Is having no credit card bad for credit?

Oompa

In the past, I've been in some tricky situations using credit cards, so at the moment the only debt I have is a mortgage.

However, I'm slightly concerned that not using a credit card is probably not good, either. While I technically have an HSBC Gold Card, I don't use it. Should I cancel it? I have no idea whether I'm being charged for even having one, as I've had it for so many years.

I do realise the pros of using a credit card over a debit card, but currently I live my life only using a debit card. Silly me, so I'd like to change all that.

What's the best option for me now? I'm thinking about applying for an interest free credit card. Any advice on how to proceed or what's the best option to take?

HappyMJ

If you can I'd just apply for any card with no monthly fee, using it and pay it off in full each month. There's no need to carry a balance over from one month to the next if you have no need to.

It can be difficult to remember the exact date a 0% on purchases card expires so best to just ignore them and pay every month.

Dobbibill

using a credit card for just fuel (if you have a car) or groceries each month and leaving the money there for it to be paid in full creates a good record of managing credit if that's something you want to do

This is then only spending what you need to each month, something you would always pay for anyway but please make sure to set up a Direct Debit to pay it off each month - forgetting the due date will damage your credit worthiness.

Linda32

Its very hard to say. The only credit my OH had was when having a home telephone counted as 'credit' some 20 years ago with BT. You made the calls then 3 months later they sent you a bill. I applied at the time but they wouldn't accept me for some reason.

Apart from a current account and a mortgage that was his record. He applied for the Santander 123 credit card and was accepted.

Anthorn

Depends on whether you want credit. In that case you need a credit history and a credit card is good for building a credit history. But if you have a current account, mobile phone conract, pay energy bills and have a landline phone as well as your mortgage, you probably already have a good credit history. Get your Experian credit report for £2.00p and see what's on there.


A credit card and a loan are those things which are often recommended for building a credit history to a more mature state. Basically what we try to do in engineering a credit history is a variety of different credit types.