SCHUFA has developed a new score made up of twelve criteria. One of them is called the age of the oldest credit card. You can find out how this criterion will affect your creditworthiness in future here.

• Subject of the criterion: Age of the oldest credit card
• Points in the score: 0 to 81 points
• Awarding the minimum number of points: If the oldest credit card is less than six months old
• Maximum points awarded: From an age of 15 years for the oldest credit card

Credit cards are a sign of the bank's confidence in its customers' ability to pay. They are offered with a card limit. Whether people deal responsibly with the additional payment obligation can only be seen over time. The older a credit card is, the longer and more clearly you have proven that you can meet your financial obligations. This is positive for the score.

The criterion distinguishes whether people have a credit card or not. Anyone who does not have a credit card receives 24 points for the score, as there is no credit risk. People who receive their first credit card do not receive any points in the first six months. As soon as the credit card is more than six months old, 14 points are added to the score. From this point onwards, the score points increase annually for the first five years - from 23 points in the first year to 59 points in the fifth year. After that, points are awarded for ownership in five-year increments: from ten years 74 points, from 15 years 81 points.

Credit cards only include cards with a credit limit. When using them, people receive a kind of credit line from their bank each month in advance. This works like a loan. As a rule, they receive a credit card statement at the end of the month, which they pay. This amount is usually settled monthly via a reference account - which is often the current account.

Credit cards do not include so-called debit cards, where every purchase or cash withdrawal is immediately debited from the account, or prepaid cards, which are topped up with credit.

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