Declare War On Credit Cards » Capt. Credit

Don’t Take Debt To Improve Credit Score

Capt. Credit — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 20:57:51 +0000

If you take on debt, make at least your minimum monthly payments, you will improve your credit score. A lender’s best friend is someone who will borrow money at a high interest rate and then demonstrate the ability to continue to make payments on that debt. I’m not disputing that taking on debt and making payments will improve your score, what I’m saying is that you shouldn’t take on debt because you want to improve your score.

I’ve heard more than a comfortable number of people claim that they should take on some sort of debt in order to improve their score. The reason why this is a preposterous reason for taking on debt is because it’s very difficult to quantify the value of your score in any real terms and thus it makes absolutely no sense to pay anything to improve your score, above and beyond smart and time-tested credit score improvement tips (not to be reckless with your credit, pay your bills on time, don’t binge on credit cards).

Sure, if you have a mortgage or you’re buying a car, making regular payments on those loans will improve your score but don’t spend money on a credit card so you can make minimum payments on a debt that is charging you 20% interest each year. That just doesn’t make much sense.

Beware These 35 Ridiculous Fees: Part 2

Capt. Credit — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 16:03:32 +0000

CNN Money took a look at thirty-five ridiculous fees and how to fight back and it came as no surprise that four of the thirty-five fees involved credit cards. This article takes a look at the second two of four – over-limit fees and same-day payment fees.

#28 Over-limit fee
If you spend more than your credit card’s limit, you’ll be socked with over-limit fees which are at all-time highs. The problem with this fee isn’t so much that it’s high, but that your credit card bank will keep letting you spend so you get hit with this fee over and over and over again. What can you do?

Request that ATM withdrawals, debit purchases or checks be approved only if you have enough money. Some banks, including HSBC, Wachovia and Washington Mutual, let you. Another safeguard is to link your checking account to a line of credit or savings account and raise your credit limit before a spending spree. Also, many banks will send you an e-mail alert or a text message if your balance runs low.

#29 Same-day payment fee

If your bill is due today, most credit card companies will charge you for paying the same day… and you probably deserve it. So, how can you remember better? Schedule your bill-pays when you get the statements or sign up for email notification! There should be no reason you are caught with your pants down.

Source: CNN Money

Beware These 35 Ridiculous Fees: Part 1

Capt. Credit — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 17:09:07 +0000

CNN Money took a look at thirty-five ridiculous fees and how to fight back and it came as no surprise that four of the thirty-five fees involved credit cards. This article takes a look at the first two of four – Credit-card late fees and Balance-transfer fees.

#26 Credit-card late fees
If your bill was due today and it doesn’t get there until tomorrow, you’ll have to pay a late fee (as expected) but the late fee has been getting higher and higher and your grace period is getting shorter and shorter. CNN Money says that in ten years the fee has increased 150% and the grace period has fallen from 31 days to a mere 20 on some cards. They advise that you mail your check seven to ten days before its due date or do what I do, schedule it automatically online. If you’ve been hit with a late fee, give them a call to see if they’ll waive it.

27. Balance-transfer fee

A lot of cards these days will give you a balance-transfer without any fees when you open up a new card. If you’re not opening up a new card though, you’ll probably see a balance transfer fee in the neighborhood of 3%. Need a fee-free balance transfer? Here’s a good list of credit cards offering 0% balance transfers and most of the Citi and Discover cards won’t charge you a fee.

Source: CNN Money

Don’t Let Credit Card Companies Play You

Capt. Credit — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 21:09:52 +0000

The best possible deal you could ever get from a credit card is 0% interest for the rest of your life… which is only possible through Discover and only if you’re super special and willing to make some small purchases each month (that aren’t at 0%, they’re at the prevailing rate). But, when you consider how much money these companies are banking and how much effort they put into getting new customers, is it surprising that they would do A/B testing (where they send out two or more versions of an offer to gauge which one performs better) of offers?

Ramit posted a couple screenshots of this sort of testing and it comes at no surprise that this is happening. Whenever you see an offer, compare it to the “best” one ever (0% forever) and see how close it is because those offers are out there, even if you aren’t getting it. Also, don’t assume that all offers are equal, especially with credit scores so easily accessible, and don’t assume you’re getting the best one possible for your credit rating (because you probably aren’t, that would make it too easy).

$100 Gas Rebate for Trying Citi Protector

Capt. Credit — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 01:12:35 +0000

Citi Protector is Citi’s credit protection program where they will be willing to waive payments for up to two years and sometimes pay off your balance in certain situations – it’s really not any different from any other company’s credit protection plan, except some cardholders will find a special $100 gas certificate offer (terms & conditions) if they log into their Citi account and look at their available promotional offers.

Review Your Credit Report & Credit Score

Capt. Credit — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 23:48:14 +0000

One thing you should always be cognizant of, when it comes to credit cards, is your credit history report and your credit score. Those two things combined will dictate what offers you will receive in the mail and what cards you’ll be able to apply for and be accepted. See, the catch-22 when it comes to credit cards and lending in general is that the credit card companies will only lend you money when you don’t need it. Someone who is desperate for credit won’t get as good an offer as someone who isn’t looking for another card… it’s a paradox but it’s the truth.

So, how does your credit history factor in? The better your history, the better your score. The better your score, the better your offers. If you want to try your hand at 0% balance transfer arbitrage, you’ll definitely need a good to excellent credit history and score. Now, how do you do that? It takes good behavior and a bit of diligence, check your score three times a year via AnnualCreditReport.com. You will be able to check your history at the credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) once a year and so if you stagger your checks, you’ll be able to get a pretty good view of your report three times a year.

Six Credit Cards, $700 In Free Money

Capt. Credit — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 03:17:56 +0000

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Eighth Commandment: Educate Your Children

Capt. Credit — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 22:20:05 +0000

Seventh Commandment: Keep As Few Cards As Possible

Capt. Credit — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 20:14:09 +0000

Sixth Commandment: Review Your Credit Report

Capt. Credit — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 18:58:43 +0000