking into hotels these days are based on credit cards. One leading hotel chain has put a $700 hold on a customer’s debit card if he can’t produce a credit card.

While it’s possible to build credit without one, it’s easier with one. Especially young people who don’t yet have mortgages and car loans can find it tough to build credit. That can make it difficult when it comes time to secure a loan. If the only thing on your credit history is a student loan, you may find slow sailing.

Credit scores are based on five categories: payment history (35 percent); amounts owed (30 percent); mix of accounts (10 percent); new credit (10 percent); and length of credit history (15 percent.) A credit card can impact the first three of these categories, affecting 75 percent of your overall score. At least one active account that has been reported for six months or more is necessary to generate a report at all.

A credit card does not inevitably mean interest payments. And you needn’t pay hefty fees. A secured credit card allows you to put down a deposit, which will be returned when the account is closed. Transactions of these cards are reported to the credit bureaus the same as with standard cards.

Paying off a card each month or in the “grace period for purchases” avoids interest and fees. The credit card companies make their money on those who carry balances, especially very large balances.

Capitol One, Wells Fargo and Bank of America are among those institutions that offer secure cards. Inquire at your own bank or credit union to see if you can take advantage of that option.

If you dislike the idea of any amount of debt, use your credit card for a minimal purchase, such as lunch, just once a month. Then pay it off and you reap the benefit of a good credit rating. If you use the card to purchase an item for which you could have paid cash, the same benefit applies. But you’ll notice the difference when it comes time to make a major purchase.

Related Posts

  • Credit Card Or Debit Card? It All Depends

    It’s one of the questions that enters into discussion whenever issues of personal finance come…

  • Effective Use of Credit Cards

    Credit cards may be one of the most innovative and helpful inventions in the modern…

  • Liability Shift In Credit Card Fraud

    Due to massive losses that have occurred through large-scale credit card data breaches, there will…

Filed Under: Credit Tagged With: credit cards

Primary Sidebar

Personal Finance Articles

  • Make Saving A Priority
  • Review Your Home-Insurance Risks
  • Lowest Air Fare? Try August 28
  • Hackers Targeting Bitcoins
  • Keep Your Emergency Fund Intact

Save At Walmart

Search

Personal Finance Education

Investing Education from Morningstar.

As Seen On Intuit

Intuit.com has ranked Coolchecks.net #4 out of 10 of the best blogs to help you save money. We hope to help you become more aware of your own financial situation and strive to improve it.

Featured On Mint.com – July 2014

Mint Interview

Categories

  • Banking
    • Check Writing
    • Checking Accounts
    • Credit Cards
    • EMV Cards
    • Fees
    • Fraud
    • History
    • Student Loans
  • Best Of The Web
  • Budgets
    • Emergency Fund
    • Grocery Shopping
    • Saving Money
    • Spending Habits
  • Business
    • 3D Printing
    • Bankruptcy
    • Business Advertising
    • Business Development
    • Business Plans
    • Corportate Lessons
    • Data Mining
    • Legal Issues
    • Merchants
    • SEC
    • Security
    • Small Business Startups
  • Consumer Alerts
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Cutting Costs
  • Employment
    • best places to work
    • Careers
    • Interviews
    • Job Search
    • Top CEOs
    • Wages
  • Entrepreneurs
    • Attitudes
    • Entrepreneur Interviews
  • Featured
  • Finance
    • Automobiles
    • Credit Ratings
    • Education
    • Financial Planners
    • Foreclosures
    • Homes
    • Insurance
    • Investing
    • Mortgages
    • Personal Finance
    • Renting
    • Term Deposits
    • Travel
    • Work
  • Fraud
  • Government
  • Holidays
    • Christmas
    • Halloween
  • Internet
    • Bitcoin
    • Blogging Tips
    • Blogs, RSS and Podcasting
    • Databases
    • Facebook
    • Influence
    • marketing
    • Twitter
    • Website Reviews
    • WordPress
      • Key Words
  • Investing Basics
    • Hedge Funds
    • Investing
    • Mutual Funds
  • Life
    • Aging
    • Just For Fun
      • Punahou Alumni Corner
    • Millennials
    • Personal Health
  • Money Making Ideas
    • Affiliate Programs
    • Craigslist
    • Ebay
  • Money Management
    • Bankruptcies
    • Building Wealth
    • Child Care Costs
    • Christmas Shopping
    • Credit
      • Free Credit Report
    • Debit Cards
    • Debt
    • Debt Reduction
    • Health Insurance
    • Income
    • Inheritance
    • Interest Rates
    • Loans
    • Mortgages
    • New Years Resolutions
    • Retirement
    • Shopping Tips
    • Tax Strategies
    • Your Stories
  • Retirement
  • Self Improvement
    • Time Management
    • Work Habits
  • Shopping
    • Coupons
    • Online Shopping
  • Social Security
  • Tax Tips
  • Taxes
  • Technology
  • Trade
  • Uncategorized
  • Wealth

Best of Personal Finance Blogs

Best of BuyerZone Business Finance Blog Recipient

Personal Finance Sites We Recommend

Get personal finance advice from the people behind the top money blogs, including Wise Bread, The Simple Dollar, Mint and Nerd Wallet.

Copyright © 2025 ·Metro Pro · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress · Log in