3 Reasons Your Credit Card Issuer Could Close Your Account The closing of your credit card account means several things and none of them sounds good. Credit card accounts are usually closed if you default, if you stop using your credit or if there’s changes in creditors’ policy or the holder’s credit score. The first … Read more

How is a Credit Card Authenticated? Credit card validation goes a long way when it comes to businesses whose cash flows depend on customers’ credit card transactions. In this regard, there’s two important things that play a role in validating a credit card, namely, the credit card number validation and verification of the associated account … Read more

Cuba is fast becoming one of the most visited countries for tourists but due to the country’s past relationship with the US, it wasn’t until 2014 that Americans were allowed to travel to its southern neighbor, albeit not for vocational reasons.  If you’re a heavy credit card user and plan a trip to Cuba, you … Read more

Credit card debt is conventionally unsecured. A secured credit card is granted to someone with a damaged or no credit score at all. In this regard, secured credit cards are used to build credit score and therefore they’re easy to get but you can still get denied for a secured credit card if the creditor … Read more

For an every man, buying a house is one of the ultimate financial goals in the US and it’s no overstatement either for obvious reasons. There’s various options available for people to get a house for themselves, including mortgages, savings, marginal leverage, loans and also credit cards. Yes, you can buy a house with a … Read more

Delaying a payment on a credit bill can create several difficulties. In the best case, you just pay late fees and higher interest rate for some time and in worst cases, credit debt leads to lawsuits, liens and garnishments. Creditors are covered by Consumer Credit Act (CCA) and there are strict rules and guidelines that … Read more

Credit cards are plastic or metal cards issued to their holders, allowing them to pay for goods and services from a line of credit created by the issuer that depends on the user’s credit debt. Credit cards are highly popular with Americans. According to data released by the Federal Reserve of Atlanta, 79% of Americans … Read more

Accessible Income, as the name suggests, is the amount of total annual income you have REASONABLE access to if you’re aged 21 years or older. This does not just include your income from your employment but all sources, including social benefits. Accessible income plays a significant role in getting better credit cards.  The Credit Card … Read more

A decline during a credit card transaction essentially means that either the payment gateway, the processor or your creditor or bank is refusing to proceed with the payment and it can happen for a myriad of reasons and can involve technical difficulties as well and not necessarily, deliberate invalidation. According to data from Visa and … Read more

Online shopping has reached unprecedented scale all around the world as people adopt smartphones, Tablets and Internet technologies like 4G. The trend was specifically accelerated during the recent pandemic which resulted in the imposition of lockdowns in many countries, causing people to order stuff online that they would otherwise buy from a physical store. According … Read more

If you use a credit card and need quick access to your credit card transactions online, you’d need an online credit card account. Having an online credit card account is almost essential for a myriad of reasons. For instance, an online version of a credit card account could be critical if you often lose your … Read more

Credit card miles refer to the traveling rewards you get on a number of credit cards when you spend credit. Different credit cards offer different incentives when it comes to miles. However, you’re limited to specific airlines depending on your creditors’ airline partnerships.  For instance, a typical credit card could award you one mile for … Read more

Canada has a worldwide reputation for having one of the highest credit card penetration. There’s over 72 million credit cards in circulation in Canada, as many Canadians keep more than one credit card in their wallets. However, Canadian credit cards do not fare well when stacked up against the US credit cards when it comes … Read more

A money order is a traditional paper form of payment that is somewhat similar to a check. Money orders are usually preferred over check or cash when people want an extra bit of traceability and security. Money order is also guaranteed when it comes to its purchase amount whereas a check is not guaranteed, meaning … Read more

Credit card co-signing refers to getting someone with a good credit score to cosign a credit card for you. To answer the question, yes, you can have a cosigner for a credit card. The cosigning person in this case, would legally take responsibility for your debt liability in case you fail to pay your credit … Read more

