We’ve all been presented with the opportunity to open an in-store credit card when shopping at the mall. From 10% off all of your purchases to a free pair of yoga pants with approval, stores have a number of sneaky ways to make their cards seem like a steal. However, these in-store credit cards can seriously damage your credit rating if you aren’t careful, and can leave you seeking credit repair companies in Bucks County. Here are three of the biggest damages that you can see from opening an in-store credit card.
- High-interest rates. In-store credit cards often hide sky-high rates of interest. The average credit card’s interest rate is between 10% and 15% interest. When you open an in-store credit card, you can expect to see an average interest rate of over 22.99% interest—over 5% higher than your average Visa or Discover card. This means that, should you fall behind on your bills, you’ll be left with a massive amount of interest to deal with.
- A lower rate overall credit age. Your credit score is made up of a number of contributing factors, one of which is the total age of all the credit cards you have open. Opening a new credit card to get the store’s discount (or opening multiple cards) adds a lower-aged account to your credit profile, thus lowering the mean age of all your credit cards and lowering your score.
- An enabling vehicle for shopaholics. In-store credit cards make it easier for shopaholics to justify their purchases. After all, if a $500 purchase is $50 off with the card, it can seem like we’re losing money by “missing out.” This can lead those with a shopping addiction to fall deeper into debt.
If you’ve bought into the in-store credit card hype and your credit score has suffered, Quality Credit Repair’s Bucks County credit services can help you get your finances back on track. Give our team a call today at 888-399-3898 to get started.