The short answer to both questions? No, and no.

Few people need credit monitoring. It’s a convenience. Credit monitoring sends you regular updates on your credit score and report so you don’t have to remember to check them (or pay additional for each report). And that’s about it.

Credit monitoring is great for people who are actively trying to watch and improve their credit score, but don’t expect it to do things it can’t. Like protect you from identify theft. Credit monitoring notifies you as soon as anything changes on your credit report. For example, credit monitors would send you an alert if a new line of credit appeared on your account. If you didn’t apply for it—it could be ID theft.

The problem is, by the time it hits your credit report, it could be too late. Credit reports aren’t updated instantly, and by the time the credit card an ID thief applied for in your name appears in your report, he could have already charged $10k in your name that he never plans to repay.

Now, there are some services out there that don’t just provide credit monitoring but also identify theft insurance. These firms cost more, but will pay for damage to your credit report caused by ID theft.

Interested in learning more about credit monitoring? Compare credit monitoring services now.

Call your credit card’s customer service number, usually identified by the 800 number on the back of your card. After verifying your account information, tell the representative that you would like to increase a credit limit increase. Depending on your credit card company, credit score, and account usage, they may do it immediately, or they may put you on hold and look into your account.

Your chances of getting a credit limit increase approved increase if:

• You have not made any late payments on any accounts in two years
• You have a good credit score overall (check your credit now)
• You have a balance on the card on which you want to increase the credit limit, but are not already “maxed out”

It may seem strange, but credit cards do not usually want to increase credit limits on customers’ cards if the customer does not use much, or any, of the credit limit they already have. So if you have a $2,000 credit limit and only charge about $300 to the card each month and pay the balance off in full, the credit card company probably isn’t interested in raising your limit to $3,000. Why not?

It’s because the credit card company doesn’t foresee making more money by raising your credit limit, but they do foresee additional risk. Since you generally only charge $300 on the card anyway and pay the balance in full, the credit card company doesn’t expect you to charge $2,500 and pay that off over time—earning the company interest fees. In fact, the card company may worry that if they grant your credit limit increase, you may charge $2,500 and then decide not to pay (even if you have great credit).

You may be able to increase the chances of getting a credit limit increase by telling the rep what you plan on using the additional credit for. (Perhaps you’re going on vacation, or will be transferring a balance).

Some Credit Cards Have Automatic Credit Limit Increases

Select credit card companies will increase your credit limit automatically after certain time periods of using your account responsibly. For example, Capital One credit cards have a program called Credit Steps. When a new customer gets a Capital One card and pays on time for three consecutive month, their credit limit is raised. The customer then gets another credit line increase after six months of timely payments.

Discover cards also feature regular credit limit increases after a year or more of responsible payments. Citi credit cards make it possible to request credit limit increases online when you are securely logged into your credit card online account manager.

The Best Credit Scores

Depending on the exact scoring methodology used (FICO or other), your credit score may be as high as 830. The reality is, very few consumers–even those with impeccable payment histories–will ever crest a credit score of 800. It’s not for lack of trying; it’s simply because credit scoring is so complicated that nobody knows exactly what it takes to have perfect credit–and even if we knew, chances are few people would want to go through the trouble.

How to Get There

We do know, however, that these three simple factors build very, very good credit scores of 700, 720, 750, or 780 or more:

• No missed payments in many, many years
• A long credit history (if you don’t make mistakes, the older you get, the better you credit will get)
• High credit limits and low utilization

People are often surprised to learn that some of the wealthiest people in the country–Warren Buffet, for example–have fairly average credit scores. Conversely, somebody earning very average wages can develop near-perfect credit. The key is a applying for a good amount of credit, paying on time, increasing your limits, and then rarely using that credit.

It’s a situation most people never get into unless they are deliberately trying to build their credit score as high as it can go. After all, why apply for credit you don’t need?

Back to my reader who wants to cancel all but one of her credit cards. Yes, it will lower your credit score a bit. Your credit score will still be “excellent”, it just won’t be 780. It comes down to a personal choice. What’s more important to you? The highest possible credit score or the peace of mind of only having credit open that you actually use?

What Your Credit Score Isn’t
Your credit score is a grade that measures your overall credit risk to lenders. Your credit score is based upon one of several complicated formulas that take PhDs to understand and are as tightly guarded like the recipe for Coca Cola. But the fact is, credit scores reduce highly unique information on your credit report to the simplest possible form. Therefore, they provide an inherently incomplete picture of your credit health—to both your lenders and to you.

For example, two people could have the exact same credit score (let’s say 660), but have vastly different credit histories. For example, let’s say Jane has had credit for only a year and only has two accounts, but she has paid both those accounts on-time, every time. Her score is 660.

Then we have Jim, who has had credit for 15 years, has over 10 accounts and, while most of them are in good standing, he has been late a handful of times on a few accounts in the last few years. His score is also 660. They have the same credit score, but they are vastly different borrowers. Only a full credit report can contains that that information.

What Your Credit Report Tells You That Your Score Can’t
Lenders look at your credit report to find out lots of things your credit score alone can’t tell them. Some of these things include:

• How much debt do you have compared to your credit available?
• How much credit do you have available? (Could you rack up a lot of debt if you wanted to?)
• How much credit have you applied for recently?
• What types of credit are you using? Do you own a home? Are debts the result of credit cards, or medical bills?

