Credit cards are simple enough to understand on their own through a creditor’s or bank’s web portal or phone app. However, it is important at times to get a full credit report to see what the bureaus are displaying when furnishers look up your credit history. It’s easy to find relevant information pertaining to your credit card through a bank’s website such as the balance owed and account number, but there is a lot more information that a single credit card can hold that may not be so easy to find through a bank statement or credit card web app. This information can range from account number, late payment history, to opened dates and inquiries.

Credit reports give you a full picture of what’s appearing on your credit history and what exactly is affecting your credit score. Not only that, it is pertinent to know if there’s any unfamiliar financial information appearing on your credit history as well: fraudulent accounts, inaccurate information, or authorized users. This is beneficial for staying on track with your credit, and every credit bureau (Experian, Equifax, and Transunion) are required by law to give out a free credit report once a year, so it’s a good idea to take the opportunity to grab one to stay up to date.

Besides looking for inaccurate information, it’s important to see if someone has added you as an authorized user to his or her credit card with or without your consent. Being an authorized user does affect credit history and score like any normal credit card, which is a double-edged sword. A good credit card will improve a credit score while a bad credit card with late payments or high balances will be detrimental to a person’s credit score.

Not only that, it’s good to see if any fraudulent accounts are appearing on your credit report. Fraudulent accounts would be any line of credit or installment accounts that are opened in your name without your knowledge. This is usually done by identity thieves who use your good credit score to get money for themselves. Spotting these accounts right away can help you get rid of them and report the fraudulent activity to the proper authorities.

Now let’s look at a normal credit report entry for a credit card:

Different credit reports will often format their credit entries differently. This example entry has been grabbed from a premium service, so it shows the full information. Free or cheap services like Credit Karma will only display the most cursory and rudimentary information and often don’t display account numbers or other information that may be helpful.

Going through the example entry, it starts with the name of the credit card or loan. Remember that some banks, credit unions, credit cards, and creditors will use different names on credit reports compared to what the customer sees; for example. Chase bank credit cards will appear as JPMCB (JP Morgan Chase Bank) on credit reports. After that, the account number will appear on the file as well. When it comes to these types of reports, look for these details:

• High Balance: The highest balance ever reported with the account, not the current balance.
• Date of Last Activity: This usually indicates the last time the account was paid or used. This isn’t usually updated in real-time.
• Date Reported: This will be the date that the creditor reports this information to the credit bureaus. With the above example, you can see that Equifax gets its information updated on a different date.
• Date Opened: When the account was opened. Longer the better for credit score purposes.
• Balance Owed: The last balance reported on a bank or credit card statement. This is not updated in real-time as it’s only reported once a month.
• Account Rating: Says whether or not the account is open or closed.
• Account Description: Sometimes referred to as Bureau Code, this shows whether the account type is an individual account, authorized user account, or a joint account.
• Dispute Status: This determines if the account has been disputed in the past with the bureaus. Some creditors look at this to see if a consumer is actively repairing or fixing their credit.
• Creditor Type: This determines the type of accounts such as a loan or credit card.
• Remarks: This shows if the consumer is disputing this account or if the creditor is currently investigating the account.
• Account Type: This usually refers to the type of credit it is. In this case, the example is of a secured credit card versus a regular credit card
• Credit Limit: The limit of the credit card. If the entry is a loan, there should not be a limit. Remember to keep your balance below 30% of your credit limit for a better credit score.
• Late Payments: Depending on the credit report, it will show how many late payments are on the account and a graphic showing when the late payment was incurred.

If you have received a credit report and found your credit score to be lower than you would have liked, you can always contact us at Fix Your Credit Consulting. Call us at (877) 212-2450 for a free consultation, and we will get you on track on understanding your personal credit history and help build your credit.

If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call at 877-212-2450!

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