The Lowdown On The Sony Visa Card

Writen by Eric Wasselman

The Sony Platinum Visa Card is a credit card with a unique reward program particularly for those with good credit scores. Cardholders are entitled to earn one point for every dollar spent on general purchases and three points for purchases of Sony merchandise charged to the Sony Visa Card.

Purchases made through www.sony.com/mysony are entitled for a whopping eight points for every dollar spent. These points can then be redeemed for Sony CDs, DVDs, games, movie tickets, and electronics. The points expire in five years if they aren't redeemed with a 250,000 point per year limit, which is well high and reasonable. There is no point limit for purchases made through Sony's website. On top of that, cardholders are able to earn 1,500 bonus points on their first purchase.

Overall, the Sony Visa Card is a great card, with reasonable interest rates and a 0% introductory rate applicable for new purchases or balance transfers made within the first twelve months upon joining. No annual fees are charged either.

However, finance charges are calculated based on the "Two Cycles Average Daily Balance" method which is higher than the more commonly used "Average Daily Balance" calculation. This may result in higher charges, so it is advisable not to carry an outstanding balance forward when using this card. The APR for less qualifying applicants may also be higher.

On a more positive note, this credit card company provides platinum cardholders benefits of up to $1,000,000 in travel accident insurance, auto rental insurance, and various travel and emergency assistance services.

All in all, The Sony Visa Card is ideal for those who spend or plan to spend a significant sum on Sony merchandise and also those who intend to take full advantage of the online shopping experience Sony has to offer. As long as card members do not default on their outstanding balances, then they will have much to gain from using the Sony Visa Card.

For more information or to apply for the Sony Visa Card, Eric Wasselman recommends Find Credit Cards.

Free Fico Score Reports

Writen by Josh Riverside

If you are in the market to buy a new car or a house, or even to rent property, your FICO score will be checked. The main benefit of credit scoring, lenders argue, is that they can make decisions faster by using automated systems.

You may now ask, "What is a FICO score?" A FICO score is a scoring method developed by the Fair Isaac Corp. to aid the three major credit bureaus, namely, Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. It is a computer model that assesses your credit worthiness against several other customers.

In the past, when you applied for a credit or loan, you were in complete darkness about your credit score. The lender would request the score from one or more credit bureaus and, if you wanted to access such information, you were required to a certain amount of fee. At the present, you can access your credit reports without any charge. You can also have your credit score report send to you via email or post mail free of cost, at a regular time period, such as once monthly.

In the past, if there were too many inquiries made on your credit, your credit scores use to go down. However, when you access your credit report now, it doesn't affect your credit score. Scores also vary based on current credit activity. Since credit bureaus only calculate your score at the lender's request, it will be based on the information in your file at that particular credit bureau, at that particular time only.

There are also many website and companies that now help customers understand and get their credit reports for free. They guide the customer through the process and teach them how to access such information. You would have seen the popular television advertisement of "Freecreditreport.com" You also see a lot of banner advertisements on the web about the subject.

FICO scores provides detailed information about FICO scores, FICO score calculation, and more. FICO scores is affiliated with Filing Bankruptcy Online.

Know Your Credit Score

Writen by Barbara Kavovit

The most important part of qualifying for a mortgage isn't how much of a down payment you can make, it's how good your credit score is. The better your credit, the more easily you can secure a mortgage loan, even without a fat bank account or a high-paying job. The first and most important action you should take is to get your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You have to get all three reports because the companies and utilities that extend you credit don't report to all three bureaus. The result is that each consumer has three credit reports with three different sets of information. You can access the reports for free at least once a year. If you find errors and report them (see below for details), you can get a revised report for free.

Your credit score is based on the information in the credit report. In the simplest terms, the score indicates how likely you will be to pay back a loan in full and on time. According to Steven Burman, president of Credit Advocates and an expert credit counselor, it reflects your credit history, how much debt you currently carry (called outstanding debt), how much debt you're already approved to carry in the future (add up the credit limits on your credit cards for the answer), how long your credit history is, and how timely you are in paying bills. The higher the number, the better your credit is, ranging from a low of 300 to a perfect score of 850. Do everything you can to improve your score -- it's even more important than saving money, in my opinion! Why? Because the higher your score, the better the interest rate you will get. If you have a very high score, you may even be able to buy a house with no money down.

