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Worse, late payment may cause you to forfeit some or all of the rewards you've accumulated. By the time your account is 180 days late, i.e. you've missed six payments, the card issuer will typically charge-off the account, writing it off as a loss. The charge-off goes on your credit report and stays for seven years.
When you open a credit card account, the credit card company reports information about your account to the credit bureaus. The information that your creditors report creates your credit history. How long it takes to establish credit depends on when you open the account and how often your credit card company files reports. Some credit card companies report account activity to the credit bureaus every month while others send reports every 60 days. If your goal in building credit is to improve your existing credit score, you can accomplish that goal with a credit card, but the process is a slower one.