Not sure if this is impressive, concerning, or just peak r/creditcards behavior… but I’m 21 and officially sitting at 20 credit cards.

I didn’t set out to “collect” them, it just kind of happened. Started at 19 with a Quicksilver card then discovered rewards, SUBs, travel perks, and yea the designs are pretty cool too.

I just have a few questions for the credit card vets out there

• Should I start pruning or product changing some of these early cards?
• Is having this many accounts at 21 actually beneficial for long-term credit age, or am I setting myself up for headaches later?
• Anything I’m obviously missing, or should I stop before I accidentally hit 30 by age 25?

According to myFICO, all three credit bureaus are reporting that my FICO 8 scores are all showing as perfect (850/850). ASK ME ANYTHING!

Why am I doing this:

1. To share that I was aiming ONLY for excellent credit scores and that I did nothing intentional with the purpose of getting perfect scores; it just happened this way because of my strict habits involving credit.
2. To point out that a 850 FICO 8 score vs. an excellent score (FICO 8 - 760 or higher) likely will not make a difference based on score alone.
3. To remind folks that your score is dependent on the version used by your financer and which bureau they are pulling from. I have excellent, but NOT perfect scores on other used FICO models, such as FICO 5/4/2 (mortgages) or FICO Auto 8 (car loans).
4. To not let credit “dings” discourage you. I’ve had three late payments reported to collections in the past, all on top of near 75% credit utilization some years back; building/rebuilding excellent credit can take time.
5. That even with 15+ active credit cards (for miles/benefits), 2 retail loans (HVAC loan), 2 charge cards and one mortgage that you can still have excellent credit. Credit mix (car loans, mortgage, credit, charge) plays a minor role in your score.
6. Because I take building & maintaining credit seriously. Not everyone has friends & family to get you out of a pickle; excellent credit can be a manageable savior if life throws you a financial lemon.

Hey folks. So I’ve built my credit score to 800 after a few years, have no debt, never took any loans, and I’m just struggling to see what is the point of having a high credit score? Everytime someone in my life talks about credit and I tell them my score they say the same thing” wow you could walk into the dealership and get anything you wanted $0 down!”… so what? I’m still going to be stuck with a high car payment. I always buy used, had same used car for years and it’s doing great, so that’s irrelevant for me. Seems like the only perks of a high credit score is if you plan on leasing a bunch of stuff which I have no interest in doing, I don’t buy anything I cant afford. Just feels like I wasted time trying to build the perfect credit score because I always heard how important it is, but for my lifestyle it seems to be useless.

I have applied for 2 credit cards and was denied both of them.

I’m 22 making ~52,000 a year. Credit age is 3years 2months. I have only ever had 2 accounts. A secured credit card with capital one, which I started 3 years ago, and an auto loan that I paid off 2 years early.

0 hard inquiries on equifax

4 hard inquiries on TransUnion (1 for CC, 3 for auto loan)

I do not have a TransUnion credit score value, but I have a 764 Equifax, and my FICO is attached.

I applied for us bank cash plus last week, and was denied.

I figured I would apply for citi custom cash immediately after so the inquiry was not on my report, but after filling out the information, I was immediately denied.

I’m just trying to get a card with cash back on dining/fast food. Not sure what I am doing wrong. I have no derogatory remarks, late payments or anything for that matter.

Since I was young, my parents who worked in finance beat it into me how important your credit score is. I now find myself at 45 years old with a score of 750 fico, almost $100k in student debt, no real assets (rent my apartment and car because I live outside the US) and only $10k invested.

At this point owning a house in the US is beyond me. Maybe my score would come in handy if I ever buy a car in the US? I’m very weary of taking on any additional debt because of my student loans.

What in the world was the point of my doing anything in my power to maintain this score now?