Improve Your Credit Rating
Steve says that you have to take personal responsibility for your credit, and I agree. The first time many people see their credit reports is when they are about to purchase a home or a car. Because it can take about 3 months (and sometimes much longer) to change a credit score, if the score is wrong or low at that time, it could be too late to fix it. You could lose that fabulous apartment! Don't let that happen -- start changing your score today. Here are six proven ways to improve your score:

1. Check and correct your credit history
Thirty-five percent of your score comes from your credit history, according to Steve. Unfortunately, 70 percent of credit reports contain errors -- mistakes that can adversely impact your score! Mistakes range from the misspelling of names, to reporting wrong addresses or places of employment, to confusing the accounts of people with the same name, to including outdated information. You can and should report errors to each of the credit bureaus since they do not share information. You can file disputes by phone or by mail, but you may find that it is most convenient to dispute errors online. Once the credit bureaus receive a dispute, they have 30 days to investigate. If they cannot verify the information in that time, it is deleted or corrected by default. Once you dispute information, the onus is on them to prove it. If your payment was late once or twice and the creditor reported it to the credit bureau, you can ask the retailer or credit card company to issue a letter of correction. For example, many retail stores would prefer to keep your business by issuing a correction than lose it by refusing to. Always follow up on promised corrections by rechecking your credit report. If some of the accounts on your report are old and closed, tell the credit bureau that you don't recognize them. They will investigate, find that you are not a customer, and remove them. It's best if your credit report lists only active accounts. Even when some of the accounts are closed, having dozens of them may make lenders assume that you are not a stable credit risk.

2. Pay down high balances
The amounts you owe on revolving credit accounts are responsible for 30 percent of your score. Steve says the fastest way to improve your credit rating is to pay down balances. After he advised one client to use all of his available cash to pay down his credit card bills, the client's credit score went up by 100 points. Keep revolving credit accounts under 30 percent of the available limit. For example, if your credit card limit is $10,000, keep the balance under $3,000. High balances adversely affect credit ratings. Plus, credit card debt is expensive to carry. Some cards charge up to 24 percent interest on unpaid balances. Are the designer jeans and fur jacket really worth that? Pay off your credit cards! You can also negotiate with your credit card company to reduce or eliminate interest charges and sometimes even reduce what you owe.

3. Make history with your credit
It's good to have some activity and history on the account. "Many people think closing accounts will make their credit look better, but it depends," says Steve. "Look at the accounts you are closing and keep the oldest one. Length of credit history counts for 15 percent of your total score."

4. Think twice about new credit
When you open a new credit card account, the creditor makes an inquiry to one of the credit bureaus to evaluate your history. The number of recently opened accounts and credit inquiries accounts for 10 percent of your score. (Note that checking your own credit report doesn't count as an inquiry, however.) "If you start applying for loans at an auto dealership or a bank and each one does an inquiry, it's a negative," says Steve. When a store sends you a sales pitch saying you're preapproved for credit, resist the temptation to fill out the application form. One credit card is all you really need. At any rate, closing an account doesn't mean it automatically disappears from your credit report. You have to ask them to remove it. Better yet . . .

5. Pay with cash
Using debit cards and cash are good ways to control your debt (and therefore maintain a great credit score).

6. Pay all your bills on time
Late payments can have a substantial negative impact on your score. For example, you can raise your score by as much as 20 points simply by paying bills on time for 1 month!

For more information on improving your credit rating, visit the Federal Trade Commission's credit repair page at www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/repair.htm. To dispute information in a credit report, here is how to contact the credit bureaus:

Equifax Information Services, LLC
Disclosure Department
PO Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
800-685-1111
www.equifax.com

Experian
475 Anton Boulevard
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
or
955 American Lane
Schaumburg, IL 60173
888-397-3742
www.experian.com

TransUnion LLC
PO Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
800-888-4213
www.transunion.com

Annual Credit Report Request Service
PO Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
877-322-8228
www.annualcreditreport.com

Annualcreditreport.com is the official site that helps consumers obtain the free credit reports they are entitled to annually, as required by law.

Reprinted from: Invest in Your Nest: Add Style, Comfort, and Value to Your Home by Barbara Kavovit © 2006 Rodale Inc. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735 or visit their website at www.rodalestore.com.

Published by Rodale; June 2006;$19.95US/$26.95CAN; 1-59486-151-X
Copyright © 2006 Barbara Kavovit

Barbara K is CEO of barbara k!, a comprehensive lifestyle brand that offers solutions for women through innovative home enhancement/repair and automotive products. She is also the home improvement expert for AOL Coaches and author of the inspirational fix-it handbook Room for Improvement. Barbara has been featured in the New York Times, USA Today, Real Simple, and O, The Oprah Magazine, among others, and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, including Today and Good Morning America. She lives in New York City with her son, Zachary. For Barbara K's products, visit http://www.barbarak.com

What Does Your Credit Report Say About You

Writen by Annette Miller

Years ago as a youngster I remember watching an episode of one of my favorite sketch comedies, in this particular episode a woman was about to venture out on a blind date.

