Getting cash back from a credit card is like getting free money – or is it?

It turns out that the words “cash back” are not enough to assure that you will actually get cash back from your purchases. It all depends upon the credit card and the fine print in your agreements.

Some cards charge an annual fee for the privilege of getting cash back. In order for you to know if it makes sense you need to determine how much you’ll spend in a given year.
For instance, if your cash rebate is 2% of your purchases and the annual fee is $35, you’ll need to charge $1,750 per year just to break even.

Some cards offer a tiered cash back plan – wherein their percentage goes up at intervals as they spend more. So it might start at 1% and go up as high as 5%. Again, you need to look at how much you typically spend per year.

Next, unless you can and will pay your balance in full each month, look at the interest rate. If you’re paying 29% interest that 2% doesn’t count for much.

After annual fees and interest rates, check to see if your rewards have an expiration date. Some cards will only rebate your cash back after you’ve reached a specific threshold – say $100. If you don’t reach that by the end of a set period of time, your rewards will dissolve into nothingness.

Low caps are another trap. Some cards limit the amount you can earn, no matter how much you spend. If you use your card for business and run large sums of money through it every year, check to see that you’ll be rewarded for all of your purchases, not just the first few months’ worth.

Merchant restrictions can also limit the value of your cash back credit cards. The advertisement may say that you get 2% back on all grocery purchases but when it comes time for a rebate, disallow the groceries you bought at Wal Mart or Whole Foods because they don’t consider those stores as “grocery stores.”

If the card offers cash back on fast food, read to see which stores are included and excluded. You may find that your favorite fast food place is not on the list of approved establishments.

If it offers money back on gasoline, see if it will honor gasoline purchased at the neighborhood quick stop that just happens to have 2 pumps outside.

Reading the fine print is tedious and time-consuming. Sometimes it requires a magnifying glass. But if you want to get real value from any kind of rewards card, and not spend your time fuming because you didn’t get what you expected, you must read the fine print.
CreditScoreQuick.com

College years are not a time of financial involvement for most students, and credit scores are far from their minds.

They may have student loans for tuition, but most are concentrating on education rather than home ownership or cars. Most students who pay their own way are avoiding extra debt because they simply don’t have the time to hold down a job that will return enough to pay a lot of bills.

But… they should still work at establishing credit, because they’ll need it when they leave school and enter the working world. Unless they’re staying at home for a while, the first thing they’ll need is a place to live – and landlords now want to see good credit reports.

Next, depending upon where they live, they’ll need a car to take them to that new job. Without good credit scores, they’ll pay high interest for that car.

Thus, every student should have at least one credit card. Unless they have some bad credit history, they should be able to get at least a low limit, high interest card. If not, they can get a co-signer, piggyback on a parent’s good credit, or get a secured credit card.

As with everything, students should read the fine print before making application for any card.

Those with little or no credit are often prey for companies promoting “Fee Harvester” cards. These come with a low credit limit, and so many fees that the cardholder is in debt for almost the full balance before using the card even once. Shy away from cards that charge annual fees, set-up fees, transaction fees, statement fees, and inactivity fees.

Right now, card issuers can and do charge as much as 78% of the credit limit in fees. Under the Credit Cardholder’s Bill of Rights, they’ll be restricted to charging 25% of the credit limit – which is still excessive. They also charge interest rates that top the charts. So read the fine print – all of it!

When piggybacking – where the student is simply added to another person’s credit card account – students should choose wisely. Everything about that other person’s use of that card will go on the student’s credit report. So if they maintain balances over 50% or make late payments, the effect of piggybacking can be negative.

Secured cards are another option for students who have trouble getting a “regular” card. By depositing money in a savings account that’s used for collateral, there’s no danger of being harmed by someone else’s credit mishap. Again, be sure to read the fine print for fees, and always, always, always make the payments on time.
CreditScoreQuick.com

Q:
Where to get a loan with a 640 credit score?
How might I best go forward?
Would you consider giving me a couple pointers?
I am very grateful for your help.
Kind Regards, Paul

A:
Hi Paul. I would assume you are talking about a unsecured loan. I would recommend trying out our loan through credit.com. Go here. You can get up to $15,000 dollar loan depending on your circumstances.
CreditScoreQuick.com

Q:
I have poor credit, I paid over 2,000 dollars to pay off my debts that were in collections. My credit score however has stayed the same. Would it be better to get a co signer for a loan, or a secured credit card (been denied for a unsecured card)

A:
Hi Andri,
This is a great question….. When rebuilding credit we always recommend getting a few Secured Credit Cards. This way you are establishing credit on your own, instead of piggybacking someone else s credit primarily. There is nothing wrong with having a co-signer along with some secured credit cards though. Go here to select a couple of good secured credit cards to get started.

CreditScoreQuick.com

Well-planned handling of your credit cards can help ensure that your summer vacation holds only pleasant memories. So begin planning as soon as you choose your destination.

Start by examining all your credit cards. Do some of them offer travel rewards? Should you use one card for airline tickets another for your hotel or resort reservation, and a different one for a car rental or gasoline?

Since some credit card issuers still do give rewards, you might as well take advantage of them. And, since using too much of your credit line on any one card will negatively affect your credit scores, spreading these charges between different cards is a good idea.

Once you’ve decided which cards to use where, choose which cards will go in your wallet for the trip. Be smart and pare down, so you’re carrying only 2 or 3. Then write down all the account numbers and contact information for each card. Put a copy in your carry-on luggage and leave another copy with a friend or relative you can contact quickly in case you need the information in a hurry.

