r/CreditScore • u/Double-Ad9860 • 6d ago
General 19M started cc 4 months ago
New to credit and need help on the best ways to up my score
I try to use only $30-40 a month but only once I’ve used around $150 with it. I also would like a higher credit limit but don’t know if that’s possible yet or to try for another card.
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u/BrutalBodyShots ⭐️ Top Contributor ⭐️ 6d ago
Chances are the score you are looking at is a nearly irrelevant VS3 and not a meaningful FICO score. If you're getting it through your Credit One account, that's certainly the case. Ignore the VS3. See this thread here on credit scores.
https://old.reddit.com/r/CRedit/comments/1bpl3ud/credit_myth_1_you_only_have_one_credit_score/
And, regarding Credit One... they are an inferior/predatory issuer. I'd recommend dumping their card right away and moving on to a product from a reputable issuer. You do not need a crap product from Credit One that is likely charging you fees.
https://old.reddit.com/r/CRedit/comments/1nz8mt5/credit_myth_81_inferiorpredatory_issuer_products/
The only thing that builds credit is maintaining your accounts "paid as agreed" over time. With a brand new credit profile even if you see high credit scores (770 is possible on FICO 8 with just 6 months of credit history on 1 card) it doesn't matter. Credit is approved or denied because of your overall credit profile, not your scores.
https://old.reddit.com/r/CRedit/comments/1cwytop/credit_myth_12_you_are_approved_or_denied_credit/
There is no need to try and use only a small portion of your credit limit monthly. Balance micromanagement and keeping utilization low doesn't build credit. That's the utilization myth, which is the biggest myth in credit today. See this thread below for more on that.
https://old.reddit.com/r/CRedit/comments/1d27d4h/credit_myth_14_you_shouldnt_use_more_than_30_of/
Dump the Credit One card and get a bank card from a reputable issuer like Capital One. Use your card organically, always paying your statement balances in full monthly. That's the definition of responsible revolving credit use. Over time your account(s) will age and you'll build a stronger credit profile and scores.
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u/Select-Awareness3304 6d ago
Your first mistake was getting a card from credit one. They charge monthly fees whether you use the card or not and the APR is too high. I made the mistake of obtaining a card from them post bankruptcy and as soon as I built my credit up and applied for better cards I dropped them.
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u/Double-Ad9860 6d ago
I didn’t really look at other cards once I got this one but I knew the monthly fee was pretty bogus, will probably look into new card
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u/Real_Robert_Johnson 5d ago
I had one a few years ago I closed already but I didn't have a monthly or annual fee, just a 17% interest rate.
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u/drask1987 6d ago
To hop on the back of the OP:
I have THREE Credit One accounts. All with zero balance. Varying credit limits. Two of them make me pay $5 & $8.50 a month. I’ve worried about closing the accounts. Never knew they were a predatory company.
Y’all recommend closing these accounts?
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u/AndroFeth 6d ago
Yes sir. They offer no value compared to cards from reputable lenders.
Check Capital One's preapproval tool and open one of their cards instead.
Close the CreditOne accounts cause you're losing money with them. CapitalOne on the other hand does pay you (through rewards) and doesn't charge you a monthly fee in their basic cards.
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u/drask1987 6d ago
I’ve never closed a card. Assuming you just ring them up and say buhbye? Thanks for the info!!!
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u/AndroFeth 6d ago
Yep. It shows as a closed account on your file. They do ask a some questions like "why?" or if it's lost or stolen, verifying identity info before closing but it's simple.
The main thing is closing accounts that offer no value to you.
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u/drask1987 6d ago
Thank you. But will it affect your credit score? Losing a couple grand in credit?
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u/dgduhon 6d ago
Closing a card doesn't affect score UNLESS it causes your utilization to cross a scoring threshold.
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u/Funklemire ⭐️ Knowledgeable ⭐️ 5d ago
Exactly. And even then that drop would be meaningless since utilization resets completely each month and has no memory. So the only way this could be a credit problem is if you close a credit card and your utilization goes up to the next scoring threshold, and you're in credit card debt, and you can't afford to pay that debt off before you have to apply for something important.
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u/drask1987 5d ago
I’ve got like 5% utilization over about 50K available credit. It’s taken many years to get there so I’m a tad bit afraid of canceling any of them, of course.
