Credit Cards Applications

For a while there, it seemed like there was no legal minimum age for a credit card at all. We’ve all heard tales of babies getting credit card applications, and I personally know someone whose young goat got one. (I’m not kidding here).

Things are still nebulous on this front, even in the wake of the infamous Credit CARD Act of 2009, which straightened out a lot of things credit card related. Let’s take a brief gander at the issue.

Well, legally…

Remember the heady days when credit card companies tempted college students with the promise of nectar and ambrosia–that is, beer and pizza–if they’d just sign up? I do, and before February 2010 many a young adult started down the slippery slope to financial penury that way.

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Tags: Card, Credit Card, Minimum Age

Have you ever had the strong urge to give your hard-earned money to someone strumming “Dust in the Wind” out of key at a vacant intersection? Well, neither have I. But London-based issuer Barclays hopes our apprehension will disappear with its new approach to street charity: a wireless, touchless, credit card accepting guitar.

The financial institution unveiled the instrument Thursday, Aug. 26, in London during a publicity stunt promoting its “contactless technology.” People passing by a street musician — known as a “busker” in the UK — were handed prepaid cards loaded with £5 and were instructed to wave it near the head of the guitar. The money was then taken off the card and donated to the Help a London Child charity.

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Balance transfers are perhaps the easiest way to consolidate credit card debt and pay off multiple balances simultaneously. By consolidating the debt to a credit card with a low interest rate, the cardholder can effectively reduce the total amount of debt that needs to be repaid in the long term.

In fact, if a credit card with a zero APR introductory period is used as the main balance transfer card, then it is possible to completely eliminate interest and pay the balance off with no interest charged.

Unfortunately, there are occasions when balance transfer cards are used incorrectly, causing even more debt rather than reducing it.

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Tags: Balance Transfers, Transfers

According to the Free Financial Dictionary, credit score is defined as,

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a person’s credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of that person, which is the perceived likelihood that the person will pay debts in a timely manner. A credit score is primarily based oncredit report information, typically sourced from credit bureaus / credit reference agencies.

In laymen’s terms, a credit score is an at-a-glance measure of risk for banks. The higher the number, the less risky you are to lend to or be given the ability to charge purchases to a line of credit.

In the USA, there are three main institutions that calculate this figure for you: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Eac

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Tags: Credit Score, Score