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Recent Articles
15 Signs you May Need Credit Counseling
Self-help measures are great when your drowning
in debt, but some consumers need outside help. If you recognize yourself here, it's time to call in a
financial fitness expert. (8/20/04)
When a Debt Collector Targets an Old Credit Card Debt
Just because you've put that unpaid credit card
bill behind you doesn't mean you can forget about it. (8/6/04)
Ignoring Credit Card Change-of-Terms Notices Can Cost You
Most credit card holders who receive change-of-term
notices trash them without knowing what's about to smack them in the wallet. (8/6/04)
Can you be Personally Liable for Company Credit Cards?
You can be personally liable for the credit card
bill if your employer pays late or goes under. (8/6/04)
Pay One Credit Card Bill Late, Get Punished by Many
A record number of credit card companies have
built "universal default" clauses into their agreements, which allow them to raise your interest rate if
you're late making a payment -- even to someone else! (8/1/04)
Secured Credit Card Consumer Tips
Secured credit cards are a great way to establish
or rebuild your credit. Not all secured cards are created equal, though. Reviewing our latest secured card
consumer tips can help you become a savvy secured cardholder. (7/26/04)
Click here for more credit education articles
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Credit Card Debt Topics:
Credit Card Debt Reduction Tips
Dealing with Christmas Credit Card Debt
Low Introductory Rate Credit Card Offers Not Always Destined for the Junk Pile
Don't Let "Spring Break" Expenditures "Break" You!
Fixed Rate vs. Variable Rate Cards
Credit Card Cash Advance Pitfalls
Credit Insurance
Credit Card Reward/Benefit Topics:
America's Love Affair with Card Rewards/ Rebates
Credit Cards can Help Reduce your Rental Car Bill
Credit Cards for the Rich and Famous
The New Travelocity Credit Card
The Eufora Card is Worth a Look
Saving for College with a Credit Card: The New 529 College Savings Plan Rebate Cards
Cashback or Airline Reward Credit Cards - Which is Better?
Cut Your Gas Bill by 5% with Gas Rebate Credit Cards
Charge It! Perspectives on Retail and Department Store Credit Cards
Credit History/Score Topics:
Secured Credit Cards- Consumer Tips
Demystifying the Credit Scoring/ Rating Process
Protecting Your Credit Following ID Theft: A Step-by-Step Plan of Action
What is a Mixed or Split Credit Report?
Misc. Credit Related Topics:
Is it Wise to Pay Your Taxes with a Credit Card?
Teens and Credit - A Recipe for Disaster?
Credit Lessons for Retirees
Debit or Credit? Which do you Vote for?
Card Registration Services
Disposable Credit Card Numbers
California Legislation Helps Curb Card Fraud
Hot Topics...Buying a car! Will it hurt us when we buy a home in a year?
"We are thinking about trading in my fiancee's car for a new or used vehicle. It is a good time to trade this
vehicle. We plan on purchasing a home in June or July of next year. Her credit is amazing, my score is 614. I am
doing everything possible to improve my score. She is currently making payments on her present car. My question
is, should we put off buying a new car until after we buy the house or is it ok to go ahead and buy the car now?
We have never negotiated buying a car by ourselves. Any suggestions would be appreciated."
CLICK TO READ REPLIES!
More topics...
julienseb asks,
"okay, we used a credit counseling for over a year to make payments on 2 credit cards. We
recently did a re-fin and now just paid them in full, even though i should feel good about being done with them
i have anxiety about how they are going to report it. Im going to look into our credit reports in about 30 days
to see how it shows. What should I expect them to report this as to the credit report companies as in 'paid as
agreed', 'paid in full', i have heard lots of people talking about 'charge offs' would they be able to apply that
to us?? "
NightStar replies,
"It depends on the status of your account, as long as the credit counseling company paid as
agreed on the accounts then it should show as agreed paid. And any wage earner plan notation should be removed.
