It’s soft because it doesn’t hurt, things that hurt are hard. Hard credit checks can, and usually do, hurt your credit score. (OK, I don’t know why it’s called a soft check vs. a hard check, I just made that “hard things hurt” bit up)

Soft Credit Checks

The two most common soft credit checks are the ones that you initiate yourself, whenever you request your own credit report or score, and ones that are done on your behalf to establish your identity. Have you ever tried to open an account somewhere and been asked some questions about yourself, such as the name of a street you formerly lived on? Or names of former employers? Those are identity questions from a credit report. Some less common soft credit checks include those from financial companies looking to pre-approve you for an offer, such as a credit card or a refinance offer.

When someone else requests your credit report, they won’t see these soft credit checks. This makes sense because you shouldn’t be penalized for being financial responsible and reviewing your credit report. You also shouldn’t be penalized whenever a credit card company pulls your report to send you yet another offer in the mail (incidentally, you can opt out of these using OptOutPrescreen)

Hard Credit Checks

Hard credit checks hurt. These are when you give a lender or company permission to request your report as part of a lending decision. When you fill out a credit card application, that will result in a hard credit inquiry. When you shop for mortgage rates, where you provide information and are getting a specific rate, that’s another hard credit inquiry. How many points it’ll cost you will depend on your current credit score but it’s usually in the single digits. There are a few unlikely places where you will take a hard inquiry hit like when you get a new cell phone or look to rent an apartment (since they are lending you services ahead of payment), but usually you’ll know because you initiated it.

Since soft credit checks don’t appear on your report when others look at it, they have no lingering effects. It’s generally believed that aard credit checks will hurt for six months and then disappear after a couple years.

Finally, while your credit score is important, don’t obsess over it. Knowing the difference between soft and hard credit checks is important whenever you are thinking about big lending events, like a car or mortgage, but you shouldn’t worry too much on a daily basis. That said, keep those checks to a minimum and you’ll keep that score healthy.

(Photo: stevendepolo)

Soft Credit Check vs. Hard Credit Check from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

It is important to realize, though, that just ignoring credit cards won’t guarantee that your child won’t use them — and use them irresponsibly — in the future. Your best option is to teach your children about credit cards, and how they can be used appropriately.

Explaining Credit Cards

One the things that makes money such a difficult concept to teach to children is the fact that it becomes more abstract by the day. Your kids see you swiping plastic, and assume that it is an unlimited supply of money. Even if you use a debit card, the fact is that all plastic payment looks the same to children. It’s a good idea to explain the concept of credit to children when they can understand.

A way you can do this is to bring your child with you to the bank to let him or her see that you put money in the bank. It’s that money that is accessed with a plastic card.

When it comes to credit cards, you need to make sure that your children understand that the money isn’t “theirs.” It’s borrowed, and it has to be paid back — with interest if the balance is paid off each month. You can show your child your credit card statement so that he understands that you have to pay the money back.

Unfortunately, younger children are going to have a harder time understanding how credit cards work. However, if you show them how you use plastic, and talk about it as money that you already have, they will start to get the idea. Older children, of course, can get a better grasp of interest and credit cards.

Visual Lessons for Credit Cards and Interest

You can aid your child’s ability to learn about credit cards with the help of visuals. Showing your credit card statement is one to do this. You can also use online calculators that show you how much you end up repaying when you buy items using credit cards. This can really put credit cards into perspective for some children.

Help your child understand how interest works by lending him or her money for something he or she wants. Explain that a credit card is just a loan. If your child asks to borrow $20, tell him or her that the repayment on the loan will be $22. Talk to your child about borrowing, and help him or her understand that a credit card is a loan with easier accessibility.

You can really drive the lesson home by providing your child with a prepaid debit card or gift card for the loan, instead of giving him or her cash. Tell your child that he or she must repay you within 30 days, or you will charge interest. Explain that even though he or she has the card, the money on it isn’t theirs — it’s yours. Until you are repaid, they are in debt.

Allowing your child to practice with a debit card (prepaid or regular) can help him or her learn to practice restraint when using plastic to pay, and it can provide valuable experience. Don’t avoid credit cards. Talk about good money habits, and help your child practice, and he or she is more likely to grow up with better money habits.

