The Big Bad Console Thread - Sway your Station with an Xboner !

Interesting the PS Visa is exceptional for building credit or something - or just coincidence? I've been debating that as the other card to build credit with for myself (for obvious reasons) and if it's actually exceptional for credit building that's icing on the cake.

[For those not up on what I've said elsewhere - always bought cars and such with cash flat out, so haven't been bothering with credit - business plans really require a credit history... plus will make the new house and car replacement (new addition) math possibly work out better than undermining the trust - not doing the math until closer to purchase, but punching up some theoretical ones it looks beneficial on house for sure]

Holy shit, I'm always amazed people like Vaclav exist.

All credit cards are exactly the same for building credit. You buy shit, and you pay it off on time.
The quickest way is obviously to buy shit, and pay it off completely at the end of the month...

You buy cars with cash? wtf are you a drug dealer

Are you sure? I've heard different cards report to the bureaus differently...

And on buying with cash - I screwed myself with credit when I was college age (before the inheritance) because I was foolish with overextending things, and didn't want to go running to family with a financial issue. Then the inheritance came and it was trivial to walk into a dealership get a price negotiated, come back with a cashier's check and walk right out. Plus usually saying "I'll pay in full now" they'll knock a few thousand off. First car after I screwed myself in the younger days I couldn't have done credit if I wanted to because of the hole I gotten myself into, second was just repeating what I was used to. [And additionally, I've only rented besides my high school home that my parents gifted to me - and until my doc bascially told me I had to move for my health I didn't consider leaving that house, I love that house as a house - but its location sucked in many ways]

I'm appreciating the flexibility that the CC's are giving me now that I've brought them back into my existence - but really besides making it easier to offset things when a budget goes over they're only really going to influence big purchases. Right now my limit is about a third of our monthly income so it's hard to get into trouble right now - I really hope I don't fall into my old problems (even if it's just a temporary thing I drain the investments to deal with) again as they inflate to something closer to our monthly income though.

Regime_sl said:

Ya it's suppose to be one of the best actually. You get 10X rewards for buying off the store. I got Dragon age and FC4 with my points so far.

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Wonder if I'll have to crack 700 before they'll take me... (sitting at 670+ right now - but really just "started" as far as they're concerned around Jan 1 - guessing low debt to income and such is helping it alot)

Regime_sl said:

Ya it's suppose to be one of the best actually. You get 10X rewards for buying off the store. I got Dragon age and FC4 with my points so far.

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10x rewards has nothing to do with building credit.

Credit is very simple. You buy shit and pay it off on time your score goes up
You miss even one payment, and your credit card score drastically decreases.

I'm appreciating the flexibility that the CC's are giving me now that I've brought them back into my existence - but really besides making it easier to offset things when a budget goes over they're only really going to influence big purchases. Right now my limit is about a third of our monthly income so it's hard to get into trouble right now - I really hope I don't fall into my old problems (even if it's just a temporary thing I drain the investments to deal with) again as they inflate to something closer to our monthly income though.

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You are using credit cards for all the wrong reasons.

Rule 1) If you can't afford something you don't buy it



Credit Cards are money that works for you if played correctly. When played incorrectly you will be paying them, and that is what they want.

I pay off my credit cards at the end of the month no question. Everything I spend is working for me. Paying the minimum amount because you are buying things beyond what you can afford is a recipe of disaster, and you will end up paying the card companies far more then they will ever give you in bonuses.

Column_sl said:

10x rewards has nothing to do with building credit.

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I don't think he meant that as a singular statement - one statement followed by another side benefit.

And yea, just double checked with some of the websites with raising credit and they definitely have suggestions about making sure how often and how many bureaus a card reports to if you want to raise credit quickest. So unless they're just giving out bad advice, there is a difference in how different cards build credit.

Being that it's Cap One and that's the two we just started though, I'll probably wait out a bit and apply late in the year/early next year though - can't imagine they'll want to throw multiple new cards at someone with three months of history. Hah.

And yea, just double checked with some of the websites with raising credit and they definitely have suggestions about making sure how often and how many bureaus a card reports to if you want to raise credit quickest. So unless they're just giving out bad advice, there is a difference in how different cards build credit.

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Sigh, they are saying you need to check on your credit score constantly to make sure they are all updated with the correct information

Raising credit has everything to do with paying off at the end of the month, and never missing a payment. That goes for your Bank Loans as well.

You are pretty much everything that is wrong with america. Old/young people that spend beyond there means because they are enticed by credit card companies that give higher amounts of "loaned money" based off a credit score.


If you are trying to repair your credit. You buy everything on your credit card, and you pay it off completely at the end of the month. Then you check your credit score to make sure everyone is updating it properly. Theirs services that email you monthly on your progress.

A year of that, and you will have exceptional credit. There is no way around this.

