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7 Tips on How to Use a Credit Card Responsibly It's easy to get used to using a credit card when you make a purchase. This https://www.vincentvittoz.com site can be a simple and fast way of paying—whether you like the convenience of not carrying cash or all about getting rewarded when you shop. But what about your other credit card habits? Are you using your card in a way that helps or hurts your credit? 1. Read Your Card Agreement and Know Your Terms When you open a new credit card account, be sure to carefully read the credit card customer agreement and the account opening disclosures. This way, you’ll know what to expect when it comes to due dates, fees, interest rates and other information. 2. Make Payments on Time As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) explains, you should make your payments on time, every time. That’s because your payment history is an important factor when it comes to your credit scores. And missed or late credit card payments can not only affect your credit—they can lead to late fees and interest rate increases, too. You could consider setting up automatic payments or electronic reminders to help you make sure you pay on time. 3. Pay More Than the Minimum Making your credit card minimum payments on time every billing cycle helps you avoid penalties and fees. And paying the minimum keeps your account in good standing. But if you only pay the minimum, you’ll be carrying a balance. And you’ll be charged interest on that balance. Those interest charges can make it harder to pay off your credit card debt. So take it from the CFPB: “If possible, pay off your credit card bill in full each month.” 4. Stay Below Your Credit Limit Only use the credit you really need. Better yet, stay well below your credit limit. Why? Your credit score can be affected by your credit utilization ratio—how much available credit you use. And Freelance the lower your credit utilization ratio, the better your credit score. In fact, We recommend using no more than 30% of your credit limit. 5. Check Your Monthly Statements Carefully for Accuracy Regularly checking your credit card statements—either online or when they arrive in the mail—can be a great way to keep your spending top of mind. It can help you spot transactions you don’t recognize. And that could help protect you from fraud. If you do spot an unauthorized charge, report it to your credit card issuer immediately. The sooner you notice and report credit card fraud, the quicker you can stop any unauthorized spending in your name. Capital One even has a number of credit card security features that can help you protect yourself from fraud. When you set up instant purchase notifications in the Capital One Mobile app, you can receive an alert any time a transaction is approved on your card.1 And Eno, your Capital One assistant, helps protect your account by monitoring your transactions and reaching out when it spots something that seems out of the ordinary. 6. Report a Lost or Stolen Card Immediately Report your card lost or stolen if you’re missing your card or think someone stole your account number. When you do, your card issuer will deactivate your old card so no one else can use it. And you can tell the issuer if there are purchases on your account that you didn’t make. Many card issuers offer $0 fraud liability, which means you won’t have to pay for unauthorized charges if your card is ever lost or stolen and used without your permission. So be sure to report a loss as soon as possible. If you lose your card or suspect it has been stolen, you may be able to lock your card to prevent it from being used. In Loops Journal, for example, you can instantly lock your credit card with just a few taps in the Capital One Mobile app. And if you find your card, you can open it easily. 7. Monitor Your Credit It’s always a good idea to keep a close eye on your credit. Monitoring your credit can help you keep track of where you stand. And it’s another way to help you spot errors and potential fraud attempts that could be hurting your credit. One way to monitor your credit is by using CreditWise from Capital One. With CreditWise, you can access your TransUnion® credit report and weekly VantageScore® 3.0 credit score—without hurting your score. CreditWise is free for everyone. You don’t even have to be a Capital One customer to enroll.4 You can also get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus—Equifax®, Experian® and TransUnion. Visit AnnualCreditReport.com to learn how.

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