Credit cards of the rich and famous

What benefits don't the wealthy get these days? According to The New York Times, they even get VIP service from the major credit bureaus. (While the rest of us get limited help from a contracted overseas customer-service rep when we call about errors on our credit reports, these folks get immediate, personalized, stateside attention, the article says.)

But if you really want to show who's who, you want to present the right type of plastic or, in some cases, titanium. Creditcents, the blog at Creditnet.com, has a rundown on the "7 elite credit cards for the rich and famous."

The Black Card -- formally called the American Express Centurion Card -- is probably the best known. For a $5,000 initiation fee, plus a $2,500 annual fee -- oh, the perks:

Benefits: Everything included in the Platinum program, personal concierge service, complimentary companion airline tickets with certain air fares, dedicated personal shoppers, first-class upgrades, one free night at most Mandarin Oriental Hotels with paid stay, privileges at several luxury hotel chains, complimentary enrollment in select car rental programs, and VIP access to celebrity events.
You can get this card when they invite you to apply.

The benefits of the American Express Platinum Card aren't too shabby either. Kevin Fleming from CreditShout.com says, "The bar-setter for elite cards, the Platinum Card From American Express has been showing rich people a good time since 1984."

Find a better credit card
Concierge service, upgrades of all sorts, access to VIP airport lounges, hotels and events, and attention from people who wouldn't normally give you the time of day are common features of elite cards. So are extra warranty protection, expanded travel insurance and other enhancements.

Here are a few details about some of the other cards on the list:
A $1 million account with Coutts may get you the Coutts World Card. (It's invitation-only.) The $500 annual fee is waived if you charge $100,000 in a year.
You don't need to be the head of a company to get the Citi Chairman American Express Card, but you do need a credit score of 700 or higher. Annual fee: $500. It comes with emergency translation services, among many other perks. (This card apparently is no longer available to new customers. Oh, shucks.)
The Bank of America Accolades Card is heavy on VIP access and upgrades, and offers "emergency medical evacuation," Creditcents says. The annual fee is a modest $295.
Barclays has the other black card -- the Visa Black Card -- with an annual fee of $495. Creditcents says:
How to get one: You must be in the top 1% of income earners in the United States, have a proven credit history of spending a minimum of $50,000 per year, and maintain an excellent credit score.
Finally, the U.S. Bank Stratus Rewards is another invitation-only card, known as the White Card. The benefits include access to "unique luxury experiences" and private jets, and even $5,000 in lost luggage insurance -- which is likely more than the value of my luggage and entire wardrobe combined. The annual fee is a steep $1,500.
We're not saying you should make one of these cards your goal. Sometimes it's just fun to read about how life is for people like the richest 1%, who, by the way, have 35.6% of the nation's wealth. (In fact, their share actually increased between 2007 and the beginning of 2010, The Wall Street Journal reports. "Meanwhile, share of national wealth held by the bottom 90% fell to 25% from 27%.")

Estimate your credit score for free
Besides, do you really need a card like one of the above? CreditCards.com says probably not.

Many banks issue cards with no annual fee that also come with excellent customer service, heightened insurance and warrantee protection and a decent load of enticing travel and shopping rewards.

 

Mobile apps for paying the tab, browsing beers

You finished dessert a while ago but haven't been able to catch the waiter's eye. Asking for the check will produce only another wait. And when you do get the opportunity to pay, you're still left sitting at your table until the waiter returns with your change or the credit card receipt.

It's the endgame to many restaurant meals. Now a Maryland technology company is trying to send it the way of the rotary phone.

MICROS Systems Inc. of Columbia, which makes point-of-sale terminal equipment for restaurants, has partnered with a Texas startup to expand the use of Tabbedout, an app that enables diners to pay with their smartphones.

The companies' goal? To let people settle their checks when they're ready to leave, reduce table turnaround times and encourage online interactions between customers and restaurants.

The app is rolling out at Houlihan's in Columbia, one of two restaurants in Maryland where patrons may now pay their bills on their iPhone or Android mobile phones. With MICROS now promoting the service to its thousands of restaurant clients, hundreds more businesses are expected to offer it by the end of the year.

"I think it's a brilliant plan," said Julie Stevens, the restaurant owner. "I, as a consumer, would love it."

With the rise of smartphones, mobile apps and more powerful wireless technologies, high-tech startups, credit card companies, and hardware and software firms are working to revolutionize the restaurant experience, with tablet computer menus and mobile payments.

"As much as this is going to benefit operators and consumers, we're also going to watch a culture change," said Tim Pincelli, director of products and training at MICROS. "It's about changing the way people do business in restaurants."

Nationwide, the restaurant industry pulls in about $600 billion in annual sales, according to the National Restaurant Association. But only a tiny fraction of the nation's 960,000 restaurants have adopted wireless technologies such as smartphones, handheld credit card scanners and tablet computers.

Consumers, however, are a little further along. A nationwide household survey commissioned last year by the restaurant association found about one-third of frequent restaurant patrons use Facebook. One in 12 uses mobile phone applications such as Foursquare and UrbanSpoon, which help people find and interact with restaurants.

The notion of using a smartphone as a digital wallet has been around for years. Generally, the mobile payment industry has focused on two technologies to enable the transfer of money — with the second still in its infancy in the United States.

The first is a text-messaging system, in which a consumer uses a text code to buy an item, and the charge is added to the user's monthly cellphone bill.

A new type of mobile payment system that industry observers expect to ramp up this year involves a wireless technology known as near-field communication, or NFC. Mobile phones would come equipped with a new chip, which would allow consumers to simply wave their phones in front of an NFC wireless reader. The consumer's credit card would then automatically be charged.

Consumers can expect to see plenty of competition in mobile payments. Major players eyeing the technology include PayPal, Google and Apple, in addition to credit card companies.

Visa, the largest credit card processor in the United States, announced last week that it is developing its own mobile wallet system that will use NFC and other technologies. The plans call for enabling people to use their mobile wallets at retail locations and even to transfer funds between people.

Few phones now on the market are outfitted with NFC technology. Observers say it could take several years for the technology to gain widespread acceptance among retail establishments and the technology hardware and software business.

Until then, making mobile payments through a smartphone app may be the next best thing. MICROS officials said the Tabbedout app, which is built by ATX Innovation Inc. of Austin, Texas, makes sense in many restaurant settings.