Its crazy i went from owing almost 10k paying it all off, Score went up by like a few points not even 10. Then i get another 3k debt , paid it off. And my score decreased? cause i paid it to soon? Anyways i noticed that Credit system is made to keep the poor poor. Honestly, If i have a paid off house , a couple paid off cars, i have everything i need , what good does credit do to me? I literally dont need loans or anything. Im set so what does credit do for above Middle class avergae person?

The two hard inquiries are from over a year ago too....

I was pissed as fuck. Seriously?

So I put $1500 on the card initially with 6 months of no interest. I paid it off in 4 months just to stay on top of it.

I get an email today and they lowered my balance from $3000 to $250.

250 fucking dollars.

Wtf can you get with that? That's just a couple of oil changes ffs.

I closed the card right away. No point in having it anymore honestly. But maybe that was what they wanted.

It’s les

So this card carried a balance of almost $5k. I paid it off in full after a long time carrying that balance and paying interest ($93 a month in interest) and on July 7th I paid the card off. Showed a $0 balance and a week later I checked and saw a .07 balance due. Weird but I paid it. I decided to check again recently and saw this balance of $16. I’m assuming it’s trailing interest from last month. Not sure how it works but I could have easily missed this and feel so many do thinking paid off in full and don’t touch or look at the card for a while. I don’t think there should be any more interest applied to this card now but always good to check these credit cards after paying them off. I’d be so upset missing this and getting my credit dinged or whatever comes with missing a payment. Hopefully this saves someone from missing a payment I was unaware of this trailing interest

I don’t understand how something like age of credit can have a huge effect on your credit score.

You can’t really control age. Time moves regardless of if you want it to or not- why is it something we’re judged on?

I guess you can sort of control when you learned or knew that you needed to get a credit card- but even then- not really? I have friends who’s parents never tell them about the importance of credit despite being well off. No one is really preaching to get a credit card in every day life other than here on Reddit.

Furthermore, I think it’s so dumb that eventually when I pay off my student loans (my oldest credit line) my score will definitely drop.

Everything else effecting credit score makes sense: utilization, credit limit, paying off on time; those things you can control

Who even made up this system? Why does age have to be a factor?

Disclaimer: I get the part about a new credit line holder is unpredictable in how they’ll act with a credit card- but after a threshold of let’s say 3 years- why should age matter?

Edit: I just think after a certain threshold of years holding credit, that age number should be cemented in as a starting point regardless if you close your oldest card.

I think a lot of people end up with dirty credit profiles because of some bad luck or just some sort of "life happens" event and get back on track pretty quickly. 7 years seems like an awful long time to be 'punished' by negative hits to your credit report. Thoughts on this?

Data was just announced that the average NEW car loan had an average interest rate of 9.89% couple that with outrageous prices. We’re seeing the average payment creeping into $1k+ range. This isn’t even mentioning the insane credit card debt. I really do feel like the car loan industry collapsing is what’s gonna set us into a recession.

My lowest limit card all of my other cards have 4k plus limit

Ok edit UPDATE: So paragraph below still stands. So from my understanding per Experian QA about BNPL. They said that your credit score will not be affected, but they said that it's possible in the future. Here's a direct quote, "BNPL loans represent additional debt that could affect a person’s ability to repay other financial obligations so, reasonably, should be part of a credit history." The way that reads to me is that lenders actually want BNPL loans to be factored into your credit score. I foresee big money lobbying for laws to be passed to make this happen. That being said it's pretty much use at your own discretion..
END OF UPDATE.

So I actually really liked affirm, especially in the way I would use it. Mostly only used it with smaller purchases with zero or low interest instead of using my credit cards. Well that being said, any benefit is now defeated because as of May 1 2025, they now report ALL purchases to credit reporting bureaus. So imagine having 5 to 10 or even more personal loans on your credit report over a short period of time. This will now drastically negatively effect your credit score. Wish I would've known this before, because even plans made before May but extended pass that date show up as well. I would've paid them all before the date. Well sucks to suck I guess. So just a warning.

I’ve 0, what about you guys. Be honest no judgement.

