Credit scores are numbers that follow Americans everywhere they go. They are calculated as a number to show lenders the probability of getting paid back when loaning cash to consumers. With that said, Americans with high credit scores get to enjoy great loans with low interest rates and wonderful perks. Adversely, people with low FICO ratings will have a hard time qualifying for a loan that will give them enough cash to buy a pack of bubble gum. With that said, improving bad FICO ratings is more important today than it has ever been.

In doing my research to find the best way to improve credit scores, I found that several professionals suggest a slow and steady approach that could take 3 to 5 years to build decent credit scores. However, knowing that several Americans want to buy a house or an automobile before the next 3 to 5 years, I felt pressed to find something that would work faster and, I believe I have. The answer was simple, using secured charge card accounts properly can increase credit scores for people in as little as 12 months.

The process is fairly simple, because increasing credit ratings is all about the Americans ability to pay a loan back and display signs of financial strength, I figured to get started, people would need a loan. But, who would loan to consumers with low FICO ratings? Well, the answer I found was secured charge cards. Secured charge cards are specialty credit card accounts that are designed for Americans with low credit ratings. Before using a new secured charge card account, people must first place a deposit with the lender. This deposit will become the credit limit for the credit card account. This process alleviates the lenders of any risk associated with loaning money to consumers with bad credit because the lenders are not loaning anything. The consumers in this case are borrowing their own cash for the chance to show lenders and credit reporting agencies how they will react to a loan.

After using the secured credit card accounts properly for 12 months or maybe a little longer, consumers are generally refunded their initial deposit and their secured charge card account then becomes an unsecured charge card. It is at this point that consumers will notice an exponential increase in their FICO ratings!

Although using secured charge cards is a great way to improve FICO scores, improper use of any charge card is also a great way to cause severe financial hardships. With that said, if you feel as though you are not yet financially responsible enough to ensure that your charge card account will not cause a financial hardship, you should not get a credit card. In this case people should find other means of increasing FICO ratings!

This article was written by Joshua Rodriguez and is brought to you by:
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When Americans donate an automobile, junk vehicle or running automobile, that automobile will be towed to the car donation charity. This is where the car donation will undergo a vigorous analysis to find out the potential value of the donation. At this point, the car will either be determined “Worthy of being fixed” or “Non-worthy of being fixed”.

If the automobile donation is worthy of being fixed, the vehicle donation charity will do what it takes to fix the automobile and prepare it for sale. They may do engine or cosmetic work or even both to ensure that the vehicle donation sells for the highest potential amount. Once the car donation is running well and aesthetically pleasing, it will be either sold on an used automobile lot or at an auction.

If the automobile donation is not worthy of being fixed, it still makes it to the shop. This is because in any junk vehicle, there are working parts, non-working parts with metal content and metal in the frame that holds it all together. All of this will be taken out of the automobile. Each piece when sold, will provide a valuable donation to charity. Once the car has been stripped of any piece, part or nut that is valuable it will be disposed of and the parts stripped will be sold.

At the end of both of these processes, the result is the sale of all or a portion of the car donation to provide funds for charity. The process of selling parts and cars can be different for each vehicle donation company but, usually is researched to provide the highest amount of proceeds for the charity. Once the automobile and all parts are sold, the cost of processing the car donation is deducted from the proceeds. This cost can include towing the automobile to the vehicle donation facility, stripping the car donation of all valuable parts, selling the parts or entire vehicle, ect… What is left will be given to the charity that the consumers choose when they make the decision to donate their car to charity.

When it comes to benefits to the consumer. There are a few. First off, when Americans donate their junk car, they get the instant gratification of knowing that they have helped their communities and provided much needed funding for non for profits that work in them. There is in the long run also a tax deduction. If the automobile donation generates proceeds below $500, the donating Americans will be provided with a $500 tax deduction. However, if the vehicle donation generates proceeds in excess of $500, Americans will receive a tax deduction equal to the amount generated!