NFC technology, they say, in many cases would require diners to hand their smartphones to a waiter to swipe at a terminal.

Plus, the Tabbedout app allows customers to broadcast their restaurant choices to social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare, which means free publicity for venues. So far, Tabbedout has been deployed in about 200 restaurants in 90 U.S. cities. MICROS expects to introduce the application to 50 to 100 restaurants a month, according to company officials.

American Express Surpasses Other Credit Cards In Sales

MasterCard's credit card purchase volume was $115 billion in the first quarter of 2011, a 5 percent increase compared with the year earlier. While the company does not break down that spending, it said its consumer credit card spending rose. It was essentially flat in the fourth quarter of 2010 and negative going back to the second quarter of 2008. Analysts said that could mean consumers were returning to discretionary spending. "As the company looks to move beyond traditional charge and credit products, expanding our distribution network to new and innovative locations like post offices is key to accelerating the company's growth in new payments and digital platforms," said Alpesh Chokshi, president of Global Payment Options for Amex, in a statement.

Actual Costs
While market competition usually drives prices towards actual costs down, plus reasonable profits, the credit card companies and banks have put together cartel-like arrangements that have sidelined normal market dynamics. Three card companies – Visa, MasterCard and American Express – account for some 80 percent of cards. They recruit banks to their networks by promising them the major cut of the average 2 percent swipe fees added to every card transaction. The banks then use of big slice of the fees they collect to attract new, well-to-do subscribers with reward program financed through these fees.

Trading
American Express (NYSE:AXP) closed Thursday's positive trading session at $49.54. In the past year, the stock has hit a 52-week low of $37.13 and 52-week high of $50.47. American Express stock has been showing support around $48.94 and resistance in the $50.10 range. Technical indicators for the stock are Bullish and S&P gives AXP a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating. For a hedged play on this stock, look at the Jul '11 $49.00 covered call for a net debit in the $47.42 area. That is also the break-even stock price for this trade. This covered call has a duration of 64 days, provides 4.28% downside protection and an assigned return rate of 3.33% for an annualized return rate of 19.00% (for comparison purposes only). A lower-cost hedged play for this stock would use a longer term call option in place of the covered call stock purchase. To use this strategy look at going long the AXP Jan '12 $35.00 call and selling the Jul '11 $49.00 call for a total debit of $13.03. The trade has a lifespan of 64 days and would provide 3.05% downside protection and an assigned return rate of 7.44% for an annualized return rate of 42% (for comparison purposes only). American Express has a current annual dividend yield of 1.44%. [ABR-Seven Summits Research]

 

Protect yourself from debit card fraud

Davenport investigators said debit card fraud is happening frequently, and it is worse than having your credit card stolen.

"The problem with debit cards is when someone takes a hold of that account the money is withdrawn automatically from your checking account and your savings account," Officer Hank Jacobsen with the Davenport Police Department said.

Jacobsen said with credit cards the loss is not as great.  That is because money can not be directly taken out of an account.  There is also more time to stop transactions.  Police said in light of the fraud at Michael's, you should take steps to protect your money.

"One of the best ways to protect yourself is to monitor your bank statements, credit card statements. You want to do that on a regular basis," Officer Jacobsen said.

You should check on a daily basis according to police, and if you notice any unusual transactions contact your bank.

"We recommend notifying your financial institution; your credit card company.  Then, call your local law enforcement agency so you can file a report," Officer Jacobsen said.

 

Station owners say pump prices determined by competition

The price of a gallon of gas exploded Wednesday in Louisville. AAA says the average price for a gallon of regular in the Metro is $4.02, though we've seen prices even higher. Tuesday, it was $.18 less. As the price at the pump goes up, so does frustration and concern from many consumers across Kentuckiana.

"It seems like we're working just to pay for our gas these days," Adrienne Burgstaller said.

Burgstaller filled up when the prices was $4.13. Working for her and others getting gas, we went to John Zikias with Thorntons to ask about how they came up with that price. There's a lot that goes into the price: trading, speculation, and natural disasters, but there's one more piece of the puzzle.

"It's really more determined by what other stations are charging," he said.

Zikias said they want to have the lowest price in the market and will drop their price first and up it last.

"Our stores will keep us updated throughout the day on what's going on in a particular marketplace. If competition is moving the price," he said.

Consumers aren't the only ones feeling the pinch. Gas station owners say it's costing them, too. Every time you fill up with a credit card, the station has to pay a percentage of the sale to the credit card company.

"As retail prices go up, so do our credit card fees. For instance, last month our credit card fees were over $.05 cents a gallon. We had days we weren't even making $.05 a gallon so we're losing money when you use a credit card," Zikias said.

Some experts are speculating the price could drop several cents overnight.

 

HSBC may sell US cards as targets $3.5 bln in costs

HSBC is to streamlineits wealth management business, retreat from retail banking in some countries and may sell its U.S. credit cards arm as new CEO Stuart Gulliver attempts to cut $3.5 billion in costs and revive flagging profits.

Europe's biggest bank said the savings would help it cut costs as a share of revenue to 48-52 percent by 2013 from 61 percent in the first quarter. Many banks, including HSBC, have seen this ratio rise sharply as they compete for staff in Asia.

By comparison, rival Standard Chartered's cost/income ratio was 56 percent last year. But others have done more to reduce costs to below 50 percent, such as Spain's Santander, where it was 43 percent.

The extent of HSBC Chief Executive Gulliver's task was laid bare on Monday, after a jump in costs dragged quarterly profits down some 14 percent.

'A target of 2013 will give them enough time,' said John Wadle, an analyst with Mirae Asset Securities in Hong Kong. 'They are going to streamline high-cost income businesses and my personal guess is that the actual cost cutting may result in only about $1-2 billion.'

HSBC will focus its wealth management business on 18 of the most relevant economies, and limit retail banking to markets where it can achieve profitable scale, it said.

Currently, the bank has operations in 87 markets, 95 million customers and employs 307,000 staff.

In retail banking it will focus on core markets such as Hong Kong and Britain, high growth markets like Mexico, Singapore, Turkey and Brazil, and smaller countries where it has a strong position.

It has already said it will exit retail banking in Russia and review its U.S. operation, where it has 475 branches.

Gulliver reckons he can get $4 billion in additional revenues from winning business from wealthy customres in fast growing markets, and get an extra $1 billion from making commercial and investment banking work more closely together.

