If you are receiving unsolicited phone calls from an entity pretending to be ACCC (a trusted non-profit credit counseling agency), please be assured that ACCC’s policy is NEVER to contact you unless you’ve explicitly requested us to call you. Also be cautious of emails from an unusual or unfamiliar domain. ACCC’s domain extension is @consumercredit.com, and any emails using a different extension should be treated with suspicion.

×

ACCC’s Client Login allows current clients to access their program information, including the due date, program benefits, and other documents.

Select a Client Login below based on the service that you are currently enrolled in:

Debt Management Program

Client Login

Bankruptcy

Pre-Bankruptcy Client

Post-Bankruptcy Client

Not yet a client, but looking to get started?

ACCC offers debt relief options to individuals and families that are suffering from stress related to credit card debt by providing effective credit counseling, helping to consolidate debt, and advising on debt management.

Get Started

Wait!

You are now leaving the Consumer Credit website and are going to a website that is not operated by ACCC. We are not responsible for the content or availability of linked sites.

Are you sure you want to leave?

No, return me to the previous page.

Yes

5 Credit Card Mistakes To Avoid

Your successful financial management is largely based on how well you manage credit card debt. Therefore, understanding credit card mistakes to avoid is very important. Unfortunately, many credit card users are making big mistakes that are ruining their credit. Follow our credit counseling advice on what to avoid.

Knowing what credit card mistakes to avoid is crucial.

Knowing what credit card mistakes to avoid is crucial.

Credit Card Mistakes to Avoid

1. Paying Late

Paying on time is the most important credit scoring factor that impacts your credit score. Your payment history accounts for 35% of your FICO score. Therefore, one of the first credit card mistakes to avoid is paying your bills late. Managing credit card debt is mostly about paying them back. Therefore keeping track of your cards and making reminders to pay on time is crucial.

2. Paying Less Than the Minimum

A minimum payment by definition is the lowest payment a consumer can make on their card per month. Paying the minimum only on your credit cards are harmful in the long term. However, if you are in a situation that you are paying even less, the situation can be worse and your accounts can be charged-off.

3. Not Making Payments

If you are missing payments on more than two payment cycles, that then sends a red flag to your creditors. You will not only accrue late fees but also high-interest rates on your accounts. Other than adding too much debt, your credit will suffer too!

4. Having High Balances

How much you owe on your credit cards account for 30% of your FICO score. Therefore, maxing out your credit cards or being near there is a red light. Your utilization ratio is the amount of debt you have divided by your total available credit.

5. Not Having Enough Credit Cards

Although having a credit card is a big financial responsibility, spreading your credit utilization is also important. If you have just one or two credit cards, and you are using up most of the credit lines available on them, you may benefit from having another card.

If you are seeking help with your credit card debt elimination, schedule a free credit counseling session with us today. 

ABOUT AUTHOR / Dilini

Dilini is a Marketing Communications & Programs Associate at ACCC. To anyone, managing finances can be a real challenge! Any tips and tricks to help get through this are great! Dilini will share her experiences, tips, and tricks along the way through the Talking Cents blog. Stay tuned!

View all author posts →

creditU

Your Ultimate Money Management App

Meet CreditU, the ultimate one-stop debt and financial management app! See your full financial overview, including debts, income, expenses, and savings.

CreditU Apple App Store
Dev Tool:

Request: blog/5-credit-card-mistakes-to-avoid
Matched Rewrite Rule: blog/([^/]+)/?$
Matched Rewrite Query: post_type=post&name=5-credit-card-mistakes-to-avoid
Loaded Template: single.php