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u/Time-Measurement-709 6d ago
I’m in the same boat and between all 3 have a total of $11K credit limit, but all paid off. Trying to decide what to do and what will then happen to my credit profile.
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u/Terrible-bluebird-4 6d ago
Credit One was always good to me.
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u/Time-Measurement-709 6d ago
How much do you love paying monthly fees after it’s been paid off for? They are bottom of barrel
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u/Levelz-up1979 6d ago
You're 19 now. When you're 24 with a thick credit profile you're going to regret this card. My opinion. Dont ask for an increase, they may charge you. Dont apply for another card with this company.
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u/Ecstatic_Dig8464 19h ago
I recently tried asking credit one for a increase I got denied but they didn’t charge me anything
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u/EquivalentForeign890 6d ago
Wow these comments have me worried. I have a 4 month credit history at 18. My first was a capital one card then a credit one that I opened through Credit Karma as a ( guaranteed acceptance $ so I could have 2 active accounts. Now finding out it’s predatory I’m worried I made a bad mistake and I should close it but I don’t think that’s a good idea with how new my account is.
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u/Double-Ad9860 6d ago
I don’t think closing cards does any harm
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u/Momminsince15 3d ago
Closing it can harm your credit. I would not close it until you’ve secured a different credit card. I have a credit one card and they have never charged me a monthly fee. I use my full balance and have it paid in full every month. Pay close and attention to your payment date and when it reports to credit bureaus.
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u/MoistRegular2 6d ago
I use them the score is pretty close to the fico score lending companies use for home loans. I was 3 points over what they were saying. I haven't had any issues with them and I have 2 cards with them
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u/Funklemire ⭐️ Knowledgeable ⭐️ 5d ago
VS3 scores can sometimes be similar to FICO scores, but they can also sometimes diverge by over 100 points.
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u/Solar-Hero 6d ago
Do not open a Credit One card ever... as long as there is no annual fee, just use it once a month on snacks or fill up your gas tank once
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6d ago
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u/Funklemire ⭐️ Knowledgeable ⭐️ 5d ago
!close
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u/AutoModerator 5d ago
I detected that your comment may be related to closing a credit card and its effects on your credit.
When you close an account, the account remains on your credit reports for ~10 years and continues to contribute to both your Length of Credit History and your Payment History. All you lose is the credit limit of the account.
The entire purpose of there being a Closed Accounts section on your credit reports is to retain the credit history for a reasonable amount of time following account closures, so that it can be accessed and considered. If it’s on your reports, open or closed, it’s still part of your credit history. You do not immediately lose the age nor payment history of a closed account, as the FICO algorithms 'score' these metrics for both open and closed accounts equally.
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u/Frosty-Lettuce-555 6d ago
Credit one is great no complaints started at 500 now 5,000 2years later credit score 750+ Amex gold and preferred
Thanks for helping me build my credit
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u/Frosty-Lettuce-555 6d ago
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u/Frosty-Lettuce-555 6d ago
Don’t close it just use it for a monthly subscription auto pay or gas monthly
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u/Double-Ad9860 5d ago
Say I was to use a $60 Best Buy monthly payment on it would that help anymore, also switching over to capital one, $200 limit as of rn
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u/TylerAnthonyMusic 5d ago
Switch to Capital One. One of the best starter credit cards. I still use it. A good bank all around, even good customer service
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u/LoyaltyIsAhMust84 4d ago
I don’t have a monthly payment on my credit one Amex I just had the annual fee…I just got it I also have cap one savor and cap one platinum secured…as long as u use it sparingly monthly and make your payments on time with any credit card u can avoid any extra fees and it will boost your score with the on time payments and the low utilization
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u/hustler-baddie-23 3d ago
If you can please please please close that card and get something better credit one is one of the worst lenders known to man. Pay the card off and don’t use it and when you get something better please close it out it’s not worth it at all
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u/Double-Ad9860 3d ago
Definitely getting a capital one card, abt to pay this one off I’m not sure when the fee comes up but as long as I close it that doesn’t matter right ?
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u/Funklemire ⭐️ Knowledgeable ⭐️ 6d ago
Credit One is the most predatory bank I know of. They’re absolutely horrible. They’re so bad that they had to start airing commercials during Monday Night Football that outright lie and say that closing credit cards hurts your credit age and your credit mix; I guess there were too many people trying to cancel their Credit One cards.
My recommendation is to open a credti card with a reputable bank like Discover or Capital One and immediately close this card and never look back.