The U.S. card and retail business delivered profit before tax of $306 million in the first quarter of this year, down about 15 percent from a year ago. HSBC could free up to $25 billion from selling the credit card operations, analysts at Barclays Capital had estimated before the statement.

The United States has typically been seen by many analysts as a low-return area for the bank, following HSBC's disastrous purchase of the Household mortgage business there before the global financial crisis.

Top 10 U.S. Bank Protects Banking, Credit Card Applications With Vanguard Policy Manager

Vanguard Integrity Professionals, the largest independent provider of enterprise security software for System z®, today announced that a top ten U.S. bank has selected Vanguard Policy Manager™ to secure its critical z/OS® banking and credit card business applications. Vanguard Policy Manager reduces the bank's overall security risks by automatically enforcing security policies and preventing employees and contractors from unauthorized System Special access to z/OS systems.

The top ten bank recently outsourced user provisioning for its zSeries® systems, which introduced security risks and compliance violations. The outsourcer's team lacked specific training on z/OS systems and RACF® security servers, and was routinely granting new users higher-level z/OS security access than they should have received. These policy violations were a result of team members accidentally entering inaccurate parameters into the multi-platform application they were using to provision users across all systems. Although the bank's in-house, z/OS security team reviewed user access change reports daily, problems with unauthorized access often went undiscovered for more than a day.

"The bank needed to find a way to safeguard its z/OS systems from unnecessary security exposures and prevent the outsourcer from granting unauthorized access to new users," said Jim Yurek, professional services consultant at Vanguard. "The bank's z/OS security team chose Vanguard Policy Manager to solve its security provisioning problems because it is the only software that precisely controls security policies and enables the bank to protect its critical data and applications."

Before Vanguard Policy Manager was deployed, z/OS security team members spent 30 minutes to several hours analyzing and remediating each unauthorized or mistaken user provisioning. This situation reduced productivity and added another serious risk to the bank as team members were focusing on remediation rather than addressing other security issues. With Vanguard Policy Manager, for the first time, the bank's security managers are able to specify which commands each user, or group of users, can not issue. Then if someone attempts to issue a command that does not comply with established policies, Vanguard Policy Manager either prevents the command from executing or automatically changes it to one that adheres to the bank's internal security policies.

Vanguard Policy Manager helps the bank:

• Enable real-time protection of internal security policies.
• Prevent the execution of unauthorized commands.
• Achieve more granular control over which users can do what.
• Apply policy controls that are more easily activated and deactivated.
• Educate users by automatically issuing messages about why commands are blocked.

"By continuously monitoring all users, even those with highly privileged access, Vanguard Policy Manager enables enterprises to precisely enforce security policies," Yurek continued. "Vanguard Policy Manager significantly reduces an organization's security risks and delivers an immediate return on investment by reducing the time and costs required to analyze and remediate access control list problems."

For more information, or to read the complete case study about how the bank is using Vanguard Policy Manager, visit www.go2vanguard.com.

About Vanguard Integrity Professionals

Vanguard Integrity Professionals, an IBM® Business Partner, provides enterprise security software and services that solve complex security and regulatory compliance challenges and deliver a rapid return on investment. With automated solutions for Audit and Compliance, Operational Security and Intrusion Management, Vanguard enables government agencies and corporations around the world to ensure continuous monitoring of z/OS systems, safeguard cloud computing secure domains, and protect critical data and applications from cybersecurity threats. Vanguard provides live, 24/7/365, customer support.

IBM, RACF, System z, z/OS and zSeries are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Vanguard Policy Manager is a trademark of Vanguard Integrity Professionals, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

 

Banking on more bad debts

The change in consumer buying behaviour is accelerating – and it's happening most markedly among higher income families. Liquor retailers tell me that high income males are cutting back their purchases. Other retailers find incredible price consciousness among all levels of consumers forcing them to cut prices to generate sales.

Foxtel says that subscriber renewals are good but it's becoming harder and harder to attract new subscribers. When you see such events taking place in the market place it's not long before the bankers experience the trend.

Here in Australia our banks have had a strong profit reporting season but suddenly hairline cracks are appearing. ANZ chief Mike Smith reveals that more people are not paying their credit card minimum balances. Westpac chief Gail Kelly alerted shareholders to a rise in consumer arrears.

Inflation for people – the real cost of living – is rising rapidly but in most cases it is not being matched by incomes, although people still have their jobs and there are other jobs to go to. The cutbacks in expenditure are most severe in the higher income families who have bought large houses on big mortgages. And their problems are reducing the value of dwellings as their friends become cautious about falling into the same trap.

There is no sign that these problems are going to recede unless people are working in boom industries. Accordingly, further interest rate rises will now really bite into bank profits because we will start to see rises in bad debts.

The commercial building unions are now pressing very hard to have the Victorian desalination plant pay rates of $200,000 to $300,000 a year with big tax free components and very generous days off become the norm around Australia. So far the builders have found it hard to get the clients to pay the enormous rise in construction prices that are required to pay these rates – a situation that has the potential to delay the commercial investment boom.

In this environment, one of the most important indicators will be the banks' problem loans. If those cracks that have been isolated by ANZ and Westpac start to widen and spread, we will suddenly find ourselves living in a world a little more like the rest of the globe.

Consumers borrowed more on credit cards in March

Consumers used their credits card more in March, marking only the second increase in more than two years since the height of the financial crisis.

The Federal Reserve says consumers increased their borrowing by $6 billion in March, the sixth consecutive monthly gain. Consumers borrowed more to finance car loans for the eighth straight month. And a category of borrowing that includes credit card use rose for only the second time since August 2008.

More frequent credit card purchases could be a sign that consumers are feeling more confident about the economy.

The 3 percent overall increase pushed consumer borrowing to a seasonally adjusted annual level of $2.43 trillion, still just 1.3 percent higher level than a nearly four-year low of $2.39 trillion hit in September.

 

No Cash? No Problem! Domino’s now accepts credit card for delivery

Domino's Pizza, a leading food services brand and the market leader in the organized pizza home delivery segment in India is trialing credit card payments over the phone. In a move to make ordering Domino's Pizza even more convenient for customers, the service will allow customers to pay for their pizzas through credit cards over phone. This service is powered by PayMate, India's leading mobile payments company.
 
