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How might rewards cards be affected by credit card settlement?

by on July 31, 2012

The settlement between merchant groups and both Visa and MasterCard will likely have a significant impact on the latter two companies' bottom lines in the near future, and some feared that they and many lenders would try to mitigate the effects by fundamentally altering credit card rewards programs, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

What Does "Fair Credit" Mean?

July 30th, 2012 by Joshua Heckathorn

Your credit scores aren't horrible, but they aren't spectacular either. And while there's no denying you've had some credit issues in the past, at least you've finally taken the necessary steps to get your personal finances back on track. Things are definitely heading in the right direction. So where should you begin looking when you're ready to get a new credit card that'll be a good fit for your current credit situation?  You know you want to avoid credit cards for bad credit unless there are no other options available, but your gut also tells you there's no way you'll ever get approved for some of the more appealing rewards credit cards you've found online.

Amex Prepaid Card Giving Away Free $10

July 27th, 2012 by Joshua Heckathorn

I love free money, even if it is just 10 bucks. If you love free money too, and you're willing to spend a few minutes jumping through some hoops this weekend, there's still time to take advantage of this promotion from Amex and score yourself a complimentary $10 gift card. Here's what you'll need to do in 3 easy steps:

Would You Pay Extra to Use Your Credit Card?

July 25th, 2012 by Joshua Heckathorn

It's always the consumer that gets hosed in the end. In case you haven't heard yet, Visa and MasterCard recently reached a hefty settlement with a number of retail groups as a result of a class-action lawsuit initiated back in 2005. Not only will Visa and MasterCard pay over $7 billion to these retail groups, but part of the agreement gives merchants the ability to charge consumers an additional fee for using credit cards to make purchases. Wonderful.

Lawmakers celebrate CFPB birthday with heated hearing

by on July 24, 2012

Republican officials on the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee recently grilled CFPB director Richard Cordray over what they called his agency's inability to improve lending conditions since the end of the recession, according to a report from the news site Politico.

Ask Creditnet: How Rapid Rescores Work

July 23rd, 2012 by Joshua Heckathorn

Dear Creditnet: I'm trying to buy a house this summer and my credit scores are just a bit too low to qualify for the best possible interest rate. My mortgage broker is suggesting we do something called a "rapid rescore" in order to quickly improve my credit before we close, but I don't understand how this works. Can a rapid rescore actually improve my credit scores, and how can I be sure that it will help me get approved for the loan? - Max S. from OR

Bank of America will give borrowers chip and pin credit cards

by on July 23, 2012

Bank of America will soon begin issuing some of its more affluent credit cardholders new pieces of plastic that not only carry the magnetic strip on the back of nearly all credit cards issued in the U.S. over the last 50 years, but also a newer technology that experts say is far safer, the lender recently announced.

Experian Only Includes Positive AU Accounts

Adding a child or spouse as an authorized user to one of your credit cards, also known as piggybacking, can help them build credit. Of course, that's as long as you continue to maintain a low credit utilization while making all your credit card payments on time. Miss a few payments or drive up your credit utilization ratio by carrying large balances, and you can do some major damage to your authorized user's credit scores too.

Updated by Joshua Heckathorn on Mon, 2012-07-23 17:00

Worried About Having Your Credit Checked? Here's Why You Shouldn't Care Too Much

July 20th, 2012 by Joshua Heckathorn

Even if you know relatively little about how FICO scores work, you've most likely heard that when your credit is pulled it hurts your scores. I've actually found this to be the primary reason people avoid applying for new credit. In fact, friends often ask me how I manage to apply for so many of the rewards credit cards I rate and review on Creditnet.com. Shouldn't all those credit inquiries be killing my FICO scores? Well, they haven't, and I frankly don't worry about credit inquiries that much. While there's no doubt in my mind too many inquiries can hurt FICO scores, I think most of us overestimate just how big of an impact credit inquiries have on our scores.

Lenders benefit tremendously from more cautious approach

by on July 19, 2012

Though many have criticized the federal government's Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 as being overly regulatory, there are now some even within the lending industry who are seeing that it had its benefits as well, according to a report from Businessweek.

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