Does it matter whether you have Good or Bad Credit
This is a very hot topic of discussion in the world of credit cards. It starts with what leads to a good or a bad credit and goes on to talk about the importance of good/bad credit.
Have you been defaulting on your credit card payments thinking that it doesn't matter much? Well you haven't been doing well to start with. Besides the late fees and the interest charges, there is something else which the credit card companies keep track of and that is Credit Rating. Though a bad rating looks harmless in the first instance, it can actually get you into difficult situations. These credit ratings are consolidated at credit bureaus and are available on request.
This is the meter by which every financial institution gauges an individual's credit worthiness before qualifying them as eligible for credit. A bad credit rating can lead to rejection of car loan or a home mortgage application whereas a good credit rating can not only expedite the process but also get you a good deal and give you more bargaining power, after all the financial institutions too want to transact with the least risky people. In fact, credit cards are a good and easy way of establish your credit worthiness in the market and aid you in various monetary transactions. A good credit rating can help you get a leased accommodation on a preference basis as compared to those who have no or a bad credit rating.
What's more, sometimes a good credit rating is treated as a measure of how responsible a person you are and used by employers as an input to deciding the right candidate for a job. So though a good credit rating might not improve your chances of getting a good job, a bad one can surely scale down your chances. You can't possibly get another credit card if you don't have a good credit rating.
Having established the fact that getting a good credit rating is not good to have but must to have, let's now check the leading factors that give you a bad credit rating:
1. Regularly (more than once or twice) missing the due date of monthly installment payment for a loan or home mortgage.
2. Altogether non-payment of borrowed money.
3. Applying for too many credit cards at once. If you haven't been taking care of your credit ratings till now, it's about time that you started giving it its due.
If you are not sure if you have already damaged your credit rating or not, you can get a credit report from the credit bureau in your country and check your current rating for yourselves (e.g. three major US credit bureaus are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). If you find that your credit report has errors you can contest the same and get it corrected. If your credit rating is spoilt due to negligence on your part, you can still take measures to improve it. Though it can't happen overnight, you can surely improve your credit rating over a period of time. You might also seek professional help if you don't feel sure about how to deal with a particular situation.
CCN.com is a free online credit cards reviewand application website. We offer credit cards selection from visa,master cards, discover, american express and many others. We have quite some categories and hundreds of credit cards selection to fit your need. Apply for a credit card at CCN.com.


Repairing your credit rating
It's not just the negligent who can end up with having a bad credit rating. Courtesy fraudsters, you can have a bad credit rating even if you have been making all your payments in time and taking all precautions. Whatever landed you with a bad credit rating, the important question is how to repair it.
Let's start with the scenario where you have been doing everything right and still ended up with a bad credit rating. First thing to do in any case is get a copy of your credit report from your national credit bureau (e.g. three major US credit bureaus are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) and check it thoroughly for discrepancies, if any. If you have been tricked by a fraudster, then report it immediately to the bureau. There are fraudsters who somehow retrieve information about an individual and use it to apply for credit cards in his/her name and then obviously default on payments.
However, if you are the one responsible for spoiling your own credit rating, then the following recipe needs to be put to use to prevent any further damage and improve the credit rating:
1. If you can, then wipe off any long standing debt on your credit card account as soon as possible
2. Ensure that you are making timely payments of your monthly installments for any loans or home mortgages that you might have taken.
3. Do not apply for too many loans or credit cards all at once.
4. Do not overspend on your credit cards. In fact try to remain within 70-75 of the total credit limit available to you.
5. Opening a credit card account with a department store you shop with frequently can also help in repairing your credit rating. Just make sure that you make the payments with the newly acquired credit card and pay your credit card bills in time.
6. Ensure that you are following all the safety and fraud protection instructions to prevent yourselves from becoming a target of the fraudsters. These include basic things like signing at the back of your credit card when it first arrives and destroying all the credit account related documents before binning them.
7. If you find it difficult to handle the situation all by yourselves, don't hesitate to take professional help. Even though you have to shell out a small fee for such an advice, it can benefit you a lot in the long run and save much more for you.
Remember that a good credit card rating can go a long way in making your future credit requests/transactions smooth and a bad one can be an obstacle. So give it the attention it deserves. Also, a good credit rating cannot be gained overnight but only through a responsible and disciplined attitude towards your credit related transactions over a period of time.
CCN.com is a free online credit cards reviewand application website. We offer credit cards selection from visa,master cards, discover, american express and many others. We have quite some categories and hundreds of credit cards selection to fit your need. Apply for a credit card at CCN.com.


Getting it even with a bad credit rating
Yes, you can get a credit card even if you have a bad credit rating. So if you have been refraining from applying for a credit card because you have a bad credit rating, you can take a sigh of relief. However, this does not demean the importance of a good credit rating. In fact this could be your opportunity to improve your credit rating. Only a good credit rating can make your loan or mortgage application sail through. Let's check what kind of credit cards are available to people with bad credit rating.
Secured credit cards or debit cards are the ones which are available to all and sundry irrespective of your credit rating. Looks a bit surprising, doesn't it? Not really, if you understand the concept behind secured credit cards (or more appropriately 'debit cards').
Secured credit cards are plastic representatives of the cash balance in your account. So, to get a secured credit card, you will need to open a savings account with company who is offering the credit card to you. This acts as a security for that company. This is the main difference between secured and unsecured credit cards - you need a savings account for a secured credit card whereas unsecured credit cards don't require any such arrangement as a savings account. The other difference is the interest rates and fees. These are generally higher for secured card as compared to an unsecured one.
The limit or the amount you can spend using a secured credit card is a percentage of the balance in your savings account. This generally ranges from 50 to 100 percent. As there is no dearth of companies offering secured credit cards, you should research well before zeroing-in on the best deal. It goes without saying that reading the fine print is important as well. If not all, you must at least read the bits which relate to fees and charges etc. Generally, the bank will pay the usual interest on the balance in your account. However, you might as well check that too.
Also, you need to be careful that you don't become a target of fraudsters who use deceptive advertising techniques to lure customers. Though the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been strict in tracking and taking action against such fraud companies, it's good to be on guard against such deceptions. These fraud companies advertise everywhere and generally offer too-good-to-be-true deals. Some of the tricks used by them include things like - asking to call a 900 number (without mentioning the call charges which generally run from $2 to $50), not revealing information on fees etc, not revealing the card type itself or just hiding information which might be relevant to you in your decision making. It's outrageous (in fact almost funny) to know that some companies even come up with offers of cleaning up your credit history and some un-informed people do fall for such offers. It's an established fact that no one can clean-up your credit history other than you yourself. Also, this is not something which can happen overnight. You need to make payments in time and take other measures in order to get a good credit rating.
So you just need to be a bit cautious before you start on your credit repair journey with a secured credit card. However, it's not that difficult. On an ending note, just ensure that the company issuing the secured credit card reports transactions to the credit bureau otherwise your credit rating will remain unchanged even if you are good with the new credit card.
CCN.com is a free online credit cards reviewand application website. We offer credit cards selection from visa,master cards, discover, american express and many others. We have quite some categories and hundreds of credit cards selection to fit your need. Apply for a credit card at CCN.com.