With this service, when a customer calls to order a Pizza, the customer service representative will connect the call to the IVR payment system and the customers can then enter their credit card details and OTP (bank provided One Time Password) over the secure IVR call to process the payment.

Domino's and PayMate intend to trial this service in selected Domino's outlets across the country. So next time you are craving for a pizza but find you are low on cash or struggling to find the right change, there is no need to walk to an ATM before you order; just call Domino's and pay with your credit card and have a hot and tasty Pizza delivered right at your doorstep.

Mr. Harneet Singh Rajpal, Vice President- Marketing, Domino's Pizza India said "our endeavor is to be at the forefront in using new technologies to extend more service convenience to our customers. Payment through credit card has been a latent need of our customers and with the launch of this new service, which is powered by PayMate, on trial basis, we believe that our customers would find it even more convenient to order with us. We are delighted to provide this service to our customers."

"Based on customer feedback, many of the Domino's customers are keen to use their credit cards to pay for pizza delivery" said Ajay Adiseshann, Founder & Managing Director, PayMate. "This service will fulfill this need and enhance the overall customer experience."

Credit card payments via phone will start in Noida and Mumbai before being rolled out across the country.

 

Discover Open Road Gas Credit Card

Discover credit cards always gets less attention than rival offering from Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. At the same time, those who actually have a Discover card are intensely loyal to the company's way of doing business: since J.D. Power began studying credit card customer satisfaction, Discover has ranked second every year, bested only by American Express. By offering low interest rates and fees coupled with a high rewards payout, it is easy to see why Discover has become the card of choice for so many people who also hold other cards. The Discover Open Road Card is a perfect example of this philosophy in practice.

Discover Open Road Card Features
To start with, the Discover Open Road Card excels at the basic level of offering low fees and interest rates. There is no annual fee and their introductory offer is 0% APR on both purchases and balance transfers for a full year.  Next, card holders can expect a variable interest rate of 11.99% – 19.99 APR (as of today), depending on their credit worthiness.

When it comes to rewards, members receive cash back so that they are not subject to the whims of airline award availability or reductions in the value of credit card points. The first $250 per month on purchases made at gas stations and restaurants earn a full 2% cash back. Card holders also receive .25% cash back on their first $3,000 in annual spending. All subsequent purchases will receive 1% cash back.

The Discover Open Road Card also offers a range of cash back opportunities when you make purchases from major retailers through their online portal, ShopDiscover.  The discounts range from 5%-20% at retailers such as Best Buy, Macy's, Zappos, and Bloomingdales. The Discover Open Road card has a 2% foreign transaction fee on all charges processed outside of the United States. This is in the middle of the road for today's credit cards. While some cards charge no foreign transaction fees, most others still charge as much as 3%.

Who Is the Open Road Card Best For
The Discover Open Road card, with its generous discounts at gas stations and restaurants, is clearly targeted at those who are more interested in driving than flying.  By offering 0% APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers, they are making a remarkable offer for those who need carry a balance sometimes.

By backing up these favorable terms with a competitive reward, they are able to appeal to those who don't really plan on paying off their balances immediately.  Finally, Discover is offering a $75 Restaurant.com gift certificate a sign up bonus to new customers. These certificates give you $75 off of any meal of $150 or more at select restaurants. This is a great way to save serious money on a big night out.

New federal rules could mean no credit cards for stay at home parents

Stay-at-home parents may no longer be allowed to get their own credit card.

That's because new federal rules that say banks will no longer be able to give credit cards to people who can't prove an individual source of income.

The new rules are meant to keep credit cards out of the hands of people who can't afford it, but they could negatively impact stay-at-home parents, and people who have a spouse in the military. They could also mean that if a couple gets divorced, the stay-at-home parent would have no credit history.

The federal rules don't go into effect until October 1st, but banks could start enforcing them at any time.

 

11 ways to boost your chances of cheaper credit

In the current economic climate it can be difficult to get accepted for a new credit card, loan or mortgage. Use our 11 top tips to maximise your chances of being accepted at the best interest rate.

1. Correct credit report mistakes
OK, so this sounds obvious - but if potential lenders are seeing incorrect information on your credit report, it will affect their decision to lend (or not to lend). Checking your credit report regularly will also help you detect ID fraud, should someone else by trying to obtain credit in your name.

2. Get a credit card
This piece of advice is rather more surprising. Many consumers are turned down for credit even though they don't have a bad credit history. Often this is because they have not applied for credit in the past and therefore have little or no credit history at all – known as having a 'thin credit file'. A possible solution is to apply for a 'low and grow' credit card – these cards start you off with a very low credit limit, but increase it over time as you prove you can handle the account responsibly. You must pay off the balance on the card every month, as the APRs on these cards can be very high.

3. Set up a direct debit
One of the quickest ways to ruin your credit score is to make late or inadequate payments on your credit card. Set up a direct debit for at least the minimum payment each month and you'll never miss a repayment. You can always make an additional manual payment on top to help clear your debt faster.

4. Split the bills between you and your spouse
Having all the household credit bills are in one partner's name can makes sense for keeping track of your household finances, but it also means that if that partner dies or if you get divorced, their husband or wife will have no credit history of their own and will therefore struggle to apply for credit at just the moment they need it most. Putting some credit bills in each name means you'll each build up your credit file.

5. Don't be an additional cardholder on a credit card
You've probably heard of some car insurers offering a no-claims bonus to named drivers on a policy. This doesn't work with credit cards. Not only may additional cardholders enjoy fewer legal rights if things go wrong, they're also not building up their credit score.

6. Get yourself on the electoral roll
If you're not on the electoral roll, you will find it very difficult to get credit – this is probably the single most important aspect of your credit file that lenders look at, so it's important to ensure you are registered to vote.

7. Don't apply for loads of credit at once
Every time you apply for credit, it is likely to leave a 'footprint' on your credit file, which will be visible to other lenders. A high number of applications in a short space of time will make you look desperate for credit and could reduce your chances of a successful application.

8. Ask lenders for a 'quotation search'
If you're shopping around for finance (and particularly if it's a mortgage), ask potential lenders to run a 'quotation search' or 'enquiry search' instead. This will give you an idea of whether your application will be accepted and what interest rate you'll be charged, but without leaving a full 'footprint' on your file until the moment you actually apply for the deal you eventually pick.