(Photo: sean dreilinger)

Kids & Money: Teach Your Kids about Credit Cards from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

On the flip side, they don’t consider reward points earned through purchases as income. It’s like getting a rebate, you’re ultimately getting a discount on your purchase, not a commission payment for doing something (like signing up for an account). So, it’s generally accepted that you do not pay taxes on credit card rewards, but the IRS has yet to formally weigh in on the subject.

Here’s the kicker – some financial institutions are issuing 1099-MISCs for promotions involving reward points. So those promotions where you got 50,000 miles for signing up for a credit card? They’re valuing those miles in terms of dollars (well, in terms of cents) and issuing a 1099-MISC for it. What stinks about that scenario is that you didn’t get actual cash to start with and you’ve effectively “purchased” those miles at whatever rate they determine. It’s very sneaky (or very clever, depending on how you look at it).

1099-MISC Issued for Bank & Credit Card Bonuses from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

That begs the question – is Credit Karma a Scam?

Is Credit Karma a Scam?

While you can never say so with 100% certainty, I don’t think they are a scam. I don’t think they are a scam because I understand the business model and you can make more money legitimately than illegitimately, plus they’ve been at it for a long time. While none of these are absolute indicators of them not being a scam, I’d find it difficult to believe that this is an elaborate ruse designed to steal personal information.

For more information about their service, here’s my Credit Karma review.

How does Credit Karma Make Money?

I don’t know for sure but my guess is that they make money when someone signs up for an offer on their site. When you visit the site, you’re frequently shown banking, credit card, and other financial offers that are probably better than whatever you’re using. When I logged in, I was shown an offer for the Citi Platinum Select MasterCard and estimates that I could save $342 over a year. Since I carry no balance, I know that savings estimate is wrong but for someone who does carry a balance, $342 is good savings. If I sign up, Credit Karma may be paid for that.

What About Other Free Credit Scores?

For almost every other free credit score offer, you get your credit score in return for signing up for a credit monitoring membership service. That credit monitoring service comes with a monthly fee after the trial period and the company is betting that you’ll continue with the service, either by choice or because you forget to cancel. They aren’t scams because they tell you this up front but Credit Karma doesn’t sign you up for anything you will eventually pay for.

You will have to make your own determination as to whether Credit Karma is a scam. I’ve been using them for over a year with great results, they’re the cornerstone of my do it yourself identity theft protection system and it’s been working out so far.

Is Credit Karma a Scam? from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

You’ve probably received all of the mailings, e-mails, and automated messages trying to convince you to pay a little extra each month for some exciting service you must have but should you? Here are a few of those services that seem like a good idea but are far from it.

Credit Card Insurance

If you’re one of those people who like to be prepared for the unknown, insuring your credit card balance may seem like an easy way to assure that your credit card bills are covered if you get sick or injured but let’s crunch some numbers. The average credit card debt load in the United States Is $15,799 and credit card insurance costs an average of $8.50 for every $1,000 of debt, that means that the average person would pay $127.50 per month assuming that the balance is $15,000.

On top of that, this insurance often pays only the minimum payment due each month and doesn’t allow you to use the card at a time when you may need it the most.

A disability insurance policy which would pay you an average of 60% of your salary costs between 1% and 3% of your yearly salary. A person making $50,000 per year would only pay about $83 per month if the cost of the policy came in at 2%. A much better deal.

Identity Theft Protection

Another great idea on the surface. Identity theft is the 21^st century crime that everybody fears so paying a small fee to protect yourself may be money well spent. Is it worth $15 per month or $180 per year? You already have protection against unauthorized charges. Providing you report it right away, your liability is a maximum of $50.

For $15 per month you’ll be alerted when unauthorized charges appear on your credit card statement and you’ll be compensated for legal expenses and lost wages while you fight to defend your good name.

I don’t know about you but my credit card company is pretty good about alerting me anyway. I recently flew through Charlotte, North Carolina and made a purchase at the airport. They called to make sure it was me. I can’t think of a reason I need to pay for what I’m already getting for free.

To avoid being a victim of large scale fraud, I keep a close eye on my credit card statement. If I see one strange charge and I report it right away, how much time and lost wages will I spend? You don’t need to spend $180 for somebody to watch for you what you can easily watch on your phone or laptop.

