Five Ways to Cure Bad Credit

Fixing your bad credit simply means that you will get rid of all the negative aspects in your credit report. There are several benefits when you are able to cure your bad credit and have re-established a high credit rating. These benefits include better interest rates and faster loan approval. In order for you to rebuild your credit, you should first know what’s on your credit report. This way, you will have a clear idea regarding the things that negatively affect your rating. Once you have an idea of the factors affecting your credit rating, you can start repairing your bad credit.

Here are five ways to cure bad credit:

Find Inaccurate Information in Your Credit Report

The easiest way to cure bad credit is to get rid of any erroneous information regarding it. Clerical errors could drag your credit score down. Therefore, it is imperative that you do not overlook these inaccuracies on your record. You can submit a dispute once you have found the mistakes so that they can be removed. It is stated by law that you are entitled to receive your credit report for free from the three credit bureaus every year. You can also request over the phone or through email if you find that more convenient.

Pay Your Dues on Time

The most important factor on your credit report is probably your payment history. This is because it has a huge influence on your overall credit score. If you do not pay on time, this will definitely hurt your credit rating more than anything else. This is simply because your payment history is generally 35% of your final FICO score. In order for you to fix this, you may want to pay your existing balances as soon as you can. If you have an account that is a month or two late, prioritize it to prevent your balances from taking a toll on your score. Remember that if you do not make a payment for 90 days or more, this will be considered an extremely delinquent account.

Balances Should Be Below Your Credit Limit

If your debt level is 30% more than your FICO score, this can have a negative effect on your credit rating. Try as much as possible to keep your balance to at least 30% of your credit limit. For instance, if your card has $1000 limit, your balance should only be $300.

Get New Credit

It may be difficult to get an approval for a new credit card if your credit score is low. However, there are still other options. You can get yourself a gas credit card, a department store credit card, or those cards designed specifically for people with bad credit. You can also get a secured credit card. Once you have any of these types of card, ensure that you will be able to establish a positive payment history. If you get denied, do not rush and submit too many applications to several other creditors. This will only hurt your rating even more.

Change Your Bad Spending Habits

Oftentimes, the credit score is bad because of the cardholder’s spending habits. Changing your old habits is crucial, especially if you have a new credit card. Control your spending and charge only what you can afford. Avoid paying in minimum and never skip on your payments.

Performing the abovementioned methods will allow you to cure bad credit in time. Remember that your score will not change overnight, so stick to the methods that you have chosen even if you have to wait long and watch your credit history improve.

Credit Cards: When to File for Credit Card Bankruptcy

Proper timing is always essential in everything you do even when filing for credit card bankruptcy. Although you may qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, there are times when you have to wait first. However, if you are currently facing an immediate problem, such as foreclosure, car repossession, wage garnishment, or judgment lien, declaring bankruptcy right away may be the ultimate solution. Delaying bankruptcy filing makes sense if you are going through the following situations:

1. Open for Mortgage Modification – If you have the opportunity to change your mortgage, now may not be the perfect time for you to file for bankruptcy. Nowadays, people use bankruptcy to postpone foreclosure. This is a good option, but some people tend to file earlier, causes them to get denied of mortgage modification. Lenders usually refuse to continue negotiations about mortgages once they learn you have declared bankruptcy. This is because such action will technically terminate the promissory section of your mortgage so there is nothing left for negotiation.

2. High Income – If you recently have a high income, you may want to delay filing for bankruptcy for a period of time. Your income for the past 6 months will determine if you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you have high income, you will only be eligible for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This will require you to pay off a part of your debts.

3. Real Estate Property – If you have a home or a property that you do not ever want to surrender, you should not rush to filing for bankruptcy. If you file now, you will eventually lose that property using a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, if you wait, you can have the time to put your property up for sale and even use the money.