9. Apply for a credit card or loan before moving house
Lenders like to see evidence of stability, and you will be asked how long you have been at your current job and address during the loan or credit card application process. If you know you need to borrow and have a big change coming up, it makes sense to apply for credit sooner rather than later.

10. Close old credit card accounts
Lenders will look not only at how much debt you are in, but at how much credit you already have available. Their worst nightmare is that once they've lent to you, you'll go on a spending spree with your old credit cards and thereby get into problem debt.

11. End financial associations with ex-partners
Cohabiting with or being married to someone with a bad credit rating won't affect your own credit score – but taking out a joint financial product (such as a current account in both names) with them will.

If you have ever jointly held a financial product with someone you no longer have a relationship with, ask all three credit reference agencies to add a 'notice of disassociation' to your file.

 

How to Play the New Credit Card Offers

Free airfare. A Kindle . Zero interest on a cash advance. To lure new consumers, credit card companies are getting more creative and more generous with their promotional offers – in some cases, tripling mileage and cash-back rewards. For credit-savvy and disciplined consumers, this marks the return of a bygone opportunity: The chance to play one card against another and come out ahead.

Credit-card issuers are honest about their motives. If the bonuses and promotions push a customer to choose one card over another, it's worth it, says a spokeswoman for American Express. Or, as a Chase spokeswoman puts it, "Chase wants to be the first card people choose for all of their spending."

Meanwhile, as promotions become more widespread, issuers launch bigger offers or expand on existing ones to compete for borrowers, says Papadimitriou.

While the offers are better and more readily available than they've been in the past, consumers still need to be aware of the perennial pitfalls, like interest rates that spike or fees that kick in down the road. To come out ahead, cardholders usually need to pay off their balance quickly and make all payments on time, says Bill Hardekopf, chief executive at LowCards.com , which tracks credit-card offers.

Furthermore, the nature of the offers can make them good in some circumstances, dangerous in others. Here are the new rules.

Use blank checks

Before the recession, consumers often used 0% APR offers on blank checks from their credit-card issuer for a form of arbitrage: They'd park the money in a high-yield savings account or certificate of deposit, pay back the loan, and keep the interest. With rates so low these days, that's hardly worth the hassle. But consumers can often use these checks for balance transfers, paying down high-interest debt that they've racked up elsewhere.

Consumers who can pay off the balance transfer in full within the promotional period save the most money, paying only a balance transfer fee of typically 3% to 5%. (Some don't even pay that: USAA's World MasterCard currently offers a convenience check to some existing cardholders with 0% interest through March 2012 and it eliminates the fee of up to $75 for those who take up the offer by May 16.)

But even consumers who don't pay off their balance in full can come out ahead. Consider the average consumer with credit card debt, who owes about $3,340, according to the most recent data from CardHub.com. To be debt-free in two years at 16% APR (about the average on cards right now), the cardholder would have to pay $164 per month, and would pay almost $600 in interest. If instead the cardholder did a 0% balance transfer for 12 months, then paid the rest off at 20% interest over one more year, he could pay a little more than $300 in interest and fees -- about half what he would have paid by sticking with the original card.

Make money off a purchase

Many cardholders already earn rewards when swiping their credit card, but new cardholders increasingly have more to gain from the get-go. "We've also noticed that sign-on bonuses have gotten substantially sweeter," says Lauren Guenveur, study director for the financial services practice at Synovate. That can be an extra perk for someone who's already planning to make a large purchase in the next few months – if they can pay off the balance in full. Most of these cards don't offer a 0% APR, even as a promotional rate, and the interest charges can quickly eat up the value of the rewards, and more.

The types of rewards range widely. With the Chase Freedom credit card, new cardholders who make $500 worth of purchases in the first three months get $150 cash-back – up from the $100 bonus the card issuer was offering in early April. For spending the same amount in the same period, some consumers who sign up for American Express' Premier Rewards card can get a 3G-enabled Kindle – retail price $189 – and a $100 American Express gift card. On the travel front, consumers who sign up for the British Airways Visa Signature card through May 6 earn 50,000 miles with their first purchase and another 50,000 if they spend $2,500 in the first three months. The possible 100,000 miles total is good for four round-trip domestic flights within the continental U.S. on American Airlines or two roundtrips from North America to London on British Airways – easily a $1,700 value.

Help a teen build credit

When the credit card laws changed in February 2010, making it impossible for anyone under 21 to get a card without a co-signer or proof of income, credit enthusiasts complained that it would be hard for young people to build credit. But now analysts say credit card companies are rolling out more secured cards -- a cross between a debit card and a credit card, and a perfect way for parents to help their children build credit and protect their own histories at the same time.

Anyone under 21 still usually needs a co-signer (or proof of income) to get a secured card, but the credit lines are typically smaller and the potential for unconstrained spending is more limited. To get a secured card, a borrower gives the credit card issuer what is essentially a security deposit, usually at least $200, which establishes a line of credit. The activity on these cards is reported to credit bureaus each month like a regular credit card, says Papadimitriou, which means it can help build credit.

But interest rates are high, and carrying a balance is expensive. Capital One's Secured MasterCard and First Premier's Secured Card each require a $200 deposit, and charge 22.9% and 19.9% interest, respectively, when monthly payments aren't made in full. And both banks recently introduced what are called "partially-secured" cards, where the credit line is higher than the deposit, though the interest rate on First Premier's card spikes to a whopping 50% for the first year. With "fully secured, there is a lower risk to us," says a spokesman for First Premier, adding that after the first year, the interest rate drops to a still hefty 40% for cardholders in good standing.

Credit card surcharges hurt motorists

With a daily commute to Red Bank, Middletown resident Tom Sullivan keeps a keen eye on which gasoline stations charge a different price for cash or credit when he needs a fill-up.

"I don't often carry enough cash so I'm using a debit card to fill up my gas tank," said Sullivan, a Web developer. "I've become very aware of what gas stations do charge surcharges."

Separate cash and credit prices are nothing new. They became widespread after prices in New Jersey spiked in 2008. But with gas prices in overdrive yet again — and headed to more than $3.90 per gallon for regular grade by early next week, according to oil analyst Tom Kloza — the dual prices are on drivers' minds.

"People may be noticing it more now that prices are elevated and they no longer have $50 to $100 in their wallet to fill up their tank of gas," said Tracy Noble, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. "Where they would have gone to put it on the credit card, they would wind up paying the extra fee."

