4 ms·

That does not match my experience at all, even before coming here. Credit cards, as far as I could see, are actually credit cards most of the time, and I have b

by anyfoo 6y ago

That does not match my experience at all, even before coming here. Credit cards, as far as I could see, are actually credit cards most of the time, and I have been explicitly told that I should start "building credit" by paying as much with a "real" credit card as possible. "Credit card bills" also seem to be a regular part of everyday conversation here, in sitcoms, on Twitter...

astura 6y ago
>I have been explicitly told that I should start "building credit" by paying as much with a "real" credit card as possible. You've been somewhat misinformed. You build credit by obtaining the credit line and just having it available for a long time, not by using it "as much as possible." Actually purchasing items with your credit card is not required.[1] In fact, "maxing out" your credit cards (when your bill closes using 85%+ of your limit) actually can reduce your score (but only for the month(s) your cards are "maxed out.") FICO scores aren't a black box, they publish exactly what they take into account - https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/whats-in-your-credit-score https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/whats-in-your-credit... [1] with the caveat that some credit card issuers will close dormant accounts after a couple years.
- Nextgrid 6y ago
  In the UK, there is no such thing as FICO. The "score" the credit bureaus tell you is completely made up and is designed to encourage you to check back regularly so you can see and "engage" with the "offers" (aka ads/spam) next to it. It will vary by a dozen points every month or so. Lenders get a raw copy of your report when you apply for credit, which contains things like credit account history (max limit, % of limit used, late payments if any, etc) and then run their own scoring algorithm on it. Those are black boxes. In the UK, getting a credit card and using it regularly seems to be the common advice for building credit, which makes sense considering the scoring algorithms themselves aren't public (and differ by lender).
- jbeam 6y ago
  >Actually purchasing items with your credit card is not required. Pretty sure you need to make at least a $0.01 purchase for the purpose of having a payment, otherwise you won't have a payment history.

by anyfoo 6y ago

astura 6y ago

>I have been explicitly told that I should start "building credit" by paying as much with a "real" credit card as possible. You've been somewhat misinformed. You build credit by obtaining the credit line and just having it available for a long time, not by using it "as much as possible." Actually purchasing items with your credit card is not required.[1] In fact, "maxing out" your credit cards (when your bill closes using 85%+ of your limit) actually can reduce your score (but only for the month(s) your cards are "maxed out.") FICO scores aren't a black box, they publish exactly what they take into account - https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/whats-in-your-credit-score https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/whats-in-your-credit... [1] with the caveat that some credit card issuers will close dormant accounts after a couple years.

Nextgrid 6y ago
In the UK, there is no such thing as FICO. The "score" the credit bureaus tell you is completely made up and is designed to encourage you to check back regularly so you can see and "engage" with the "offers" (aka ads/spam) next to it. It will vary by a dozen points every month or so. Lenders get a raw copy of your report when you apply for credit, which contains things like credit account history (max limit, % of limit used, late payments if any, etc) and then run their own scoring algorithm on it. Those are black boxes. In the UK, getting a credit card and using it regularly seems to be the common advice for building credit, which makes sense considering the scoring algorithms themselves aren't public (and differ by lender).
jbeam 6y ago
>Actually purchasing items with your credit card is not required. Pretty sure you need to make at least a $0.01 purchase for the purpose of having a payment, otherwise you won't have a payment history.