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No... we very much have a "credit score." I'm American and don't like credit cards. I have a shockingly low credit score simply because I choose to pay using debit cards and I don't take loans. I never miss a payment and I earn a very good living but you wouldn't guess that based on my credit score. In Norway my credit history would be golden; it's the opposite here.

Edit: I stand corrected. Thanks, I understand now.

4 comments

> because I choose to pay using debit cards

This is not a very smart way to do things. You'd be much better off getting a credit card with no fees and rewards points, buying everything with that, and then paying it off every month. You'll have stronger legal protections on your purchases, and you'll earn reward money without paying any extra. You can even pay off your bill with the reward points. And as a bonus you'll build up your credit score, which can affect you in lots of ways unrelated to loan rates.

So I do this but I'm beginning to suspect the real reason they have all these rewards is partially due to data selling of spending habits. Usually when you get a new card there is a little slip that details what you can and cannot opt out of when it comes to data collection and selling to third parties.

> So I do this but I'm beginning to suspect the real reason they have all these rewards is partially due to data selling of spending habits.

No. Rewards are funded by merchants (interchange) and by people who actually pay the 19.9% annual interest.

I know but I hate the system and don't want to be bullied into participating.

I wish i could afford to do what you are doing, but I can't survive in 2022 USA and support my family without access to credit. It is maybe possible, but it is wildly impractical. And the ability to borrow helps to smooth out the turbulence of life (unexpected emergencies or broken things). When I was in my 20s my credit was so bad I couldn't get loans and when life threw a curveball, it could take a ton of energy to sort out how I was going to deal with it. Now I just dip into the credit that I have available to deal with the situation.

But I hate it. It feels insane to me that we as citizens don't have more regulatory control over credit systems. I envy you, but I also know that what you are doing is not practical for me.

I mean, you do you, but you're really only hurting yourself here. You're literally throwing away money to stick it to "the system" which doesn't care.

david927 is not hurting himself, he's simply paying a bit more for a setup which prevents him from spending money he doesn't have. Understandable approach.

You have a credit history, which multiple companies will apply their algorithms to to get a score. The algorithm will take into account things like "this history doesn't have a lot of debt, so we don't know if they repay," and generate a lower score.

None of what you said contradicts the parent post, which is simply refuting the claim that we have some sort of "official" credit score. In reality we have credit history, and various data vendors apply your history to their models to determine a rating for you.

doesn't take much to get some history.

You don't even have to actually use revolving credit to build credit history - it's good enough to apply for a credit card then shred it when it comes. "Not running up the credit card" is significant points in your favor.

They'll likely close your account for inactivity after a few years, and the account stays on the credit report for a decade after it's closed.

Not all credit cards are zero-fee, so if you chose to do this, make sure you choose one of those (or just close the card).

That's an amazing idea. I had no idea. I'm going to do this. Thank you!