But gasoline station owners say the higher charge for using a credit card enables the station to recoup the costs for credit fees that rise as gas prices skyrocket, cutting deep in an already slim profit margin.

"It costs us over 2 percent for the credit card," said John Paolantonio Jr., owner of Branch Spirit, a service station in West Long Branch. "We're making less now on a gallon of gas then I did in 1976 when it sold for 60 cents a gallon. Ridiculous."

In Monmouth and Ocean counties, the average price for regular grade gasoline was just less than $3.80 a gallon, up 42.5 cents in the past month, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Report. And there are no signs of a halt in the rise anytime soon.

"In N.J., we'll be in the $3.90s by early next week," said Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, in an email. "It promises to be a wild week because of a cluster of refining issues."

Gasoline retailers can't afford to absorb the cost of accepting a credit card, said Sal Risalvato, executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline C-Store Automotive Association, a trade group of gasoline stations, repair shops and convenience stores.

Visa adding clout to Square

Last May, Andréa Cecil introduced the Square, a mobile payment system. The credit-card reader device — founded by Twitter's cofounder, Jack Dorsey — lets anyone accept credit card payments via their mobile device. The apps for iOS and Android are free, as is the card reader. The only fee you'll pay is a per-transaction payment of 2.75 percent.

Since its debut, Square has seen considerable growth with merchants that typically don't accept credit cards. The company processed more than $66 million during the first three months of 2011 and is expected to triple that amount during the second quarter. Merchants of all types are signing up and changing their approach to payment collection. Here are a few examples of the individuals and small businesses (from the Square website) flocking to the service:

• Food trucks needing a simple and easy way to accept payments on the move.
• Small corner stores tired of the complexity and high rates incurred by their credit card machine.
• Photographers who want to be paid on the spot instead of waiting weeks for checks to arrive.
• Arts and craft vendors who don't want to pay a monthly fee for a merchant account since they only sell seasonally.
• Housemates who need to split utility costs.

The big news this week was that Visa announced its strategic investment into Square. The partnership will help Square become mainstream as it competes with entrenched companies that sell terminals to merchants that process credit card payments. The arrangement is also a vote of confidence for Square's enhanced security features; instant email/SMS receipts and photo and location of transaction.

Like many payment companies, Visa is interested in the enormous small-business market. The digital payment juggernaut already offers a cashless person-to-person payment process, but transfers are only available between Visa accounts.

This partnership follows on the heels of Square's agreement with Apple to make its plug-in device available in the 235 U.S. Apple retail stores and the announcement of a new card reader geared at adding additional anti-fraud measures. Visa hopes the arrangement will provide access to the estimated 27 million merchants that don't already accept credit cards.

 

First Hawaiian Bank to accept Korean credit card

First Hawaiian Bank, the state's largest credit card processor with 7,500 locations, said today it will now accept the BC Global Card, a South Korean credit card, to make it easier for South Korean tourists to shop in Hawaii.

The issuer, BCcard, implemented an agreement with Discover Financial Services that allows the card to be used on the Discover network, as well as the Diners Club International and PULSE networks.

First Hawaiian Bank, which has a long-standing partnership with Discover, processed the first global transaction yesterday during a ceremonial purchase of a Koa wood bowl by BCcard President and CEO Jong Ho Lee at a Halekulani Hotel boutique.

BCcard, founded in 1982, has 54 million cards issued through 11 financial institutions and has marketed the BC Global Card as the first Korean domestic card with international acceptance. Altogether, Korean cardholders spent more than $13 billion outside of Korea in 2010, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.

 

Aussie PSN User Has $2000 Of Unauthorised Charges On His Credit Card

The ABC has just run the story of an Adelaide PSN user whose credit card has been compromised in the wake of the PSN breach. His card has racked up $2000 of debt over the past couple of days.

Rory Spreckley noticed that the charges were preceded by a handful of $1 charges, a technique cyber criminals typically use to test if credit card details check out.

"I logged into my bank account just to check everything was OK and I found out there was some just over $2,000 in charges which I didn't personally accrue," claimed Spreckley.

Although we can't be 100% sure if this is related to Sony's breach, this is a timely reminder to be vigilant with your details, and contact your bank the second you see any suspicious activity on your account.

Bank of America's New Credit Card Penalty Interest Rate Is Nearly 30%

Bank of America credit card holders, beware. If you're late on a monthly payment, that little "oops" might become a big "ouch": Your future balances could be subject to a penalty rate of nearly 30%, notes a report Wednesday in The Charlotte Observer. The penalty rate will not be applied to previous balances, however.

Nor will the penalty interest rate be applied automatically, the article notes, but rather on a case-by-case basis after other risk factors are considered. And, if the bank does chose to hit an account with the penalty rate hike, it will give the customer a 45-day heads up before the new rate goes into effect, as required under 2009's Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, otherwise known as the CARD Act. Bank of America (BAC) began notifying customers about the penalty rate increase via their bills this month: Those who are affected soonest will see their rate increase coming afterJune 25.

The penalty interest rate can scale up to a maximum of 29.99% on future balances, and card holders will have their accounts reviewed every six months as required by the CARD Act for potential reductions in the penalty rate, BofA spokeswoman Betty Riess told DailyFinance.

Before the CARD Act went into effect, consumers faced an interest rate death spiral with their credit cards, Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com, told DailyFinance.

"Prior to the CARD Act, penalty interest rate increases were a one-way ticket," says McBride. "Now, they have to review them every six months. And while the requirements are still kind of loose, it's a step in the right direction."

He added another major change that came out of the CARD Act is that any penalty interest rate increases can only be applied toward future credit card balances and not existing balances, unless the payment is delinquent by more than 60 days.

The bank's adoption of a penalty rate follows a path that other financial institutions have taken since the late 1990s, according to a CreditCards.com report. Back in 1998, for example, the average default rate hovered at 22.75% and remained in a relatively tight range in the years that followed, reaching as high as 25.28% in 2009. But despite the passage of the CARD Act, penalty interest rates have continued to climb.

Last summer, banks were charging an average median penalty interest rate of 29.99%, according to a BankRate.com report. That puts Bank of America squarely in the middle of the pack with its competitors. If it's any consolation to their customers, CreditCards.com noted last year that HSBC's penalty rate had exceeded the 30% threshold -- topping out at 31.99%.

