Quick Credit Cards

Nowadays, since many people are turning to convenience and speed when it comes to paying for their purchase of goods and services, the use of credit cards is gaining much popularity. Mainly, a credit card is a plastic card issued to customers by banks and credit card companies in which a cardholder can buy several things aligned with the allowed maximum limit. Thus, how do you apply for a credit card so that you can make use of the opportunity to save time and effort as well?

Basically, there are three ways to apply for a credit card namely by phone, by personally going to the bank, and by going online.

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If you haven’t seen the movie Maxed Out, go watch it now (you can stream it on Netflix). Not to say that there’s anything completely revelatory about it – we all know that the credit card industry is predatory and heartless by nature. But Maxed Out highlights how dire the situation really is. And the issue doesn’t fall squarely on lack of legislation and or poor personal restraint – it’s about the whole package: how credit is marketed, how credit card companies profit, how credit card companies treat their customers and the political attitudes towards the credit industry.

One of the most apt characterizations of the credit-industrial complex was by Harvard Professor Liz Warren (among others) who likened consumer lending institutions to drug dealers. Warren says

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You may check your credit score to find that your credit score is being pulled down because you have too many credit cards. Closing the credit cards won’t help though because they’ll still be listed on your credit report.

I’ve been reading conflicting statements about exactly what closing a credit card does to your credit score. For example, one blog stated closing a credit card with a balance hurts your credit score, another blog said it didn’t. So, rather than guess around about the true answers, I went straight to the source – FICO.

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Starting February 22, 2010, credit card companies will have to verify that you have the ability to repay your credit card balance before they approve your credit card application. This would have delayed the 60-second approval that credit card issuers and credit card applicants have come to love, so credit bureaus have come up with a solution.

Credit bureaus will start reporting an estimate of your income to businesses who request your credit report. The income reported by credit bureaus is just an estimate and could be much less than your actual income, which could lead to your application being denied. Income is simply estimated based on the information in your credit report.

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