Submitted by 2Amatters4life t3_z7el1u in LifeProTips

Don’t use affirm or similar services

So for those that don’t know buy now pay later services hurt your credit significantly. Every time you use a buy now pay later it will go on your credit report as a loan. The more times you do it the more new loans your report shows. Avoid these services if you can. Using a credit card you already have or pay in full is the better option.

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keepthetips t1_iy64lri wrote

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Jaded_Prompt_15 t1_iy678o3 wrote

Having a loan and paying it off on time only helps your credit...

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CemeterySaliva t1_iy67vb7 wrote

> buy now pay later services hurt your credit significantly.

Can you explain further?

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r0ndy t1_iy682t8 wrote

That's not how getting, and paying off loans work. Especially since your credit card will charge you interest over 4 monthly payments. And some of those affirm options are interest free if paid on time, making it the cheaper option as well.

It's about money management and making the best and most responsible use of your cash.

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treeeevis t1_iy68j1p wrote

I've used affirm a few times and never see another loan open on my mint mobile app or credit karma

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2Amatters4life OP t1_iy692e1 wrote

Affirm loan on prime day over summer dropped my score almost 30 points and it has taken almost 6 months to get back to where it was… that was the only change on the report when this occurred. All revolving accounts are kept below 30% usage and if I would have just put it on my capital one card I would have been better off then using 0% interest affirm when I had payed it off in two months anyways

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Personal-Bunch-3665 t1_iy69tzu wrote

Idk if your point is valid, but an alternative is pay in four through PayPal. No credit checks.

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22grande22 t1_iy6njiw wrote

I have great credit and use these all the time. It's nice to make big purchases and spread the payments out. There is no interest if paid in full in allotted time frame. It also doesn't hit your credit unless you sign up for premium or miss payments and it goes into collections.

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Strange_Bit8422 t1_iy6rste wrote

It is only if you choose a loan with with an interest rate and it can only negatively impact you score if you have poor debt ratio or pay it late.

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deltahb t1_iy72ehd wrote

I've used affirm and other similar services a number of times. Never seen it on a credit report, nor has it affected my scores, for better or worse.

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