To avoid those penalty interest rates, credit card users simply need to make payments on time, advises McBride.

Says McBride: "People complain about the penalty interest like they complain about speeding tickets. If you don't want the ticket, then don't speed."

PSN Down: Security expert warns users should cancel credit cards

Marc Chacksfield over at TechRadar is reporting the expert from security specialist Sophos said PSN users should "cancel that card immediately". Potentially at least seventy million users are at risk from identity or financial fraud.

The security expert Graham Cluely said "now isn't the time to sit back on your sofa and do nothing". He goes on to say the criminals who may now have the information, won't just hang around and do nothing.

Other information at risk besides credit card details include, email account information, dates of birth, and names and address. A senior threat researcher form GFI Software Christopher Boyd, is also concerned about the risks of the data breech.

He said that the issue is really serious but wondered if details of all the PSN users were obtained, or just some of them. Another problem is that for the time being no one knows if there information has been obtained of not.

Will you be cancelling your credit cards?

PlayStation hacking scandal: police chief says contact your bank now

The head of the NSW Police fraud squad has warned Australian PlayStation users that they may have to cancel their credit cards after hackers stole enough information to even take out loans on the victims' behalf.

The Australian Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim, said he was "very concerned" and would contact Sony for more information on the breach, which security researchers have said may be the largest theft of identity data on record. His office has begun an "own motion investigation" into the matter.

Story continues below Despite its PlayStation Network being knocked offline for the past week, Sony waited until today to notify its 77 million customers that an "illegal and unauthorised person" gained access to their names, addresses, email address, birthdates, usernames, passwords, logins, security questions and more.

The company also could not rule out credit card numbers and expiry dates being stolen. But even if no credit cards were stolen, the other details are enough to cause significant identity theft issues.

"If you're armed with enough personal information you could basically do anything that the legitimate person could do themselves ... [such as] obtain various forms of credit, you could target their banking accounts," said NSW Police Detective Superintendent Col Dyson in a phone interview.

Detective Superintendent Dyson said those who obtained the personal information could use it to commit identity crimes or use the information to build a profile of the victims, which would then be used to gather further information about them before committing the crime.

"Personal or financial information is a valuable commodity and generally these days we find organised groups harvesting information and then selling it to other groups to use," he said.

NSW Police advises affected Australians to consider cancelling their credit cards or at the very least call their banks to inform them that their cards may have been compromised. People should also change their passwords if they use their same PlayStation Network password for other services.

Sony Australia confirmed that the issue affected all PlayStation Network users, including Australian account holders. It said it had not received any reports or claims that credit card information had been used improperly to date.

"For the security of our valued customers, we are encouraging all account holders to be aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information," Sony Australia said.

The Australian Bankers' Association said there had yet to be any Australian reports of credit card details being compromised or other fraud that has occurred as a result of the Sony breach. It said banks would be in contact with individual customers if their cards need to be re-issued and any credit card holders who become affected would be protected from loss in genuine fraud cases.

With many web services now requiring users to give out personal information, which is then stored on company servers in the internet "cloud", privacy breaches such as this are becoming more common.

Detective Superintendent Dyson said the move to storing personal information in the cloud had created new issues for law enforcement as the data was usually stored overseas, often in multiple jurisdictions.

"People should always be cautious about putting any personal information online or providing information to companies and the fact that the information or data is stored overseas is a challenge for law enforcement on a global scale really," he said.

"It creates issues for law enforcement and makes the importance of us having a strong network with overseas law enforcement more important than ever."

Detective Superintendent Dyson said he would wait for the lead overseas law enforcement agency on this matter to make contact and provide a briefing before he would assign local officers to investigate.

"There's no use in us going out and starting interviewing people without knowing the full background of it and receiving a formal request," he said.

It's not clear how the PlayStation Network break-in occurred or how many Australians out of the 77 million global users are affected, but it is believed to include everyone with a PlayStation Network account.

The loose-knit group of online miscreants, Anonymous, has denied that it was responsible for the hack, despite it issuing a statement last week warning Sony it would be targeted as payback for Sony suing customers who cracked the PlayStation 3 software.

Colin Jacobs, chair of the online users' lobby group Electronic Frontiers Australia, criticised Sony for the delay in notifying customers of the breach, which Sony said occurred between April 17 and April 19.

"A week is too long. If that information fell into the wrong hands, and you have to assume that it did immediately, those users could have been receiving sophisticated scams all week long," he said.

"It's a shame that it has come to this, but mandatory reporting laws might be necessary to prod companies to do the right thing regardless of the public relations consequences."

Since Australia does not have mandatory notification laws for when data breaches occur, companies are not obligated to even inform customers when their personal information has been stolen. Dell Australia opted to inform customers when their details fell into the wrong hands recently but there were many more affected companies who did not come forward.

A recent report on privacy laws compiled by the Australian Law Reform Commission recommended that new data breach notification requirements be implemented, but the Federal Government has yet to say whether it will take this recommendation on board.

The Australian Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim, said when breaches occur it was important for organisations to "notify their customers promptly" as this would help "mitigate any potential impact on individuals such as the risk of identity theft and fraud".

"This is a massive data breach, with millions of users' personal data compromised," said Jacobs.

"Sony have an uphill battle in restoring their reputation and we can only hope their users don't suffer too much for this lapse."

Despite the criticisms that it took too long to notify people, Sony Australia believes it "responded quickly and are behaving responsibly". It said that as soon as it learned of the issue it temproary turned off the PlayStation Network, engaged an outside security firm to conduct a full investigation and took steps to enhance security and strengthen its network infrastructure.

Man used a forged credit card

AN electrician tried to buy more than £700 worth of cigarettes and lottery scratch cards using a forged credit card.

Arburas Sabirovas, 31, went into Tesco in Hollington, St Leonards, and tried to buy £336 worth of Marlboro cigarettes using a Visa card.

But the signature he used was completely different to the one on the back of the card and the transaction was declined.

Less than two hours later Sabirovas tried again, this time at Tesco in Ravenside Retail Park in Bexhill.

He asked for £385 worth of cigarettes and scratch cards but the card was refused. He was arrested and police discovered the credit card was a forgery.

At a court hearing on Monday, Jeremy King, prosecuting, said the crimes happened on May 11 last year but it took almost a year to track down Sabirovas.

