What Credit Score Do You Start With?

Credit score Q&A: “What credit score do you start with?” Questions related to credit scores are always difficult to answer because companies like FICO don’t reveal every detail of their complex and secretive scoring algorithms. Credit scores also happen to be very unique from consumer to consumer, with no two alike.  Kind of like snowflakes,… Continue reading What Credit Score Do You Start With?

Credit Line Increases Can Hurt and Help Your Credit Score

While it generally makes sense to raise credit lines periodically to increase your available credit and credit utilization, it can also backfire if you aren’t responsible. Some credit line increase requests count as hard credit inquiries, which will be documented on your credit report for two years, and count against your credit score for one… Continue reading Credit Line Increases Can Hurt and Help Your Credit Score

Five Costly Credit Card Fees You Can Easily Avoid

As you probably already know, credit card issuers make much of their money on collected interest and outrageous fees. See how credit card issuers make money for more on that. And it seems everyday credit card companies are coming up with new, innovative fees to charge their customers. Let’s take a look at five common… Continue reading Five Costly Credit Card Fees You Can Easily Avoid

Is the 3% Chase Freedom Unlimited Offer Good or Bad?

You may have heard (or read) that the Chase Freedom Unlimited now comes with 3% cash back for the entire first year, similar to the double points/miles Discover offers during year one via cashback match. The biggest difference between that Discover offer and the Chase offer is that it’s not unlimited, ironically, on the Chase… Continue reading Is the 3% Chase Freedom Unlimited Offer Good or Bad?