If you’ve reserved a room with your credit card, find out if you’ll have to show the card in order to finalize the charge. If so, that one needs to go along as well.

Put the cards you’re leaving behind in a safe place. Your desk drawer or the corner cupboard isn’t that place! Remember, break-ins do happen when people are away from home, so don’t leave temptations like credit cards, debit cards, or large sums of money in easily accessible spots. If you have a safe, use it. Otherwise, use your safe deposit box at the bank.

Before you leave, notify your credit card issuers of your plans. Tell them where you’re going and how long you’ll be gone. Otherwise, some conscientious card issuers could put a freeze on your spending when they see charges popping up in other cities. They’ll usually try to contact you first to verify the charges are valid, but when they can’t reach you, you could find yourself unable even to buy lunch.

If you forget, and it happens, you’ll have the contact numbers with you, so you can straighten it out. But… first you might have to be embarrassed when a charge is denied.

Once at your destination, put one card in your wallet and store the others in your in-room or hotel safe, along with the contact list and other important documents such as your passport, return airline tickets, etc.

Finally, if your card is lost or stolen, report it as soon as you know it’s missing. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act you’ll only be liable for the first $50 of unauthorized charges, but you don’t need the hassle of proving which charges are not yours if you fail to report it immediately.
CreditScoreQuick.com

Q:
How long does it take a secured credit card to start working on your credit?
Would you consider giving me a hand or at least some advice based on your experience?
Any help appreciated. I really appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Janet

A:
Hi Janet,
Secured Credit Cards usually start taking affect 2 to 6 months on your credit report. This really depends on how much credit you already have. If you have no credit scores , your new secured credit card will take about 6 month to score you. I have helped many people with this and it varies depending on your circumstances. Remember you will need a couple of cards, and maybe one other type of credit once you get established with some secured credit.

Good luck
Mike Clover
CreditScoreQuick.com

If you could pluck a $5 bill out of the air each month and apply it to your credit card debt, would you do it? It doesn’t sound like much, but it does add up over time. And anyway, $5 is $5 – I’m sure you’d bend over and pick it up if you saw it laying on a deserted sidewalk.

If you’re making payments on credit card debt, you can pick up that $5, or possibly more, by making one simple change in the way you pay your bills.

Some look at a credit card bill, check the due date, and plan to pay it on that date. Some even go on line and schedule the payment for that date. The thinking is “Why should I give them my money ahead of time?”

Savings is the reason why.

If instead of waiting for the due date, you check your accounts on line and make the payment the day the statement is issued, you’ll save money.

The day your statement is issued, the interest for the previous month is added. From that point you pay daily interest on your previous balance, plus last month’s interest.

Say you have a $10,000 balance at 18% interest. When the statement comes out the new balance will be $10,150. Now you begin paying daily interest on that new balance. Your interest, per day, will be $5.075.

If instead, you make your minimum payment of $350 on the day the statement comes out, you’ll bring your balance down to $9,800. That will cost you $4.90 per day.

Over the course of a month, that 17.5 cents per day adds up to $5.25. This is extra money you’ve paid against your debt without taking anything extra from your bank account.

If you’re paying a higher interest rate, or paying on a higher balance the savings are even greater.

Making additional payments during the month, even if they’re small, can also help you pay off that credit card debt faster. So if you happen to work an hour overtime or you find some great coupons and save on your regular grocery purchases, plunk that extra money down on your credit card debt the day it goes into your bank account. Most card issuers will accept on line payments in any amount during the month, and most will let you make a payment once per day.

Author: Mike Clover
CreditScoreQuick.com

When you apply for credit and get turned down because of errors on your report, complaining about it won’t help. And it won’t get you the credit you seek unless and until you take the necessary steps to correct the errors.

You are not the one who reports your financial life to the credit bureaus – your creditors do that. But you are the one responsible if the information is not accurate.

Until recently, that was a problem. You didn’t get to see your credit report until you paid money up front for a mortgage lender or car dealership to order it. At that point, it was too late do anything about it in time to “Make the deal” you were working on.

Now that you have easy access to your own credit report – and getting it is FREE, you can take steps to correct errors well before you need to use your credit.

The odds are strong that your credit report contains errors right now. Industry experts recently revealed that approximately 70% of all credit reports contain some kind of error. Odds are, that error will not work in your favor.

So what can you do about it?

First, it’s important to correct all credit errors quickly. This isn’t one of those tasks you should put off until next week, and even a small error could bring down your scores. It could also be the red flag signaling identity theft, so the sooner you catch it, the less hassle you’ll be in for later.

Seeing that someone has reported your address incorrectly is nothing to ignore!

Write a separate letter to each credit bureau that is reporting the error. Explain in detail and include a photocopy of the report with the incorrect information highlighted.

Errors can come in many forms. Some are typographical errors or errors in math. Some signal a more serious problem, such as an unauthorized charge on your account, a charge for merchandise you returned or that was never delivered, or an incorrect price for something you did order.

The credit bureaus will investigate based on your report, and will get back to you within about 30 days. If they find that the information is correct, but you disagree, file a statement for your report telling why. This information will be given to future creditors.

Along with keeping a close eye on your credit report, you should also watch your credit card statements for any unauthorized or unknown charges. If you don’t recognize an item on a credit card bill, call right away to learn what it was – since reporting names don’t always match merchant names you’ll recognize. If you still don’t recognize it, then take action. In this case, start with the card issuer. Call for advice, and follow their instructions.

CreditScoreQuick.com