Not all credit is reported equally.
Regular credit cards, mortgages and auto loans just score higher than department store cards. In fact, department store cards can actually be a detriment to your credit. The thinking is that the things you buy at a department store are probably the things you should pay cash for. Yes, that includes furniture or other higher dollar purchases from any type of revolving credit from a store.
Sorry, if you want a higher credit score, save your money up and pay cash for essentially anything less than a car. Or at the very least put the charge on a regular credit card, which counts much higher than a department store card.
In some interesting news today, it was announced that the Target Corporation will no longer be issuing the Target Visa Credit Card but now new qualified applicants will be getting a proprietary card issued directly from Target. Apparently, they did some testing of the market and they found out that people actually spend more money when they use a card specifically for Target as opposed to using a Target Visa Card.
Therefore all new credit customers will be getting a Target card so they can spend more money.
Well to be fair the Target Corporation is just trying to do their job and increase profits. That is their job, that?s what they do.
But the fact is that as a consumer, your job is to look out for yourself. You are responsible for your credit score and for being financially responsible. A department store credit card, even from a great store like Target (or Dillards, Kohls, Macey?s or any number of the other great and wonderful and favorite stores) will not be a benefit for your credit score. And as much as you love those stores, (yes, I love them, too) the best thing to do when you shop there is to pay cash (or use a regular credit card, of course.)
Pay cash. No bills. No negative credit. No credit that counts against your credit score.
Or use a regular credit card. It will count much higher towards your good credit score than a department store card, which may even count against you.
Target To Issue Proprietary Card
