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You know credit score isn't the only thing used in a credit decision, right? On a credit application you are asked about assets, income, amount of rent you pay,

You know credit score isn't the only thing used in a credit decision, right? On a credit application you are asked about assets, income, amount of rent you pay, and account balances. Credit score is one of many pieces of information used in lending. Alternative credit scores are starting to come on the market for people who pay bills on time but may not otherwise have a traditional credit history but they are pretty experimental still. There's different algorithms too. The current one used most often is FICO 8 but there's a LOT more. Each lender has their target borrower too. Some lenders are what is called subprime lenders meaning they lend to people with low or limited credit histories. Debit card use makes no sense and is irrelevant.

ThomPete 10y ago
Debit card usage is not going to be fundamentally different than your debit card usage. So yes it makes plenty sense as it could show something about your general ability to stay financially healthy. You are asked about assets, income etc. but those things have very little effect on whether you get a credit card or not.
- nommm-nommm 10y ago
  This makes absolutely no sense. You are using your own money when you swipe your debit card. You are using someone else's money when you swipe your credit card and you pinky swear you'll pay it back later. You can't go into debt using a debit card because you are spending your own money you already have.
  - ThomPete 10y ago
    You can gauge into peoples financial responsibility simply by looking at how much they manage to save, how often they hit zero or almost zero on their account etc. These are much better indicators of your ability to handle money than spending money and paying it back to build credit history. Again it works in other countries and so of course it can too in the US.
- mikeash 10y ago
  There are two basic scenarios that credit card companies want to avoid with their customers. There's the scenario where the customer buys a bunch of stuff they can't afford and then can't pay their bill, and there's the scenario where the customer can pay their bill but just doesn't feel like it. Both scenarios are fundamentally impossible with a debit card, so I really don't see how there's any relevance here. It's not the purchasing end that they're interested in, it's the paying-it-back part.
  - ThomPete 10y ago
    You are way too tied up on the credit vs. debit part. Thats not really important here. You are not suddenly going to become financially irresponsible just because you get credit and yes you can determine someones financial responsibility by looking at their debit card usage that is why you can actually convince someone if you get rejected to look at your case again to show them additional information. This is why you can get a credit card in citibank if you have 25K in your savings account for 3 months straight and so on.
    - mikeash 10y ago
      And you're not nearly tied up enough on the credit vs debit part. The whole point of a credit report is to determine your suitability for credit, which is something that simply doesn't apply to a debit card. A ton of people suddenly become financially irresponsible just because they get a credit card. It's a massive problem, and that's why companies want to see some history. Being responsible with a debit card where there are hard limits on how irresponsible you can be doesn't mean a whole lot for how you'll be with a credit card.
      - ThomPete 10y ago
        Yes I am aware of what the point is. What I am telling you is that it's not necessary which is witnessed by other countries who have no problem not using credit history to give people credit. The problem with people using the credit card lies as much in the incentive structure of getting points, building credit etc. And it's obviously speaking against your claim that so many american have issues with their credit cards given that the very test your claim is necessary is failing on so many. So no I understand the balance pretty well.

ThomPete 10y ago

Debit card usage is not going to be fundamentally different than your debit card usage. So yes it makes plenty sense as it could show something about your general ability to stay financially healthy. You are asked about assets, income etc. but those things have very little effect on whether you get a credit card or not.

nommm-nommm 10y ago
This makes absolutely no sense. You are using your own money when you swipe your debit card. You are using someone else's money when you swipe your credit card and you pinky swear you'll pay it back later. You can't go into debt using a debit card because you are spending your own money you already have.
- ThomPete 10y ago
  You can gauge into peoples financial responsibility simply by looking at how much they manage to save, how often they hit zero or almost zero on their account etc. These are much better indicators of your ability to handle money than spending money and paying it back to build credit history. Again it works in other countries and so of course it can too in the US.
mikeash 10y ago
There are two basic scenarios that credit card companies want to avoid with their customers. There's the scenario where the customer buys a bunch of stuff they can't afford and then can't pay their bill, and there's the scenario where the customer can pay their bill but just doesn't feel like it. Both scenarios are fundamentally impossible with a debit card, so I really don't see how there's any relevance here. It's not the purchasing end that they're interested in, it's the paying-it-back part.
- ThomPete 10y ago
  You are way too tied up on the credit vs. debit part. Thats not really important here. You are not suddenly going to become financially irresponsible just because you get credit and yes you can determine someones financial responsibility by looking at their debit card usage that is why you can actually convince someone if you get rejected to look at your case again to show them additional information. This is why you can get a credit card in citibank if you have 25K in your savings account for 3 months straight and so on.
  - mikeash 10y ago
    And you're not nearly tied up enough on the credit vs debit part. The whole point of a credit report is to determine your suitability for credit, which is something that simply doesn't apply to a debit card. A ton of people suddenly become financially irresponsible just because they get a credit card. It's a massive problem, and that's why companies want to see some history. Being responsible with a debit card where there are hard limits on how irresponsible you can be doesn't mean a whole lot for how you'll be with a credit card.
    - ThomPete 10y ago
      Yes I am aware of what the point is. What I am telling you is that it's not necessary which is witnessed by other countries who have no problem not using credit history to give people credit. The problem with people using the credit card lies as much in the incentive structure of getting points, building credit etc. And it's obviously speaking against your claim that so many american have issues with their credit cards given that the very test your claim is necessary is failing on so many. So no I understand the balance pretty well.