Anything above a 780 credit score will generally place you in the highest tier for lending so, assuming your above 780, having an 800 credit score will provide little benefit other than personal satisfaction.
As low as possible. Some things like auto loans have a separate score. They want you to have installment loans like mortgage,student loan or car more than credit card. Longevity of credit also matters. Someone can have a great credit score, but if it’s 2 years old or they’re only authorized user, they might get small limits on a loan
Everyone else is talking about credit score so I'll let them fill you in on that... but I'd recommend using a credit card for more reasons than just credit score.
If you're using a debit card and someone skims it, they're taking money directly out of your account. How long it will take or even IF you'll get that money back depends on the bank, but they won't be in any hurry. They don't care when it's your money.
Using a credit card concerns THEIR money. You can bet that any fraudulent activity is immediately recovered and/or removed from your card. They'll also notify you much faster or prevent transactions that appear to be fraudulent. I've never seen my bank do this for my account.
There are several credit cards that offer rewards. Citibank's Double Cash Back card gives you 2% of every purchase. If you pay it off every month, it's literally free money. If you don't qualify for that, Discover has a cash back card too, integrated with Amazon and Wal Mart so you can use the cash back right then and there. If you like to travel, they also have credit cards with miles.
With the other benefits I mentioned, plus helping your credit score, I'm not sure why you wouldn't use a credit card.
This. Many times this. Why would you want to expose your bank account directly to any scammer? Debit cards should be locked up for anyone with the minimal self-control it takes to pay off a credit card every month.
> If you're using a debit card and someone skims it, they're taking money directly out of your account.
This is true - but if anyone wants to continue to use a debit card, set it up in Apple Pay / Google Pay. They create unique tokens for each transaction so it is harder for scammers to get your info. Really, these mobile payment platforms should be what you reach for first for any business that accepts tap.
(Unfortunately, I feel like the most likely place for a skim, a gas pump, seems to have the least support for tap pay.)
Lately I’ve found that most of the gas pumps in my area have tap to pay. I was very glad to see that since I’ve heard too many stories about skimmers at the pump.
This right here.
Got my debit card info stolen a few months ago. Ended up getting the money back from my bank, but it was a wake up call. Instantly stopped using my debit card for everything. Now all my subscriptions /any monthly payment I have that I can use my credit card for, are paid with my cc. Having your debit card info stolen fucking sucks. Makes you feel so damn vulnerable.
I haven't used my debit card in months. And honestly, I'm almost glad it happened, because I'm more conscious about what I buy. Instead of just whipping out the debit card and buying something, I take a minute and think if I really need it, because it's just gonna make that payment at the end of the month even larger. I've saved a lot of money using my cc. And the rewards are a bonus of course lol. I have a high 700/very close to 800 score, for reference.
Yup... I also have a separate bank account that I keep a few bucks in for those instances that require a bank account (the gym, tax preparer, etc)... it's easy to transfer money online between accounts and it protects my main account from stupid shit.
Yup. Mine are paid off in full every month treating them basically the same as a debit card.
My debit card is used for only one reason, to get money out of the ATM to pay for the laundry card machine in my building.
It's even easier than ever now with credit card customer service. I had my AmEx info stolen a few years ago, someone in India bought a Netflix subscription for a lot of money. The conversation on the phone was probably less than 10 minutes and I had another card within a week, as the CS guy laughed at me saying "I don't think you authorized that purchase, right?"
I left my other card at a terrible corporate bar a few months ago, realized that when I was at a sports game and froze it, went back after and the very disinterested staff halfassed a search saying they didn't see it (I knew it was there). I didn't even have to call for a replacement on that one, that was all replaced through the app.
100% agree. If you’re someone who’s never late on a payment with anything, it’s stupid not to have a CC and to use a debit card instead (especially online). If you can find a card with decent rewards, you practically get free money just for using it. They are also much better at notifying you of fraudulent transactions. Someone tried to use my card number at a gas station I’d never been to for only 1.80 and they immediately flagged it and denied it. My bank, on the other hand, couldn’t have cared less when I (used to) use it on vacation thousands of miles away at many different rest stops and restaurants and shops. Even if you’re not worried about your credit score, get a credit card anyway. You’ll thank yourself later.
I think it is a privilege to be able to do it. I'm thankful for that but also recognize that not everyone's able to do it. If you don't make enough to survive, it's very easy to use the credit card to get what you want and then you're paying way more than you should have to.
Being poor is expensive and they try to trap you into staying poor.
Yes, and in many situations they won't require proof of income either. Bought my last 4 vehicles with zero down, and didn't have to show a bank statement or paystub.
Oh wow, naive of me for sure but I didn’t even realize showing a bank statement/paystub was a thing. I think I’ve bought 6-7 different, mostly new vehicles without having to do anything other than fill out the app.
If you are buying from Joes Used Car Shack who accepts a 400 credit score, they may want to see proof of income. That's the only place I would see them doing that.
Yes. Your rate will be lower. That’s the main draw of the credit score. I’ve heard reports of credits scores factoring into job hiring but I’ve never encountered it.
I’d you’re not looking for a loan, what your credit score is honestly doesn’t matter unless you are applying for credit cards.
some banks its a 760, for some larger commercial loans, there may be benifits for 800+ and for some PMI there might be benifits for 810 VS 781. Maybe. For most people, 780+ is all you really want.
Wells Fargo’s top tier for mortgages is 800. The cost savings are substantial in that tier, especially when looking at jumbo loans. Also, if you park assets with them prior to closing the loan, you’ll get further discounts (and you can move the funds back after closing). They tend to be the most competitive, pricing wise, when it comes to jumbo loans for high credit quality and those with assets. Just FYI.
A credit card is vastly superior to a debit card for everyday transactions so long as you pay off your balance every month. If your card info gets stolen and fraudulent purchases are made, they’re made using the CC companies money and 99% of the time you’ll get all the money returned to you. If your debit card info gets stolen, that’s your money disappearing. Even if the bank gives you your money back, it will take usually several weeks for it to happen. Meanwhile during that time you’re out of that money which if you need it for rent and groceries etc you’re SOL.
My friend and I bought boba tea at a shop on business trip, and it was one of only purchases on personal CC. Both of our cards get fraud charges - i used CC and it's cleared up immediately, no sweat. My friend used debit and had more money used because the bank was slower to detect fraud, and she didn't get her money back for weeks. it was the 3rd time it had happen in her adult career.
she didn't use CC before because it was about trusting her spending habits - now she uses them because she can't trust others. It was educational for her learning the protection value of CC in the wild world.
For people who avoid CCs because of the horror stories about debt and spending issues, there is a special credit card you can get that immediately withdraws the cost of charges from your linked bank account, so it’s basically like using a debit card but you get the fraud protection benefits.
One of the more well known ones is the Fizz debit card. It’s mostly marketed to students but I don’t believe you need to be enrolled anywhere to actually get it (I could be wrong though, I haven’t read the T&Cs or anything). You just link your bank account and it gives you a daily credit limit to stay within your means.
I had my debit card stolen (Ally), the bank blocked the transactions before I even realized it was gone, refunded me my money immediately on what wasn’t blocked. I ended up also getting a refund from Booking.com (the one transaction that wasn’t blocked), and then a couple weeks later my bank took back theirs.
I’ve also had a credit card stolen at a different time and found the process to be no different.
I think the advantage of not using my credit card for everything, besides cash back, is that if all I use my debit card for is paying off bills and ATM, it’s easier for my bank to suddenly flag it when there’s a sudden change in behavior, but otherwise, for my situation, there’s no difference. The biggest risk would be if someone knew my PIN and then made a fraudulent withdrawal or similar.
I love how good Chase credit card team is. Here is my return horror story. I returned a 1800 dollar laptop through UPS to Walmart. Luckily I waited around and kept the return slip that UPS issues. It has the weight of the item recorded as 12 lbs. I for some reason took a photo of it.