These are only two of the many services to avoid. Other than processing your payments, you don’t need your credit card company for much of anything else. Stick with that rule of thumb and put the money you would have paid for insurance and theft protection towards your balance.

Two Credit Card Options to Avoid from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Here’s a look at what mine looks like:

How do they do it? They read it off my TransUnion credit report.

I’ve long said that CreditKarma is a cornerstone of my free do-it-yourself identity theft protection program and now this increases how valuable they are. In the past, I looked only at the CreditKarma score. That’s like assessing patient health using only their temperature. It’s a good warning sign if the number is not right but it only tells you to dig some more.

With My Accounts, I get another level of visibility – a list of my accounts. With this, I can see if there has been unauthorized access, accounts I don’t recognize, or anything else that could be going on. In return for this service, I let them market new cards to me.

For example, that Citi card with the $2,322 balance is my main credit card. If that were my revolving balance, I could try a balance transfer to the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.

It’s on a delay. Remember it’s based on what is reported to TransUnion and that’s always on a delay. I recently checked my credit reports so I know that the $2,322 is what was reported on my credit report (that figure was last updated 10/13/2011 according to TransUnion). I did more research because $2,322 seemed high until I realized we made our annual car and homeowner’s insurance payments that month, in addition to our normal spending (which is closer to $1,000 a month).

(Incidentally, the AMEX was high too but again we had some annual payments put on that card as well. CreditKarma was smart enough to omit the two corporate AMEX cards though, points to them on that.)

Overall, I’m really pleased with what CreditKarma is doing to improve their service offering. They are continuing to offer new features that just make perfect sense.

Credit Karma’s My Accounts Feature from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Here’s my opinion: We need to make the world far more scared of cosigning. Kind of like we scared people in to kicking the smoking habit and now we’re scaring people in to eating less junk food, we need to do the same with cosigning because from a financial perspective it’s no different than the health version overeating. It may never cause you problems but if it does, it’s going to be one heck of a problem.

Don’t believe me? I have some reasons why I’m so against cosigning.

It’s Your Debt

The credit industry has done a great job of convincing cosigners that it’s a formality. Nothing will ever go wrong and you’ll never be on the hook. If that were the case, why do they require your involvement? Because the person you’re cosigning for is too much of a credit risk. The bank doesn’t want to pay the price if that person doesn’t pay. That’s your job.

Understand this. If they don’t pay, you’re on the hook for every penny of the debt. There’s no negotiating, no saying you don’t have the money and the bank will have no problem taking food out of your family’s hands to get their money for the debt that wasn’t yours to begin with. Still sound like a good idea? That’s the hard truth that the bank won’t tell you.

Your Credit Report is Blind

Let’s say that you cosigned for a $20,000 loan so a family member could get a car. Even though the loan isn’t technically yours, you have now added $20,000 to your debt load as far as your credit report is concerned. There is no distinction made concerning types of debt when it comes to your debt load.

Their Late Payments are Yours Too

Remember when we said that it’s your loan? Any payment that is not made on time may also tarnish your credit. We are now living in a world where even one missed payment can result in not being able to get a loan in the future.

Bottom Line

I understand that you want to cosign in order to do something nice for somebody you care about. It’s admirable but it’s not a sound financial move. Think of it this way. You’re doing something nice for that person but what if you have to take over payments and it negatively affects your family’s finances? Do you want to do something nice for one person at the expense of others you care about?

What do you think? Am I out of line? Let me know.

Don’t Cosign Anything! from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

There’s a way to avoid paying those interest payments at least for a short period of time now that banks are forgetting about the recent credit crisis and once again deluging our mailboxes with credit card offers with 0% interest on balance transfers. Some of these too good to be true offers give you 6 months or even a year without interest payments. That’s a lot of money that you’re saving that could go towards the payment of that interest.

Not so fast! One of the many statements that we attribute to wise people from generations past is, (say it with me) “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” Before you sign up, you better keep reading.

You May Not Get 0%

Have you noticed that on those weight loss commercials they always say “lose UP TO”? The “up to” is in small print while the big number that will make you the size you were in junior high school is big and colorful. Balance transfers are the same way. The best case interest rate is 0% but if you have blemishes on your credit report, don’t expect to get that 0%.