What you might do is call the creditor to ask them what the final status was on the account. Many times credit
counseling companies mess up on consumer accounts, like if they didn't pay on time, or at the right time of the
month, sometimes accounts end up charging off through the program with out the consumer knowing unfortunately."
hillside123 asks,
"If I use my credit card and charge $9000 and my limit is $10,000 BUT I pay it back in full
BEFORE my closing date, what will it show on my credit report? On one of my chase cards I have a limit of 13K
and I owe 12,500. Previously, I owed zero. I took out a Zero % balance transfer in the amount of 12,500 thus
creating my current balance of 12,500. My closing date is 8/12/2004. If I pay in full on 8/13/04 will my credit
report reflect a high balance of 12,500 OR can it still show a high balance of ZERO if Chase reports to the
credit bureaus AFTER the date that I pay in full?"
Reply from Polonius,
"Generally your high balance is the highest balance shown on your monthly statement--that is,
the balance on the closing date. Your current balance is also the balance on your closing statement date.
Remember that banks close their statements early in the day. If you want to be sure you've paid off your balance
by the closing date of August 12th, make sure the payment reaches the bank August 11th. If it arrives in the
afternoon of August 12th, it won't be on the statement printed August 12h. (That happened to me a few times! So
I allow an extra day for my electronic payments.) I try to pay my balances down before the closing date of each
card to make my utilization numbers look lower. Best to pay them off in full, of course, but that can't always
be done in my situation. When my payment clears, I balance transfer what I can out again to use for a few weeks
before repeating the process."
gemini asks,
"I am planning to submitt about 5 applications to rent an apartment. I was wondering will that curt my credit
because 5 different companies are going to check my credit? or does credit checks for housing does not affect
credit at all?"
NightStar replies,
"Rental inquiries show up on the credit report, but they are considered a soft hit so should not affect the
credit scoring... but still if viewed, a lender might still look negative on the amount of inquiries."
st3ph3n asks,
"My grandfather passed away in January and he never had anything legaly set up to pay his bills when he died. We
have not payed any of his bills. We told all of his utilites that he was deceased and the only utiltiy that
keeps sending us bills is Shell Energy (the gas company for his house). Now shell turned him over to collection.
I called the collection company and told them about my grandfather. The guy I talked to kept trying to get me
to pay the bill because it was "the moral thing to do." After I kept refusing, he quickly got of the phone and
hung up. What I want to do is send the collection agency a letter so they will no longer send my grandfather
the collection letter at my address. Is there anything else I should write in the letter, besides my grandfather
being deceased? I wrote this topic kind of quickly, so if you have a problem reading any of it, reply to my
post and I will clear it up. Thanks in advance"
Ira replies,
"Hey, let the collection agency try to collect from your grandfather. I wouldn't worry about this. They can go
after his estate, assuming there was one, but unless he left a will naming you as executor, creditors don't
have a legal leg to stand on. It's what we did when my Mom passed away. We paid only those bills required to
keep her Florida condo until we sold it. Other bills, no. We sent a few of them back. Any correcpondence you
receive for your grandfather, draw a diagonal line through the addressee portion, write "Deceased" across the
front of the envelope, and drop it back in the nearest mailbox. That's the last you'll hear from them."
NightStar, comments,
"With the letter you send to them explaining, also include a request for them to cease and desist all
communications by mail or by phone. That should finally take care of them, they have to honor such a request
by law."
Visit our active
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Cardholder Reviews
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Recent Credit Card Reviews by Consumers Like You!
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Following is a sampling of the latest
consumer reviews that can be found by clicking the "Cardholder
Reviews" link above. We take pride in the quantity (our site
offers approximately 15,000 reviews of 859 different credit cards) and
quality of the consumer reviews that can be find on our site.
New reviews are added on a daily basis.
The cards are rated on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the
highest recommended.
