 |
 |
 |
 |
Additional Articles |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
credit cards, credit card, creditcard, creditcard, credit card for college students, mortgage rates, home laons cd rates, interest rates, mortgages, home equity loans, certificate of deposit, calculators, banks, checking, intrest rates, money market funds |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Helpful resources |
|
|
|
|
|
Affiliates
Build an attractive revenue stream and enhance site content while
maintaining brand identity. Click
Here
Advertisers
Want your site to be where up to 80% of Internet users look to purchase
products and services? as little as $25. Click
Here |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just 99¢ a Song |
|
|
|
|
|
Largest
Legal Download Catalog. Select from over 1 million tracks from
all five major and more than 600 leading independent labels. Enjoy
free 30-second previews of all songs. Find hundreds of
exclusive and pre-release tracks and many rare, out-of-print albums.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Boosting Your Credit Score To Get The Best Credit Card Deal
By Ethan Hunter
Making Your Credit Rating Work For You
One of the basics of getting the most competitive credit
card deal in the market is to ensure you have the best
credit record possible. Few of us are lucky enough to
be earning a six-figure salary, and many people are
likely to have other financial undertakings that a potential
lender will want to take into account. None of this,
however, should preclude you from getting a top bracket
credit rating. Getting a credit score of 700+ may be
beyond some consumers, but lifting your credit rating
to a point at which lenders will furnish you with some
of their best deals is not an insurmountable task.
It can be a stressful time applying for a new line of
credit. Many consumers get upset when applying for a
new credit card when they find out their credit score
is low, and they have poor credit.
A lower credit score can impact the amount of money
that financial institutions will lend you. It can also
impact on the rate of interest at which you borrow.
In some cases, the difference between having an excellent
credit rating and a poor one could be getting a 0% deal
on your credit card, and paying an APR that touches
30%. Sometimes financial institutions won't even
lend you a dime, based on a low credit score.
A variety of factors can impact on your credit score.
Generally speaking, lenders love stability more than
anything else. Paying amounts owed on time is but one
of many variables. It could be that you've lived
in more than one address over the preceding three years;
or having borrowings with a variety of institutions.
It could even be down to the fact that you've
got too much credit already at your disposal.
But just what goes into your credit score? A report
by the analytics experts Fair Issac recently broke credit
scoring down into five categories and assessed their
importance on the final rating.
Most important was how you had paid you bills in the
past with the most emphasis on recent activity. Naturally,
paying all your bills on time is good; paying them consistently
late is bad. Having accounts that were sent to collection
agencies is even worse, though nowhere near as bad as
declaring bankruptcy. Paying your bills in a timely
and consistent manner contributed to 35 percent of the
score.
Next most important was the amount of money you owe
and the amount of available credit at your disposal.
The assessment of outstanding debt fell into several
categories, and included credit cards, car loans, mortgages,
home equity lines, and so on. Also given consideration
was the total amount of credit available. If a customer
has 10 credit cards that each have $10,000 credit limits,
that totals $100,000 of available credit. Generally
speaking, people who have a lot of credit available
tend to use it. This makes them a less attractive credit
risk. This amounts to 30 per cent of the total credit
score.
Also impacting on credit scores is the length of credit
history (15 percent). The longer a customer has had
credit - particularly if it's with the same financial
institution - the more points they get.
The mix of credit contributes 10 percent to the credit
score. Customers with the best scores have a mix of
both revolving credit, such as credit cards, and installment
credit, such as mortgages and car loans. Statistically,
consumers with a richer variety of experiences are better
credit risks. As far as banks and credit card companies
are concerned, they know how to handle money.
The last important factor taken into consideration is
new credit applications (10 percent). If you've
applied for several lines of credit in the past few
months this will negatively impact your credit score.
The antidotes to this are simple. Pay your bills in
a timely manner, particularly in the months leading
up to an application. Close unused retail store cards,
credit cards and old bank accounts with overdraft facilities.
Maintain long-standing and healthy arrangements with
banks and other lenders. Don't apply for a stack
of credit cards, loans and so on, unless you're
absolutely sure it's the right product for you.
It goes without saying that you shouldn't apply
for a credit line unless you use it.
There's a sixth factor that can contribute enormously
to a negative credit rating. In 2001 it became possible
for customers to get their own credit score in exchange
for a small fee. In the past, prospective lenders were
able to keep this score hidden, and many unscrupulous
institutions used this knowledge to charge a higher
APR on credit. By being aware of your credit score lenders
can't lie and say your score was low and charge higher
APR on your credit card.
More importantly, it's vital that you get rid
of black marks on your credit rating. Errors unfortunately
happen all the time, and erroneous reports of missed
payments, referrals to debt collectors and even bankruptcies
can scupper your chances of getting a low rate of interest
and even a credit card altogether. Query everything
and haggle with credit reference agencies so that only
the information that is listed on your credit history
that should be there, is there.
You can find out your credit history by applying to
one of several companies. Many offer an online service
and can furnish you with the information both quickly
and cheaply. Equifax, Truecredit and Consumerinfo are
some of the best such providers.
Patience is the key to getting a great credit score
- and the best credit deals. You're never
going to make the jump from having a credit score of
500 to one of 700 overnight, but by implementing easy
to follow and practical strategies, you can quite easily
leverage your credit score to a rating that is respected
by all concerned.
Ethan Hunter is the author of many
credit card related articles. If you are looking for
help with Credit Cards or any type of credit issue please
visit us at http://www.creditcardunlimited.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Credit Cards, Free, objective information articles and rate quotes for consumer bank products such as mortgage rates, home loans, CDs, auto loans.
|
|
|
|
|
|
