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Five tips to maintaining your credit score when using your credit cards

Using a credit card can actually improve your credit score. Find out how today.

17 November 2020Lloyd Smith 2 min read
How do credit cards work? Everything you need to know before getting your first credit card

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It’s easy to assume not using your credit card is the best way to maintain your credit score. But credit providers actually want to see that you can use credit responsible, for instance by paying off your debts on time and in full and not going over your credit limit. So here are some great tips for using your credit card responsibly and maintaining your credit score over time.

There are lots of ways you can use your credit card and show lenders you’re a good bet when it comes to extending credit. The idea is to use your card to pay for bills and other everyday expenses and ensure you don’t go over your limit. That’s one of the best ways to maintain your credit score over time.

One of the easiest ways to reduce your credit score over time is to spend over the limit. So make sure you only spend up to the amount your credit card provider has extended to you. If you do need a higher limit, talk to your lender about a card with a higher balance, or think about taking out another credit card, ensuring you’re still spending within your means.

This is one of the easiest ways to maintain your credit score. Paying off the balance each month in full tells lenders you know how to use credit responsibly. It also helps you to reduce the interest you pay, and in some cases will mean you don’t pay any interest at all, if you pay off your expenses before the end of the interest-free period.

Even if you don’t use your card very much, it’s an idea to keep it open. The reason for this is the longer your credit card history, the more information lenders have to decide whether it’s a good idea to extend you credit down the track when you want to apply for other forms of credit such as a car loan or mortgage.

Sometimes errors end up on your credit report – which is the data that sits behind your credit score and contains information like how many loans you currently have and whether you have made your repayments on time and in full. It also contains information such as whether you have missed any repayments. Sometimes this file contains inadvertent errors, for instance a lender may record two missed payments on your credit card when you’ve only missed one or none at all.

So make sure you check your credit report regularly to see if there are any mistakes on it and take steps to fix them if there are. You’re first port of call should be talking to the lender about any mistakes you think are on your report.

You can also easily check your credit score and credit report on ClearScore for free. At the same time, why not find out how the interest rate you’re paying stacks up against other cards in the market?


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Written by Lloyd Smith

General Manager AU

Lloyd spreads the word about how awesome ClearScore is.