Just got a card. Have bad credit. How should i use it to improve my credit?

thebuilder86

Hi. I have received a credit card today that applied for recently. It has a £1,000 credit limit which i didn't really ask for but don't want to reduce in case i ever really need it.

Anyway, i was quite surprised to be accepted as i was very bad with money as a student and my employment history has been sporadic.

I want to use this card to improve my credit rating/score and make me look like a better financial prospect in future years to come if i ever try to get a loan/mortgage etc.

I have read on this site that using the card but paying it all off every month without fail will improve my credit.

What else should i do? How far into the £1,000 limit should i go assuming i can afford to pay it all off each month? Or should i maybe spend to create a balance and then pay decent sized chunks off regularly to give the card company a little bit of profit so others won't reject me for being 'too perfect' in future as i haven't been generating interest to pay.

Thanks for any advice that is forthcoming. To clarify, i do DO NOT NEED to spend on this credit card to buy essentials or pay bills etc. I got it to try and improve my credit and am determined to be quite disciplined regarding my use of it. :j

WantToBeSE

What I do (and i am not sure if this is the 'done thing'), is use my credit card to pay for my weekly petrol (£80-£120 a month) and then make sure without fail that i put the money aside to pay off the CC every month.

I have a credit limit of £500 though, so maybe you could do your monthly shop on the CC, and then pay in full every month?

I too, am using mine to improve my credit score.
Good luck

CLAPTON

keep it simple


spend regularly and pay in full

regularly use no more that 50% of the limit

Linda32

thebuilder86 wrote: »

I have read on this site that using the card but paying it all off every month without fail will improve my credit.

This is exactly what you need to do, and in order to pay it without fail you need to set up a direct debit to claim the whole balance due.

Do not go along the other route you suggested of paying off chunks of the balance. Credit card companies do make money from the shop that you make a purchase with

DCFC79

Use it to do a few shops each month, buy some petrol if you drive but make sure you pay it off every month.