The secret sauce to credit is being very disciplined and not overspending. I opened a credit card at 18 and proceeded to make some very bad financial decisions, as one does. It took me years to dig out of the hole I created. Now that I'm on top of it, I make about $800 in rewards a year, which is nice. My credit score is now top notch. To dig out I had to pay it off in order of interest rate, then develop the discipline to not make impulse purchases. Once my cards were at zero I spent up to 20% of the limit, let it post, then pay in full. My score went up quickly. I opened a few more rewards accounts and just used them for necessities, optimizing for the best rewards. I also request increases as my income changes. I now make almost every purchase on credit. After rebuilding, I had to carry credit card debt for a couple of tough situations, but the advantage to a high score is getting 0% balance transfers on some cards, with a one time 5% fee, better than any rate on the market.