Bad Credit Channel Protecting Good Credit

Building & Protecting Good Credit

The Benefits of Protecting Your Credit
What good credit can do for you?
Help you through a financial emergency
Enable you to pay for a purchase over time
Provide access to short, interest-free loans
Enable you to rent a home, a car, and reserve a hotel room
Save you money
Rebates or rewards
Allow you to avoid carrying cash
Makes life easier

Types of Credit
Installment Credit
Fixed number of monthly payments
Car loans, mortgages (home loans)
Revolving Credit
Short-term, open-ended
Assigned credit limit
Available credit fluctuates as you make purchases & payments
Option to make full or partial payment
HELOCs, credit cards

Card Types
Credit, charge & debit cards
Visa, MasterCard, Discover
Affinity cards
Rewards cards
Secured cards
Retail and gas cards
Stored value and Prepaid MasterCard & Visa Cards
Charge cards
Debit cards (Also known as check cards)

Credit Card Terms
Credit limit
Method of computing the balance
Minimum payment
Payment due date
Grace period
Interest rate
Fees

Credit Card Interest
The lender’s fee for allowing you to use its money
Expressed as a percentage of the credit
Fixed vs variable interest rate
Annual percentage rate (APR)
Periodic interest rate
Different rates for a single card:
Teaser
Cash advance
Purchase
Penalty/Default
Balance transfer
Effective interest

Credit Card Fees
Application fee
Annual fee
Balance transfer fee
Cash advance fee
Currency conversion fee
Late fee
Overlimit fee
Bounced check/returned item fee
Miscellaneous fees

Credit Card Billing Statements
Opening/closing date
Past due amount
New balance
Minimum payment due
Due date
Account summary
Transactions
Rewards information
Explanation of finance charges
Effective APR

Don’t Become a Statistic
In 2007, credit card customers who didn’t pay the balance in full each month paid $18.1 billion in penalty fees to credit card companies.

Choosing a Credit Card
Credit limit
Purchase APR
Balance transfer APR
Cash advance APR
Promotional APRs
Penalty APR
Variable-rate info
Grace period
Annual fee
Transaction fees
Penalty fees
Balance computation method
Minimum finance charge
Rewards

Obtaining Credit
Consider pre-approved offers and invitations to apply
Apply to b anks, credit unions, retailers, card companies, and other institutions
Be sure to compare offerings, terms
Have bad credit? Consider an AccountNow card. This card will help you rebuild your credit.

Protect Your Credit
Know your credit limit and never exceed it
Never use a credit card to get cash
Charge only as much as you can actually repay
Pay more than the minimum
Pay your balance on the due date
Don’t accumulate too much debt
Avoid penalty fees and rates
Consider optional fee-based services carefully
Order your free credit report online
Monitor your credit

Bad Credit Channel
Are you currently living with bad credit?
Visit http://www.badcreditchannel.com for information and tips on how to live with bad credit, how to repair credit, purchase a car, and much more.

Bad Credit Channel Protecting Good Credit

by Bad Credit Advisor

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Bad Credit Channel Protecting Good Credit Presentation Transcript