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Under this new act charge card account companies could only charge default annual percentage rates for specified amounts of time. Also under this new act, credit card account companies could not increase APRs based on defaults on other loans on credit reports. When it comes down to it, this act put many restrictions on the way that lenders could conduct business.

So, 3 years later, did this act really help? When Americans really think about it, they are saying no. As a matter of fact, it made things worse. When law makers made it so that lenders could not increase annual percentage rates based on other factors on credit reports and could not increase annual percentage rates without notice, it took away the ability from the banks to be able to price for risk.

Because no future is certain, things can change at the drop of a dime. Therefore, risks to lenders can change at the drop of a dime. If lenders are not able to price for this risk, they may end up taking a loss. So, as a result of this restriction, many charge card companies decided to send out change in terms letters to the majority of their charge card holders. These change in terms letters would be to let people know that their annual percentage rates would be going up!

As a matter of fact, because lenders now have a hard time pricing for risk, charge cards have become more expensive. Some of the most commonly increased expenses due to this act are:

Annual Fees: Before the Card Holder Bill Of Rights, charge card account annual fees would range from $20 to $50 on average on the credit cards that had them. However, most charge card accounts offered no annual fee at all as a perk to owning the card. Unfortunately this is no longer the case.

Transfer Fees: Balance transfers are a financial tool that are commonly used. Before the Card Holder Bill Of Rights, although some charge cards charged for this service, most did not. However, as a result of increased risk in these loans, it is almost impossible to find a balance transfer charge card offer these days that doesn’t have a balance transfer fee.

Interest Rates: Before the Card Holder Bill Of Rights, credit card account standard interest rates were on average 3 percentage points lower than they are today.

So, why would I write this article. Well, because I believe that there are some things that the government should just leave alone. Things like trade. If a company treats their customers unfairly, the word will get out and other consumers will not use that company. This is what America was built on and these are the freedoms that are being taken away from us!

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The first option to reduce credit card account APRs is to work with the charge card credit card companys. Although the common conception of lenders is that they are all huge corporations that have so many customers that they could care less about particular accounts held by consumers. The good news is that this is a misconception. In all honesty, lenders, although large corporations, do work a lot like mom and pop shops. They need the backing of loyal consumers to stay alive. Without people who demand their products, these credit card companys would go out of business.

With that said, consumers who have kept great history with their credit scores and charge card accounts are prime clients to have. These consumers may be able to get an annual percentage rate reduction simply by calling their lenders. When consumers make this call, they should simply say, “I was looking over my charge card account accounts and noticed that this account carries the highest annual percentage rate. I love the card and working with you guys but, with so may balance transfer credit cards out there, I can’t see myself paying such a high charge card account APR.”.

At this point, the representative of the credit card company will place the Americans on hold to look at the account. If the account qualifies for a lower interest rate, the Americans will be given the APR that the credit card qualifies for. If the credit card doesn’t qualify for a lower interest rate, these people shouldn’t be concerned either. There is another option.

Another option that consumers have to reduce their charge card interest rates is through the use of balance transfer charge cards. Balance transfer credit cards are specialty charge cards that allow Americans to use them to pay off higher annual percentage rate charge card debt. These charge cards often times offer people low even zero percent promotional APRs for short periods of time between 6 and 18 months.

Using balance transfer charge cards to reduce credit card interest rates isn’t a very hard process at all. First, Americans should go to JEMCreditCards.com to compare the most up to date balance transfer charge card offers available to them. Once Americans have chosen a balance transfer credit card account, they should apply for it! Once approved and the card has been received, people should call the customer service phone number located on the back of their new credit card account and ask a representative to process the balance transfers!

That’s it, reducing credit card interest rates is that simple. Hope it helps, please come back to read more of my work!