The Transfer isn’t Free

If it’s a bank, they know how to charge you fees and often, there’s a 3%-4% fee for balance transfers. That makes your $15,800 balance transfer $474 less valuable.

New Purchases?

Any new purchase you make probably isn’t going to hold a 0% interest rate for the introductory period. It will build interest at the standard rate that kicks in after the 0% period.

Speaking of the Interest Rate

Before signing up, don’t forget to check the interest rate after the initial 0% period. It may be much higher than what you have now.

Don’t Be Optimistic

Probably the most common form of rationalization related to balance transfers is the, “I’m going to pay the card off before the introductory rate expires” line. Just like many New Year’s resolutions, there’s a better than average chance that you won’t. If it were that easy, you could have paid a lot more before you transferred the card. Don’t make decisions based on this idea.

Close the Old One?

The credit bureaus know the trick. They can spot credit card hoppers a mile away. Understand that cancelling the old card may negatively affect your credit score and trying to transfer your balance from card to card every 6 months comes with possible credit consequences as well.

Is it a Good Idea?

If you were somehow absolutely sure that you could pay the full balance within the 0% period and you were transferring the balance one time, a multi thousand dollar savings is definitely worth it but never transfer to a card that has a higher interest rate than the card you have now.

Remember that trying to beat the banks at their own game will often leave you on the losing end. Focus on spending less and paying down the debt instead of moving it every six months.

Zero Percent Balance Transfers May Be Too Good To Be True from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

If you’re going to make the loan, make it in a way that minimizes any damage to your relationship with that person. Here’s how.

Write it Down

Asking your friend to sign a contract may seem a little bit heartless but you can always come up with a more palatable reason. You need it in writing for your taxes, your spouse would feel better about it, or be honest and say that you’ve seen friendships ruined over verbal agreements and that person is too valuable to you to lose.

Of course working with an attorney is the most thorough option but that seems a bit overkill if the loan isn’t for a substantial sum. Instead, look at sites like lawdepot.com that offer standard loan documents that you can customize to fit your needs. Still too formal? Write something out that provides the loan amount, the interest rate and the payment details. In small claims court, that will be enough.

Get Some Collateral

Once again, it may seem a little too shady bankerish to you but remember that your money is often not yours alone. It’s your family’s money and you have more of a responsibility to them than you do to your friend. Ask your friend for collateral that is worth more than the loan. Then, go to an attorney and legally perfect the collateral. This puts the property in escrow and allows you to claim it if the person defaults.

This is appropriate for larger loans since attorney fees would make in impractical for a few hundred dollars.

Charge Interest

Now you want to make money on the loan? What kind of friend are you? First, if you loan somebody money and it were 100% paid back to you, you still lost money while it was out of your possession so they should pay you for that. You could invest that money and make a conservative 4% each year so why shouldn’t they pay you interest?

In order to avoid gift tax issues, the IRS requires you to charge a minimum amount of interest on personal loans. Unless you’re charging a large interest rate, you’re not making money. You’re just not losing any.

Don’t Do it!

Does all of this sound a little heartless and the act of an uncaring and untrusting friend? Good! Don’t make the loan. Making loans to friends and family often doesn’t end well. If you don’t get the money back, the relationship is severely strained, you look like the mean debt collector, and in the end, everybody loses.

If you want to help, give them the money as a gift without any expectation to pay it back. Tell them that if they want to do something in return, put that money in to a college fund for their children once finances improve.

4 Tips for Loaning Money to Friends from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

All that said, there are a few ways you can give your credit score a quick shot in the arm. These tips won’t boost your score overnight and they will not increase your score by much. If you’re planning on buying a something with credit in the next few months, it behooves you to take some of these steps if you can.

Pay Off Debt

The biggest factor you can have an immediate impact on is credit utilization. Credit utilization is a percentage figure that divides your current debt by your credit line. Current debt is calculated by adding up all the statement balances on your credit report, as reported by the credit card companies. If you have $10,000 in credit available and you use $1,000 – that’s a utilization of 10%. It doesn’t matter of you carry a balance on your cards or if you pay it off in full each month, the same number is reported.