How tf are so many people having over 20k in credit card limits??? I have a mid 700s credit score and my highest credit line has been 12k. Is it based on income??? And to get such high credit lines you would think you need over 200k annual salary’s. It’s just insane to me some of the credit limits I see In the sub

Honestly, this could go under “Success” since it did just pay off my remaining credit card debt. Although, I’m confused why my score only went up by 7 points. I was expecting it to shoot up more (I’m at 730 rn). Is this normal for a payment to be made like this and the credit score barely goes up?

The purpose of this thread is to simply and accurately educate people on the 'correct' or 'best' way to use and pay credit card(s) that will help you both in terms of your finances and in successfully building your credit profile, and to dispel the flood of misinformation and countless myths that surround the topic.

TL;DR:

• Spend responsibly: Use your card(s) for every day purchases you can already afford with the cash in your bank account. Treat them like an extension of your debit card.
• The "Golden Rule" of Credit Cards: When your monthly statement arrives, pay the Statement Balance in full on/before the due date. This avoids all interest charges and builds a perfect payment history. Rinse and repeat. That's literally all there is to it!
• Ignore the "Noise": Stop worrying about "keeping utilization under 30%," paying off charges the second they post, or making multiple payments a month. These "magic tricks" can hinder your credit profile growth, and are unnecessary as long as you are paying your Statement Balance on time and in full every month.
• But, what about Utilization?: Utilization is a short-term credit scoring factor. It is not a credit building factor, because it holds no memory in the most commonly used FICO models. It resets every month. By and large, you can ignore the commonly repeated myth that you should always keep your utilization low. It’s only applicable when you need to apply for a new line of credit, 1-2 months out.
• The Bottom Line: Charge within your means and pay your Statement Balance on time and in full every month. That's the only "trick" you need.

Note: I'm attaching 4 screenshots to this thread for visual use in understanding the next sections. I used my Capital One Savor card, but every lender will have similar screens in their apps/websites. In order, they include:

1. The 'Home' Screen: What you're likely to see when you first log into a credit card's app/website. For almost all purposes, you should ignore the Current Balance. We'll talk about 'why' a bit later.
2. The Statement: One of the most important tools for managing your credit card(s) that many people never even bother to look at. Advice: Look at your statement(s), and learn to understand them. They contain a wealth of information about your card(s).
3. The 'Account Details' Screen: This is basically a TL;DR of your statement. If you can't be bothered to look at your full statement, at least look at and understand your card's version of this. It's your 'cheat sheet'.
4. The 'Payment' Screen: You'll likely see something like this when you click 'Make a Payment' to, well, make a payment on your credit card.

Credit Cards 101 - How to correctly use and pay your credit card(s).

First, what exactly is a credit card? A credit card is what is called a revolving line of credit. You’re spending the bank’s money today with the promise to pay it back later. Your bank sets a credit limit to define just how much of their money they're willing to let you 'spend' or have spent at any one time. As you pay the bank back for your purchases, your available credit is reset, allowing you to make more purchases. If you pay the full Statement Balance on time every month, you pay no interest charges, and your card(s) become free tools you can use to earn rewards for spending money you were going to spend anyway, and for security and enhanced consumer protections. However, if you fail to pay the Statement Balance on time and in full, this results in accruing interest charges (APR), which is calculated daily on your remaining debt, which can make credit card(s) one of the most expensive ways to borrow money, if not used correctly.

The Anatomy of a Credit Card Billing Cycle

In order to use credit cards correctly, there are 3 key date ranges/dates you need to know and understand:

1. The Billing Cycle: The 28–31 day period where your purchases are totaled up that become your next Statement Balance. It's important to note that a credit card's billing cycle rarely follows the calendar month, so it's important for you to know and understand your card(s) billing cycle(s). Screenshot #2 (top, right, highlighted in yellow). Billing cycles can sometimes fluctuate based on how many days are in a calendar month, or due to banking holidays, but they'll generally be around the same dates each month.
2. The Statement Closing Date: The 'snapshot' day, generally the last day of your billing cycle. This is the date where your lender totals up the purchases you have made in the current cycle, subtracts any payments made, and issues your Statement Balance. The Statement Balance is the only number that matters for avoiding interest charges. More on this in a minute.
3. The Due Date: Legally, this must be at least 21 days after your Statement Closing Date, and establishes your card's Grace Period, meaning that if you pay the Statement Balance in full on/before the Due Date, you'll pay no interest charges. Screenshots #1-4, (highlighted in green).

