Does paying AT&T build credit?
Although they create credit history, on-time payments of your AT&T bill do not always reflect a rise in your credit score. Here's what you should know about how handling AT&T bill payments affects your credit.
Is It Beneficial To Pay AT&T On Time To Build Credit?
Therefore, by making your AT&T wireless, internet service, TV, or other services bill on time, you are a responsible person to handle a recurring payment obligation. Such a history of positive payments can go a long way in proving to lenders that you are credit-worthy.
However, AT&T does not directly provide your payment history to the three main consumer credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. As such, it implies that merely making the monthly payment to AT&T, for instance, does not contribute to the computation of your credit scores. Your payment history must be reported to one or more of those bureaus to affect your scores.
Therefore, while paying on time is proper, it does not help to build credit reports and scores unless it is being reported by AT&T actively. Indeed, most major wireless carriers such as Verizon, T-Mobile, and others all make payment histories available. But AT&T currently does not and thus appears to lack the following:
Whether AT&T Provides Services That Help in Building Credit?
While AT&T cannot report your account payment activities, they do provide a credit-building service that can assist in the improvement of credit standings.
The AT&T Access Credit Building Service is a paid service, which allows AT&T to provide your wireless bill payment history to three major credit bureaus every month. This gives a positive recurring payment history which the lenders prefer to see.
To use this service, you have to be an AT&T wireless customer and you have to have an AT&T wireless service plan. It costs $5 per month to add it to your wireless plan. When you pay for your cell phone service in a responsible manner and on time each month, this also shows lenders that you can be relied on. In the long run, that can lead to higher credit scores most of the time.
Such other accounts as student loans, auto loans, and credit cards should also be paid on time as they too show good habits. Therefore, it is recommended to use AT&T’s credit building service besides other credit experiences.
Other Possibilities for Establishing Credit Without AT&T
But if paying your AT&T bills on time does not help in improving your scores then, what other ways are there? Here are a few popular ways to build credit effectively: Here are a few popular ways to build credit effectively:
- Applying for a secured credit card – This is another good option for people who do not have any credit history yet. The upfront fees include a refundable deposit which varies depending on the credit limit that is to be granted. Make use of the card sparingly and ensure you clear the balance every month.
- Make yourself an authorized user on someone else’s credit card – A close member of your family or your lover may add you. Their payment activity also reflects on your credit too.
- Make use of credit builder loans – These are similar to secured cards in that you provide a lump sum of money that is paid in installments monthly to improve credit.
- While using credit monitoring tools is helpful, it is important to use well-established programs such as Credit Karma which provides advice on how you can build your credit score.
The Bottom Line
It is financially responsible when one pays all the recurring bills such as AT&T. However, in most cases, AT&T does not directly submit your payment activities to the credit bureaus. Thus, positive reporting can be facilitated by using their optional credit-building service. Or use secured cards and loans that are tailored to help consumers establish credit history and ratings over time. Credit building is not a very fast process but with time and the right credit behavior, one would be rewarded.
Upgrade to faster, more reliable AT&T Fiber Internet today! Call us at +1 844-905-5002 and get connected with speeds that keep you ahead.