Credit Health News and Advice

You’ve heard the scare tactics: Use a credit monitoring service or else fall victim to an identity theft, have your credit ruined, and lose your job. Is any of it really true? Do you actually need credit monitoring? Will credit monitoring actually protect you from ID theft?

So, you have managed one or more credit cards responsibly, have a good credit score, and think you deserve an increase to your credit card credit limit. How can you increase your credit limit? Usually, all you have to do is ask. Here’s how:

I received a question from a reader this week who is concerned about closing credit card accounts she doesn’t use and lowering her incredibly strong FICO credit score of 780. The fact is, closing many credit accounts (even if you don’t use them) probably will lower her score a little bit, but when your score’s already that high, should you worry?

Are you obsessed with your credit score? Do you check it every month to see if it’s gone up or down? If you are looking only at your credit score and not at your entire credit report, you’re missing the point.

Your credit score, or FICO score, doesn’t just determine whether or not you will get approved for a new credit card. Most importantly, your credit score determines what interest rates you will pay for every penny you borrow, whether it’s a car loan, credit card, or mortgage. Think your credit score doesn’t matter? Think again.

We’ve all been there — stuck on the phone with a customer service rep at a credit card company who seems to offer absolutely no help whatsoever. Whether we are calling because we want a credit limit increase, our card was declined, we want to lower our interest rate, or we are trying to clear up a late fee or interest rate increase. Here are some tips for talking with your credit card company to make sure you get the treatment you deserve, not the customer service runaround.

Was your credit card application denied? Was it denied even after you received a pre-approved offer? Here are some common reasons why your credit card application may have been denied.

Sick of receiving credit card junk mail? You can easily elect not to receive any further unsolicited credit offers by visiting Opt Out Prescreen.

Opt Out Screen wills stop most incoming credit card offers, although a few may still get through. That’s because Opt Out Prescreen only stops credit solicitations that are based upon your credit report. Signing up on the website will opt you out of credit card offers for five years. You can also opt out forever in writing.

Many credit cards advertise “no pre-set spending” limits. But if you think you can just sign up for the card and go out and charge a Ferrari, watch out. No pre-set spending limit does not meet no credit limit. It means there is no pre-set spending limit.

The Fine Print

In fact, most no pre-set spending limit credit cards come with a credit limit. The card then gives the card holder the ability to exceed that credit limit in some instances if the amount of the balance over the credit limit is paid in full before the due date.