I was - I used to live way above my means nearly 20 years ago. I stick to a pretty reasonable budget with extra left over month to month at this point though. Only stuff within past 10 years I've need to go into the trust for have been ridiculously expensive stuff that's in excess of $4k, in fact I'm quite the opposite - I spend UNDER my means regularly. (I was horrible with money for the first year or so after I got the inheritance though - probably was spent like $200k in the first year while only earning about $45-50k right out of college - sure some of that was paying off my college debt immediately which probably made sense, but the rest was stupid like eating out 3 meals a day 5-6 days a week - and spending $1k+ on each new MtG release, ad nauseum)

And looking more into it now - you're mostly correct that it doesn't matter THAT much - quoting it "95% of all credit cards report the same way, however the rest do report on a higher or lower interval to some or all credit bureaus". So for most cards it wouldn't matter but a fraction are better or worse.

A 30 pt bump in the high 700s sounds like it's one of the few that reports differently. (And in a positive way)

Before I'd do anything I'd check with the accountant anyhow, just spitballing stuff because of the context here.

Regime_sl said:

Jesus Christ he is so fucking retarded.

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Not as retarded as the man that bases the best rewards Credit Card on what points he gets out of the PSN store, and actually thought MS was blocking him based on it.

Its a Visa card Nitwit..

Column, buying stuff and paying it off on revolving debt like a credit card does nothing by itself for your credit. In fact it can hurt your credit if you are buying stuff every month as you're dinging your utilization rate on a card even if you pay it off every month. Mostly because there is a delay in when you pay things off (monthly) vs when its reported. The actual ratio where it starts to ding you is 10%

The Relationship Between Your Credit Score and Credit Card Utilization Rate | Credit Karma

Credit limit tricks: Keep a high score while still using your card

If you get installment loans, mortgages and pay those off then yes, that helps provide solid history but if you charge a bunch every month and then pay it off at the end of the month you'll end up with a higher utilization ratio which can actually hurt your score. Despite the balance getting flipped every month and paid off.

The difference between 820+ and 750 is one account that is over utilization. That could be one 5 year interest free furniture payment plan as an example. Could also be a rewards card balance. Even if its paid in full there is a substantial delay between things being charged vs showing paid off.

The "Best" way to get your score up is to have a zero credit card or revolving debt. Mortgages / installment loans (cars) have very little impact on hurting your score if you have a balance but that isn't the case when it comes to revolving debt.

buying stuff and paying it off on revolving debt like a credit card does nothing by itself for your credit

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I find that very hard to believe.

So to get this straight you are claiming paying off credit cards by itself does nothing to improve your credit score?


From that article

It's important that you practice good habits when managing your credit cards. Charge what you can pay back and make sure your payments are on time

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The "Best" way to get your score up is to have a zero credit card or revolving debt. Mortgages / installment loans (cars) have very little impact on hurting your score if you have a balance but that isn't the case when it comes to revolving debt.

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You cant even get those things without a good credit score, and you will be paying more with a low one.

According to that article the best way for a new creditor is to use the card sparingly every month, and pay it off at the end.

I personally didn't know about the high utilization thing, but to be honest if you have a low credit score you probly have no money to begin with so you are going to be keeping your credit statement as low as possible so you can pay it off at the end of the month anyway..

Regime_sl said:

Best for getting PSN games in a console thread.

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But no Xbox live games because obviously they look at the card as being a PSN reward card first, haha

Column_sl said:

I find that very hard to believe.

So to get this straight you are claiming paying off credit cards by itself does nothing to improve your credit score?

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If you want to build credit, real credit, not just 50th percentile credit in the low to mid 700's your credit cards don't really impact anything except hurt you as you're expected to NOT have a balance on them. That is all I'm saying. Installment loans / mortgages (long term debt) are what builds credit. Credit cards, only hurt your credit when you use them and explained how that is in my last post. They only help when you don't have a balance on them.

So while paying down a credit card does improve your score (drops utilization) the fact is you're hurting your score if you charge more than about 10% of your limit. That was all I was saying. The process of buying stuff on your credit card, even if you pay it in full every month, can hurt your score as there is a significant delay in the payment reporting vs the spending.

I know people like to brag about being in the low to mid 700's but that score really is just mediocre to good depending on where you fall. Most of you have credit cards with > 30% of your balance utilized. Otherwise your score would be higher.

40% of the people have scores >750. That is where the Very good range starts and preferred rates / lines.

You can tell a ton about a person by their credit score which is why its used in a variety of products for pricing.

Column_sl said:

You cant even get those things without a good credit score, and you will be paying more with a low one.

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Bull shit, people 2 years out of bankruptcy can get mortgages and a decent rate (my idiot brother in law got one for 30 years at 4.5% and given his score is in the shitter from a short sale last year that isn't bad) and same with cars etc. What you need to build credit is something like that and pay it off. Keep your card balances 0 and if you take care of the other stuff that 3k credit card limit will be much higher over time as your score rises and you prove yourself.

Regardless, nearly everyone has student loans. Yet another excellent way to build credit.