Category: Credit Help and Tips

If you haven’t heard of the fabled game of “credit card roulette,” it’s pretty simple. When you’re dining out with friends, whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, instead of paying for your fair share, you take an all or nothing gamble. Here’s how it works. When the waiter or waitress brings the bill, diners… Continue reading Credit Card Roulette 101: How to Play and Win

Credit card Q&A: “Are credit cards recyclable?” Just about every adult in the United States, and any other established country in the world, has a credit card or two (or three). While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, at least when it comes to personal finances and credit score, it can be an issue for… Continue reading Are Credit Cards Recyclable?

It seems like a new celebrity credit card is released every week…I suppose it must be good business. And in an effort to track all these wacky celebrity credit cards, I decided to create an open-ended list. Over time, I will make additions when warranted – if you know of one I left out, please… Continue reading A List of Celebrity Credit Cards

As I always say, credit cards make for complicated business. They almost seem designed to confuse consumers, though the issuers wouldn’t agree with that statement. Thankfully, the CARD Act and other recent measures have evened the playing field somewhat over the past several years. But there are still plenty of “traps” if you don’t navigate… Continue reading Don’t Commingle Your Purchases and Balance Transfers

Credit cards are pretty sophisticated financial instruments. What this means is that one must be responsible if they wish to carry a credit card in their wallet. The seemingly innocuous pieces of plastic can get you into trouble if you aren’t careful, and the last thing you want is a missed credit card payment. Aside… Continue reading Statement Balance vs. Account Balance

Credit card Q&A: “How are credit card payments applied to balances?” Back in the good old days (as far as credit card issuers were concerned), credit card payments applied to balances with the lowest APR first, followed by higher APR balances. This practice was known as negative payment hierarchy, and essentially allowed credit card issuers… Continue reading How Are Credit Card Payments Applied to Balances?

Have you ever stopped to take a hard look at your credit card? Aside from the cool design, shape, and colors, there are lots of numbers emblazoned on the front (unless it’s the Chase Sapphire Preferred). And those numbers are pretty darn important, as they are necessary to process your transactions to ensure everyone gets… Continue reading What Do the Numbers on Your Credit Card Mean?

It seems everyone is always looking for results overnight, whether it be a new diet or a get-rich quick scheme. Unfortunately, meaningful results take time (and work), and the same is true for your increasingly important credit score. While making on-time payments is the most important factor behind all credit scores, including both FICO and… Continue reading The Average Age of Open Credit Lines Is Extremely Important!

While many businesses are beginning to ONLY accept plastic as a means of payment, there are still some companies that do not accept all types of credit cards for one reason or another. For example, most airlines only accept credit cards for in-flight purchases nowadays, but some big-box stores don’t even accept major forms of… Continue reading What Credit Cards Do the Big Box Stores Accept?

A reader recently asked, “When does my credit report/credit score get updated?” This is a great question, and one that causes plenty of confusion and debate. The best way to tackle this question is to first differentiate credit reports and credit scores. I’ve already written an entire post comparing and contrasting the two, but I’ll… Continue reading When Are Credit Reports and Credit Scores Updated?