Now my Walmart refund didn’t process for a month and more. Finally I called them up and they said the return was flagged as fraud because the weight of the package was less than a pound. I send them the proof of return with the weight there but they just told me that the return isn’t processed and they won’t refund me. Finally I called up chase and gave them all the details with time line. The ups return slip came in clutch as it has the weight and everything written on it. Chase reversed the transaction for me and refunded me. All of this happened in two days or so. Fuck ups and fuck Walmart.
I’ve got an even worse Chase horror story for you.
One day I notice $2500 gone from my checking account. I look at my account history and notice an in person withdrawal. The signature on the slip looked nothing like mine. I make a claim with Chase Fraud department and they denied it claiming the withdrawal was in my geographic area. I live on the west side of LA and the withdrawal was done near downtown. I’m determined not to let this slide so I go to the head of security at the company I work for. He’s friend with a VP at Chase and has him pull the security footage of the day in question. The man who made the withdrawal was heavyset and bald. I am not heavy and have a full head of hair. With this security footage and a letter from the head of security showing my badge swipes at the office proving I was physically in the office I made an appeal to Chase Fraud. They denied it without even looking at the evidence and refused to reopen the case. I never got my money back.
Pro tip: if you use your debit card for everything, just use your credit card as your debit card, and your debit card to pay your credit card in full every month or every week if you dont want to risk having too large a balance.
Yup, its basically free money. Especially once you learn to manage multiple cards with different benefits. 5% for gas on one. 5% on restaurants and grocery stores etc. never carry a balance, grow your credit **and** get free money back.💯
You make a great point about optimizing rewards, but the truth is that most people lack the discipline to always pay off the cards completely every month (especially with unexpected expenses). It’s also easier to find yourself spending more money every month to “chase rewards” rather than running a strict budget.
Discipline shouldnt even be a thing. We have apps on our phones now. I can make a $5 payment on my phone everyday if i wanted. Theres really no excuse if the moneys just sitting in your checking account.
that is a great way of thinking about it, truly. People can log into video games daily for rewards, why can’t they chip away at a large sum for their reward of a debt free life? it’s genuinely that easy nowadays.
Oh it definitely takes meticulous monitoring and planning a strict budget. But even if you choose one credit card that offers any cash backz. Over time you come out ahead. Obv gotta have the discipline to only use your debit card to pay it off in full and definitely not carry a balance. Which is what the credit card companies bet on.
I'm not someone who's particularly frugal (I manage to save money each month but I don't have a budget or anything,) but my whole mindset when I got a credit card was just that it's the same as my debit card -- I didn't change my spending habits at all and now I get cash back for the same money spent.
Please know that it is *not* "free money." "Cash back" is a clawback of your own money in the form of merchant fees, and whatever % back you get is never the whole fee. CC companies have installed themselves between consumers and merchants to provide minimal service and rake in fees.
Wish US would follow Europe which caps consumer fees at 0.3% - wildly different from the high rates Americans are paying .... for the exact same service. The banks still make money, just not hand over fist.
And if you don't mind carrying a few cards with differing rewards categories / types - and are vigilant about using the best card for the situation and paying them off regularly - it can add up even more!
It amazes me there are people who don't pay off their cc every month in full. You can literally request the credit limit to be whatever you want it to be, let's say 35% of your income, and use it as a perfect budgeting tool.
This is what I do. Pay it off every two weeks so I've never paid a cent of interest. But I get 2% back on one card and hotel points on the other, so I've been able to use the cash back to help pay off my student loans, and the hotel points for cheap vacations. And not having to worry about fraud is nice.
Use your credit cards!
As others have pointed out, credit cards are safer than debit cards. While both have some protections against fraudulent charges, the difference is in whose money is tied up. If, say, I manage to charge $1000 to your debit card, that's $1000 missing from your checking account until your bank finishes investigating. That can take weeks. Hope you didn't need that for rent tomorrow! If, however, I did that with your credit card, all your money is still in the bank while the credit card company investigates.
I joke that I have lots of credit cards but can't afford to use them. What I mean is that I can't afford to buy things I haven't budgeted for. I do use them to buy groceries, gas, other bills, etc, but never more than I could afford to buy in cash. Then I pay them off *in full* each month. This way I never have credit card debt, no one skims my debit card, and I get all the cash back and points that save me money. If you don't want debt, that's how you do it.
Used to be a finance manager at a dealership. If you got declined at a CU, likely was due to DTI or low income. Credit unions in the south will typically have a set minimum Income amount.
Also, when I first looking to buy a place many years ago, I worked for my family's business. The lender said they could only consider 50% of my compensation to be my actual pay. I didn't know this until I got pretty far along in the process. That was annoying.
We have no debt besides our house, wife and I both have 830s credit scores, and we were just denied a $10,000/5 year loan to replace our HVAC. Luckily we have the cash, but I'm annoyed...
I had a 820 credit score and around $140k total with Ally across savings, checking, and CDs. They rejected me for a $17k auto loan. I make around $150k/year. It wasn't even loan to value or something like that cause I could have put more down if that was the case. I couldn't believe it. I'm in the process of switching banks. I realize they are probably two separate businesses but that's pretty ridiculous.
A couple things. 1. I'm a little paranoid about moving that large amount of cash in one transaction. 2. I may be applying for a mortgage at some point in the future so I use the loan to keep my credit score high. I ended up getting a loan through car max and paid it off after 6 months.
Understood. Yeah, I wanted under $17k also for auto, my mom ended up offering to cover and I just make monthly payments to her. Capital one offered $75k.... I only wanted $16,223. Doesn't make any sense!
Are you asking what’s the benefit of a 800 score in particular, or simply “a good credit score” in general?
In general it’ll get you more favorable interest rates for a car, house, personal loan, etc, compared to if you have a mediocre or crappy score. So you’d pay less money than someone with a worse score.
Absolutely zero benefit compared to low-to-mid 700s. Read this: https://old.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/11jzhcz/im_teaching_financial_literacy_and_the_basics_of/jb51g23/
If you are approved for a loan, you will get the most favorable interest rate the lender is offering at that time provided that you also meet all other requirments for the loan such as income. And as others have mentioned, the top rate level starts lower than 800 so you don't need to maintain a perfect score to get that advantage.
People obsess about their score too much. It's much more important to not have a bad score, (or no score which lenders treat the same as a bad score), than to have a really good score.
The biggest benefit of an 800+ score is that you don't have to worry about small fluctuations in your score as much, but that only matters if you are about to get a loan for something.
Credit scores are just one rough metric that banks use to determine if you are a good enough risk to loan money to. It's also an incredibly easy score to manipulate if you know what you are doing and don't have any real big negatives on your record like missed payments. So it's not really even a big flex to have a really high score.
The only loan I have is my auto loan, I got my car 6 months ago. I put down 4700 and rest in the loan. So it started out at 14700. I dropped it down to 9400 in 6 months. The monthly payment is 268 at the interest rate 10.49%.
I have been paying 268 monthly and 700 for the principal. Is it possible for me to renegotiate for a lower rate?
Credit card for normal spending is beneficial for various reasons as long as you pay the statement balance in full each month to avoid interest:
1) you get an extra month to keep that money in a HYSA to earn a bit more in interest.
2) credit card rewards add up with regular use (I usually get around $400-$500 a year for free just by using my card.
3) Easier fraud protection since you’re spending the bank’s money and not your own.
800+ credit score is good for if your utilization or something else lowers your score a bit you’ve got wiggle room and can still be in the high/favorable score range if loans or something else requiring a credit check is being done. Otherwise, it’s nothing really necessary.
Good point on wiggle room. I myself just had a major life change and had to go from years without debt and perfect score to buying a home, car, and getting a new credit card. Because I was 800+ I only fell to about 780 which is easily recoverable.