He was due to return to the police station in Hastings on June 8 last year.

Sabirovas, who lives in London, pleaded guilty to fraud and one Bail Act offence when he appeared in the dock in front of Hastings magistrates on Monday.

Lynda Kerry, defending, said: "He failed to return to the police station when he had to, and because he was back in London and not working it was expensive to travel down to Hastings.

"The defendant also lost the paperwork telling him when to return. He was spotted in London during a routine police check in London on Saturday."

Magistrates gave Sabirovas a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £85 court costs.

 

Misinformation exacerbates student debt peril

As if we needed more alarming statistics in a post-recession economy, student loan debt has recently surpassed collective credit card debt in the United States.

Even more worrisome, student loan debt is projected to top $1 trillion in 2011, partially the result of poor job markets for students after college graduation. Also contributing to the increasing weight of loan debt is the rise of college tuition, another consequence of post-recession budget restrictions.

These statistics present students like us with the perilous situation of wanting college degrees to ensure future success, while also acknowledging the true lack of job opportunities and consumer protection.

Exacerbating the situation is the misleading communication of those with interest in the financial aid market, namely the Office of Student Financial Aid.

In response to the state of student loan debt, Office of Student Financial Aid Director Jim Brooks thought it worthwhile to mention MU's context in the national scheme of debt issues. Citing a national average of about $24,000, Brooks said MU's average student loan debt upon graduation is $20,689.

Although it's encouraging to hear things could be worse, it's not particularly satisfying knowing ultimately, our situations are still bad, and our incurred debt is often not just "average."

Even worse, through years of legislation, student loans have curiously found themselves in a position of unusual stipulation, as, unlike credit card debt, they cannot be claimed under bankruptcy.

Therefore, if a person cannot pay for his or her government student loans, the government has the power to dig into that person's salary until the loan is finally paid off.

As students who hope the government has a vested interest in the education of its constituents, we find it agitating that student loan policies handcuff those whose intentions are to get an education. We want a degree, we want jobs, yet we are treated with a vastly different attitude than someone who, say, wants to partake in a thousand-dollar, credit-card-funded shopping spree.

Government policy aside, though, we do not feel the Office of Student Financial Aid is adequately fulfilling their responsibility to inform us of the realities of student loans. Students need more than just cursory, basic definitions of their loan situations to navigate the difficult and paralyzing world of student loans, and we hope financial aid advisors communicate more honestly, more consistently.

Consumers once again feel comfortable with credit card debt

Americans are making more money these days than they were during the depths of the national recession, and the improvement in their financial situation has led them to increase their spending, according to a new report on credit card spending from comScore. In addition, card companies have tried to entice consumers to open news accounts by offering lower interest rates and fees on their credit cards.

In all, 20 percent of consumers said they shopped around for a new credit card in the last year, and 34 percent indicated they were feeling more confident about the economy, the report said. Low interest rates on their credit card debt was deemed the most important factor in selecting such an account, with 40 percent saying this was their primary consideration. Another 28 percent cited cards with no annual fee as being most important.

"As we see consumer economic sentiment improve, we're also seeing a corresponding increase in retail and e-commerce spending along with increased card shopping, especially among those in the subprime sector," said Sarah Lenart, comScore vice president of financial services. "With shopping and card applications expected to continue to increase in 2011, consumers are likely to place even greater emphasis on competitive card features and offerings as well as enticing rewards programs."

However, many consumers - 13 percent - also wanted to earn rewards points for every dollar of credit card debt they took on, the report said. Among these options, 57 percent of respondents said they would like to earn cash back rewards the most. Meanwhile, the ability to earn points with a specific merchant and flexibility in redeeming accrued rewards were tied for second-most popular at just 13 percent.

Most consumers also spent the year adopting new digital banking methods, as 74 percent of respondents said they learned about their account by going online, and 59 percent said this was their primary method. Another 29 percent used their mobile phone - either through a Web browser or specific application - to complete transactions.

Consumers may be getting a better handle on their finances, as instances of delinquent and defaulted debts of all types have been steadily declining in the last year.

improving your credit

Q. I am paying debt settlements on my credit cards from several years ago. I fell behind because of unemployment. We do not use credit cards now. We pay all of our bills with a debit card. It feels great to pay directly and on time. Plus, we are not accumulating any more debt. How long does a debt settlement stay on a credit report? I have heard that it's seven years. Also, does this mean we will never be able to get loans or credit at reasonable rates? How will debt settlement affect our ability to finance a car or obtain student loans?

A. In most cases, negative items are removed from your credit report seven years after the first date of delinquency. In your case, think back to the date you first fell permanently delinquent on the debt that got charged off. This is the start date of your seven years. (A bankruptcy may remain on your credit report for 10 years, however.)

You mention the accounts you are settling are already several years old, so you won't have to wait seven more years for their removal. From your letter, I'm estimating it will be more like four years or so.

As far as future credit, paying the past due accounts in full would be best. But paying an agreed-upon settlement amount is better than paying nothing.

Here's a hypothetical illustration of how lenders will feel about you. Let's say you have a cousin who borrowed $1,000 from another relative. You happen to know that the relative was repaid only $500, and the cousin long ago missed the repayment deadline. Now the cousin is asking you for a $1,000 loan. What would you do?

Your priority should be to add positive information to your credit report once you have completed settling all your accounts. Here are some thoughts on how to do that.

You say you are strictly using your debit card for purchases and bill paying. I understand your pride in paying cash, and appreciate your determination not to get into credit card trouble again. But debit card purchases are not reported to the credit bureaus. So this record of on-time payments doesn't make it to your credit report.

If you don't have any revolving or installment accounts — other than a mortgage — consider opening one of each. You can get the positive reporting on your credit report with a secured credit card. Secured cards are issued with a low credit limit, based on the amount of money you have deposited in a savings account with the bank issuing your card. A low limit will help you refrain from overspending.

Shop around for a secured card with no annual fee that reports to the credit bureaus. Likewise, you can open a passbook savings account and take out a passbook installment loan from a lender that reports to the bureaus. That will also get some positive reporting for your credit score.

The key to improving your credit is to make on-time payments as agreed, on the credit card and the loan. The more time that elapses from your old credit troubles and the more positive information you add to your credit report, the more likely you are to receive affordable rates and terms for new loans in the future.