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Secured Credit Cards: Secured charge card accounts are specialty charge cards designed for Americans who have bad or limited/no credit scores. Before using these credit card accounts, people must first place a security deposit with the lender. This deposit becomes the credit limit for the secured credit card. So in a sense, consumers who use secured charge cards borrow their own money in return for the opportunity to show lenders and credit reporting agencies how they will react to a loan. Using secured credit cards properly can increase credit scores exponentially!

Skymiles Credit Cards: Skymiles charge card accounts are also specialty credit cards. However, these specialty charge cards are designed for consumers with good to excellent credit that travel often for personal or business purposes. Skymiles charge cards allow people to earn points also known as skymiles for each purchase using their charge card account. These points or skymiles can be accumulated and later redeemed for great rewards like free airfare and baggage claim fees!

Balance Transfer Credit Cards: Balance transfer charge cards are another type of specialty charge card accounts. These charge cards are designed for Americans who are unhappy with their charge card annual percentage rates or the lender for their charge card accounts. These credit card accounts allow consumers to transfer balances from higher APR charge card accounts. Often times, balance transfer credit card accounts will offer Americans low even 0% promotional interest rates for a short period of time. Generally these promotional periods range from 6 to 18 months!

Cash Back Credit Cards: Cash back credit card accounts are another type of rewards charge card accounts. Much like skymiles charge cards, cash back credit card accounts allow people to earn points for each dollar they spend using their charge cards. These points can be accumulated and later redeemed for cash back! Often times, lenders will offer more back if consumers choose to accept gift cards instead of cash. None the less, these charge cards designed for consumer with good to excellent credit are a great choice for those who don’t know what types of rewards they would use most, every could use more cash!

There are a few other types of charge card accounts out there but, it looks as though I’ve run out of time. For more credit card information, I would suggest going to JEMCreditCards.com!

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Credit scores are numbers that are calculated by credit reporting agencies and follow consumers around wherever they go. The FICO ratings that consumers are given directly reflect that Americans probability of paying a loan back. This means that people with lower credit scores tend to not pay back loans and consumers with higher FICO ratings tend to pay back their loans promptly. With that said, it is easy to see why Americans with good FICO scores find getting a loan to be an easy task. Adversely, consumers who have bad FICO scores find the same task to be a very daunting one.

Building credit scores can be as simple as using charge card accounts. I know what many Americans may be thinking, “If I have bad credit, how can I get a charge card?”. The answer is secured credit cards. Secured credit card accounts are specialty charge card products. Before Americans can use a new secured charge card, they must first place a security deposit with the lender. This security deposit becomes the credit limit that will be given to these Americans. Therefore, the consumers are borrowing their own cash in an attempt to show lenders and credit reporting agencies how they would react to a loan.

Once consumers get a secured credit card account, all they need to do is use it properly. If the secured credit card is used properly, it will become an unsecured charge card within 12-18 months and at this point, Americans will have good credit. With that said, here are the tips to using secured credit card accounts properly:

Tip #1: Don’t Pay Late: Have you ever been at a job where the boss didn’t have the money to pay on Friday and had to pay on Monday. The consumers who go through this situation are never happy. Well, neither are the lenders that go through this. The due date is the date that payments are due, not the day that they should be put in the mail. With that said, it is in the best interest of Americans to try and make their charge card payments at least 2 weeks in advance.

Tip #2: Keep Balances Manageable: I’m sure that most Americans have heard the term spiraling into debt. Well this is because although people may think total balances are manageable, they find themselves spending more on their charge cards because their cash is spent on credit card bills. To be sure that this doesn’t happen to them, it is a best practice for consumers to keep balances below 50% of their credit limit!

Tip #3: Don’t Make Minimum Payments: Consumers who are facing early financial hardships usually make minimum payments. Because increasing FICO ratings is all about showing signs of financial stability, it is important not to show signs that people facing financial hardships generally show. With that said, it is a best practice for people to double their credit card account minimum payments.