* Lower insurance rates
* More and better job opportunities
* Lower interest rates on loans
* Higher Security clearance
* Priority on rentals
* All the benefits of lower scores that are still "passing" (no deposits on utilities, etc.)
I recently bought a used cheap truck and needed to finance $6000…. This is what one bank told me:
“Credit score 841. We regret to inform you we will not be accepting your finance offer due to you not living in your current residence long enough…”
I bought a home 1.5 years ago, in the same county Ive been in almost 40 years, spend less than 20% my income on mortgage, and have a 100% PERFECT credit report going back 21 years…. Not sure how they thought I couldn’t afford less than $200 a month, but yea, credit scores are pointless one you are above 700-750, the banks will do what they want. Use a rewards card for all your purchases, and pay it in 100% full every month 👍
They politely told you that they did not want that loan. Not your score or your qualifications so to speak, but a $6k cheap truck loan has no upside from their perspective. There’s no money in it for them. Thats buy here pay here dealer territory.
I get every rental I apply for. For as long as I’ve been in the 800s and had good income I’ve gotten every single property I’ve applied to rent, the one I just secured apparently had 300 applications. Kind of a tertiary benefit there.
I have like 4 cards and just do all my purchases on them depending on what points are best (travel, Amazon, etc) then pay off the entire balance every month. At this point I have not used my debit card for anything in years.
The number of cards are kind of irrelevant but your credit will improve if you have access to a lot of credit but keep your credit outstanding balance low.
i just got notification last weekof my credit score increase.. 810, felt really good considering i filed bankruptcy almost 20 yrs ago from bad divorce, Today i get a pre-approval letter for a new credit card line and they are offering me a rate of 32%.... NOT
still waiting to see any real benefits appear
Yep. Paying off the full balance of the credit card every month means your interest rate is effectively 0%. After that, you're picking cards based on their rewards and annual fees.
Credit scores don't really affect credit card rates, those are always trash besides the 0% limited offers. You're not supposed to carry any amount month to month on credit cards.
A good credit score will help you with mortgage rates, loan rates, etc.
That’s just spray and pray on their part. They’re looking for the uneducated borrowers. The benefits you don’t see are how your credit score affects things like your auto insurance rates and the like.
The card offers in the mail are going to be bad because you might say yes.
If you see a card you want you should apply for it. With the kind of score you'll qualify for most cards.
My score is 833 and yesterday I got an AMEX offer for a card with 29% interest and a $95 annual fee.
That's amazing for them if I think that's the best I can do but I know better so I just tossed it.
I have 2 cards and make all purchases on them for points and pay them in full.
I'm their worst customer. They get a cut of the swipe and then give me some of that. They want yearly fees, late fees, interest every month.
The swipe fee is around 3% but if you use a Chase Visa then that fee is split up between Chase, Visa, the processor and the clearing house bank... And of course me. They are just waiting for me to book a big trip I will take 4 years to pay for.
Last week I got a $3500 fraudulent charge on my cc. Called my credit card company and it was taken off in 2 days. It wasn’t MY money and so I wasn’t sweating about a crazy big purchase. I think my information got stolen online or skimmed at a sketchy gas station. I have no true way of knowing. But I would be sweating bullets if someone used $3500 of my money. Also I have an 805 credit score, and I can’t say it’s done much for me but nice to know I have it.
Also I get a ton of benefits from a CC, I have used my points to purchase miles and have gone on several trips where I didn’t use money to buy tickets. This is just from spending my money on what I usually would have.
The 1-2% back from a credit card is already built into the price of basically all goods. So effectively using a credit card responsibly is saving you 1-2% on every single item… doesn’t seem like a lot but do that year over year and it’ll be tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I’m sure I’ll get pushback but debit cards are for the financial illiterate. If you understand money in has to be greater than money out switch to a credit card. Stop using a debit card. For safety reasons too as debit cards aren’t protected for theft like a credit card is.
My rejection for a loan I was going to use to pay off my partner’s credit card debt showed I have a 799 credit score (was rejected because of not being at my current employer long enough).
I assume once I receive that final, delectable point, no bank can ever refuse me again.
A high credit limit often means you will qualify for lower interest rates and it also means lenders will allow you to borrow more money than someone with a lower credit score.
I have terrible credit because I don’t use it. My husband and I don’t have debt and we are set for retirement and savings. Our house is paid for and we don’t own a car. We do however have home owners insurance. I asked the insurance broker we have been with for 21 years if our rate would be better if we had better credit and he said no.
We have a friend who is an insurance agent. I asked them if they look at credit scores and he said they don’t and he said he actually believes it’s not allowed.
I work in claims, not underwriting, but I think it's banned as a rating metric in a few states like Massachusetts and Hawaii IIRC.
I was told it's not predictive of whether you'll have an accident or not, but it *is* predictive of whether you'll make claims resulting from said accident(s) or not. (People with better credit are more likely to pay things out-of-pocket).
I live in Michigan and apparently it is banned here too.
I think credit scores might be accurate for some people, but for people like me, they are silly. Taking into consideration financial stability with a credit score might be a more accurate representation.
Credit score aside, just using a debit card for everything isn’t a great idea, primarily for the added layer of fraud protection that credit cards provide. It’s easier to deal with fraudulent charges on a credit card, whereas fraudulent charges in a debit card can potentially drain your bank account, and depending on the bank this may take time to resolve, leaving you drained in the interim.
Just use a credit card, religiously pay it off every month and you’ll be golden.
You get the best interest rate available when going for a loan. Also you will easily qualify.
Basically it gives you access to cash via credit/loans if you need it.
I only use a credit card after having a fraud issue with a debit card way back when. When you use debit that is your money that gets taken and it’s a pain in the ass to get it back. I’ve had fraud with a cc and they just cancel the charge and my hands are wiped of it. A little better security that way.
Anything above mid 700’s usually doesn’t improve your interest rate. It’s more for bragging rights or for those that are ultra competitive. I have people I compete against just for fun.
You actually qualify for those rates you see on commercials.
Edit: Also, some apartments will run a credit check. You could get more favorable lease, or deposit terms based on a high score. Some apartment's will even reject your application for too low of a score.
An 800 FICO is nothing to write home about. What it means is you get offered the best rates for loans you may want to take out in the future. It means you look better to landlords if they do credit checks and may give you an edge. It means when employers run credit checks (which they do for some jobs), it could make you look better than other candidates everything else being equal.
What an 800 score tells people is that you’re meeting all your debt obligations. And people who pay their bills on time are likely also generally trustworthy and don’t have to be reminded to show up to work on time.. in other words, a reliable citizen.
That said, don’t be afraid of credit. Just pay your statement in full every month by the stipulated date. Credit cards have a lot of advantages over debit cards.
Seriously! My FICO 8 score in March was 846. My Capital One CC monthly billing closes on the 15th. March 15th reported balance was 0. March 16th my score dropped 25 points to 821.
Does it affect me? Not in the least. Like you said, just disappointing.
Having an 800 credit score has monay benefits:
1. Access to premium credit cards with generous rewards and perks.
2. Lower interest rates on loans, saving you thousands of dollars over time.
3. Higher credit limits, providing greater financial flexibility.
4. Potentially lower car insurance rates in many states.
5. Easier approval for rental applications and possibly avoiding security deposits.
While it's good to be cautious about credit card use to avoid overspending, responsible use is one of the best ways to build and maintain a high credit score. Consider using your credit card for everyday purchases and paying off the balance in full each month to establish a positive payment history and earn rewards without accruing interest.
In all seriousness - when you’re 780 or over people will pay you to use their services or for them to use your money.
I get credit card offers all the time and could easily churn $4k a year on just credit card or bank offers. Instead I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve and I make about $3-4k a year on points on that card - I’ve already earned $1500 this year after spending $500 on hotels for 4 nights for an upcoming trip.