When her suitor arrived at her door she was pleasantly surprised to find a handsome man glancing back at her. Knowing that he'd successfully made it past the first hurdle judging by her positive areaction, he confidently started to joke with her. He then thoughtfully placed her coat around her shoulders and before the slipping out the door a fax started to arrive. She began to read it, her smile fading by the second.

It was a background check on her date. She found out that he'd been married 3 times, relied on all his previous wives for alimony, was up to his ears in debt and served prison time for fraud. She ended the date before it even began.

Although only a comedy sketch, it does run along similar lines of a credit report, your next date won't have privy to such intimate details of your financial situation, however, your bank or credit lenders do.

Why Is So Much Importance Given to Credit Reports?

It gives potential lending institutions a snapshot into your personal financial history. From this they can determine how you handle your current debt, if you pay your bills in a timely manner, how many loans you have and how much you owe. It also reveals if you've had troubles with other lending institutions in the past and if it required the assistance of a collections agency. This can be manifested as a negative mark against you in your report and adversely effect your credit rating.

The whole point of the credit report from a lenders perspective is to see if you're a prime candidate to lend money to and the likelihood they're going to get that money back, period. In fact any lending institution will know if they're going to approve you within just 5 minutes of looking at your credit report. Imagine that, a life altering decision in the time it takes to cook an egg.

Things that Can Go Against You

If you have a sketchy payment history, this can be interpreted as negative from the eyes of the lending institution and be seen as a risk to lend you money.

A high debt to income ratio. All they're concerned about is getting back the money they borrowed you with extra interest added on. The more you owe in relation to how much you make is a big concern for lenders as that means you'll struggle to meet your weekly/monthly commitments to them.

Debt counseling also shows up on your credit report and raises concerns that you've had difficulty in managing your finances. Try to fix your credit as much as you can on your own. Carefully budget to catch up with lagging payments. If you need credit counseling then only do so as a last resort.

How to Beef Up Your Credit

You can strengthen your credit simply by disputing charges you're not responsible for and getting those negative marks on your credit report removed, why tolerate blemishes tarnishing your credit score when you don't have to? Write to the credit bureau and challenge any charges (accompanied with proof) you didn't incur. It may take a few attempts but persistency is the key.

Create history. Establish a predictable pattern of payment by building a regular payment history. Banks and lending institutions like consistency, it means reliability and shows that you're good at paying your bills.

Embrace your credit report. It pays to immerse yourself in your finances at least twice a year, that way you can track your own progress and quickly catch any inconsistencies or errors and correct them. This way you know your financial status and there are no surprises when it comes time to apply for a loan.

Annette Miller knows for a fact how frustrating being in debt can be, having formerly been in debt herself she is passionate in helping others break free from theirs and has dedicated a blog covering topics ranging from Debt Consolidation to Budgeting and Finance. http://www.debtreduceinfo.blogspot.com

Low Introductory Rate Credit Card Offers Not Always Destined For The Junk Pile

Writen by Rebecca Lindsey

"Simply fill out these checks to pay off your loans, bills and other higher-rate credit card accounts. Or use them to improve your home, take a dream vacation, or ..."

Peaks your interest, doesn't it?

Odds are you've received credit card offers that read much like this. (You might just find one in the mail today.) Lately it seems as if credit card companies are tripping over each other to give you the best rates on credit cards and balance transfer offers. What gives?

The key word in these offers is "introductory." Banks offer you a great rate for new purchases and/or balance transfers for a few months, then move that rate back up hoping you'll let your debt ride with the higher rate.

Trash or Treasure?

If you're like many you throw offers like these in the junk mail pile. Scott Bilker, author of "Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt" and founder of DebtSmart.com, says this might be a mistake.

"People don't want to be bothered with transferring their balances, but if it takes you 10 hours over the course of a year to save $1,000 by doing transfers, that's $100-per-hour for your time."

If you carry a lot of debt, it just makes sense to try to find a way to lessen your finance charges.

Curtis Arnold, Founder and Public Relations Director of CardRatings.com, agrees. "Transferring balances from one card to another to take advantage of low introductory rates can result in significant interest savings, as does financing purchases with low introductory purchase rates… there are currently several balance transfer offers available touting a 0% interest for one year."

A Few Pointers to Success

So great! You'll take that offer and save money by paying lower interest on your debt. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, if you don't proceed with caution and a little wisdom, you could wind up paying more in interest charges than you bargained for.

