You worked hard to build up your credit and were rewarded with one of the best credit cards for good credit.
But now you have the challenge of keeping your credit score up.
A good FICO score ranges from 690-719. Credit cards for good credit have low interest rates and include opportunities to earn rewards.
But, little financial mistakes you make can add up to big negatives on your score. If you want to maintain your good credit, here are five ways to do it:
Pay all of your bills on time
Don’t wait until the last minute to pay your bills or let due dates pass. You need to pay all of your bills on time, including your credit card, car payments, student loans, utilities, internet, cell phone, rent or mortgage and more. Late payments will be reported to credit-reporting agencies, and before long you’ll see dings to your credit score.
An easy way to make sure your bills are paid is to set up automatic payments on all accounts.
Keep an eye on the amounts you owe
The amounts owned category of your credit report is based on your total debt and credit limit-to-debt ratio. Carrying a high limit that creeps too closely to your credit limit can hurt your credit score. It’s more important to pay your bills and keep a low debt. You should aim for a credit-limit-to-debt ratio of 70:30.
Don’t open several accounts at once
Just because credit cards for people with good credit are available to you, that doesn’t mean you should open too many at once. Even if you want to collect different rewards credit cards or you want to get a retail credit card to save a percentage on your order at checkout, you shouldn’t do it. Opening a few different accounts at once means hard inquiries will be made on your account, which dings your credit score. It also doesn’t look good on your credit report to rapidly increase your credit limit.
Don’t take out cash advances
There are always scenarios where plastic just won’t cut it and you’ll need some cash. Your good credit credit card may offer cash advances, but it’s not a good idea for you wallet or your credit score. Fees and immediate interest accumulation make these cash advances more difficult to pay back, which leaves you vulnerable to default.
If you do use a cash advance, make sure you have the money elsewhere to pay it back right away. Otherwise, lenders will report your default to credit reporting agencies, which will lower your credit score.
Don’t ignore your credit report
You may have good credit now, but if you don’t keep a close eye on your credit history, you might miss errors that could seriously affect your score. Remember that you can check your credit report three times a year, once at each of the three credit-reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
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The post Good Credit? 5 Tips to Keep it That Way appeared first on NerdWallet Credit Card Blog.
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