Your Credit Questions and Answers

Three Steps to Identity Theft If someone attempts to steal my identity they will do at least these three things. They will: Get my Social Security Number Change my mailing address to their address Apply for a new credit card or loan with my name Closely Track New Credit Applications If the Thief has gotten my social security number and applied for new credit this will show up on my credit history. By closely tracking the credit applications made with my SS number I will know right away if my Identity is being stolen. Credit Karma Monitoring is Free With Credit Karma monitoring, any time new credit is applied for Credit Karma emails me with a notification. I check my credit and my email regularly. My Stolen Credit Card Monitoring If the thief has stolen my credit card number and used it I will get an email from my credit card company that my card was used. I have my credit cards set up so any charge creates an email to me. You can setup a separate email account just for credit card pu...

Recently I tried to use one of my Chase cards with a low credit limit to purchase an expensive item. My credit limit for the card was $4,000 and I tried to charge $8500. Chase declined the purchase.   Credit Card Customer Support  I called Chase Customer Support but the three digit number on the back of my card has rubbed off. I cannot read it. When I talked to Customer Service, I could not give them the three digit number on the back of my card.  Chase must have thought the card number had been stolen and temporarily closed all of my Chase Credit Cards. Support On Hold I called in over that weekend and was told I needed to talk to Loss Prevention.  Three times I was transferred to Loss Prevention and they never picked up the phone.  After twenty minutes or more I just gave up each time. Chase stopped usage of all four of my Chase cards for four days until my account got straightened out. I have a total of $35,000 credit available on the four different Cha...

Credit Karma is a free credit monitoring service that provides users with access to their Vantage 300 credit scores and credit reports.  In my opinion Credit Karma is awesome. Here's how Credit Karma works To sign up you will create an account and provide personal information, including your name, address, email, phone number, and the last four digits of your Social Security number. Credit reporting Credit Karma uses two of the three major credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion, to obtain users' credit reports. After you sign up they will update the credit reports every week.  If you check it more often CK will eventually update daily. Credit scoring Credit Karma uses the Vantage Score 3.0 credit score model, which is a credit scoring model developed by the three major credit bureaus. The score ranges from 300 to 850.  It is not the same as your FICO score but it will usually be close. Credit monitoring Credit Karma monitors your credit reports for changes, such as new ac...

There are Many Assorted Credit Card Fees.  I work hard to avoid the fees.  I work hard for my money I don't like to waste it. Annual fee - this is a fee charged by some credit cards once a year just for having the card. Most Airline cards and many Premium cards will have an $80 to $500 annual fee. I have a United Airlines card and a premium Chase card that I pay an annual fee on. I have tried to get out of paying the fees on these by calling and asking with no success.  The only way I found would be to cancel the card. Interest rate - this is the percentage charged on the balance of the credit card that is not paid off in full each month. This is not an issue with me as I pay off my cards in full every month.   If I do need short-term money I use money from my HELOC.   Ask for a Zero Percent Offer If you are needing money and have a good credit history you may call your credit card and ask them if they have any Zero Percent offers for this card....

I use Credit Karma notifications to monitor my credit. I signed up for Credit Karma a long time ago. It is free. I am Monitoring my Credit to fight Identity Theft I gave them my name, address,  email, phone number, and social security number. They are able to contact two of the three credit bureaus, Equifax and Transunion, and check my credit history with them. They are able to check my credit with a soft credit check.  Credit Karma Notifications Once you have a Credit Karma account, you can set up notifications. This is very simple to do. Open Credit Karma go to the menu on the top right. Go down to "Communications and Monitoring". Scroll down. I authorized ID Monitoring, Account Monitoring, Credit Monitoring, and ignored the rest. I average checking Credit Karma every week or two. Credit Karma will email you with any significant changes to your credit score and any new credit applications on your account. Freezing Your Credit  If you do not plan on openi...

 I helped a friend who did some work for me.  He had no idea what a credit history or credit score was.  He was a 50 year old handyman that worked for cash.  I explained how credit works. We signed him up for Credit Karma on my computer.  He had a 570 credit score.   We found he had ony  one negative on his report.  Verizon had an unpaid bill of $120 from three years previous.  They had not turned it over to collections. He had no other credit history. We went to Verizon and asked if they would remove the negative and open an account for his phone.  They immediately removed the negative and opened up a Verizon account for him. I put him as an authorized user on a twelve year old credit card of mine. Within two weeks his score jumped to 760.  He had just my credit card on his account and it was 12 years old.  He also now had credit at Verizon however it did not show on his credit report.  The negative from Verizon...

  Credit Card Churning is a strategy in which individuals open new credit card accounts to receive credit card sign-up bonuses and cashback rewards. The goal is to receive cashback bonus rewards. This is also referred to as Credit Card Hacking. Sometimes the churner will close the account before the next years annual fee is going to be billed. The process involves applying for a new credit card, meeting the minimum spending requirements to earn the bonus, and then closing the account before the annual fee is due or after the reward is received. Effective Credit Card Churning To engage in credit card churning effectively, it is essential to have a good credit score, as credit card issuers only offer sign-up bonuses to customers with excellent credit scores. Organization is Important It is a good idea to be organized and disciplined in managing your credit card accounts to ensure you meet the minimum spending requirements, pay your bills on time, and avoid accruing debt. Credit C...

A hard inquiry is when you apply for a loan and the Bank, Credit Union, or lender checks your credit. A Hard Inquiry only happens when you apply for credit and sign an authorization for a credit check .  A Soft Inquiry is when You check your credit score.  This can be done through a company like Credit Karma or some of the credit card companies that are offering a free credit check. Discover and Chase both offer free credit checks.   How Often Can I do a Soft Inquiry? You can do a Soft Inquiry every day or as often as you want with Credit Karma or many of the Online Free Credit Check websites. You can also do a free  Soft Inquiry  once a year through each of the three credit bureaus. With Discover you don't need to have a Discover card to do a Soft Inquiry.  To get a free credit check. You will have to give your social security number and register with Discover.  A Hard Inquiry Credit Check When you make a hard inquiry for credit, meaning apply...