It takes a little work, but with some organization you can make introductory offers work for you instead of letting the credit card companies reap all the benefits. A few tips on making the best of these offers.

1. Don't Skip the Fine Print. Marketing departments make it their business to make the most enticing details of an offer jump out at you – distracting your attention away from less attractive parts of the offer that are usually listed in the fine print. Educate yourself about all the terms before signing on. If the fine print seems too daunting to comb through, give the bank a call and ask about the terms.

What should you look for? We're talking about offers that have low-interest introductory periods. Find out what the introductory rate is, how long it lasts, if the rate increases after the intro period and if so, what is it? Is there a fee for a balance transfer?

Find out if new purchases have a different rate than the balance transfer – they often do. If so, you shouldn't use that card for new purchases, as your payments will apply first to the lower interest debt. This leaves debt at the higher rate to accumulate more finance charges, reducing your potential savings.

Sometimes these offers require you to make one or two purchases each month, but there is usually no minimum purchase amount so you can still make the offer work in your favor by buying very low priced items – like a pack of gum.

2. Do the Math. "To make the most of your money, you have to do the math," says Bilker. "A six-month rate of 3.99% with a balance transfer fee of 4% (no ceiling) is really 11.99% (3.99 + (2 x 4))! In this case, you'll want to use the offer to transfer balances with rates that are greater than 11.99%."

Place any fees and charges into your equation. There are many credit calculators available online to help you with the math. If the numbers show that you won't benefit (save much money), than it's probably not worth the effort.

3. Comparison Shop. When you get an offer in the mail, write down the fee and rate information and then go shopping. Says Bilker, "There are many banks that want your business and are willing to give you good rates and terms. You just need to start looking for these credit options."

Many introductory offers are only made by mail, so don't be so quick to trash those envelopes that are obviously credit card offers. There are some gems; including offers that have no expiration date—meaning that the offer remains in effect until you pay the balance in full.

A note about balance transfer fees: Paying a nominal fee for a balance transfer may be a good financial decision if it will result in interest savings, however, try to avoid fees if possible. If you're considering an offer with fees, sometimes the bank will eliminate or reduce the fees if you call and ask. If not, refer to Tip #2 and make sure that the math works in your favor.

4. Track your Money. Be aware of your money output. Bilker says consumers make a "major mistake by not tracking when a low-rate offer ends, and letting their debt ride to a higher interest rate." Know which cards hold which rates, and when dealing with introductory offers, mark your calendar with the offer beginning and ending dates. Then you can guard against a higher interest rate by either paying off your debt before the intro period ends or by transferring the balance again.

Which leads to a good question: how does all this balance transferring affect your credit rating? Viewpoints on this vary from "risky" because of all the open credit accounts, to "it really doesn't." The general consensus among many experts, though, is that taking advantage of balance transfer offers will not adversely affect your credit rating as long as you do not do so excessively. In fact, Scott Bilker maintains that balance transferring can actually help your credit rating!

And last, but certainly the most important:

5. NEVER make a late payment. Never! Not only will this affect your overall credit history, but one late payment can raise your low-interest rate to exorbitant levels—before the introductory period ends! (By the way, that little detail was included in the fine print that you should have read when you signed up for the card. Remember Rule #1?)

So don't be afraid to give low-interest rate offers a second look. Just remember that it takes some organization and discipline to reap the greatest benefits.

Please visit our Card Reports section to review our current ratings of various balance transfer credit card offers.

Rebecca Lindsey is a Senior Staff Writer for CardRatings.com. She began writing articles about consumer credit issues for CardRatings.com in September 2000. Her articles have been republished and/or referenced by leading publications throughout the country, including Live Well on Less Than You Think: The New York Times Guide to Achieving Your Financial Freedom by Fred Brock.

Finding What Is On Your Credit Report

Writen by Jeremy Zongker

A credit report is basically a file about you kept by lenders and banks. As annoying as it may be, it's still perfectly legal for them to gather all sorts of details about you. In turn, you have the right to check this file - and you should do so and inquire regularly about your credit report and your credit score, particularly when you plan a big financial change, for instance, before applying for a loan or a mortgage, you should always take time and review your credit report. This allows you not only to plan your moves accurately, but also to dispute any mistakes that might occur in the report.

The credit report is an accurate record of your financial activities, including the accounts you have, the credits you may have taken so far, any late payments, and the actions started against you for financial reasons. This report is used to determine your credit rating - which is a number indicating your financial risks.

