Reply #102: Guess what? You can get a credit card and build up positive credit without using it once...

[onetwo]

...and you certainly don't have to carry a balance. Every month without a late payment is a positive notch in your belt regardless of usage.

Another shocker -- your creditworthiness goes up as your balances go down. Do you want to know the quickest way to kill your credit score and get your interest rates jacked across the board? Start carrying large revolving credit balances. On the other hand, combine a long credit history (with aged OPEN accounts) with little to no actual credit usage, and watch your mailbox fill up with some of the most delicious offers the industry can create. Is there ANY other financial product on Earth that allows you to borrow five-to-six figure dollar amounts completely interest-free and completely UNSECURED?

Played correctly, anyone can legally milk the major issuers for thousands of dollars and other rewards. It does require actual discipline, though.

Despite what some seem to believe about the banks, the major issuers CANNOT force you to carry a balance or charge more than you can reasonably pay off during a single billing cycle. Theoretically, a bank could jack your APR to 1000%, but if you don't carry a balance, in the majority of cases you pay ZERO INTEREST. Today, you can have sterling credit and a long, positive credit card history without giving any bank a single dime for anything. So, if you have to pay for a hotel or rent a car with a card, make sure to have the cash at the ready to pay off the charge as soon as it hits and you're good. Easy to do online; some banks even let you do it right on your phone.