March 31, 2020

Of course, the payments you make to your credit card company have an impact on your credit score. But what about the frequency with which you pay your card company? Does that affect your credit score in any way? Let’s find out. Before we start, let’s make one thing clear. The number of times you pay your credit card bill in a month is not listed on your credit report - nor is it inclu...

March 26, 2020

There are certain consumers who sign up for credit cards and never use them. Or perhaps, they hold so many cards that don’t realize they’ve not used a certain card for months or even years. Unfortunately, not using your credit card regularly can have a negative result – it may be canceled due to inactivity. Why do issuers cancel inactive credit cards? If you are not using your c...

March 10, 2020

Time and again, on this blog, we have stressed the importance of paying off your balance before your due date. The primary reason behind this advice is that unless you do so, you run the risk of paying exorbitant rates of interest. When you apply for a credit card, the issuing company indicates the APR (Annual Percentage Rate) that you may be subject to. This can vary anywhere between 9.99% and 3...

March 5, 2020

If you’ve just received a new credit card, you must be excited about putting it to use. However, to get the most out of this instrument, it is advisable that you first get a few things out of the way: Activation: Before you use a new credit card, you must first activate it. To do this, follow the instructions on the sticker on the front of the card. Usually, you need to call the 800 number ...

March 3, 2020

It’s difficult to do without a credit card these days – this piece of plastic not only saves you from carrying bundles of cash everywhere and provides you with perks and benefits such as cash-back and travel points. However, given that different individuals have different needs and different spending patterns, it is obvious that the same credit card that works so wonderfully well for ...

February 25, 2020

We recently had a customer tell us that, though he charges high amounts to his credit card each month, he makes it a point to pay off his balance in full each billing cycle. Yet after 20 years of diligently paying off his balance in full and never missing a payment, he realized that this practice actually hurt his credit score. While the above statement may sound surprising, it is true neverthele...