Tips to Secure your Credit Card :)

How to Secure your Credit Card ?

Use for Small Purchases You Can Pay Off Each Month

The point of using a secured credit card is to show your ability to responsibly charge and then pay off your balance. To do this, make a few purchases each month and pay your bill in full and on time. By not carrying a balance, you not only avoid paying interest on purchases, but are using a time-tested strategy for building credit.

Pay on Time, and More Than the Minimum

While making your minimum payment on time is one essential element to a healthy credit score, upping that payment each month has added benefits. Among them: helping to pay off more of your balance, which can show that you aren’t able to properly manage your money, and reducing your credit utilization ratio, or the amount you owe compared to your credit limit. Both are factors that affect your credit score.

Make Multiple Payments

Making more than one monthly payment can help keep your balance continually low. This is important because even if you pay in full each month, you can’t be sure when your credit card issuer will send your report to the three credit agencies, and a large balance reduces your overall credit, which can negatively affect your credit score. You may also choose to send a payment after a heftier-than-normal purchase.

Set Payment Alerts

Even the most organized person misses a payment now and then. But when you are trying to build credit, that’s one time too many. Avoid this scenario with payment alerts that remind you of your bill’s upcoming due date. You may choose to set up a “Payment Due” alert with your issuer, and be texted, or manually put together a monthly “alarm” that notifies you a week before your bill is due. 3

Enroll in Auto-Pay

Still concerned about making your payment on time? Perhaps the easiest plan is to enroll in auto-pay, which allows your issuer to automatically deduct the monthly balance from your bank account so you don’t have to keep track of bills.

Discover reports your credit history to the three major credit bureaus so it can help build your credit if used responsibly. Late payments, delinquencies or other derogatory activity with your credit card accounts and loans may adversely impact your ability to build credit. Discover reports your credit history to the three major credit bureaus so it can help build your credit if used responsibly. Late payments, delinquencies or other derogatory activity with your credit card accounts and loans may adversely impact your ability to build credit.