Finally, both you and your creditors have the right to place comments into your credit file. These comments can explain certain items on your credit report—for better or worse. For example, if you find something on your credit report that is inaccurate or fraudulent, it can take months to remove it from your report. You can, however, immediately insert a comment on your report indicating to potential lenders that you are disputing the information.

Your credit score tells lenders how likely they are to earn a return on their investment of lending money to you. The higher your score, the safer a bet you are for the lender, and the lower interest rate you’ll get. The lower your score, the more wary lenders are of giving you money, and the higher the interest rate they will charge you.

To give you an example of how this works, let’s take a look at an example of 30-year fixed mortgage rates. For the most qualified borrowers with a FICO score of above 720, the interest rate is 5.845%. In the middle of the road, somebody with a credit score of between 620-674, the rate is 7.658%.

At the bottom, those with credit scores of under 560, could pay 12.985% (assuming they can get a mortgage, which is highly unlikely these days). The difference between interest payments made by the well qualified borrower and the unqualified borrower, over 30 years? More than a half a million dollars.

If that’s not a reason to get your credit score in shape, what is? If you’re curious, you can get your free credit report and score.

Above All, Be Polite – You will probably deal with a different person every time you call your credit card company, and these people are just like you and me. They are trying to survive their workday just as we endure ours. Treat them with the same courtesy and respect as you expect from them, and it will go along way.

Be Prepared to Negotiate - Every call to your credit card company is a negotiation. Whether you are negotiated an interest rate, a credit line increase, or to waive a fee. Credit card companies are capable of giving its best customers virtually any rate, any credit line, and waiving almost any fee. The better your history with the credit card, the better your chances, but everybody has a shot at better terms.
If you’re calling about a lower interest rate, for example, say “I like this card, but I can get much lower rates with other cards, so I’d like to close my account unless you think you can beat your competitor’s rates.” Do not say: “Is there any chance I can get a lower rate? No? Okay, thanks anyway.”

Be Proactive – When you are falling behind on bills, do not wait for your credit card company to find you and tell you that you’re late, and certainly don’t avoid their calls! If you give them advance notice that you might have to be late, they can work with you to eliminate fees and keep your interest rate from going up, saving you hundreds or thousands of dollars. Remember, if you don’t pay your bill and your credit card can’t reach you, they fear the worst: that you’re going to skip out on your bill. Assure your credit card company you intend to pay, and they will help you.

Ask for the Supervisor – While your customer service rep probably has more authority to waive fees and make special arrangements than they will let on, there are some things they will not be able to do. They may not want to give you to a manager the first time you ask, but if you are polite and persistent, you can get to one.

If All Else Fails, Call Again – Remember that you will deal with a different person each time you call your credit card company, so use it to your advantage. If you don’t get what you asked for the first time, call again, and again.

Still aren’t getting anywhere? Then it may be time to cut your ties with your credit card company and find a new card.

Note: Even if you apply online, you may not receive notice that your credit card application was denied for one to two weeks. If you do not receive instant approval from an online credit card application, you can call the card company in 24 to 48 hours to check on the status of your credit card application.

Common Reasons Your Credit Card Application May Be Denied

1. You have recently moved. A new address can trigger alerts on credit scores. Creditors like to see that you have lived in one place for more than a year, or at least six months.

2. You have not been at your current employer long enough. The longer you are at the same job, the better it looks to your creditors.

3. Your income may not be high enough. Most credit cards require a minimum annual income of at least $15,000. Depending on the card, some may require a higher minimum income.

4. You may have delinquent marks on your credit report. If you have been more than 30 or 60 days on any credit card or loan in the last year, your credit card application might be denied.

5. You have too much debt. If you currently have a lot of debt, especially credit card debt, or you are very near the credit limits on multiple credit cards, this can be a red flag to new creditors, even if your credit history is otherwise clean.

What to do if your Credit Card Application is Denied

The first step is to obtain a copy of your credit history to check for any errors. You may also see legitimate information on your report – such as a late payment or charge off – that could have been the reason for your denial.

If your credit score is accurate and looks good, you can try calling the credit card company to see if they will give you a specific reason your credit card application was denied.

You can try applying for a different credit card that accepts cardmembers without credit or with credit needing improvement.

If these options do not work, we recommend you wait six months before applying for a new credit card again. Spend the time paying down any existing credit card balances and fixing any errors on your credit report.

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.

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.

That means that credit cards with no pre-set spending limits will authorize each purchase on a case by case basis. Whether or not they authorize a particular transaction will depend on multiple factors including your account history, your current balance, your credit history, you income, and your financial assets.

Avoiding Your Limit

If you plan to make a big purchase on your no pre-set spending limit credit card, you may be in for a surprise, as the transaction can be declined.

To avoid an embarrassing situation, it’s best to call your credit card company prior to making any unusually large purchases or any purchases that will put you over your credit limit.

You can also negotiate a higher spending limit after using the credit card for a year or more. Your chances of getting a credit limit increase will be best if you charge a significant amount on your card each month and pay the balance in full. You’ll also need a clean credit history.

Compare and apply for no pre-set spending limit credit cards now.