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Well, it’s true! Many consumers although in unfortunate situations have done everything possible and successfully made their payments on time. Now that their finances are getting better many of these consumers are starting to send more than the minimum payment. This means, although these people are in debt, chances are, they still have good credit scores. With that said, these consumers may qualify for a quite unique form of debt relief.

Balance transfer credit card accounts may just be the relief that these Americans are looking for. Balance transfer charge card accounts are the result of the incredible amount of competition in the credit card industry. Looking for ways to catch the attention of consumers, lenders hit the drawing board. Knowing that many Americans are unhappy with the annual percentage rate that they are paying on their credit card accounts or are simply unhappy with their bank, balance transfer credit card accounts were created as a way to make charge card account offers appeal to these consumers.

Balance transfer credit card accounts allow people to transfer balance from a high interest rate charge card or an undesirable bank to a new lower interest rate charge card with a desirable bank. In most cases, these charge card account offers come with extremely low, often zero percent promotional interest rates that will last anywhere from 6 to 18 months. This time without interest is sure to help many Americans to put a dent in their debts.

Using balance transfer credit card accounts to relieve credit card debt is a fairly simple process. Here are the steps that you should follow:

Step 1: Compare Balance Transfer Credit Card Offers: The first thing that people should do when using balance transfer credit card accounts to relieve charge card debt is compare the different offers that are available to them. Because the internet often shows outdated offers, I suggest going to JEMCreditCards.com to compare. JEMCreditCards.com updates their credit card offers on a daily basis to ensure that you get exactly what you apply for.

Step 2: Get Prepared For the Balance Transfer: The next thing that Americans should do when using balance transfer charge cards to relieve credit card account debt is get prepared for the balance transfer. This process is simple. All people will need to do is make a list of the debts that they would like to transfer. This list should include the lender, account number, APR, payment address and balance for each credit card account.

Step 3: Apply For The Balance Transfer Credit Card Of Your Choice: Once Americans make a list of the balances that they would like to transfer, it is time to apply for the balance transfer charge card account offer that they feel would help them the most. If there is an option to process the balance transfer of the application, Americans should use this option and they are done. If not, move on to step 4.

Step 4: Processing Balance Transfers: Finally, Americans will need to process their balance transfers. When Americans get their new balance transfer charge card in the mail, they should call the bank using the 800 customer service phone number on the back of the card. Once speaking with a live representative, Americans should simply ask for the balance transfers to be processed. And…Walla, you are done!

This processed has saved many people thousands of dollars, I wish all the best luck to you! Hope that you come back to read more of my articles!

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Tip 1: Compare credit card APRs: Most Americans are aware of the fact that the primary fee associated with credit cards is the annual percentage rates that are charged. There are a few different types of annual percentage rates such as the purchase annual percentage rate, cash advance interest rate, balance transfer APR, promotional APR and the default interest rate. Each annual percentage rate is charged to a different portion of the balance. The portion of the balance that an interest rate is charged to directly reflects balances accumulated under that annual percentage rate category. For instance, when consumers fill their car up with gas, this purchase will be charged the purchase interest rate. However, when consumers send a wire money transfer to their checking account, the balance will be charged the cash advance interest rate.

Tip 2: Compare charge card fees: Although credit card annual percentage rates are indeed the primary source of fees associated with charge cards, they are not the only fee that consumers will be charged. As a matter of fact, charge cards come with all types of fees that can range from annual fees to foreign transaction, balance transfer and return check fees. To ensure that Americans know what they are applying for, it is important that when consumers compare charge cards, they read the rates and fees section of the terms and conditions to ensure that they pay the lowest amount of cash!

Tip 3: Compare credit card rewards: Due to the overwhelming amount of competition in the credit card account industry, credit card account rewards were born. Lenders have created credit card account rewards programs that allow Americans to earn points with each purchase. These points can be accumulated and later redeemed for great perks like cash back, gift cards and free air fare. When Americans compare charge cards, it is important to remember that rewards play a factor in the cost of a charge card account. Therefore, it makes no sense to choose a charge card account that offers a rewards program that people wont use. For instance, if people find that they are afraid of flight, there is no point in these Americans applying for a skymiles charge card because they will never use the skymiles to get free airfare!