If you don’t have any outstanding debt, consider paying off your balances before the close of the month or charging less. Experts claim that the ideal credit utilization is less than 10% but no one knows for sure. Keep it under 10-15% and you’ll be fine.

Check For & Dispute Errors

You’re reviewing your credit report every year right? If you haven’t been (I’ll be honest, I haven’t checked on a regular basis either… there are a lot of other things to do!), it’s time to take a look because there might be a problem on your report. In year’s past I’ve found listed accounts that weren’t mine, an address I never lived at, and a social security number that clearly wasn’t mine (the report had two, mine and some other bozo’s number). If you have an error on your account, dispute it no matter what. Even if it has a sterling payment history, dispute it because it’s not yours.

If you’re lucky (or unlucky as the case may be) to find an erroneous account dragging down your score, getting it removed can boost your score a lot. One friend disputed an error and he said it boosted his score over fifty points, not uncommon when you consider a collections listing can kill a score.

Request a Credit Limit Increase

Some cards will give you a credit limit increase without pulling your score. I have done this several times with Citi, where requesting a credit limit increase can take just a few seconds. It’s crucial that you make sure that the request doesn’t come with a credit pull because an inquiry will damage your score. You want to increase your limit so your utilization goes down but it’s not worth an inquiry. If you have to put in a number request and the credit card company asks you for information needed to pull your report, stop.

Don’t Use a Credit Score Service

Finally, whatever you do, don’t use a service that promises to boost your score. What most of them do is write a letter disputing everything potentially negative on your credit report. While this may be a good tactic, as some companies no longer exist or no longer have the records to back up something on your report, you can do this yourself if you are OK with it. I personally think that disputing old potentially negative records is a good strategy but some people might have qualms against it.

(Photo: dahlstroms)

Quick Ways to Improve Your Credit Score from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Of course, the down side to credit cards is that you can easily get into debt. Not all credit cards are created equal, and mistakes with any credit card can cost you big. As convenient as they are, sometimes credit cards are a little too convenient, and can lead to debt. If you want to make the most of your credit card, and avoid the pitfalls, here are six mistakes to avoid:

1. Paying Late

The biggest mistake you can make is paying late. Not only do late payments result in hefty fees, but they also negatively impact your credit. Plus, some credit card issuers will hike your interest rate when you make payments late. You will find that your credit score takes a hit when you make late payments — and your payment history is the most important part of your credit score.

2. Going Over Your Credit Limit

Many of us neglect to track our spending when we use credit cards. Since it’s not coming out of a checking account, it is easy to just swipe without going home and recording the charge. However, if you don’t keep track of your credit card spending, you risk going over your credit limit. Going over your limit can trigger fees and higher interest rates. Be careful if you are close to your limit; a late payment fee can put you over, triggering even more fees.

3. Paying Only the Minimum

The minimum payment is meant to be affordable. You pay the minimum, and suddenly everything seems affordable. You may not be able to afford a $2,000 home theater setup, but you can afford an $80 a month minimum payment. Unfortunately, if you pay only the minimum, most of your payment goes to interest — your principal is hardly reduced at all. Which the credit card issuers love. You keep paying for years, and repay up to three or four times what you originally borrowed.

4. Neglecting Mail from Your Credit Card Issuer

It can seem like a hassle to look through your monthly account statement. However, it’s vitally importnat that you take the time. You should look for fraudulent charges — and have them removed. Additionally, you need to watch for mailed announcements from credit card issuers. These announcements can include new fees, higher interest rates and other changes to terms and conditions that you should be aware of.

5. Cash Advances

A cash advance can wind up to be quite costly. Usually, they are charged a higher interest rate, so you will pay more for them. Plus, you will have to pay the cash advance fee charged by the credit issuer, and the ATM fees that might also be charged. A cash advance from a credit card can be one of the costliest things you do.

6. Spending Just to Earn Rewards

Sure, it’s great to receive rewards from your credit card. However, you shouldn’t spend just to get the rewards. Rewards are most effective when you use your credit card to buy things that you would have bought anyway. Realize, too, that carrying a balance renders your rewards useless. Your interest charges will outweigh your rewards, and you’ll find yourself in worse shape, with useless rewards.

