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There are a number of different credit card mistakes that people routinely make that can dramatically decrease their credit score, resulting in the person appearing less credit worthy to credit card lenders.  Most of these common mistakes are things that people would not think of affecting their credit score, but the reality is that there are many different things that can decrease your credit score that you may not be aware of.  If you can steer clear of these common mistakes that millions of people make each year, you can keep your credit score high and the interest rates for your credit cards low.

Not Keeping Credit Card Information Secure
A common mistake that many people make with their credit cards is not keeping the information about their credit cards secure.  Preventing the theft of information by thieves is simple as long as you are diligent about protecting your personal and financial information.  These thieves know how to strike when people are distracted or not paying attention to the information that they are giving out on the internet, on the phone, or by mail and can open many different credit accounts in a person’s name with a small amount of information in just a few hours. 

Carrying A Large Balance On The Credit Card
The best way to use your credit card is to only charge the amount that you are able to repay each month.  If you pay off the balance of your credit card each month, you will not only save a lot of money in interest payments but you will also raise your credit score by demonstrating that you know how to use credit responsibly.  The credit card companies may increase your credit limit so that you have more credit available if you need it because they know that you will repay them at an acceptable rate.

Missed Or Late Payments
The most typical mistake that many people make when it comes to credit cards is to believe that a single late or missed payment on their credit card is not important.  Some people think that the only consequence of a delinquent payment on their credit card is a penalty charge and are willing to pay the charge to avoid having to pay the minimum amount due on the credit card at that time.  These people do not realize that the late payment will also be reported in their credit history and will lower their credit score by a significant amount each time a payment is late or missed. 

Maxing Out Credit Cards
Another common credit card mistake that many people make is to max out their credit cards.  Companies that issue credit card consider people that use more than 50% of their available credit to be a credit risk because the company assumes that the person is using their credit to maintain a lifestyle that their salary will not cover and will not have the ability to pay the money back promptly because they are spending more than they are earning each month.  There have been many cases where a person was not allowed to take out a loan or an additional line of credit because they had used a more than 50% of their available credit and had been labeled as a credit risk by the credit card company.