You should avoid carrying a credit card balance whenever possible. But if you do, make sure you're not paying more than necessary. Many banks use credit scores to assess lending risk, meaning the ...

Many actions can affect your credit score, such as if you pay your bills on time or how much available credit you have. Also on that list: credit card transitions — when your card issuer changes ...

For a few precious weeks last year, I had perfect credit. Sometime over the summer, I clicked on one of those credit update links, signed in and beheld the magical digits: 850. I had never had perfect ...