4. New Debts – If you expect that you will be having new debts, it is a good idea that you hold off your decision to file for bankruptcy first. According to the rules of Chapter 7, your debts will only be erased if you have them on or before you file for bankruptcy. In this case, if you have future expenses and debts, you will have to deal with them yourself.

5. Stop Collections – Almost everyone file for bankruptcy to end the nonstop phone calls they receive about their debts. Bankruptcy filing can indeed stop the collections but there is actually another way. This is called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which states that the collection agencies and the creditors should stop calling you if you ask them to.

6. Tax Refund - For instance, if you are expecting a refund on your taxes of around $4,000, you need to surrender the amount to the bankruptcy trustee after you file for bankruptcy. However, if you get the refund and spend it on a few of your necessities then declare bankruptcy, it is clear that you have the full benefit of the tax reimbursement.

If you are still confused whether you should file a credit card bankruptcy now or later, you can always speak to an experienced attorney. He or she can help you sort out your available options and weigh your current situation to help you make a good decision.

Should You Apply for Escape by Discover Card?

Escape by Discover card is one of the highest rated rewards cards in the United States. This card is distributed by Discover Financial and gives the cardholders up to four miles for each dollar they spend using the card. These miles can be redeemed later for hotel stays, cruises, car rentals, air tickets, and even cash. With its amazing rewards, it is easy to say that it is worth signing up for an Escape credit card.

0% APR on the First Six Months

The card offers zero percent APR on anything that you purchase for the first six months of use. This is extremely useful especially if you have plans on buying something really expensive, such as an air ticket or an HDTV. You can pay off the amount without interest at all. Aside from purchases, balance transfers also have 0% introductory APR. This will come in handy if you have debts on your existing high interest credit card and you wish to consolidate them using the Escape card. You can settle your debts quicker and at a reasonable cost. Just make sure that you pay your balances on time even during the promotional period. In addition, take note that after the introductory phase, the APR may change, depending on your current credit rating.

Thousands of Bonus Miles

To make the most out of the credit card rewards from Escape by Discover, you should continually purchase items during the first 25 months of owning the Escape card. Purchase at least one product using the card each month to receive an additional bonus worth 1,000 miles. Constant purchases for the next 25 months will guarantee you with 25,000 worth of miles. This translates to $250 travel points or any type of reward that you wish to claim.

Two Miles for Every Dollar

For every $1 you pay using Escape by Discover credit card, you will instantly receive a bonus of two miles for the purchase. What’s more, when you buy any item from ShopDiscover, you will earn additional two miles. This means that you can obtain up to four miles whenever you purchase anything at their online store. The number of miles that you can collect for your account has no limit and your points will stay there without expiration dates. Bear in mind, though, that they will be forfeited if your account has been inactive for a specified number of months or if you have not made the minimum payment for two consecutive periods.

Travel Insurance and Excellent Benefits

The Escape card provides a car rental collision injury waiver. This is useful if you have rented a car using the card and you have accidentally damaged the vehicle. You can also utilize the waiver if the vehicle gets stolen. The card covers the actual value of almost all rental vehicles. Escape also offers help in case of emergency, particularly if you need medical or legal assistance while traveling.

With all the rewards and perks it offers, Escape by Discover Card easily stands out as one of the best cards for travelers who wish to earn miles quickly from their spending.

Credit Cards for People with Good Credit

If your credit record states that you have good credit, you know that this is a laudable achievement. Not all credit card owners fall under this category. If you have established a good credit rating, it means that you have a credit history that denotes you have responsibly used your credit card. There are many benefits that you can enjoy if you have attained a good credit score. These include receiving higher credit limit, more rewards, and lower interest rates.

There are credit cards that are perfect for people with good credit rating and these include the following:

Fidelity Investment Rewards Cards

Issued by American Express, the Fidelity Investment Rewards Cards provides one of the rarest promos even for people with excellent rating. They give cash back rewards whenever you purchase anything. The cash back percentage increases every time you buy. Additionally, the cash back is applicable to any Fidelity account that you may have, including Brokerage Account, Cash Management Account, and Fidelity IRA. This card does not have an annual fee and every foreign transaction is charged with a low percentage fee only.

