Financial Literacy Featured Articles

How One Credit Card Issuer Made Decisions: Ability, Stability, and Willingness to Pay

By Kate Thome | Updated on March 13, 2025

Lending decisions vary from lender to lender. The purpose of this article is to offer some insight into how I thought...

VantageScore vs. FICO® Score: A guide to understanding different credit scoring models

By Kenya McCullum | Updated on March 13, 2025

What's the difference between a VantageScore and FICO score? We answer this and more. 

Disappearing features, new reward structures: Industry expert surveys credit card landscape

By Brooklyn Lowery | Updated on March 12, 2025

Credit card expert and veteran personal finance journalist Beverly Herzog talked with CardRatings about credit cards and how they've changed during...

Understanding credit card pre-approvals

By Choncé Maddox | Updated on February 28, 2025

When shopping for credit cards, you might have heard terms like credit card pre-approval before. Or maybe you've received a letter,...

The joy (and anxiety) of your adult child’s first credit card

By Geoff Williams | Updated on February 24, 2025

Getting a first credit card is one of those milestones telling you that you've arrived, and you're a part of the...

Decoding credit card margins: What you need to know

By Curtis Arnold | Updated on February 20, 2025

Cardholders who pay their balances in full each month likely aren't as concerned with interest rates, as they avoid interest and...

How to consolidate credit card debt

By John Schmoll | Updated on February 19, 2025

Consolidating credit card debt is a simple process that allows people to pay off debt by saving money on interest payments....

Should you pay your taxes with a credit card? Experts weigh in

By Holly Johnson | Updated on February 18, 2025

Though more than 105 million Americans received a federal tax refund for the 2023 tax year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) received more...

End-of-the-year personal finance checklist

By Marty Duren | Updated on February 14, 2025

As another year winds to a close, many people face an old anxiety: “Do I have enough money to get through...

Are there advantages to paying your credit card bill before your due date?

By Erica Lamberg | Updated on February 12, 2025

Cultivating good financial habits, like paying your credit cards in full and on time, is essential for avoiding interest and late...