There are so many benefits to having a credit card, many of which are not just instantaneous and can also affect the way you spend your money and manage your finances in the future.
One of the main reasons people get a credit card is because of the convenience of buying something but not having to pay for it straight away and prolonging having to deal with the cost of it until payday comes around.
The same goes for if you’ve made a big purchase like a car, you can spread out the payments over several months so there isn’t one giant payment coming out of your bank account.
Having a credit card and regularly making your payments will boost your credit report and in turn, make it easier for you to borrow money in the future for things like getting a mortgage and buying a house as lenders will see that you are reliable at making your repayments.
A credit card will eventually expire at some point which means you will need to get a new one, or maybe you want to get another credit card that has some additional perks such as gaining air miles or cashback rewards every time you use the card.
A new credit card will impact your credit report, but how long does it take for a new credit card to show up on a credit report?
We’ll be answering this question and more all within this article.
On average it can take between 30 to 60 days from the day your new credit card was granted to you for it to be shown on your credit report.
Many people think that once you’re approved for your new credit card, it arrives in the post and you finally activate it and it shows up immediately on your credit report, but this is not the case at all.
It’s up to the credit card companies to update the main credit reporting bureaus about account information that gets included in credit reports.
However, these credit card companies will update the credit bureau at different times of the month, so there is no set time range of how long it’ll take for it to update your credit report.
So when you get a new credit report, you should expect an initial waiting period before the new card shows up on your credit report, about 30 to 60 days as we said, but obviously, if it doesn’t appear after 60 days you should get in touch with your credit card company or even the credit report bureau to see if there are any issues.
Once your new credit card has shown up on your report, each month the credit card company will then update the bureau with the most recent information about your balance and the payments you’ve made so the report can be updated.
There could be many reasons as to why your new card is not appearing on your credit report and the easiest way to find out why is by contacting your credit card company or the credit bureau.
However, there are some common reasons as to why it isn’t appearing on your credit report such as:
Incorrect Identification: You may have entered your name, address, or social security number incorrectly when you signed up for your new credit card, therefore it’s not registering against your credit file.
When you move house, the new address should be automatically updated on your credit file, however, this is sometimes not the case and you may have to do it manually with the credit bureaus.
Technical Issues: There could be some technical problems that are preventing your new credit card from being shown on your credit report. The best thing to do is to wait it out until it shows (unless you need it to show for lending purposes).
Not all credit companies report information: Most companies do report and send information to the credit bureau, however, it is not required by law to do so. Some may only report to 1 or 2 of the main bureaus, which is why you may not be able to find it.
Ensure you check over the credit card companies credit reporting process before signing up for the card.
It’s under a different company name: Some retail or branded credit cards are owned by other banks, so they may be showing up with a different name on your credit report.
For example, if you now have a Delta SkyMiles Gold card, it may show up as American Express on your file as that is the bank that manages the company’s account. If you’ve already got an existing Amex card then this could cause further confusion.
The three major credit reporting bureau agencies are TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
Your score may differ from bureau to bureau as not all creditors will report to all the bureaus, so it’s always best to check your credit score at all of the bureaus at least once a year to see what it currently is.
You get one free credit report from each bureau every year and you should only go through the website AnnualCreditReport.com or call 1-877-322-8228 to find out your credit report.
You can buy additional credit reports throughout the year if you would like to see them more than once. Most people who are looking to buy a house anytime soon will regularly check up on their credit report to see if they’re eligible for a mortgage loan from a lender.
