Solid credit card scores are crucial for everybody. Lending is now tightening up and these financial institutions are raising the base credit scores higher and higher. There are some very simple and practical ways in order to build good credit card scores. You can use this not only to raise your rating but also maintain a good one.

Get your credit report:

You have to pay a fee to get your exact score. You can opt to get your score for free from companies like Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. They offer annual releases of credit card scores. All you need to do is request a report online. There are sites that allow you to do that but for a fee. You can find a website that offers this service with no fees at all. This site has been released as a reaction to the legislation to require the companies to offer reports.

Know your “open” accounts:

You cannot rely only on credit reports to show what open accounts you have. There are some companies that do not report at all. If you are an avid “collector” of credit cards and you have the need for more than 12 slots, then it might be best to be well aware about your accounts as long as they are open. Sometimes, people do not close an account they do not use for the “just in case” reason. Companies are now closing inactive accounts and when your account goes down, your credit card scores can go down as well. It is not safe to assume that using them again will result to better rating but it would be best to be aware of what you have open for the past year or so. This will give you an idea of what could have affected your score.

Make automated payments:

As we all know, as long as you pay your bills on time. Your credit card scores will stay in good shape. A few days of late payment can be a minus to your score. If you forget to pay, you can have a bad record and it can also worsen your score. The best way to minimize the problem of late payments is to set up automated payments especially for your recurring obligations such as your student, auto loans or mortgage. If you miss your payment, especially for credit cards, the results can be higher rates and this will not be appealing for anyone living in tight budgets.

Your balance is a serious matter:

Do you know how much balance you actually have? Do you have a record of how much money you have paid and how much is left of your debt? Knowing your balance means knowing your goal. You can make it easier for yourself to know what is coming up for you and what roadblocks might happen. If you know that you are $5000 short to fully paying all your debts, you can make preparations better. This works better for people with bigger loans.

Related articles

• Lenders Must Reveal Reasons for Rejection (thestreet.com)
• Can you get a credit card with a 611 credit score (wiki.answers.com)
• Advantages and Risks of Zero Credit Score Credit Cards (creditcardscore.org)

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The Law About Free Credit Reports

Everybody needs to know their credit score. It is vital for so many aspects of life – getting a mortgage, having loans approved, being accepted to rent property or finance a car purchase. Even people who have no financial problems need to be able to check that there are no mistakes in their credit history on record with the main credit agencies.

The government recognizes this, and national law now makes it possible for anybody to order a free credit report once every year. The relevant US legislation is the Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act or FACT.

The main national consumer reporting companies are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Theoretically, they each have to provide you with an annual report. However in practice, they all subscribe to the Annual Credit Report Request Service.

Where To Order Your Free Online Credit Report

The simplest way to get your free credit report is to go to annualcreditreport.com and fill out the online request form. You can also call toll free at 1-877-322-8228.

You will need to provide certain personal information including your name, current and previous addresses, social security number and date of birth. In addition, in order to maintain confidentiality, the Annual Credit Report Request Service will ask for some information that only you would know, such as the amount of one of your monthly payments.

After you request your free online credit report it does not take long to get the information. You can usually see your report right away. If you call, your report will be printed and mailed to you within 2 weeks. The only time it might take longer is if the company requires more information in order to establish your identity, or if they have a very high volume of requests.

You may see other websites offering a free online credit report. Be aware these are not part of the national scheme. They may be able to give you a free report, but sometimes there will be hidden costs, or you may be required to give personal information that will be used to market other services to you.

What If I Already Asked For A Report This Year?

You are entitled to a free annual credit report from each of the three companies mentioned above, every year. If you already requested your annual free online credit report from all three of them less than 12 months ago, then you may have to pay $10.50 for another one.

However, there are some circumstances where you can get another report for free. This includes if you are unemployed or on welfare, if your previous report had errors which you have requested to have corrected, if you were the victim of identity theft, or if you have recently been turned down for credit or insurance on the basis of a credit check. If you think you fit one of these cases, call the Annual Credit Report Request Service and ask them if you can order another online credit report for free.

Armed with the knowledge that you will obtain from your report you will now be able to make a plan to increase your credit card score.

Apply for Your Free Credit Report Online

Check Your Free Annual Credit Report

Credit Cards Score, Keep the Score High

The score itself is largely based on the statistical analysis of the borrower’s credit information as collected by one of the major American credit bureaus. The three major credit bureaus in America are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Another important company to know in this context is the Fair Isaac Corporation, also known as FICO. FICO created the first credit scoring system back in 1958 and followed this ground breaking invention with the introduction of the credit card score system in 1970. The latter system was first installed with the American Bank of Trust.

Credit card scores are often used by lenders to assess whether the person who wants to borrow money will pay back the debt or if the chance of bad debt is too high, thus effectively minimizing the chance of losses due to bad debt.  Credit card scores are therefore used to first of all determine who qualifies for a loan, what is the credit limit and the interest rate.

Currently there are many different credit scores in use and thus one person might have more than one credit card score at the same time, due to the different scoring models used by each of the three large American credit bureaus. These different scoring models include, but are not limited to, the following: The FICO scoring model, NextGen, VantageScore or the CE Score.

In the United States the system of using credit card scores is widely recognized as being the most fair and by far the most objective system, as neither race, ethnicity or sex play any kind of role for the loan offer made. In addition to this, there have been studies that have shown a decrease in risk of bad debt and an increase in the availability of credit since implementing the credit card scoring system. In other studies, the evaluations and assessments based on each individual’s credit card score have proven to be very accurate and reliable, especially in the credit card industry.