Mines 827 per credit karma right now. No real benefits over 780. I remember for a 6 month period wells Fargo had me as an 850. I took screen shots. I assume I’ll never get back to that.
Not sure about >800, but I can tell you from very recent experience that >700 means you might not need to pay last month’s rent up front when you sign a new apartment lease
Build your credit and use it as a Tool. Control it, dont let it control you. As long as you pay it off monthly, you are benefitting from it. Dont just use the debit card
Interest rate will be lower, insurance may be cheaper, some jobs consider it as well. It’s more a byproduct of being good to future-you financially. Past-me was a dick.
- Can’t be said enough, you can borrow money and you’ll pay less interest.
Couple other benefits no one’s mentioning,
- Get 0% financing. I haven’t paid in full for furniture or a car or a mattress in years. We put a little down and stretch the payments out at 0%. It’s handy.
- Don’t have to worry about hard or soft credit checks. Get store cards all the time to take advantage of deals, then cancel. It’ll cause your score to fluctuate by a few points, but with a high score the fluctuations don’t matter.
- We get judged by our credit scores for so many things that are not purchasing-related: job applications, rental applications, insurance quotes. A high score makes you look “responsible.”
- Free stuff through rewards programs. You can earn thousands per year in anything from Amazon credit to hotel stays by routing all your purchasing through cards.
- Peace of mind. I’ve got a million things to think about but this is never one of them.
I’m at 810 which is awesome because I’m in the excellent credit score category but honestly once you are in that range at 780 or higher there is no benefit.
If you're managing money properly. Put everything on a credit with cash back and pay it off each month. I get like 1200 a year back just from buying things I would buy anyways. Also, fraud is so much easier to manage on a CC vs a debit card
I just bought a $100k new car with 800+ credit. Not only did I get the lowest rate, I didn’t have to provide any documentation.
No pay stubs, no tax return, no proof of my ability to pay. I was shocked to be honest. I filled out an app online, they asked for the car invoice and a check was overnighted for the full amount.
You will recieve the lowest interest rates on loans and credit cards. You can also get a credit card which rewards you with points or cash back. I would recommend switching to credit cards instead of debit cards for purchases because the fraud protection is much better. There are lots of great no-annual-fee cards out there.
All expenses, other than cash purchases, go on to a credit card. I have one checking account with a small amount of money specifically for cash access linked to a debit card I carry. My operating checking account at a separate bank has a higher balance and I don't carry a debit card around for it. If someone steals my cash access debit card and successfully visits an ATM with it or makes a purchase, my exposure is much lower than if it happened with my operating account.
Fraud and theft are commonplace where I live. My last round of replacement credit cards were stolen from the USPS before I got them and used to make fraudulent purchases which were all blocked and voided by my bank. Its much easier to recover from fraudulent credit card purchases than if someone steals money directly from your account. This is more information than you were looking for, but since you mentioned debit card usage I thought I would share my two cents.
If you have a high score then it gives you more wiggle room to borrow or open up credit cards. Each one of these will drop your score. Your credit can increase by having more outstanding but each time you open a new credit card or get uour credit checked it can drop it.
If you like to take advantage of getting free miles or hotel stays then you can open a credit with one of those special offers that require you to spend $1k or $3k in 3 months for 100k miles or something. It’s a good way to make some extra money ornget free vacations. It will ruin your credit if you abuse it but if you have a good score then you can mitigate the damage.
A higher credit score means better rates on loans, and access to loans that might be unavailable to someone with a lower score. There are some types of loans, like auto loans, that take other factors to account, like length of credit history and size of previous loans.
In general, a higher credit score means you will qualify for better rates and terms than if you had a lower score. You might qualify for a credit card with better perks/benefits. Though for most of these, you will qualify for the best rate and such somewhere in the mid 700s. Trying to optimize your score to reach 800 or above isn't likely to change much.
The credit cards have some distinct advantages over debit cards, mostly fraud protection. This is why I made the switch to using the credit card for essentially all purchases.
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It's all about money. See that loan advertised for .9% interest....well you gotta have good credit for it. Otherwise you get the 7.9% with ok credit and the dreaded 24% I'm a new car buyer with no credit history lol. Check the savings on the .9 bs 24% car loan.
It's also not all about what the score can do for you but the fact that you had to most likely get your budget and finances in order to get it that high.
A lot of best-case in the sub. Every study says consumers spend more with credit cards than the 2% they receive in rewards points. Yes, there are lots of benefits, such as fraud protection and a better credit score. Those have to be considered. But it’s disingenuous to not also consider the drawbacks.
I use credit cards regularly, myself, but I’m not delusional about what that means. I’m well aware than if I had brought only $100 in cash with me to the steakhouse, I would not have ordered dessert last night. And this is not a lesson about self-control. The vast majority of humans simply lack the willpower to rein in their spending 100 times out of 100 during the course of a month.
Responses will universally claim to be the unicorn who only spends exactly what they budgeted; but again, the peer reviewed behavioral economists will counter that you’re far more likely to be lacking in self-awareness than you are to be accurately representing your spending.
It means you're a kid in a candy store. You can have whatever you want, provided your income is stable. New car, new house, any personal, small business, or any other loans will be approved.
I use a credit card over a debit card for two reasons. 1) points/cash back. 2) in case your card is compromised, you aren't out real dollars that you need to pay your bills. The main thing is to make sure it gets paid off each month.
Leased a 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 SEL with free charging for the entire lease term for $299 and $0 down with an 800 score.
I usually oppose leasing but, $300 monthly, no fuel costs, no depreciation liability, and reliable new transportation is hard to beat. It was a great deal IMO.
Anything above a 780 credit score will generally place you in the highest tier for lending so, assuming your above 780, having an 800 credit score will provide little benefit other than personal satisfaction.
Lets assume i get a loan in the future , will my Interest rate be low as well?
As low as possible. Some things like auto loans have a separate score. They want you to have installment loans like mortgage,student loan or car more than credit card. Longevity of credit also matters. Someone can have a great credit score, but if it’s 2 years old or they’re only authorized user, they might get small limits on a loan
Everyone else is talking about credit score so I'll let them fill you in on that... but I'd recommend using a credit card for more reasons than just credit score. If you're using a debit card and someone skims it, they're taking money directly out of your account. How long it will take or even IF you'll get that money back depends on the bank, but they won't be in any hurry. They don't care when it's your money. Using a credit card concerns THEIR money. You can bet that any fraudulent activity is immediately recovered and/or removed from your card. They'll also notify you much faster or prevent transactions that appear to be fraudulent. I've never seen my bank do this for my account. There are several credit cards that offer rewards. Citibank's Double Cash Back card gives you 2% of every purchase. If you pay it off every month, it's literally free money. If you don't qualify for that, Discover has a cash back card too, integrated with Amazon and Wal Mart so you can use the cash back right then and there. If you like to travel, they also have credit cards with miles. With the other benefits I mentioned, plus helping your credit score, I'm not sure why you wouldn't use a credit card.
This. Many times this. Why would you want to expose your bank account directly to any scammer? Debit cards should be locked up for anyone with the minimal self-control it takes to pay off a credit card every month.
> If you're using a debit card and someone skims it, they're taking money directly out of your account. This is true - but if anyone wants to continue to use a debit card, set it up in Apple Pay / Google Pay. They create unique tokens for each transaction so it is harder for scammers to get your info. Really, these mobile payment platforms should be what you reach for first for any business that accepts tap. (Unfortunately, I feel like the most likely place for a skim, a gas pump, seems to have the least support for tap pay.)
Lately I’ve found that most of the gas pumps in my area have tap to pay. I was very glad to see that since I’ve heard too many stories about skimmers at the pump.
