• Installment credit, such as an auto loan, requires you to sign a contract to repay a fixed amount of money in equal payments over a period of time.
• Revolving credit, such as a department store credit card or other credit card (Visa®, Mastercard®), gives you the option of paying back money borrowed in full each month, making a minimum payment, or paying an amount somewhere in between. As you pay the money back, the amount repaid generally becomes available to borrow again.
• Open accounts require that monies borrowed be repaid in full each month. Some travel and entertainment cards, such as certain American Express® credit cards, are open accounts.

Other Credit Options
Credit can be extended on a secured basis (you offer the lender an asset, such as your home, which they can take and sell to help recover their losses if you are unable to repay the loan) or an unsecured basis (based solely on your promise to repay).