Why credit card interest rates aren’t always important

When shopping for a credit card, you may be put off by the card’s interest rate (also known as APR, or Annual Percentage Rate). However, in some cases, you shouldn’t let the credit card interest rate sway your decision. What type of customer are you? If you’re a transactor, you pay your credit card bill in full each month. In this case, the interest rate shouldn’t be a factor in your deciding on a credit card. If you’re a revolver, you pay do not pay your credit card bill in full each month. In …

How to locate your student loan servicer for private loans

To view the servicer of your federal student loan, you can view our guide on locating your federal student loan servicer. Student borrowers who have loans owned by the Department of Education (ED) can easily track the lifecycle of their current and past federally-backed loans. Students who were issued loans through private lenders will need to do some of the legwork to locate their loan servicer Check your mail, email, and phone, and browser records If the loan was recently issued, you can wait until the lender provide you with information on your loan. …

Find out who’s servicing your federal student loan

You can locate your federal student loan services by accessing your profile at The U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid site at The “My Loan Servicers” section contains your loan services name and website address. There’s also a link that provides contact info for your past and current federal student loan servicers. Your dashboard also provides your payment amount and payment due date. You’ll even have the option of making a payment directly through the site. If you prefer to pay through your servicer’s site, a link to your servicer’s …

Federal student loan repayment, collections, & interest accrual suspension extended

Until May 1, 2022, student loan borrowers are not required to make payments on their loans. Interest will not be accrued during this time period. In addition, during this repayment suspension, collections attempts cannot be made. Who qualifies for student loan relief This particular relief offered by the federal government only applies to federal student loans. However, during COVID, lenders have been generous. So, it’s possible that the owner of your private student loan can offer you some form of payment relief. If you’re unsure who your private student loan lender is or don’t know how …

More Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) loans will start reporting to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion in 2022

As the popularity of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) continues to grow, the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) want to see these accounts reported to consumers’ accounts so that lenders can see a more complete picture of consumers’ credit history. Buy Now, Pay Later loans are short-term installment loans, usually due within one to two months. Two attractive features of the loans include the common practice of not requiring a hard credit check to obtain the loan, and the offering payment plans with low or no interest charges. Millions of consumers’ …

Getting a hard credit inquiry removed from your credit report

If you did not give permission to have a hard inquiry performed, you should first contact the company that performed the credit check and ask that they remove it from your report. The company might insist that they can’t remove it. They may even try to get you to back down by telling you that the hard inquiry will only cause a small drop in your credit score. If they refuse to assist in the removal of the hard inquiry, you should file a complaint with the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). Credit bureaus …

Hard credit checks versus soft credit checks

When a company reviews your credit, a soft or hard credit inquiry will be performed. The type of inquiry performed can affect your credit. So, it’s important to know the which is being pulled. Soft credit inquiries Soft inquiries do not affect your credit and only you can see soft inquiries on your credit report. Hard credit inquiries Hard inquiries are viewable by anyone accessing your credit report and they affect your credit. When a hard credit check is performed, your total number of hard inquiries is added to your credit report. …

Recognizing the terminology used to request a credit check

If someone is considering extending credit to you, they may view your credit report to analyze your credit history and determine how much credit they’ll extend. Why do variations of the term “credit inquiry” matter? Anyone accessing your credit report will be able to view not only your credit history, but personal details, such as any current (or previous) address, phone number, and employer that has been added to your credit report. So, it’s important that you know when you’re being asked to provide access to such sensitive information. The primary reason for needing …