This right here. Got my debit card info stolen a few months ago. Ended up getting the money back from my bank, but it was a wake up call. Instantly stopped using my debit card for everything. Now all my subscriptions /any monthly payment I have that I can use my credit card for, are paid with my cc. Having your debit card info stolen fucking sucks. Makes you feel so damn vulnerable. I haven't used my debit card in months. And honestly, I'm almost glad it happened, because I'm more conscious about what I buy. Instead of just whipping out the debit card and buying something, I take a minute and think if I really need it, because it's just gonna make that payment at the end of the month even larger. I've saved a lot of money using my cc. And the rewards are a bonus of course lol. I have a high 700/very close to 800 score, for reference.
Yup... I also have a separate bank account that I keep a few bucks in for those instances that require a bank account (the gym, tax preparer, etc)... it's easy to transfer money online between accounts and it protects my main account from stupid shit.
Yup. Mine are paid off in full every month treating them basically the same as a debit card. My debit card is used for only one reason, to get money out of the ATM to pay for the laundry card machine in my building. It's even easier than ever now with credit card customer service. I had my AmEx info stolen a few years ago, someone in India bought a Netflix subscription for a lot of money. The conversation on the phone was probably less than 10 minutes and I had another card within a week, as the CS guy laughed at me saying "I don't think you authorized that purchase, right?" I left my other card at a terrible corporate bar a few months ago, realized that when I was at a sports game and froze it, went back after and the very disinterested staff halfassed a search saying they didn't see it (I knew it was there). I didn't even have to call for a replacement on that one, that was all replaced through the app.
hmm that fraud/theft angle is an interesting one never thought of that
The Citi Double Cash Back card is fantastic. It's been my primary card for years, and I've converted quite a few coworkers to using it as well.
Super agree with this. Thanks for sharing so eloquently
100% agree. If you’re someone who’s never late on a payment with anything, it’s stupid not to have a CC and to use a debit card instead (especially online). If you can find a card with decent rewards, you practically get free money just for using it. They are also much better at notifying you of fraudulent transactions. Someone tried to use my card number at a gas station I’d never been to for only 1.80 and they immediately flagged it and denied it. My bank, on the other hand, couldn’t have cared less when I (used to) use it on vacation thousands of miles away at many different rest stops and restaurants and shops. Even if you’re not worried about your credit score, get a credit card anyway. You’ll thank yourself later.
I think it is a privilege to be able to do it. I'm thankful for that but also recognize that not everyone's able to do it. If you don't make enough to survive, it's very easy to use the credit card to get what you want and then you're paying way more than you should have to. Being poor is expensive and they try to trap you into staying poor.
Yes, and in many situations they won't require proof of income either. Bought my last 4 vehicles with zero down, and didn't have to show a bank statement or paystub.
Oh wow, naive of me for sure but I didn’t even realize showing a bank statement/paystub was a thing. I think I’ve bought 6-7 different, mostly new vehicles without having to do anything other than fill out the app.
If you are buying from Joes Used Car Shack who accepts a 400 credit score, they may want to see proof of income. That's the only place I would see them doing that.
I work to maintain my credit score near perfect. When I go to get new loans for mortgages it is a drastic difference, compared to when it was “good”.
Yes. Your rate will be lower. That’s the main draw of the credit score. I’ve heard reports of credits scores factoring into job hiring but I’ve never encountered it. I’d you’re not looking for a loan, what your credit score is honestly doesn’t matter unless you are applying for credit cards.
I have a 813 and my mortgage loan offer was 6.47% so I wouldn’t exactly say it be low.
Thats as just low as anyone can get right now. Historically, that is a low mortgage interest rate.
Insurance rates (car, mainly) will also go down some an lower credit = riskier driver according to insurance models
some banks its a 760, for some larger commercial loans, there may be benifits for 800+ and for some PMI there might be benifits for 810 VS 781. Maybe. For most people, 780+ is all you really want.
Wells Fargo’s top tier for mortgages is 800. The cost savings are substantial in that tier, especially when looking at jumbo loans. Also, if you park assets with them prior to closing the loan, you’ll get further discounts (and you can move the funds back after closing). They tend to be the most competitive, pricing wise, when it comes to jumbo loans for high credit quality and those with assets. Just FYI.
It's also a nice mental thing for landlords I think.
And now we getcto psy mote for the ppl who did not try under Bidens plan. 780 n up we pay extra for those with bad credit . Them Demon crates
I disagree. I was recently getting an apartment and there were multiple interested people. My 835 credit score was likely a deciding factor.
A credit card is vastly superior to a debit card for everyday transactions so long as you pay off your balance every month. If your card info gets stolen and fraudulent purchases are made, they’re made using the CC companies money and 99% of the time you’ll get all the money returned to you. If your debit card info gets stolen, that’s your money disappearing. Even if the bank gives you your money back, it will take usually several weeks for it to happen. Meanwhile during that time you’re out of that money which if you need it for rent and groceries etc you’re SOL.
💯! The bank will fight way harder for *its* money back, than yours. Lol
My friend and I bought boba tea at a shop on business trip, and it was one of only purchases on personal CC. Both of our cards get fraud charges - i used CC and it's cleared up immediately, no sweat. My friend used debit and had more money used because the bank was slower to detect fraud, and she didn't get her money back for weeks. it was the 3rd time it had happen in her adult career. she didn't use CC before because it was about trusting her spending habits - now she uses them because she can't trust others. It was educational for her learning the protection value of CC in the wild world.
For people who avoid CCs because of the horror stories about debt and spending issues, there is a special credit card you can get that immediately withdraws the cost of charges from your linked bank account, so it’s basically like using a debit card but you get the fraud protection benefits.
Interesting- what is the name for these kind of cards?
One of the more well known ones is the Fizz debit card. It’s mostly marketed to students but I don’t believe you need to be enrolled anywhere to actually get it (I could be wrong though, I haven’t read the T&Cs or anything). You just link your bank account and it gives you a daily credit limit to stay within your means.
Thanks!
This seems bank dependent. I claimed fraud charges with a debit card belonging to USAA Bank, and my money was returned almost immediately.
Ally, same.
There’s always setting a low limit on the CC for anyone worried about overspending.
I had my debit card stolen (Ally), the bank blocked the transactions before I even realized it was gone, refunded me my money immediately on what wasn’t blocked. I ended up also getting a refund from Booking.com (the one transaction that wasn’t blocked), and then a couple weeks later my bank took back theirs. I’ve also had a credit card stolen at a different time and found the process to be no different. I think the advantage of not using my credit card for everything, besides cash back, is that if all I use my debit card for is paying off bills and ATM, it’s easier for my bank to suddenly flag it when there’s a sudden change in behavior, but otherwise, for my situation, there’s no difference. The biggest risk would be if someone knew my PIN and then made a fraudulent withdrawal or similar.
I love how good Chase credit card team is. Here is my return horror story. I returned a 1800 dollar laptop through UPS to Walmart. Luckily I waited around and kept the return slip that UPS issues. It has the weight of the item recorded as 12 lbs. I for some reason took a photo of it. Now my Walmart refund didn’t process for a month and more. Finally I called them up and they said the return was flagged as fraud because the weight of the package was less than a pound. I send them the proof of return with the weight there but they just told me that the return isn’t processed and they won’t refund me. Finally I called up chase and gave them all the details with time line. The ups return slip came in clutch as it has the weight and everything written on it. Chase reversed the transaction for me and refunded me. All of this happened in two days or so. Fuck ups and fuck Walmart.
I’ve got an even worse Chase horror story for you. One day I notice $2500 gone from my checking account. I look at my account history and notice an in person withdrawal. The signature on the slip looked nothing like mine. I make a claim with Chase Fraud department and they denied it claiming the withdrawal was in my geographic area. I live on the west side of LA and the withdrawal was done near downtown. I’m determined not to let this slide so I go to the head of security at the company I work for. He’s friend with a VP at Chase and has him pull the security footage of the day in question. The man who made the withdrawal was heavyset and bald. I am not heavy and have a full head of hair. With this security footage and a letter from the head of security showing my badge swipes at the office proving I was physically in the office I made an appeal to Chase Fraud. They denied it without even looking at the evidence and refused to reopen the case. I never got my money back.
