Kathy on December 16th, 2009

Plenty of people today have or will have credit cards given that not having it may appear to be unthinkable considering the number of bills and utilities they are required to shell out on a monthly basis.  Not having a credit card could also reflect a negative point to someone’s credit score especially if they are a first time credit card or loan applicant. 

Persons who are first time credit card holders or before now have a credit card for a while now but is not aware of how they use it, you may want to understand several of the things you need to know about plastic money to save you the trouble or correct any mistakes connected with credit cards.

Late Payments

On time payments is a big plus for you and your credit score.  If there will be an occurrence of you not being able to compensate it on time, however, you could ask your bank to provide you some form of consideration and if you are someone who routinely pay your credit card bills on time, you may certainly get it.  Making late payments on a usual basis does not only hurt your credit score, it will also cost you more with larger interest rate and penalties.

Missing on your payments

Just about the equivalent concept as paying late, more interest fees and penalties are added to your bill.  If you yearn for a pleasant record on your credit score, you should prioritize paying your credit card on or before the due date.  The costof a missed or late credit card monthly payment include a £10 to £25 late fee charge.  Creditors will also inform credit bureaus of  your late payments and if you don’t improve this habit it will greatly affect your credit history.  Furthermore, your interest rate will be likely augmented to the default rate which is the highest interest rate your creditor is allowed to charge you with. 

Paying your credit card bills on time is one of the most essential things you can do if you’re a credit card holder as 35% of your credit score is based on credit card bills paid on time. 

Cash Advance

Getting a cash advance on your credit card should, as much as possible, only be used during emergencies or if you could pay for it before the due date.  The reason for this is because once you withdraw the cash from the ATM, interest for that cash will start to roll and there is no grace period whatsoever. If you have an emergency such as buying a critically needed medicine, you could first ask if they would accept to charge the bill to your credit card rather than paying for it in cash that came from a cash advance with the same credit card.  Why so?  Because making a cash advance will probably cost you more than an actual credit card charge.

Just after points or rewards

If you are someone who is eager to purchase things with your credit card just to earn points, think of the broader picture and how it could mess with your resources.  If you are always on time with your payments, then doing it might not be such a bad idea.  Then again, if you repeatedly miss on your payments, you should get around this as much as possible and focus on straightening out your obligations.

Reaching your limit

Reaching and going over the maximum limit on your credit card can also cause your credit score.  Also known as maxing out, this practice could also give creditors the sense that you are not dependable enough to manage your finances and may have an impact to your future credit or loan requests.  Maxing out is part of the Credit Utilization criteria which is 30% of your credit score.

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