7 things not to do with your credit

NEW YORK (WABC) -- 1.5 billion credit cards are out there and experts say that's 1.5 billion ways we make dumb mistakes with our credit. Those mistakes can cost us money and make us victims of identity theft.

7 On Your Side has a list of 7 things not to do with your credit.

Number 1 on the dumb list is paying late.

A due date isn't a guideline it's a deadline!

If your minimum payment is due on the 10th, what can happen if you don't pay by then?

You get charged a late fee and your rates can rise.

This negative information can stay on your credit report for seven years

Here are six more other dumb things in our list of seven that you shouldn't be doing with your credit card.

Dumb thing number 2 is only paying the minimum.

"Paying the minimum payment is like living in the olden days, buying things at the company store, it's a never ending cycle," said Adam Levin, of credit.com.

You will pay thousands in interest.

A third dumb move made frequently is charging up to your credit limit.

"Don't run it up to the max. You're limiting your options, you're putting yourself in further debt, and you're impacting your credit utilization score which is 30% of your credit score," Levin said.

Number 4 on our list can also negatively impact credit score, yet people do it all the time, and that's closing out old credit cards.

"So people should keep older cards open, because it shows credit and history?" 7 On Your Side's Nina Pineda asked.

"It adds age and available credit both of which impact your credit score," Levin said.

Levin says millions of us make this dumb mistake number 5 every day, and that's failing to check on our accounts daily.

"There is such an enormous amount the only way you're going to know is if you're watching," Levin said.

Banks can take weeks to investigate and return stolen money, which could leave you in the lurch when it's time to pay your bills.

When paying bills or buying stuff don't make dumb move number 6, and that's emailing your credit card number.

"The people who are hacking into to email account are looking for personal ID and credit card info," Levin said.

Lastly, number 7 on our list is ignoring the fine print.

You may start out with a 0% introductory rate, but that can jump to 18-22% if you miss a payment. So pay attention to the rules on keeping those intro rates, they never last for long!

This is what you've been doing wrong, but Wednesday at 5 p.m., we'll talk about what you're doing right, 7 On Your Side has the best reward credit cards, hopefully you're paying yourself back.

For more information please visit: http://www.credit.com/

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