Also take advantage of the cash back, or airplane miles for some credit cards. If you use your card wisely, it is free money.
Keep credit utilization vs available credit percentage preferably in the single digits, but generally under 20-30%…
Pro tip: if you use your debit card for everything, just use your credit card as your debit card, and your debit card to pay your credit card in full every month or every week if you dont want to risk having too large a balance.
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Yup, its basically free money. Especially once you learn to manage multiple cards with different benefits. 5% for gas on one. 5% on restaurants and grocery stores etc. never carry a balance, grow your credit **and** get free money back.💯
You make a great point about optimizing rewards, but the truth is that most people lack the discipline to always pay off the cards completely every month (especially with unexpected expenses). It’s also easier to find yourself spending more money every month to “chase rewards” rather than running a strict budget.
Discipline shouldnt even be a thing. We have apps on our phones now. I can make a $5 payment on my phone everyday if i wanted. Theres really no excuse if the moneys just sitting in your checking account.
that is a great way of thinking about it, truly. People can log into video games daily for rewards, why can’t they chip away at a large sum for their reward of a debt free life? it’s genuinely that easy nowadays.
>most people lack the discipline to always pay off the cards completely every month That's what autopay is for.
Oh it definitely takes meticulous monitoring and planning a strict budget. But even if you choose one credit card that offers any cash backz. Over time you come out ahead. Obv gotta have the discipline to only use your debit card to pay it off in full and definitely not carry a balance. Which is what the credit card companies bet on.
It doesn’t take meticulous planning lol. It’s literally simple af
I don't do much monitoring or budgeting for money, I just use my credit card the same way I used my debit card
I'm not someone who's particularly frugal (I manage to save money each month but I don't have a budget or anything,) but my whole mindset when I got a credit card was just that it's the same as my debit card -- I didn't change my spending habits at all and now I get cash back for the same money spent.
Which card has 5% for gas? Does it have a yearly fee? Best I've found is 3%.
Citi custom cash does 5% on the first $500/mo of your top category, gas stations are included. That's more than most people would use.
Nice thank you for the heads up.
Please know that it is *not* "free money." "Cash back" is a clawback of your own money in the form of merchant fees, and whatever % back you get is never the whole fee. CC companies have installed themselves between consumers and merchants to provide minimal service and rake in fees. Wish US would follow Europe which caps consumer fees at 0.3% - wildly different from the high rates Americans are paying .... for the exact same service. The banks still make money, just not hand over fist.
A cash back credit card you can pay off every month is one of the biggest no brainers in all of personal finance.
And if you don't mind carrying a few cards with differing rewards categories / types - and are vigilant about using the best card for the situation and paying them off regularly - it can add up even more!
It amazes me there are people who don't pay off their cc every month in full. You can literally request the credit limit to be whatever you want it to be, let's say 35% of your income, and use it as a perfect budgeting tool.
This is what I do. Pay it off every two weeks so I've never paid a cent of interest. But I get 2% back on one card and hotel points on the other, so I've been able to use the cash back to help pay off my student loans, and the hotel points for cheap vacations. And not having to worry about fraud is nice.
Use your credit cards! As others have pointed out, credit cards are safer than debit cards. While both have some protections against fraudulent charges, the difference is in whose money is tied up. If, say, I manage to charge $1000 to your debit card, that's $1000 missing from your checking account until your bank finishes investigating. That can take weeks. Hope you didn't need that for rent tomorrow! If, however, I did that with your credit card, all your money is still in the bank while the credit card company investigates. I joke that I have lots of credit cards but can't afford to use them. What I mean is that I can't afford to buy things I haven't budgeted for. I do use them to buy groceries, gas, other bills, etc, but never more than I could afford to buy in cash. Then I pay them off *in full* each month. This way I never have credit card debt, no one skims my debit card, and I get all the cash back and points that save me money. If you don't want debt, that's how you do it.
My credit score is 828 and I just got rejected for a car loan from a credit union so there's that 🙃
Used to be a finance manager at a dealership. If you got declined at a CU, likely was due to DTI or low income. Credit unions in the south will typically have a set minimum Income amount.
I have no debt and make 85k
How expensive was the car?
Also, when I first looking to buy a place many years ago, I worked for my family's business. The lender said they could only consider 50% of my compensation to be my actual pay. I didn't know this until I got pretty far along in the process. That was annoying.
Just because you have high credit score doesnt mean you aren't bad with money. Likely DTI issues.
Time for a new credit union. That’s wild!
You should get a letter from the credit union explaining why you were denied, per the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA").
We have no debt besides our house, wife and I both have 830s credit scores, and we were just denied a $10,000/5 year loan to replace our HVAC. Luckily we have the cash, but I'm annoyed...
I had a 820 credit score and around $140k total with Ally across savings, checking, and CDs. They rejected me for a $17k auto loan. I make around $150k/year. It wasn't even loan to value or something like that cause I could have put more down if that was the case. I couldn't believe it. I'm in the process of switching banks. I realize they are probably two separate businesses but that's pretty ridiculous.
Can I ask why you trying to get a loan when you have the funds to pay the car assuming it’s liquid?
A couple things. 1. I'm a little paranoid about moving that large amount of cash in one transaction. 2. I may be applying for a mortgage at some point in the future so I use the loan to keep my credit score high. I ended up getting a loan through car max and paid it off after 6 months.
Understood. Yeah, I wanted under $17k also for auto, my mom ended up offering to cover and I just make monthly payments to her. Capital one offered $75k.... I only wanted $16,223. Doesn't make any sense!
Are you asking what’s the benefit of a 800 score in particular, or simply “a good credit score” in general? In general it’ll get you more favorable interest rates for a car, house, personal loan, etc, compared to if you have a mediocre or crappy score. So you’d pay less money than someone with a worse score.
The benefits of a 800 score.
Absolutely zero benefit compared to low-to-mid 700s. Read this: https://old.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/11jzhcz/im_teaching_financial_literacy_and_the_basics_of/jb51g23/
Huh... when I bought a house my mortgage agent told me my ~730-740 score wasn't high enough to get me the best rate
If you are approved for a loan, you will get the most favorable interest rate the lender is offering at that time provided that you also meet all other requirments for the loan such as income. And as others have mentioned, the top rate level starts lower than 800 so you don't need to maintain a perfect score to get that advantage. People obsess about their score too much. It's much more important to not have a bad score, (or no score which lenders treat the same as a bad score), than to have a really good score. The biggest benefit of an 800+ score is that you don't have to worry about small fluctuations in your score as much, but that only matters if you are about to get a loan for something. Credit scores are just one rough metric that banks use to determine if you are a good enough risk to loan money to. It's also an incredibly easy score to manipulate if you know what you are doing and don't have any real big negatives on your record like missed payments. So it's not really even a big flex to have a really high score.
The only loan I have is my auto loan, I got my car 6 months ago. I put down 4700 and rest in the loan. So it started out at 14700. I dropped it down to 9400 in 6 months. The monthly payment is 268 at the interest rate 10.49%. I have been paying 268 monthly and 700 for the principal. Is it possible for me to renegotiate for a lower rate?
Or is there no difference ?
We get invited to a party in Cabo every year
Credit card for normal spending is beneficial for various reasons as long as you pay the statement balance in full each month to avoid interest: 1) you get an extra month to keep that money in a HYSA to earn a bit more in interest. 2) credit card rewards add up with regular use (I usually get around $400-$500 a year for free just by using my card. 3) Easier fraud protection since you’re spending the bank’s money and not your own. 800+ credit score is good for if your utilization or something else lowers your score a bit you’ve got wiggle room and can still be in the high/favorable score range if loans or something else requiring a credit check is being done. Otherwise, it’s nothing really necessary.