I hope that this article has helped to give you everything you need to be ready to compare charge card accounts. Please come back to read more of my articles soon!

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During the search for debt relief options, many Americans happen across a debt settlement program. After reading the description, debt settlement seems like a good idea. However, consumers tend to feel as though the process is too good to be true. “How can a company offer to settle my debts for pennies on the dollar without negative repercussions?” many people ask themselves. Well, in all honesty, negative repercussions are definitely in store when it comes to debt settlement. I believe that the problem here is that people are not properly educated on the process and tend to find themselves in situations that they never asked for! With that said, here is a detailed, TRUTHFUL explanation of how debt settlement works.

The first step in debt settlement is for the Americans to sign the paperwork allowing the debt settlement company to take over power of attorney of the accounts. This gives the debt settlement company the ability to speak on behalf of the people.

Once the contract is signed, consumers are asked to send payments directly to the debt settlement company. This is where the negative starts to happen. After taking a monthly fee, the debt settlement company will place the cash into a special purpose savings account. This means that the cash is not going to the lender that it was intended for at this time. Instead, the money from people is being stored in a special purpose savings account for months and sometimes years until there is enough cash to negotiate a settlement.

Once the consumers special purpose savings account has enough cash in it to start negotiating a settlement, the debt settlement company will start to negotiate with the banks. In most cases, these negotiations end in consumers paying pennies on the dollar for their debts and their debts will be paid off. Once debts are paid off, it shows on the credit scores that people have paid their debts at a settled amount. All done right? Well, no!

The reason the debt is able to be settled for such a low amount is, as the money was being saved in the special purpose account, the lenders were not being paid! After a few months, lenders started selling your debts to collections agencies and listing charge offs on the Americans credit reports. The debt collections company that purchased the debt purchased it for pennies on the dollar. So, when they collect, they are often willing to accept much less than the principal amount due!

The only problem here is that I’m sure you can see this process is devastating to credit scores! There are other ways of solving debt issues like debt consolidation, working directly with your lenders or even using balance transfer credit cards to reduce your interest rates. I would suggest using all other options before going with debt settlement!

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Throughout the tough financial times that many people have faced, the vast majority of them have somehow managed to get through it! Every month payments are made and they have made the conscious effort to make them on time. Therefore, these consumers, while in debt, usually have pretty good credit scores. As with anyone with good credit scores, many of these Americans will qualify for another charge card!

Now, I know what you and most other people are probably thinking right now, “I got into this mess by using credit card accounts, why would I want to use another?”. Well, because due to overwhelming competition in the charge card industry, banks are doing more these days to win Americans over than ever before! These days, people have the option of using what is called balance transfer credit card accounts!

Balance transfer credit card accounts are a specialty type of credit card designed for people who no longer want to work with their credit card account provider. As a perk to get Americans to switch over, lenders have incorporated quite a bit of savings into these specialty credit card accounts! In most cases, balance transfer charge cards will have extremely low promotional interest rates. As a matter of fact, I am sure that people with good credit scores can find a balance transfer credit card that they will qualify for with a zero percent promotional annual percentage rate!

Promotional APRs were created to really get the attention of people. However, Americans who are dealing with high interest rate credit card account debt can take advantage of these low promotional interest rates for debt relief. Promotional interest rates will last from the date that people activate their charge card to the end of the promotional period. In most cases, Americans will enjoy promotional periods that last anywhere from 6 to 18 months!

After the promotional annual percentage rate expires on balance transfer credit cards, they still tend to have lower APRs on them than what people are already paying on their credit cards! In many cases, this APR reduction provides Americans lower payments and the credit card account debt relief they were looking for all along!

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