(Photo: Images_of_Money)

Six Financially Fatal Credit Card Mistakes from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

To take advantage, you’ll need to register at the Small Business Saturday website once registration opens on November 1st. Last year, the promotion was limited to the first 100,000 to pre-register their card so you’ll want to act quickly. I’ll try to get a reminder out before the 1st.

(Photo: neoliminal)

American Express Small Business Saturday 2011 from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Maybe this sounds familiar to you: One of the reasons that consumers end up paying a bunch of fees is because they don’t understand the rules. They aren’t going to read all of that fine print that comes with a credit card because not only is it so small that it makes their eyes cross trying to read it but the wording is so confusing that even if they could or wanted to read it, they don’t understand it.

You’re going to be amazed at how un-credit-card-like this credit actually is and for once, the rules work in your favor. If you’re rebuilding your credit, you’re tired all of the fees, or you want a card that allows you to pay down your debt for two years without charging you interest, the Citi simplicity credit card offered by Citigroup may be worth a second look.

No Fees Fee Structure

A credit card with no fees is like those days long ago when a bank was happy to have your business and they weren’t charging you money to use your money. With the Citi Simplicity credit card a late payment does not equal a late fee and you aren’t going to get a letter in the mail saying that your interest rate went up. If you charge too much on the card, you won’t be hit with a $40 over the limit fee either. When they say no fees, they mean no fees.

Although Citi may forgive your financial transgressions the credit bureaus will not. Paying late is still reported to the credit reporting agencies and if you are late too many times, you can be sure that you will get a cancellation letter in the mail.

Low Introductory Rate

The 0% balance transfer introductory rate for the Citi Advantage credit card is ultra low for the first 18 months. This is extremely helpful to someone who wants to pay down their credit card debt and believes they can make significant headway over that time. After the introductory period, the rate jumps to a higher, less customer friendly rate. If this is higher than your existing credit card and you’re not absolutely sure that you can make a significant dent in your debt in 18 months, transfer your balance with caution. Many have tried to save money by transferring to a lower balance card only to find that in the end, they pay more. Be realistic and conservative with your debt plans.

No Rewards

Rewards points are essentially useless for those who are paying monthly interest. Regardless of how you crunch the numbers, monthly interest payments far exceed the value of the points you receive so the low interest rate may outweigh the lack of rewards points.

If you’re somebody with a spotless credit history and you always pay your balance at the end of the month, there are cards with better terms that offer rewards points so in the case of this card, the lack of rewards points shouldn’t be a defining factor in your decision.

Is it for you?

If you’re trying to rebuild your credit, have a short term plan for paying down debt, or don’t usually carry a balance and like the idea of a no fees card, the Simplicity card may be the perfect choice for you. However, if you have excellent credit, there are cards with better terms and a rewards program that may be a better fit.

Citi Simplicity Card Review from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

First off, when people talk about credit scores, they’re usually talking about the Fair Isaac Corporation’s FICO credit score. There are others out there, one for each of the credit bureaus, the VantageScore, but ultimately the one people care about is still the FICO credit score. The others are given less glamorous names, like FAKO score.

With the score itself, a lot of it will depend on what you’re trying to do, how rates are in the marketplace, and whether your score gets you the rate you need to complete the transaction.

Credit Score Range

The range itself goes from 300 to 850 but it’s almost impossible to get an 850 or a 300, as the scale is anything but linear in nature. The shape of the distribution takes a bell curve shape with the middle shifted up in the 700 to 799 range.

The best way to determine whether your score range is good will depend on what you need it for. The range of “good scores” for a 30 year fixed mortgage is different than the range of good scores for a 3 year car loan. Fortunately, MyFICO, owned by Fair Isaac Corporation; has a table that gives us a nice little range for each of the three most common credit score needs – 30 year fixed mortgage, a 15 year home equity loan, and a 3 year car loan.

30 Year Fixed Mortgage Rates

For a $300,000 mortgage:

As you can see, the top range is 760 to 850 and someone with a 760 should expect a similar rate to someone with an 800. The next range is 700 to 759, which means someone with a 750 score should try really really hard to get themselves into the higher range in order to get a little savings on 30 year mortgages.

Let’s see how this compares to the 15 year home equity loan.

