- Discussion board

I'm doing a paper for school. What is credit history, credit report, and what are the pros and cons of having a credit card?

Your credit history is kept track of for the most part by three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.) They collect data on your payment history, what types of credit you have outstanding (car loans, credit cards etc) Your credit report can be obtained from these organizations, which allows you to see the information that lenders are using to make decisions on whether or not to extend credit to you.

Credit cards are an essential part of building a credit history. Everybody needs to have and use credit cards if they do not want to pay cash for everything. Without a credit history you will not be able to finance a house, car etc.. However, if you are irresponsible with credit cards (i.e. you spend more than you can afford to pay) you will cause damage to your credit history and will pay much more in interest over time.

Hope this helps.