Credit Card: GM MasterCard®
Provided by: Household Bank
Total Posts: 77
Average Rating: 2.87
Category: Reward - Auto
Date posted: 8/25/2004
Review:
I used this card for two airline tickets to Mexico because I was told over the phone that the free travel
accident insurance was 1,000,000 vs 250,000 on Discover Card. I have been trying for over a month to get
the details of the 1,000,000 in writing without success. This is my first negative experience with the
card, but I WONDER IF YOU REALLY HAVE ANY TRAVEL ACCIDENT INSURANCE or if you do, why can't you get written
information on it.
Best Feature: 5% rebate
Worst Feature: unable to obtain written information re travel accident insurance
Overall Rating: 5
Benefit Rating: 5
Service Rating: 1
Recommend: Yes
Credit Card: Disney Visa® Card
Provided by: Bank One
Total Posts: 7
Average Rating: 3.86
Category: Reward - Other
Date posted: 8/24/2004
Review: I just got this got about four months ago for the 0% balance transfer
rate and purchase rates for six months. With only a couple months left, last week, I started seriously
paying down the balance. So I sent in a $1000 payment. However, it was posted to the wrong account. I
looked at the statement online expecting it to be there after seven business days but it was not. I talked
to a payment supervisor who was able to track my payment down. She apologized for the mistake and extended
my 0% for one more month. All this happened in under a couple minutes.
Best Feature: Customer Service
Worst Feature: Mistake in keeping payment records
Overall Rating: 4.5
Benefit Rating: 4
Service Rating: 4.5
Recommend: Yes
Credit Card: FingerHut Credit Advantage Card
Provided by: Axsys National Bank
Total Posts: 189
Average Rating: 2.16
Category: Regular
Date posted: 8/24/2004
Review: Fingerhut bills you for merchandise never received and then reports to
the credit agencies that you are delinquent or a bad debt charge off for merchandise you never received.So
they get you with high interest rates and force you to pay for products never received.
Best Feature: That I got rid of it
Worst Feature: Everything about it
Overall Rating: 1
Benefit Rating: 1
Service Rating: 1
Recommend: No
Credit Card: Amazon.com Platinum Visa® Card
Provided by: Bank One
Total Posts: 12
Average Rating: 3.13
Category: Reward - Retail
Date posted: 8/24/2004
Review: I try to charge everything through this card to get the most rewards
even if I have the money in the bank. I charge all large purchases on this card and just send the amount
off from my bank's online bill pay service right after so I never have to worry interest charges. I have
no complaints. Their Fraud prevention kicks off on the occasional large or over-seas purchase but a quick
phone call clears it up and I would rather have them be a little over active then turn a blind eye.
Best Feature: 1% Amazon points for everything you buy
Worst Feature: Fraud prevention is a little over active but I guess that is better than the
alternative.
Overall Rating: 5
Benefit Rating: 4.5
Service Rating: 5
Recommend: Yes
Credit Card: American Express® Air Miles Credit Card
Provided by: American Express
Total Posts: 13
Average Rating: 4.27
Category: Foreign
Date posted: 8/24/2004
Review: American Express gives its customer all the qualiites that make it great
without an annual fee. It is a credit card that has the advantages of a charge card. It offers free
travelers checks and travel insurence when you use the card. In addition every purchase you make allows
you to earn frequent flyer miles. In a genre of credit cards it is supreme
Best Feature: This credit card has all the great benefits of American Express without the annual fee
Worst Feature: Honestly this card does not appear to have a bad feature
Overall Rating: 5
Benefit Rating: 5
Service Rating: 5
Recommend: Yes
Credit Card: Alaska Airlines Visa® Gold Card
Provided by: Bank of America
Total Posts: 7
Average Rating: 3.29
Category: Reward - Airline
Date posted: 8/17/2004
Review: I have had the Alaska Airlines credit card for many years. I recently
traveled to the East Coast to visit my family. Becasue of the extra miles I have obtained through purchase,
I was able to travel in first class. It was very pleasant. I wish the miles added up faster so I could
always go in first class. Alaska Airlines card gives me several airlines to choose from including American.
I will stay with this company as long as I am in business.