15 Year Home Equity Loan Rates

For a $50,000 line of credit:

As you can see, the ranges have changed a little in the 15 year home equity loan rates with the highest range being a little wider than the 30 year fixed mortgage’s top range. It’s hard to draw too many conclusions from this other than to say that the ranges will vary depending on what you want to do. It pays to understand what you want because that’ll frame your understanding of what is a good score range.

15 Year Home Equity Loan Rates

For a $25,000 loan:

Again, we see the top range expanding a bit but rates increase very quickly as we go down the ranges. The interest rate between the top range and the second best range is almost a percent and a half. That’s a big jump, much bigger than one would expect. It makes sense though because this loan is only three years, so any additional risk would need to be captured within that time frame.

All in all, I think seeing these rates and the score ranges can help us understand what is a good credit score range.

What is a Good Credit Score Range? from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

That’s why I usually stick with reward cards, which is essentially when the credit card company pays me to use their card. There are, however, cases where you might want a credit card simply because it has no fee (we have a Capital One card we use for international travel because they don’t charge an international transaction fee) and we’ve collected a list of the best of the bunch.

Citi Platinum Select Visa

This card is a popular one because it offers a pretty long 0% balance transfer offer. The only knock against it is that it doesn’t have a reward program but the balance transfer offer more than makes up for it. A solid choice if you need some breathing room and they won’t make you pay an annual fee to get it.

• 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers and Purchases for 21 months. After that, the APR will be 11.99%-20.99% based upon your creditworthiness.
• Extra Cash from Citi: enjoy discounts on gift cards, travel, merchandise and more
• Citi® Identity Theft Solutions
• Secure, free online account management
• No annual fee*

Chase Freedom Visa

The Chase Freedom card takes the number two spot on the list because it has an absolutely bananas promotional offer right now. New cardholders will get a $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 in the first three months. Not only that, and this almost makes it better than the Citi Platinum Select card, but the card comes with a cash back rewards program that you’ll find difficult to beat.

• This offer is for people with a good to excellent credit history which means, among other things, that your credit history is clear of bankruptcy and seriously delinquent accounts
• Earn $200 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months
• 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent on dining, department stores, movie theaters and charitable organizations from 10/1/11 – 12/31/11
• You\’ll enjoy new 5% categories every 3 months like supermarkets, gas, drugstores and even home improvement stores. It’s free and easy to activate your bonus each quarter!
• Unlimited 1% Cash Back on all other purchases without limits on what you can earn
• Up to an additional 10% Cash Back when you shop online at select merchants through Chase
• No annual fee and rewards never expire

Blue Cash Everyday from American Express

The Blue Cash Everyday from American Express is one of the few American Express cards that doesn’t come with an annual fee. It also boasts a nice rewards program with 3% cash back on grocery store purchases, 2% at most gas stations and department stores, plus 1% everywhere else. This was one of the first credit cards my wife had and she carries it to this day because of the many purchase protections American Express offers.

• No annual fee, flexibility to pay over time
• Get 3% cash back at supermarkets, 2% cash back at gas stations and department stores, and 1% cash back on all other purchases
• NO spend minimum, NO enrollment, and NO rotating rewards categories
• Get a $25 Referral Bonus for each friend or family member who is approved for the Card

PenFed Platinum Visa Card

If you want 5% cash back from gas purchases, the PenFed card is the one you’ll want to look at. It not only gives you one of the best cash back rates in gasoline, but it backs it up with 1% on everything else. No annual fee and the rewards are credit to your account each month – no games requesting checks or waiting until you hit a certain amount. The only downside is that you need to be a Pentagon Federal Credit Union member to apply, but you can get in fairly easily.

• 13.99% APR — lower than most rewards cards!
• Earn 5.00% cash back from gas purchases paid at the pump*
• Earn 1.00% cash back from all purchases** you make with the card during each billing cycle
• Up to $50,000 limit
• No Annual Fee
• Cash Rewards credited each month
• No special restrictions to earn your cash rewards
• Limited Time Only – Low Balance Transfer Rates†
• You must be a Pentagon Federal Credit Union member to apply. Not a member? It’s easy to join. Click here to learn more.

This is not an exhaustive list of the best no annual fee credit cards but I think I’ve highlighted some of the best from each of the card issues. I recommend taking a deeper look at each of the cards to help you find the best one for you.

Best No Annual Fee Credit Cards from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.