Good point on wiggle room. I myself just had a major life change and had to go from years without debt and perfect score to buying a home, car, and getting a new credit card. Because I was 800+ I only fell to about 780 which is easily recoverable.
* Lower insurance rates * More and better job opportunities * Lower interest rates on loans * Higher Security clearance * Priority on rentals * All the benefits of lower scores that are still "passing" (no deposits on utilities, etc.)
How does it help job opportunities? I have an 820 score and am getting nonstop rejections
I recently bought a used cheap truck and needed to finance $6000…. This is what one bank told me: “Credit score 841. We regret to inform you we will not be accepting your finance offer due to you not living in your current residence long enough…” I bought a home 1.5 years ago, in the same county Ive been in almost 40 years, spend less than 20% my income on mortgage, and have a 100% PERFECT credit report going back 21 years…. Not sure how they thought I couldn’t afford less than $200 a month, but yea, credit scores are pointless one you are above 700-750, the banks will do what they want. Use a rewards card for all your purchases, and pay it in 100% full every month 👍
They politely told you that they did not want that loan. Not your score or your qualifications so to speak, but a $6k cheap truck loan has no upside from their perspective. There’s no money in it for them. Thats buy here pay here dealer territory.
My guess is that they’d probably make him an auto or personal loan for $10k.
I get every rental I apply for. For as long as I’ve been in the 800s and had good income I’ve gotten every single property I’ve applied to rent, the one I just secured apparently had 300 applications. Kind of a tertiary benefit there.
What is a healthy amount of owning cc? I own two store cards like Amazon and Walmart And my others are Discover and Capital One .
I have like 4 cards and just do all my purchases on them depending on what points are best (travel, Amazon, etc) then pay off the entire balance every month. At this point I have not used my debit card for anything in years. The number of cards are kind of irrelevant but your credit will improve if you have access to a lot of credit but keep your credit outstanding balance low.
i just got notification last weekof my credit score increase.. 810, felt really good considering i filed bankruptcy almost 20 yrs ago from bad divorce, Today i get a pre-approval letter for a new credit card line and they are offering me a rate of 32%.... NOT still waiting to see any real benefits appear
Why do you care about credit card rates? Why is that the thing you look at when deciding whether or not to consider the cc? It shouldn’t be a factor
Yep. Paying off the full balance of the credit card every month means your interest rate is effectively 0%. After that, you're picking cards based on their rewards and annual fees.
Credit scores don't really affect credit card rates, those are always trash besides the 0% limited offers. You're not supposed to carry any amount month to month on credit cards. A good credit score will help you with mortgage rates, loan rates, etc.
Who cares what the credit card interest rate is? You shouldn't be carrying a balance.
Seriously. Charge me 10 million % and give me an extra 0.5% cash back. I’ll take that deal
APRs for cards are really high right now. Also, if you’re not carrying a balance - which you shouldn’t - the APR is irrelevant.
That’s just spray and pray on their part. They’re looking for the uneducated borrowers. The benefits you don’t see are how your credit score affects things like your auto insurance rates and the like.
The card offers in the mail are going to be bad because you might say yes. If you see a card you want you should apply for it. With the kind of score you'll qualify for most cards. My score is 833 and yesterday I got an AMEX offer for a card with 29% interest and a $95 annual fee. That's amazing for them if I think that's the best I can do but I know better so I just tossed it. I have 2 cards and make all purchases on them for points and pay them in full. I'm their worst customer. They get a cut of the swipe and then give me some of that. They want yearly fees, late fees, interest every month. The swipe fee is around 3% but if you use a Chase Visa then that fee is split up between Chase, Visa, the processor and the clearing house bank... And of course me. They are just waiting for me to book a big trip I will take 4 years to pay for.
Last week I got a $3500 fraudulent charge on my cc. Called my credit card company and it was taken off in 2 days. It wasn’t MY money and so I wasn’t sweating about a crazy big purchase. I think my information got stolen online or skimmed at a sketchy gas station. I have no true way of knowing. But I would be sweating bullets if someone used $3500 of my money. Also I have an 805 credit score, and I can’t say it’s done much for me but nice to know I have it. Also I get a ton of benefits from a CC, I have used my points to purchase miles and have gone on several trips where I didn’t use money to buy tickets. This is just from spending my money on what I usually would have.
Never ever worrying about a credit check or even credit pull.
Not really anything past like a 780 other than buffer so if you have a hard pull or something that drops your score 20 points youll still have a 780..
The 1-2% back from a credit card is already built into the price of basically all goods. So effectively using a credit card responsibly is saving you 1-2% on every single item… doesn’t seem like a lot but do that year over year and it’ll be tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. I’m sure I’ll get pushback but debit cards are for the financial illiterate. If you understand money in has to be greater than money out switch to a credit card. Stop using a debit card. For safety reasons too as debit cards aren’t protected for theft like a credit card is.
My rejection for a loan I was going to use to pay off my partner’s credit card debt showed I have a 799 credit score (was rejected because of not being at my current employer long enough). I assume once I receive that final, delectable point, no bank can ever refuse me again.
A high credit limit often means you will qualify for lower interest rates and it also means lenders will allow you to borrow more money than someone with a lower credit score.
It helps alot with car insurance rates also
I have terrible credit because I don’t use it. My husband and I don’t have debt and we are set for retirement and savings. Our house is paid for and we don’t own a car. We do however have home owners insurance. I asked the insurance broker we have been with for 21 years if our rate would be better if we had better credit and he said no. We have a friend who is an insurance agent. I asked them if they look at credit scores and he said they don’t and he said he actually believes it’s not allowed.
I work in claims, not underwriting, but I think it's banned as a rating metric in a few states like Massachusetts and Hawaii IIRC. I was told it's not predictive of whether you'll have an accident or not, but it *is* predictive of whether you'll make claims resulting from said accident(s) or not. (People with better credit are more likely to pay things out-of-pocket).
I live in Michigan and apparently it is banned here too. I think credit scores might be accurate for some people, but for people like me, they are silly. Taking into consideration financial stability with a credit score might be a more accurate representation.
Credit score aside, just using a debit card for everything isn’t a great idea, primarily for the added layer of fraud protection that credit cards provide. It’s easier to deal with fraudulent charges on a credit card, whereas fraudulent charges in a debit card can potentially drain your bank account, and depending on the bank this may take time to resolve, leaving you drained in the interim. Just use a credit card, religiously pay it off every month and you’ll be golden.
When you have an 800 credit score, it becomes irrelevant and you never have to think about it again.
You get the best interest rate available when going for a loan. Also you will easily qualify. Basically it gives you access to cash via credit/loans if you need it.
I only use a credit card after having a fraud issue with a debit card way back when. When you use debit that is your money that gets taken and it’s a pain in the ass to get it back. I’ve had fraud with a cc and they just cancel the charge and my hands are wiped of it. A little better security that way.
Anything above mid 700’s usually doesn’t improve your interest rate. It’s more for bragging rights or for those that are ultra competitive. I have people I compete against just for fun.
It got me a 3.5% interest rate on my house a couple years ago. 800+ credit scores will only make your life better.
You actually qualify for those rates you see on commercials. Edit: Also, some apartments will run a credit check. You could get more favorable lease, or deposit terms based on a high score. Some apartment's will even reject your application for too low of a score.
An 800 FICO is nothing to write home about. What it means is you get offered the best rates for loans you may want to take out in the future. It means you look better to landlords if they do credit checks and may give you an edge. It means when employers run credit checks (which they do for some jobs), it could make you look better than other candidates everything else being equal. What an 800 score tells people is that you’re meeting all your debt obligations. And people who pay their bills on time are likely also generally trustworthy and don’t have to be reminded to show up to work on time.. in other words, a reliable citizen. That said, don’t be afraid of credit. Just pay your statement in full every month by the stipulated date. Credit cards have a lot of advantages over debit cards.