Best Feature: Credits for air travel with Alaska Airlines
Worst Feature: High interest rate
Overall Rating: 5
Benefit Rating: 5
Service Rating: 5
Recommend: Yes
Credit Card: Orchard Bank MasterCard® Classic
Provided by: Household Bank
Total Posts: 150
Average Rating: 3.14
Category: Poor Credit
Date posted: 8/11/2004
Review: My card came in a short amount of time, funds were availabe upon arrival,
and the online banking is effortless. I had tried a competitor, Eufora, and was disappointed when I
established the account. I had my Eufora for 1 month and could not use the funds that I had loaded, 2
loads over $700 were unavailable to me. I opened my Orchard account and funds were loaded/approved in no
time. The card came, I activated it, and it was ready for use. The paper bills come in a timely fashion
and the payments online are approved with in 1 day. Orchard has provided the best customer service so far!
Best Feature: Speed of Delivery and Setup
Worst Feature: None
Overall Rating: 5
Benefit Rating: 3.5
Service Rating: 4.5
Recommend: Yes
Credit Card: First Financial Bank Student Card
Provided by: First Financial Bank
Total Posts: 12
Average Rating: 3.25
Category: Student
Date posted: 8/13/2004
Review: This is a great opportunity for high school graduates/college freshmen
who don't have a full time job but can still have the benifits of a credit card. Your credit limit starts
at $250.00 and they recommend you use it for important things only, but you can use it on whatever you
want. But if you go over the $250.00 limit they start calling you making it sound like you're in big
trouble or something. Then they sent me a letter threatening to TERMINATE my credit privlages if overlimit
fee wasn't paid ASAP! I paid them and they calmed down. No problems with the card. Overall, good.
Best Feature: No annual fees as long you are under $250.00
Worst Feature: They go crazy if you go over you limit
Overall Rating: 4
Benefit Rating: 4
Service Rating: 3.5
Recommend: Yes
Credit Card: Emerge MasterCard®
Provided by: Providian
Total Posts: 278
Average Rating: 1.09
Category: Regular
Date posted: 8/13/2004
Review: I haven't read all 276 reviews, but I am sure they all sound the same
and are just like mine. However, I started out with Aria VISA, then they changed their name to GetSmart,
THEN I was sold to Providian. Finally, my account was sold to Emerge. When my account was sold to Emerge,
I had a 23% interest rate. I received a notice in the mail that the interest rate with Emarge that rate
would sky rocket. In order to protect my current rate, I had to close the account. I was on the phone that
afternoon. I've lived without credit since then. I've been with Emerge for about two years now and they
finally have introduced online bill pay. But guess what, they want $8 bucks a pop for it. No way! I was so
angry, I immediately wrote a nasty gram to customer service detailing why I refuse to pay their bottom line.
They can wait until the due date and pay the extra labor to post the check and take it to that bank. If
they aren't going to make my life easier, I am certianly not going to help them. This card is the worst
EVER.
Best Feature: none
Worst Feature: $8 Charge to pay the bill online
Overall Rating: 1
Benefit Rating: 1
Service Rating: 1
Recommend: No
Credit Card: Capital One FSB
Provided by: Capital One
Total Posts: 4
Average Rating: 3.00
Category: Business
Date posted: 8/10/2004
Review: They send out reward certificates , that seem to be credit to use on
merchandise..as a way to say thank you ..but you're actually charged the amount of the certificate.
though the offer may be better than what you'd receive in a regular store, it's the deal you're led to
believe.
Best Feature: no better than any other reputable card
Worst Feature: misleading rewards certificates that charge your account when you think it's credit
Overall Rating: 3.5
Benefit Rating: 3.5
Service Rating: 3.5
Recommend: No
The Cardholder Review section is a unique feature of our
site and, to the best of our knowledge, there is no other
organization or company that offers more consumer reviews of
credit cards. It's all about consumers helping other
consumers. As your might expect, this section of our site has
been one of the most popular sections of our site since it was
introduced in the summer of 2000. New reviews are posted on a
daily basis! We hope that you will find this section of our
site useful and that you will visit it on a regular basis.
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