Credit-building 101
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Build your credit with the Extra Debit card
Extra gives you a line of credit called 'Spend Power' to turn your daily purchases into credit payments.
- Starts at $12.50/month with yearly plan or $20 paid monthly
- No credit check and no APR
- Earn up to 1% back in points
- Connects to your existing bank account
- Compatible with 10,000+ banks
Top credit building guides
What is a charge-off?
A charge-off means that a creditor has closed an account, but the debt isn’t gone. See how this can negatively affect your credit score.
How to remove collections from your credit report
It is possible to remove account collections from your credit report, but building your credit back up could take some time.
What are the three credit bureaus?
Experian, Equifax and TransUnion are the three major credit bureaus, or credit reporting agencies. See how they work in this guide.
What is a good credit score?
A good credit score falls in the 670 to 749 range. A credit score of 750 and above is considered very good or excellent.
Read more on this topic
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Tomo Credit Card review
The Tomo credit building card is currently on a waitlist, meaning it’s not available right now. Compare features and other options here.
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Kovo Credit Builder review
Kovo Credit Builder helps you build your credit history for around $10 per month and reports to four credit bureaus. Many competitors do not.
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How to build business credit
It’s a little different from regular credit scores — here’s how to build business credit.
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7 best credit-building apps
The best credit-building apps include Self Credit Builder, Step, Fizz, Cred.ai, Cleo, Grow Credit and Credit Karma Credit Builder.
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Credit repair companies: Is it worth paying someone to fix your credit?
Credit repair is something you can do yourself, so it may not be worth the cost.
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Cred.ai Unicorn Card review
The Unicorn card by Cred.ai charges no APR, as long as you have autopay on, making it a good choice for a first credit card to build credit.
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CreditStrong review
Credit Strong is a division of Austin Capital Bank and offers many credit-building loans to choose from, but they can be costly.
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9 debit cards that build credit without charging interest
Debit cards and similar cards that can help build credit with little to no risk include: Extra, Fizz, Current, Chime, Step, Varo and more.
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Bright Money app review
Bright can help pay down credit card debt from multiple angles.
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Cheese Rewards Checking review
A digital bank built for Asian-Americans. Earns up to 10% cash back and up to 3% APY.