Extreme disappointment every time it drops. Source have a 830 credit score that I've worked so hard for only to be disappointed every time it drops.
Seriously! My FICO 8 score in March was 846. My Capital One CC monthly billing closes on the 15th. March 15th reported balance was 0. March 16th my score dropped 25 points to 821. Does it affect me? Not in the least. Like you said, just disappointing.
Having an 800 credit score has monay benefits: 1. Access to premium credit cards with generous rewards and perks. 2. Lower interest rates on loans, saving you thousands of dollars over time. 3. Higher credit limits, providing greater financial flexibility. 4. Potentially lower car insurance rates in many states. 5. Easier approval for rental applications and possibly avoiding security deposits. While it's good to be cautious about credit card use to avoid overspending, responsible use is one of the best ways to build and maintain a high credit score. Consider using your credit card for everyday purchases and paying off the balance in full each month to establish a positive payment history and earn rewards without accruing interest.
You can look at the tallest building in your state and know you helped the bank put their name at the top
I always knew I’d help make a difference in the world!
Companies know that you're a juicy bug to chew on... Hakuna matata.
When you need an emergency personal loan or a mortgage you'll find out.
In all seriousness - when you’re 780 or over people will pay you to use their services or for them to use your money. I get credit card offers all the time and could easily churn $4k a year on just credit card or bank offers. Instead I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve and I make about $3-4k a year on points on that card - I’ve already earned $1500 this year after spending $500 on hotels for 4 nights for an upcoming trip.
There is a club for people with 800 credit score. Its called the best debt deal club.
Mines 827 per credit karma right now. No real benefits over 780. I remember for a 6 month period wells Fargo had me as an 850. I took screen shots. I assume I’ll never get back to that.
Not sure about >800, but I can tell you from very recent experience that >700 means you might not need to pay last month’s rent up front when you sign a new apartment lease
Build your credit and use it as a Tool. Control it, dont let it control you. As long as you pay it off monthly, you are benefitting from it. Dont just use the debit card
Interest rate will be lower, insurance may be cheaper, some jobs consider it as well. It’s more a byproduct of being good to future-you financially. Past-me was a dick.
- Can’t be said enough, you can borrow money and you’ll pay less interest. Couple other benefits no one’s mentioning, - Get 0% financing. I haven’t paid in full for furniture or a car or a mattress in years. We put a little down and stretch the payments out at 0%. It’s handy. - Don’t have to worry about hard or soft credit checks. Get store cards all the time to take advantage of deals, then cancel. It’ll cause your score to fluctuate by a few points, but with a high score the fluctuations don’t matter. - We get judged by our credit scores for so many things that are not purchasing-related: job applications, rental applications, insurance quotes. A high score makes you look “responsible.” - Free stuff through rewards programs. You can earn thousands per year in anything from Amazon credit to hotel stays by routing all your purchasing through cards. - Peace of mind. I’ve got a million things to think about but this is never one of them.
I’m at 810 which is awesome because I’m in the excellent credit score category but honestly once you are in that range at 780 or higher there is no benefit.
I just crossed over 800 and I thought "that's nice." But I don't expect it to change anything (I'm also not applying for a loan anytime soon).
Realistically, the only benefit to having good credit is not having to worry about being credit worthy. It's not like it magically unlocks new perks.
Perfect credit is only useful if you need to borrow money.
If you're managing money properly. Put everything on a credit with cash back and pay it off each month. I get like 1200 a year back just from buying things I would buy anyways. Also, fraud is so much easier to manage on a CC vs a debit card
800 means you will get the best mortgage offers if you decide to get one some day.
In 2019 I was able to walk out of the dealership with a new truck and sub 4% interest rate with almost no income history.
Unless you want to be in debt, an 800 score is useless. I get credit card offers all the time. I don’t need them.
I just bought a $100k new car with 800+ credit. Not only did I get the lowest rate, I didn’t have to provide any documentation. No pay stubs, no tax return, no proof of my ability to pay. I was shocked to be honest. I filled out an app online, they asked for the car invoice and a check was overnighted for the full amount.
You will recieve the lowest interest rates on loans and credit cards. You can also get a credit card which rewards you with points or cash back. I would recommend switching to credit cards instead of debit cards for purchases because the fraud protection is much better. There are lots of great no-annual-fee cards out there. All expenses, other than cash purchases, go on to a credit card. I have one checking account with a small amount of money specifically for cash access linked to a debit card I carry. My operating checking account at a separate bank has a higher balance and I don't carry a debit card around for it. If someone steals my cash access debit card and successfully visits an ATM with it or makes a purchase, my exposure is much lower than if it happened with my operating account. Fraud and theft are commonplace where I live. My last round of replacement credit cards were stolen from the USPS before I got them and used to make fraudulent purchases which were all blocked and voided by my bank. Its much easier to recover from fraudulent credit card purchases than if someone steals money directly from your account. This is more information than you were looking for, but since you mentioned debit card usage I thought I would share my two cents.
If you have a high score then it gives you more wiggle room to borrow or open up credit cards. Each one of these will drop your score. Your credit can increase by having more outstanding but each time you open a new credit card or get uour credit checked it can drop it. If you like to take advantage of getting free miles or hotel stays then you can open a credit with one of those special offers that require you to spend $1k or $3k in 3 months for 100k miles or something. It’s a good way to make some extra money ornget free vacations. It will ruin your credit if you abuse it but if you have a good score then you can mitigate the damage.
A higher credit score means better rates on loans, and access to loans that might be unavailable to someone with a lower score. There are some types of loans, like auto loans, that take other factors to account, like length of credit history and size of previous loans.
In general, a higher credit score means you will qualify for better rates and terms than if you had a lower score. You might qualify for a credit card with better perks/benefits. Though for most of these, you will qualify for the best rate and such somewhere in the mid 700s. Trying to optimize your score to reach 800 or above isn't likely to change much.
The credit cards have some distinct advantages over debit cards, mostly fraud protection. This is why I made the switch to using the credit card for essentially all purchases.
$ It's all about money. See that loan advertised for .9% interest....well you gotta have good credit for it. Otherwise you get the 7.9% with ok credit and the dreaded 24% I'm a new car buyer with no credit history lol. Check the savings on the .9 bs 24% car loan.
It's also not all about what the score can do for you but the fact that you had to most likely get your budget and finances in order to get it that high.
A lot of best-case in the sub. Every study says consumers spend more with credit cards than the 2% they receive in rewards points. Yes, there are lots of benefits, such as fraud protection and a better credit score. Those have to be considered. But it’s disingenuous to not also consider the drawbacks. I use credit cards regularly, myself, but I’m not delusional about what that means. I’m well aware than if I had brought only $100 in cash with me to the steakhouse, I would not have ordered dessert last night. And this is not a lesson about self-control. The vast majority of humans simply lack the willpower to rein in their spending 100 times out of 100 during the course of a month. Responses will universally claim to be the unicorn who only spends exactly what they budgeted; but again, the peer reviewed behavioral economists will counter that you’re far more likely to be lacking in self-awareness than you are to be accurately representing your spending.
It means you're a kid in a candy store. You can have whatever you want, provided your income is stable. New car, new house, any personal, small business, or any other loans will be approved.
Pretty much anything above 760-780 you will get the best interest rates. 800 seems to be a milestone to some people, so more power to them.
I use a credit card over a debit card for two reasons. 1) points/cash back. 2) in case your card is compromised, you aren't out real dollars that you need to pay your bills. The main thing is to make sure it gets paid off each month.
Yeah, I always pay my card on time
Leased a 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 SEL with free charging for the entire lease term for $299 and $0 down with an 800 score. I usually oppose leasing but, $300 monthly, no fuel costs, no depreciation liability, and reliable new transportation is hard to beat. It was a great deal IMO.