Chime Can Help Build Credit History, but It's Not for Everyone. Chime reports account activity to all three credit bureaus. Cardholders looking to build better credit can establish on-time payment behavior and lengthen a credit history. (Note that late payments can still negatively affect a credit score.)
You could potentially raise your credit score in 1 – 2 months. However, it depends on your current score, your financial situation, and how much you want to raise it.
In addition to an annual fee of $0, depending on your creditworthiness you could qualify for a credit limit of $200 with a deposit of either $49, $99 or $200. You could be considered for a higher credit line in as little as six months.
Chime offers the Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card, a secured credit card issued by Stride Bank. It works differently from other secured cards because you can adjust your credit limit by adding more money to your card, much like a prepaid debit card.
Yes, our Credit Builder card can be used to rent a hotel or car! Keep in mind that some rental companies preauthorize a larger payment than necessary in case other charges come up.
Does Chime charge any fees for using Credit Builder? Nope! We do not charge fees; no annual fees, maintenance fees, international fees, and no interest.
Chime reports to all 3 major credit bureaus, Experian®, TransUnion® and Equifax®, typically at the beginning of each month. Sometimes credit bureaus can take a few weeks to process reports, so you may not see the changes until later in the month.
Once you open your Credit Builder account, you may experience a temporary credit score decrease. This can sometimes happen because every time you open a new account that will be reported to Credit Bureaus (i.e. Experian, Transunion, and Equifax), your average credit history length goes down.
It will take about six months of credit activity to establish enough history for a FICO credit score, which is used in 90% of lending decisions. 1 FICO credit scores range from 300 to 850, and a score of over 700 is considered a good credit score. Scores over 800 are considered excellent.
Two ways Credit Builder can help build your credit:
At the end of each month, you can pay your monthly balance with the money in your secured account and we'll report your monthly balance paid in full to the major credit bureaus².
Chime's Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card* is a secured credit card with no annual fee or interest that allows you to build your credit. Chime reports payments to major credit bureaus, so everyday purchases like gas, groceries, bills, and subscriptions can all count toward your credit score.
Starting today, July 27, consumers can now include their Netflix® on-time payment history on their *Experian Boost™ accounts, which can help improve their credit scores.
We've Got Your Back
Finally, you can have peace of mind if you overdraw your account to make a debit card purchase. With SpotMe, we'll apply your next deposit into your Chime Online Checking Account to your negative balance.
You can withdraw cash from your Chime Credit Builder card at any ATM. You just have to generate a PIN from within the Chime app before you do so. Keep in mind you can only withdraw your available spend amount or a max of $500 every 24 hours.
You can add up to $1,000 every 24 hours for a maximum of $10,000 every month. You can deposit cash to your Chime Checking Account at Walgreens locations, including Duane Reade locations, without fees.
It usually takes about three months to bounce back after a credit card has been maxed out or you close an unused credit card account. If you make a single mortgage payment 30 to 90 days late, your score can start to recover after about 9 months.
The base credit scores of the most popular credit-reporting models start at 300. Starting with a score of around 300 is possible only if you've managed your finances poorly. You may start to build a credit history or improve your score without using any type of credit.
Depending on where you're starting from, It can take several years or more to build an 800 credit score. You need to have a few years of only positive payment history and a good mix of credit accounts showing you have experience managing different types of credit cards and loans.
Your score falls within the range of scores, from 300 to 579, considered Very Poor. A 541 FICO® Score is significantly below the average credit score.
Does Paying Phone and Utility Bills Help Build Credit? If you keep up with your utility and phone bills and that activity is reported to credit bureaus, it could help boost your credit.
Paying utility and cable bills on time won't help your credit, though, because most utilities don't report to the credit bureaus. As with other recurring bills, however, if you put them on a credit card and pay on time, that builds a good payment history and helps your score.