It is theoretically possible to get out of credit card debt without paying. There are some options like filing for bankruptcy or moving to states that prohibit garnishment or levying. However, no option is pretty and your best bet, if you’d love to have a decent chance at credit in the future, is to pay … Read more

If you’re planning to buy a home with a loan, you need to be aware that lenders like it when you have low overall debt, including credit card debt. The reason behind this is that you’re less likely to be a credit risk.  On the other hand, high debt makes lenders wary of granting you … Read more

Only a few mortgage companies accept credit card payments and yes, you can earn miles by paying your mortgage through credit card, although it would depend on the credit card you’re using but as I said, most mortgage companies do not allow direct payment of mortgage through credit cards.  Moreover, some credit servicers also do … Read more

Garnishment refers to a legal order allowing a third-party, usually a collection agency, to freeze and seize your assets, typically income from employment (wage-garnishment) or deposits resting in your bank account to cover for your debt after default on your credit card account. Garnishing can happen after your credit card account defaults and shut down … Read more

If you’ve accumulated $30K in credit card debt, it can be reasonably argued that your credit score would go spiraling down. Not to mention if you’re unable to pay it, you’d have debt collection agencies hounding you for a long time to come. So how do you get yourself out of this mess?  Well, the … Read more

Credit card debt is what’s called unsecured debt. Therefore, any garnishing or property seizure is not a given but not impossible. So credit card companies can take your house but it depends on a lot of factors and is exceedingly unlikely. This is one of the possibilities that could result from creditors suing clients that … Read more

Chapter-7 bankruptcy is a kind of bankruptcy where your credit debt is discharged and your assets that are not covered in Exempt Property are sold to cover the debt you owe to your creditor(s).  Bankruptcy is especially dangerous to the credit score and chapter-7 bankruptcy sticks on your credit reports for 10 years. This not … Read more

Garnishing is a court order that allows debt collectors to seize upon 25% of your wages to cover your credit card debt. This happens when your credit card account defaults after you fail to pay your credit card debt on consecutive billing cycles. On average, 10% of Americans between the ages of 35 and 44 … Read more

If death occurs by some misfortune while you had accrued credit card debt that isn’t paid back after your death, then credit card companies generally cannot take your house because a lot of factors come into play that either deter or outright prevent creditors or debt collectors from putting a lien on your house. In … Read more

A late payment is a credit bill payment that is made overdue. Late payments on credit bill not only incur late fees, they’re bad for the credit score in general. If you’re one of those people concerned with your credit score, you should avoid making a late payment because credit repair companies cannot get accurately … Read more

Credit card debt is something you don’t wanna take lightly. Late fees and increased interest rates can be a real headache. As you miss paying consecutively on billing cycles, you start making it harder for yourself to pay that debt.  It is sort of ironic, the deterrence that credit card companies use to encourage you … Read more

The grace period refers to the number of days from your credit card’s statement date to the due payment data which does not accrue interest. It is the time period in which you’re required to pay your credit company for the purchases you make with your credit card in a given billing cycle. It is … Read more

Interest on a credit card used for personal expenses falls in the category of ‘personal interest’ and therefore, it is not qualified for tax deduction. However credit spending on business expenses is eligible for tax deduction. Tax deduction on credit card interest for personal expenses was valid prior to 1986. It was rolled back in … Read more

It is a bad idea to have a high credit card debt because it is very easy to spiral out of control. If your credit card debt ratio is above 10% in 2022, it’s safe to say that you can start worrying about credit card debt being too high.  One of the ways you can … Read more

Garnishment is a legal procedure where debt collectors can get a court order issued against you after they purchase your debt from your creditors. A legal order to levy your bank account allows collectors to gain access to your bank account, get it frozen and take out the portion of your money to cover for … Read more

Getting a credit card without a job is a hard nut to crack but not impossible. One of the many questions regarding credit cards involve whether you can get a credit card without income. The answer is, yes you can. However, there’s a few caveats. Being employed is not a technical necessity but it plays … Read more