Jul 29, 2008

Some Words to Defend Master Card

Poor Credit Mastercard

Today there are a number of different credit cards a person can apply for today and no longer is applying for these restricted to those with good credit history. Today even people with poor or bad credit have the right to apply for credit cards if they so wish. Generally the best lenders to apply for such a credit card through especially with poor credit are MasterCard and Visa. But why should someone prefer to choose a poor credit MasterCard over a Visa one?

In most cases these two credit cards are the same as they are generally both accepted by various retail outlets around the world. Although in a lot of cases you will find that the MasterCard is one that more people easily recognize and which is accepted in a lot more places.

But as well as being well recognized both these types of credit cards for people with a poor or bad credit history will be very similar. They will offer the user a lot of the same benefits and the rate of interest that they will charge on them will be much higher than on their normal credit cards. But however if a person chooses to use their MasterCard wisely and ensure that they make the payments on the balance outstanding regularly this will help them improve their credit history and help to reduce the rate of interest they pay on the card in the future.

Yet when you are considering applying for any kind of poor or bad credit, credit card it is important that you carry out as much research as possible before you sign on the dotted line. Today the quickest and easiest way to search for the best possible deals on these kinds of cards is online. Doing it this way you will be able to find quickly and easily those companies who offer a MasterCard credit card to those with either poor or bad history.

When you carry out your research as to which cards are available and which you may be able to apply for there are a number of different ones on offer, below we take a look at some and the benefits that they offer to you.

1. Continental Finance Gold MasterCard
This particular card provides you with the chance of a way to rebuild your credit rating by reporting monthly to the three main credit reporting agencies of how you are dealing with them. As well as this should a person make their payments on time each month and stay within the credit limit they have been provided with they may decide over time to actually increase the amount of credit limit a person has.

2. Orchard Bank Platinum MasterCard
This particular card does not require the applicant to pay any up front fees and will protect all purchases that they may with it. Again as with the Continental Finance poor credit MasterCard this company will provide monthly reports to the main 3 credit reporting agencies with regard to how you are managing your card with them. But the other advantage to particular card is that you pay a much lower annual fee for this particular one compared to others and the APR it charges on the card balance is very competitive as well.

Less Importance of Credit Score

Credit Score Mythology

There is so much information out there on improving your credit score that it is hard to know what really works. Because most people never take a class or fully understand the credit system, a host of myths and misinformation has developed regarding the subject. Some of these misnomers may seem logical or possible, but really have no grounds for proof. Sadly, much of this information is coming directly from sources that should know what they are talking about, such as bank representatives or mortgage lenders. For this reason, it is important to be aware of the basic credit score myths to keep from wasting your time or even hurting your score.

Perhaps the most common piece of bad information that people receive concerns their current accounts. If a broker or other individual claims that closing accounts will improve a credit score, they are completely flawed in their logic. Yes, having too many open accounts will reflect negatively on a score, but closing existing accounts is another matter. Once the accounts have been opened, the damage is done, and it is best to keep them open. Shutting accounts can actually hurt your score. The amount available to an individual is one factor affecting credit scores. When accounts are closed, the amount of available credit shrinks, making account balances seem larger by comparison. Paying down debt is an excellent idea, but in the process, leave opened accounts open.

Many people believe that checking your FICO score can actually hurt your credit. This is another common confusion due to the fact that certain inquiries can hurt it while others do not. Applying for new credit will often hurt your score, but ordering a copy of your report will not. Mass pre-approval inquiries also go unpunished. When a score reduction is caused by an inquiry of some kind, it will only change the score by 5 points or less, so even in this event, this is not a huge factor in your score.

Your ability to qualify for certain loans may be impacted by the use of counseling, however, many people think that counseling will scar your credit in the same way as bankruptcy. This is simply not the case. The most current FICO formula actually ignores counseling all together. This was a change that occurred due to a research study conducted three years ago that supports the fact that people using counseling did not default on their debts any more than other people. However, take note that using counseling might impact your ability to qualify for certain loans. Sometimes, counseling agencies make late payments to your creditors or settle for lesser amounts, and these things will show up on your score, but the use of counseling in general will not negatively change your credit.

These myths are some of the most widely accepted misnomers about the industry. Understanding their falsehood will help you to manage your credit more knowledgably or seek the right kind of help to repair your credit. If a broker, counselor, lender, or agent tries to feed you one of these myths, you might seriously consider how knowledgeable they really are about everything else involving your credit.