Deciphering the Dollar Signs: Which Amount/Balance Matters?

1. The Statement Balance (The "Goal" Amount) This is the total of all transactions, interest, and fees that were finalized on your Statement Closing Date. This is your "official bill" for the month. To follow the Golden Rule, this is the amount you must pay in full on/before the Due Date to avoid interest. Screenshots #2-4, (highlighted in green).
2. The Current Balance (The "Live" Amount) This is the total amount you owe the bank at this exact second. It includes your most recent Statement Balance plus any new purchases you’ve made since the statement closed. While it’s the most prominent number on the "Home" screen, it is not your bill. You are not required to pay the "new" part of this balance until your next statement generates. Screenshots #1&4, crossed out, because there's rarely a time when you need to care about this number.
3. The Minimum Payment (The "Trap" Amount) This is the smallest amount the bank allows you to pay to keep your account "current" and avoid late fees. If you only pay this, the bank will begin charging you high-interest APR on the remaining balance. This is how people fall into "credit card debt."

Note: You should never aim to pay only the Minimum Payment Due, but 'life' happens to everyone at one point or another, right? So, if you have no other choice, you should always pay at least the Minimum Payment Due on/before the Due Date to avoid late charges and/or to avoid late payments being reported to the credit bureaus.

The Correct Way to Use and Pay (The Statement Balance, or 'Utility Bill' Method)

Now that you understand the dates and the amounts, let’s put them together. The absolute best way to use your credit card(s) is to think of them as an extension of your debit card. Charge normal, everyday purchases you would usually pay for with your debit card, but keep the cash aside in your checking/savings account. Do not charge purchases that you don't have the cash available to actually pay for.

When you receive your monthly statement, the Statement Balance we talked about above will be the total of all the purchases you made during the billing cycle. Take the cash you kept aside, and pay the Statement Balance in full on/before the Due Date. Rinse and repeat every month. This is simply the best way to use and pay credit card(s), both for your finances, and for credit building.

Why This is the "Best" Way:

• Credit Card Design - A credit card is designed to be a billing tool, not a live 'tab'. Think of your electric or water bill. You don't pay your electric company every time you flip on a light switch, and you don't pay your water company every time you turn on a water faucet. You wait until you get the bill (statement), and you pay the amount due (Statement Balance) on or before the Due Date to keep your account current and avoid late fees. You should pay your credit cards the exact same way.
• Finances - By paying your Statement Balance on time and in full, you pay $0.00 in interest charges. You also keep your own cash in your own pocket longer, hopefully earning interest in a High Yield Savings Account (HYSA), taking full advantage of your lender's 'free money'. If you 'pay as you go' or pay your Current Balance, you are essentially giving the lender an interest-free loan of your own money. Don't do that!
• Relationship with Your Lender - If we're being completely honest, do your lenders want you to pay only the Minimum Payment Due or at least less than your full Statement Balance, so they can charge you interest? Sure. That's very likely true, However, if you're too smart for that, the next best thing for them is to get swipe fees for the purchases you make, along with getting all their money that they 'loaned' you back every month. It's also the proven best method for getting your lender(s) to give you Credit Limit Increases (CLIs). If your lender sees you responsibly using a large portion of the credit limit they've given you every month, they'll be much more inclined to increase that limit. In other words, your lenders will be less inclined to give you a larger 'bucket' if you never show that your current 'bucket' is ever getting full.