Capital One Venture Rewards

If you have a good credit score, you should definitely consider Capital One Venture Rewards card. This credit card lets you earn two miles for every $1 that you spend. Unlike other rewards credit cards, however, the miles from this card are not for any airline. Rather, you can redeem them for a cent each against any expense related to travel. As a result, you get as much as 2% cash back towards your statement credit. The annual fee for this card costs $59 which you will pay on your second year as a cardholder. There are no charges for foreign transactions.

Simmons First Visa Platinum

Even though you have good credit, there may be times when you cannot pay off your balances in a certain month. If you have good credit but you carry a balance occasionally, you can go for a card with probably the lowest interest rate today. This is the Simmons First Visa Platinum which offers an annual percentage rate equivalent to the Prime Rate with an additional 4%. You also do not have to pay any fee for the card every year, but the foreign transactions are charged at 2%.

Sapphire Preferred

Sapphire Preferred is a credit card from Chase especially made for people with good credit. This offers the Ultimate Rewards program which features one point for every dollar spent. Meanwhile, if you utilize Sapphire Preferred when booking for your next journey through the Ultimate Rewards website, you can get 3x more points. All the points you have earned are eligible for an increase of 7% at the end of the year. Points can be converted into miles so you can take advantage of their hotels and airlines programs. You can even transfer your points to your loved one’s accounts, an offer that is so hard to find in other card promotions.

It always pays to have good credit to make the most out of the credit card offers. Note that there is no such thing as a perfect card for everyone. Each of the cards above has its own advantages, which might appeal to you as a cardholder.

Looking for the right rewards credit card? You can compare and get information about each type of rewards credit card from cardrewards.net.

Credit Cards for Businesses

Credit cards for businesses come in a wide variety. As the name suggests, a business credit card is designed specifically for businesses. Technically, this card has the same usability and branding as the consumer credit cards, only that instead of the name of the individual, the card bears the name of the company or business instead.

Business Credit Cards vs. Personal Credit Cards

Aside from the fact that the company name is emblazoned on the face of the card instead of the cardholder’s name, the rules implemented on the business and personal credit cards differ significantly. The unfortunate news is that the business persons that own a professional card or business card are not protected by CARD Act 2009. Known as the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act, this law was designed with the consumers in mind and not the companies.

However, a business credit card can offer exciting benefits that cannot be enjoyed with a personal credit card. Especially when the cardholder has made a wise decision in choosing the best card that fits the needs of his or her business, the benefits can never be underrated.

Top Benefits of Business Credit Cards

A business credit card allows ease of bookkeeping. This is because the card can be used to keep track of all your business expenses throughout a given period. Issuers often provide itemized statements so that you will stay within your business’ budget range. This feature of the business credit card allows you to analyze the use of your business resources, thereby helping you to make sound decisions regarding your business expenditures. Additionally, you can have a separate personal account to avoid mixing your business finances with your own personal expenditures.

Having a business credit card also gives you protection against fraud, especially those committed by employees. This is achieved by means of issuing a credit card for all the employees who are responsible for buying products or services. This actually encourages employee accountability. There are also companies that offer to cover charges when you get involved in scams involving your workforce.

There are also helpful rewards that your business can benefit from using a business credit card. These include cash backs and special incentives. Rewards, such as discounts on equipment, travel, and services can be useful especially for startup businesses. When you open a credit card account using your company’s name, this will create independent corporate credit. This is handy when obtaining cash through loans. You can use your positive credit history to seek a loan and even go for favorable interest rates.

Credit cards for businesses offer numerous benefits, making them a lucrative tool for any company. They can also be used to fund your business operations as they present you with valuable rewards. If you are searching for a good credit card for your business, there are several websites that may be of help to you. One is cardrewards.net, where you can find a variety of credit cards and compare their different features.