most recent 30 from http://www.ourluckydime.com 2010-08-01T04:20:26Z http://www.ourluckydime.com/feeds/tag/credit-score http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/112/playing-the-credit-game Kyle Cronin 2009-10-14T16:50:52Z 2009-10-14T22:49:59Z

<p>For the past two years my father helped me establish some credit with a car loan. A month and half ago I applied for another one, transferring the existing loan to my sister. At that time I discovered that my credit score was 721, which qualified me for 5.5% interest on my new loan with a 3-year term at my local credit union.</p> <p>About two weeks ago I decided to also take the opportunity to get a credit card from the credit union at a rate of 7.9%, and I've started to realize that apart from paying/not paying on time, I have very little idea about what affects my credit score and/or my credit limit.</p> <p>I've heard that <em>canceling</em> a credit card, as opposed to <em>letting it expire</em> can be a black mark on your credit report. Is this true? What other pitfalls should I avoid?</p> <p>I'm planning on using my new credit card the same way I've been using my debit card - would a lot of little purchases be better or worse than a few large ones (as most people tend to do)? What sort of usage patters should I avoid?</p>