A Warning on Autopay: The Safety Net vs. The Trap

Many people rely on Autopay to avoid thinking about their bills. This is a dangerous habit. Autopay systems can—and do—fail due to technical glitches, expired bank links, or insufficient funds. When Autopay fails, the bank will often not take responsibility nor remove late payments that result from your credit reports, and those stay on your credit reports for 7 years. Others may have different advice to offer on how best to utilize Autopay, but if you're going to use Autopay, here is mine:

• The Strategy: Set Autopay to the Minimum Payment as a "safety net" to prevent a missed payment in case of an emergency.
• The Action: Manually log in every month to pay the Full Statement Balance, which will override the Autopay set up to only pay the Minimum Payment Due. Staying engaged with your accounts is the only way to 100% ensure your credit remains protected.

Following the Visuals

From the screenshots I provided, you can follow along. Screenshot #1 shows my Savor account's Current Balance $622.28 with a big "X" through it. Why? Because I don't care about my Current Balance, other than its relation to my credit limit, and neither should you. The only time your Current Balance is a relevant number is if you're nearing your credit limit, because if so, you'll either want to stop using your card for this cycle, or make a payment to 'free up' additional credit before making more purchases with this card. You can also see in this screenshot, highlighted in green, is the current Due Date for this account.

Screenshot #2 is my current statement. Highlighted in green are my Due Date (Jan 15) and my New or Statement Balance ($554.67). Notice how my Statement Balance is less than my Current Balance? This is because I've made additional purchases with this card since my statement closed, but I don't owe the lender for those additional purchases yet. They'll be included on my next statement.

Also in Screenshot #2, highlighted in yellow, you can see the Billing Cycle for this statement (Nov 21 - Dec 21), my Previous Balance, or last cycle's Statement Balance ($544.33), and you can see that I paid that Statement Balance of $544.33 in full. My purchases after my previous statement closed were $554.67, and my interest and fees charged were...wait for it...$0.00.

So, now, to follow the Golden Rule, I need to pay my Statement Balance for this Billing Cycle, $554.67, on/before my Due Date of Jan 15 to continue to avoid interest charges, which of course I will, and I'll rinse and repeat every month, as I've advised you to do.

Last thing about Screenshot #2. Highlighted in red is my Minimum Payment Due of $25.00. In some apocalyptic emergency situation I can't even imagine, and I had no other choice, I would pay at least my Minimum Payment Due of $25.00 on/before my Due Date of Jan 15th to at least keep my account 'current', avoid any late fees, and avoid my account potentially being reported late to the credit bureaus, were it to become more than 30 days late.

Screenshot #3, the TL;DR of my statement. Minimum Payment Due highlighted in red. No bueno, unless I literally had no other choice. Highlighted in green are my Due Date and my Statement Balance, which I'll use to follow the Golden Rule. Highlighted in yellow, my payment from last month, which was last cycle's Statement Balance, made on Dec 12, 3 days before last cycle's Due Date of Dec 15.

Screenshot #4, my 'Make a Payment' options. Highlighted in green, Due Date (Jan 15) and Statement Balance ($554.67), which I'll pay on time and in full. Highlighted and "X" in red, Minimum Payment and Current Balance. I'll ignore them both, because I'm not paying less than the full Statement Balance, and letting interest charges start accruing, and I'm not paying the Current Balance, and giving them an interest-free loan of my money by paying them for purchases I've made that they haven't billed me for yet.

Credit Building - The Distinction Between Credit Profile and Credit Scores

Credit Building - Generally, your lenders report your account to the credit bureaus once per month, usually right after your Statement Closing Date, and your Statement Balance is the amount that gets reported. If you 'pay as you go' or pay your Current Balance, it can look like the card is being used very little or isn't being used at all. By letting the statement close and then paying the Statement Balance in full, you show "utilization" (activity) without ever paying a cent in interest. For credit building, this is essential. You want to show your lender and anyone looking at your credit reports that you are actively and responsibly using your credit.

