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Credit Card Myths

I got Denied for a Credit Card. Now What?

November 14, 2018 By Ian Thomas 1 Comment

You had it all planned out. The trip to Europe in the spring. Which friends you’d ask to go with you. How you’d ask your boss for the time off work. And which credit card would help get you there. So you apply for the card… and get a “pending” or “denied” message. And you start to cry. Because your dreams are crushed.

No wait, don’t get too upset yet! Maybe get on the Googles and search “What to do when I get denied for a credit card” and end up here. And from here, you start to get that little glimmer of hope back.

Let me first start off by saying that I have gotten that “denied” and “pending” message before. And it’s no fun, because what would be really nice to see on the screen is “approved”. BUT all is not lost, even if you are denied. 3/4 times I’ve gotten that message, I’ve been able to call the reconsideration hotline (it’s a real thing folks) and talk them into giving me the card.

And by talk them into it, I literally mean talk them into it. Sometimes it takes a couple different calls and different reps. But if there is a great reason to get that credit card and it will be used – stick to your story.

…

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Filed Under: Finance Tagged With: Credit 101, Credit Card Basics, Credit Card Myths, Credit Card Travel, Credit Cards

Tips for Staying on Top of Your Credit Score

June 19, 2018 By Ian Thomas Leave a Comment

Credit scores are funny little beasts, and it’s important to stay on top of your score. Knowing what your score is and keeping an eye on it for changes will give you a lot more ownership over the whole credit thing in general. And a credit score is essentially a numerical representation of your credit report, so knowing your score and watching it for changes makes it easy to see and understand over time how your credit is impacted by decisions you make. Open a new card? Your credit will drop by 5-10 points. A couple months later, back to normal.

So for today’s post, I’m going to run down some of my favorite options for staying on top of your credit score, what to watch out for and what to do if you notice a mistake. It’s important to note that checking your score in this way is considered a soft pull and will not impact your credit. This is unlike a hard pull that lenders perform, which will show up on your credit report and drop your score slightly.

Before diving into this post, it’s probably a good idea to head here to get a quick 101 in Credit and here to disperse some common myths about credit.

All good? Then let’s go!

Credit Karma

You’ve probably seen a commercial for this website at some point – it really started to gain steam a couple years ago and now you can even file your taxes through them. Credit Karma pulls your reports using the last couple digits of your social security card and runs them through a credit scoring tool. Based on the information in your reports, like recent accounts or missed payments, it spits out a number. This is what mine looks like….

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Filed Under: Finance Tagged With: Budget Savings, Budgeting, Credit, Credit 101, Credit Card Basics, Credit Card Myths, Credit Cards, Credit Report, Smart Finance

Credit Card Myths: 10 Lies Everyone Believes About Credit Cards, and Why You Should Dig A Little Deeper

January 16, 2018 By Ian Thomas Leave a Comment

Last week we dove into the basics of credit and I thought it would be a good follow-up post to discuss some of the things I’ve heard about credit over the years that have turned out to be totally off base. This companion post to Credit 101 is looking to debunk some credit myths to make it more understandable and accessible.

If you haven’t read Part 1, head here to read it before getting into the nitty-gritty of this post!…

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Filed Under: Finance Tagged With: Credit 101, Credit Card Basics, Credit Card Myths, Credit Card Travel, Credit Cards, Credit Report

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