วันอาทิตย์ที่ 7 ธันวาคม พ.ศ. 2551

Credit Check

Writen by Alison Cole

Credit checks are done to determine the credit score of an individual. A credit score is an indication of a person's financial creditworthiness. It is used to verify whether the person qualifies for a loan, or any other credit, based on whether he has repaid his past loans satisfactorily. A credit score is used by banks and other lending companies for estimating how risky the borrower is. In other words, a credit report is a reflection of the past credit history of an individual.

In the U.S., the credit score is based on the FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) score that is calculated by using some mathematical and statistical techniques. There are also other versions of calculating credit scores such as Beacon and Empirica. A FICO score is based on various factors including punctuality of payment in the past, capacity used (ratio of current revolving debt to total available revolving credit), length of credit history, types of credits used, and recent credits obtained. FICO scores range from 300-850, wherein a score below 600 is considered "bad" while a score above 720 is considered "good". Every U.S. citizen can obtain a credit report from a reporting agency as per the FACT Act (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act).

Credit checks are very useful. Some applications of a credit check are to find out about prospective tenants for renting out properties or to learn about potential employees before offering employment. Credit checks are mostly done by creditors before giving loans.

There are many credit-rating agencies that do credit checks. These do credit checking for individuals as well as corporations. The fee for a credit check ranges from $20 to $1,000, depending on the information required. The three most famous credit-rating agencies in the U.S. are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

There are also independent credit-rating agencies. Information about these can be obtained from the Internet. Many organizations also provide free credit-check facilities when you sign up for any other service with them.

Credit Check provides detailed information on Credit Check, Free Credit Checks, No Credit Check Loans, Collection Agency Credit Checks and more. Credit Check is affiliated with Credit History Repair.

Details Of The Citi Gold Aadvantage World Mastercard Application

Writen by Beth Derkowitz

If you fly American Airlines, have good credit and are looking to open a new MasterCard account, using the Citi Gold AAdvantage World MasterCard application may fit the bill. It is one of several cards that Citibank offers that is designed for people who fly on American.

For each dollar you spend on the Citi Gold AAdvantage World MasterCard, you earn one mile of travel on American Airlines. You can also use earned miles toward hotel accommodations and rental cars. The maximum amount of miles you can earn in any given year is 60,000, but those miles have no expiration date so long as there is some activity on the account once during a three year time frame.

Citicard offers several AAdvantage cards, so it is important to note that the Citi Gold AAdvantage World MasterCard offers 12,500 bonus miles for the first purchase on the card! Its annual fee of $50 is waived for the first year, as well, and this particular MasterCard has no "pre-set spending limit". (All that means is that you can exceed your credit limit on occasion, based on your payment history.)

Currently, the APR for the Citi Gold AAdvantage World MasterCard is 17.99%. For cash advances, the variable APR goes up to 22.99%. If you happen to default on the card, the variable APR can be raised to 31.99%. There are, of course, finance charges for any purchases that are not paid for within the first 30 days, and there are charges for other services like cash advances, foreign purchase and balance transfers.

So, if you travel, want to earn much needed bonus miles, and like the flexibility of having no pre-set spending limit, the $50 annual fee shouldn't affect your decision about applying for this MasterCard. If you pay off your card each month, don't normally spend more than $60,000 on a card per year (which will be the maximum limit of bonus miles you can earn), and like that there are no black out dates for when you can travel with bonus miles earned, you will definitely appreciate the Citi Gold AAdvantage World MasterCard.

For more information or to apply for the Citi Gold AAdvantage World MasterCard, Beth Derkowitz recommends Find Credit Cards.