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There are 5 main factors that make up credit score:
- payment history (35%),
- amounts owed (30%),
- length of credit history (15%),
- new credit (10%), and
- credit mix (10%).
First of all, you should always monitor your payments so that to be able to cope with all of them. Secondly, your total outstanding debt shouldn’t exceed 30% of your available credit. Next, if your credit history is short, adding too many new cards can reduce the average age of your credit accounts, which can negatively impact your credit score. Also, note that your accounts had better be of different types. Take care of having a mix of credit cards, personal loans, etc. If you follow all these rules and keep all your credit accounts in good standing, your score won't be irreversibly affected.
In case you have never used a credit card, we would recommend you start with secured credit cards. These cards require a security deposit paid upfront, which means you will need a bank account to do so. However, some secured credit cards offer various ways to pay a security deposit. For example, with the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card the deposit can be paid with a debit card during the application process, or you can pay it later using Western Union or mail a check or money order.
A secured credit card is a good way to build your credit history as it reports the account activity to major credit bureaus. You just need never miss payments and pay off your balance on time. After that, getting approval for an unsecured card will be much easier.