Increasing credit score…

BeElszaBub

Credit Karma recommends I apply for another credit card to increase my score. Presently I’m only using 17% of my available credit. My dilemma is this… if I apply and get another credit card would it affect my chances of getting a small loan I might need later in the year?  I feel my age (61) might be against me in any respect, insofar as a loan is concerned, but don’t want to scupper my plans by having another credit card if it’s not really necessary. 

funkycredit

I'd ignore most of what they're saying. It's a sales pitch. You only need what you need. Don't get credit unnecessarily - so I wouldn't apply if you don't need it. 

[Deleted User]

The credit "score" is nothing more than a gimmick, no lender will ever see it and it's never used on any application for credit as lenders score you using their own systems based on the data on your file only. If you have a card or two and you use it every month and pay off in full each time then you can't really do much more nor do you need to if you want to apply for a loan in the future, having extra credit that you don't need doesn't really help. If anything looking at a money transfer card if the loan is rejected might be a better option as a plan b rather than applying for a card now.

Your age is immaterial if you have means of paying it back and it was within retirement age, it would be more of an issue if you tried to take say a 10 year loan or something daft.

alfred64

People in their seventies are getting five year deals.

cymruchris

There are credit cards that are called 'Money Transfer' cards - or cards with money transfer offers. Depending on how small you want your loan to be (Different people have different perception of 'small') - you might find with the right credit card, you can transfer a lump sum into you current account for a fee (usually around 4 percent) - and you might be lucky to have that interest free for a period of time, that you could then pay off a monthly payment so that your balance was zero by the time the interest free period ended. (But it will depend on how small is small - and what kind of credit limit you got on a new card)

[Deleted User]

alfred64 said:

People in their seventies are getting five year deals.

Good for them, not sure what that adds though. As I said, so long as there is a means to pay it back and they weren't trying to get something like a 10 year deal it shouldn't be an issue. Someone in the 60s with little income is less likely to get anything than someone in their 70s with a £50k a year pension

jbrassy

Whatever Credit Karma says, ignore it. They earn commission by selling you credit cards and loans. I have 3 credit cards which I pay off in full every month and Credit Karma advised me to get a balance transfer card to transfer these balances. Why would I ever do that?

Also, don't pay too much attention to the number that Credit Karma present to you. What matters more is that you're paying all your bills in full and on time. 

PageB

Agree with everything said here - credit score doesn't really mean anything, it's your credit report that represents you as a borrower. Also, your credit utilisation rate of 17% is fine, one normally recommends you should try to keep below 30%. There are lots of other useful ways to improve your credit without taking on another credit card - funkycredit is right it sounds like a sales pitch.

CRISPIANNE3

PageB said:

Agree with everything said here - credit score doesn't really mean anything, I

That's reassuring to know. I recently applied for a new credit card and my score dropped by 70 points.

Ebe_Scrooge

CRISPIANNE3 said:

That's reassuring to know. I recently applied for a new credit card and my score dropped by 70 points.

Yup, exactly as expected.  The comedy score dished out by the CRAs will drop in response to any change in credit circumstances, whether good or bad, and gradually increases over a period of stability.  It's purely a marketing gimmick, and has no bearing whatsoever on how a lender views you.