The secret’s out: Nearly 40 percent of Americans use credit cards to build up their credit score, according to recent data from survey firm Ipsos and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
When used wisely, credit cards have the potential to improve your credit in two key areas. First, credit cards give consumers the chance to build up a history of on-time payments, which makes up 35 percent of their FICO score, according to Credit Karma. FICO scores are used by 90 percent of top lenders, according to myFICO.
