The Clark Howard Podcast
The Clark Howard Podcast

07.15.26 Clark Discredits a Long-Held Credit Card Myth / SCAM WARNINGS

July 15, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Every time you pay your credit card bill in full, you are not hurting your credit score. The banks love that so many people believe otherwise, because that myth keeps them collecting interest on balances that could have been paid off. On this episode of The Clark Howard Show, host Clark Howard dismantles that long-held misconception and then pivots to a series of urgent scam warnings, offering practical advice for protecting your wallet.

The Credit Card Myth That Will Not Die

Clark calls it an urban legend that "drives me crazy." The persistent belief is that carrying a balance on your credit card improves your credit score, while paying it off in full somehow lowers it. He states emphatically that this is "untrue, untrue, untrue." The banks, he explains, love this misinformation because it leads to an "unforced error" by consumers. When you leave an outstanding balance, you lose your grace period and begin paying interest from the day of each charge. In contrast, paying in full each month means you get free use of the bank's money for roughly 25 days.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (01:55) **The Credit Card Myth: Paying in Full Hurts Your Score** - Clark debunks the long-held myth that carrying a balance boosts your credit score, explaining why banks love this misinformation.
  • 2 (04:07) **Why People Carry Balances: Lifestyle Creep vs. Financial Hardship** - Clark distinguishes between two groups of people who carry credit card debt.
  • 3 (06:24) **Listener Question: Buying a Car in Singapore** - Linda asks about her daughter buying a car for a two-year assignment in Singapore.
  • 4 (09:17) **Listener Question: Medical Bill Discount Services** - Matthew asks about a service offering up to 13% off his medical bill.
  • 5 (11:26) **Listener Question: Autopilot Flight Price Monitoring App** - Glenon asks about an app that monitors flight prices and pays the difference for a 25% fee.
  • 6 (14:06) **Scam Warning: Hotel Booking Validation Scam** - Clark introduces a current scam targeting people with hotel reservations.
  • 7 (19:58) **Scam Warning: Cruise Line Payment Scam** - Clark warns of a similar scam following a data breach affecting 6 million people in the cruise industry.

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Show Notes

The big banks are absolutely thrilled when you fall for the "cockroach" of personal finance myths: the completely false idea that you need to carry a balance and pay interest on your credit cards to build an excellent credit score. Not so. Clark explains. Also today, we face an unprecedented wave of sophisticated fraud, with online crime complaints officially surpassing one million for the first time. Driven by advanced AI, scammers are now launching highly realistic "spear-phishing" attacks using actual data breaches from hotels and cruise lines. If you get an urgent message claiming your upcoming hotel reservation can't be validated or that you owe more money on a cruise, do not take the bait. Stay vigilant, question unexpected requests for money, and always independently verify any urgent alerts regarding your travel plans or financial accounts.

Plus, Christa shares your #AskClark questions and Clark gives his take. All this and more on the July 15, 2026, episode of The Clark Howard Show. Submit your questions: Ask Clark.

  • Credit Card Myth: Segment 1
  • Ask Clark: Segment 2
  • Scams Gone Wild: Segment 3
  • Ask Clark: Segment 4

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