Your credit is an extremely valuable asset. By using money responsibly, improving your credit can pave the way for great things later in your life. Whether you’re a young person just starting out, or just someone who has never been in a position to build a strong credit history, using a Chase Credit Card can be an excellent and rewarding way to establish a good credit score.

People talk about credit scores a lot these days, but often people aren’t sure what exactly they are. Your credit score is based on an analysis of your credit files, or credit history, which banks and other financial institutions use to tell whether or not you are a person who will consistently pay your bills. This may seem like a lot of unimportant jargon, but when it comes to big life decisions like buying a house, nothing could be more important. Financial institutions have to trust that you are a reliable person to invest money in before they will give you a large business loan or mortage. The way to tell them that you are just such a person is to establish a good credit history, and the way to establish a good credit history is through the responsible use of your Chase Credit Card.

By using your Chase Credit Card on a consistent basis and always paying your bills on time, you are providing and undeniably clean track record to financial institutions that you might need to go to in the future. Every time you make a purchase with your Chase Credit Card and then pay that purchase off, you are proving that you handled the loaned money in a responsible manner. You don’t have to buy big-ticket items on your Chase Credit Card in order to improve your credit score. You just have to pay all of your purchases off in a timely and reliable manner.

In fact, it is extremely important that you don’t overextend your budget while using your Chase Credit Card. Just as you can use a good track record as leverage to get yourself access to funds later in life, if you have a bad track record, it will count against you. Banks don’t want to lend money to people who have proven themselves irresponsible with it in the past. So it is essential that you always pay for any purchases you make on your Chase Credit Card on time, and that you don’t make so many purchases you can’t pay for them.

Building good credit by using a Chase Credit Card doesn’t just benefit you down the road, though. When you’re establishing credit for yourself, you will probably start with a relatively small line of credit. After you have shown that you can use this small line of credit wisely, your limit will be raised over time. A higher credit limit on your Chase Credit Card gives you greater flexibility in your life, and allows you financial freedom.

In addition, credit card companies usually save their best rates and features for their most reliable clients with the best track records, so every time you use your card responsibly, you’re improving your position. Building your credit with your Chase Credit Card can make you eligible for excellent interest rates and terms.

Many people avoid using credit cards because they worry that they are a liability. Wouldn’t it ruin your credit if someone stole your card and wracked up a bill you couldn’t pay? Not with a Chase Credit Card. Chase protects its card users, and doesn’t hold them responsible for any fraudulent charges made with their cards. So you can use your Chase Credit Card to build your credit and still keep your peace of mind.

And while you’re building credit, Chase Credit Cards have all kinds of features and rewards that can make life easier and more fun. You can be working your way toward a credit score that will get you a mortgage on your first house and accumulating rewards points at the same time—so when you do get that first house, you’ll have lots of rewards point to spend filling it up.