The information typically included in a credit report refers to your personal identification data, credit information, public record information and a list of recent inquiries. The personal identification data, as you may expect, means your name, social security number, address (current and previous addresses), employer (also current and previous), your birth date, and so on. If applicable, your file may contain similar information about your spouse.

The credit information is your financial history - your accounts, loans and repayment records for the past two years, from all the banks, lenders, retailers, card issuers, other credit companies, and so on. The public record information records bankruptcy, monetary judgments and tax liens.

The list of recent inquiries contains the names of those who obtained your credit report in the past year. Various people and organizations may get access to your credit report, usually anybody who can prove a legitimate business interest, creditors, insurers, employers and governmental agencies. This list is kept for one year, while the credit history information is kept for seven years, and, if you file for bankruptcy, that sticks for ten years.

If you want to see your credit report, you need to check with the respective reporting agency. A reporting agency is a company that maintains and updates the database, and sells the reports to those who are interested. There are many such credit bureaus all over the country, serving local markets, and three major, long-established ones: Equifax, Trans Union and Experian (formerly TRW). These are the companies you need to contact when you want to see your credit report - online, at http://www.equifax.com, http://www.transunion.com and http://www.experian.com, or offline, by calling them or writing to them.

When you ask for your credit report, you will be required to provide your personal info (name, address, social security number, and so on, sometimes for your spouse as well, where applicable). Also, a small fee applies. From Equifax, the 3-in-1 credit report (meaning a complete credit history from all three credit reporting agencies) is $29.95 or $39.95 for the credit report with the credit score included. At Trans Union, the complete 3-in-1 credit report is $29.95 (the online version), with one free credit score. If you want all three credit scores, you'll need to pay an additional $9.95. From Experian, the complete credit reports from the three credit bureaus costs $34.95, and includes a Free Experian credit score. It is important to view results from all three major credit bureaus, because they don't share information among them, and because lenders may report to one or another of these bureaus, so results may not always match.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act entitles each consumer to one free disclosure every 12 months. Also, you can avoid these fees if you request to see your credit report within 60 days of having been denied credit or insurance because of the report. Also, you don't have to pay if you're on welfare, you're unemployed and intend to look for a job within 60 days or your report contains mistakes due to fraud.

This article has been provided courtesy of Creditor Web. Creditor Web offers great credit card articles available for reprint and other tools to help you search and compare credit card offers.

Your Average Credit Card Debt Can Make You A Millionaire

Writen by Vaughn Balchunas

It is well worth your time to remember that most people who become millionaires live well below their means before and after their monetary success. They can do this because they have enough self-esteem to know who they are and what they want. They have a plan and courage and determination to follow through.

So, if you want to get out of debt you need a workable plan. Every person is different and has different lifestyle choices, but the important thing to remember is that a commitment must be made to gradually reduce the debt in your life and then to keep the debt low enough that it never becomes a serious problem.

The basic way to lower your credit card payment is to reduce the interest and pay off the cards. When you reduce the interest you are paying, then you have to commit to putting the extra money towards making a larger payment on your principle balance.

Depending on your situation you may be able to negotiate a credit card interest reduction, or consolidate credit cards into one low interest loan. The latter may require an attorney if you are entering a debt consolidation program.

A rather unknown credit card reduction technique is to begin paying off the card with the lowest balance first, so that you have some sense of accomplishment and can quickly move the money that was paid towards the now paid off card to another credit card. In this case you would pay the minimum payments on the other charge cards while paying as much as you can afford on the account with the lowest balance.

The idea is to pay the same total each month on all your accounts but every time a credit card is paid off you will pay more to the next card in line. We know this may sound contrary, but it is an effective method to pay off debt when you consider the emotional and mental resistance involved.

If you could stop buying everything that was absolutely necessary to live your life than you could pay off your credit card debt in no time, but most people can not do that. So we develop methods that actually work for most folks.

You may have gathered that the mental game is more important than the actual problem, in this case a large debt problem. Credit card debt is a symptom, not the cause of your problems.

Now while you are paying these accounts off you need to transfer balances to lower interest accounts. If possible combine the debt into as few accounts as possible. The reason for this is that you only have so many cards, and you are probably not able to get a new one if your debt is a problem, especially a low interest credit card with an enough credit to combine balances.

Imagine what your life will be like when, instead of paying thousands of dollars in interest every year, you are able to buy something and not owe any money! Imagine having money in the bank and not worrying about payments. This is very possible when you have the attitude of a millionaire.

Vaughn Balchunas writes about lifestyle topics that are up close and personal. This topic, Credit card debt reduction, he believes is one of the most important early life lessons. Learn more about credit card debt at http://www-credit4you.info