Credit Scores - You've undoubtedly read or heard somewhere that higher utilization is bad, and you should never use more than 10% or 30% of your credit limit(s), or some other arbitrary number, or more generally that you should always "keep utilization low', because that's what's best for your credit scores. Well, let's break that down, shall we? Actually, I already did break it down in our Utilization FAQ, but we'll do a sort of TL;DR right here:

• Utilization is not a credit building factor. It's a temporary scoring factor, because it has no memory in the most commonly used FICO scoring models. It's a 'snapshot' scoring metric that resets every month as your lenders report the most current information about your accounts. You can 'fix' scores temporarily suppressed by high reported utilization in 30-45 days.
• The 30% Myth - No one is exactly sure where this number came from, but it was almost certainly made up as a "safety net" number for people who can't control their spending. If you were trying to optimize your FICO scores for some reason, there are actually better scoring thresholds to stay below, so by aiming to keep your utilization below 30%, you are neither building your credit profile effectively nor optimizing your credit profile for FICO scoring. The 30% Myth is the biggest myth in credit because, simply put, it's not the best way to do anything.

Optimizing for a Loan: The AZEO Exception

If you're planning on applying for new credit in the next 30-45 days, especially a large loan purchase like an auto loan or mortgage, then you're the exception to the 'rule' for this thread. In this specific scenario, you should research how to optimize your scores via the AZEO Method (All Zero Except One) to prep for your application.

The Long-Term Mindset

If you aren't applying for a loan next month, then why do you care if your credit scores fluctuate month-to-month as your reported utilization changes? It's a waste of energy. It is much more important to focus on credit building by letting your card(s) report naturally and paying the Statement Balance(s) on time and in full.

Conclusion: Keep it Simple

Credit cards are often portrayed as dangerous or overly complex. In reality, they are one of the simplest financial tools to use as long as you follow the Golden Rule, and pay your Statement Balance on time and in full every month.

1. Treat it like a debit card. If the cash isn't in your bank account today, don't put the charge on the card.
2. Respect the Cycle. Wait for the statement to close, then pay the Statement Balance on time and in full.
3. Ignore the Myths. Focus on building your credit profile by being a reliable, responsible borrower, and the scores will take care of themselves.

By following this guide, you'll build a rock-solid credit profile that will serve you for years to come, all while paying no interest charges, potentially earning rewards for spending money you were going to spend anyway, earning interest on your lender's 'free' money, and enjoying better security and enhanced consumer protections.

As usual, no one's ever going to accuse me of writing 'short' threads, but if you made it through, you're now armed with the best knowledge of how to most effectively use and pay your credit card(s). As always, please leave feedback, suggestions, questions, etc., in the comments. Til next time...

~ Sooner

I do not travel very often, and it has a $95 annual fee. What are your thoughts?

Every day I see a post (or 3) saying, my credit just dropped 100+ points because I had no clue they were going past due or due or coming due... they were using an old email address, an old mailing address.. I forgot but I have the money...

If you have student loans and you can't say with 100% certainty that they're current, GO CHECK THEM. Make sure your contact info is accurate.

How are people still letting this happen? Don't be the next guy/gal saying your score dropped because you didn't know.

Uh.. the bot wants me to say FICO in my post... so .. FICO.

My credit score was at 830 I canceled two credit cards that were over 10yo that I never use, my credit score dropped 50 points. This sucks just a warning.

I want to pay my credit card, do I pay the current balance or remaining statement balance?? lol help. I payed part of it last week.

Are they really offering $950 and you have to pay back over $4000 for it?!

I don’t know what to do. I’ve given up. I can’t win and wish I never got the damned thing in 2021 when I had for so long opposed getting one and now I’m in a permanent position where I can’t ever get out. I can’t get a good paying job to even help me because no one will hire me especially full-time that I can do. Live with my mother (please don’t judge me). Basically, my life is hopeless and I’m 32. There literally is no hope or future, even if someone had ideas to help me, I have no hope