Can you use a credit card to build your credit score?
If you use and manage a credit card responsibly, it could help to boost your credit score.
How can credit cards improve your credit score?
Using a credit card and making regular payments, shows you can manage credit responsibly.
How a credit card could lower your credit score
If you don’t manage credit carefully, or you carry high debit balances, it could impact your credit score.
Lots of things affect your credit score
How you use and manage a credit card is just one thing which could influence your credit score.
Other factors include whether or not you’re on the electoral register, how often you move and change addresses, how well you manage household bills, and even the credit history of someone you have joint accounts with.
A summary on using credit cards to boost your credit score
There’s no simple answer, but using a credit card responsibly can help to improve your credit score.
- A good credit score boosts your chances of being accepted for credit when you need it.
- When using a credit card, limit your spending and always make payments on time.
- High debit balances, missed or late payments, going over any agreed credit limit and full credit applications could all damage your credit score.
- Lots of factors can influence your credit score, in addition to managing a credit card well.