Got a favorite movie you want to see? Want to get a free movie ticket? Have I got great news for you then. Fandango.com, the internet’s largest movie ticket retailer, has partnered up with Visa to offer a BOGO (Buy One Get One Free) promotion. Use the link below to be taken directly to the offer from Fandango and Visa. Not all Visa cards qualify for this promotion. To see if your Visa card qualifies, take your Visa card out and look at the logo. If it has the Visa Signature logo as shown in the image below, it qualifies.
jj
11:46 am on September 3, 2009 Permalink
| Log in to leave a Comment Tags: american express, credit card, credit score, debt free project, discover card, fico, interest rates, mastercard, myfico, myfico.com, prepaid credit card, ScoreWatch, visa
I’m looking for a good credit card. Are there places where you can submit one application and get multiple offers?
jj,
Great question. Let’s talk about credit cards, credit card offers and where some good places are online where you can do some credit card comparisons. To begin with, we’re part of Debt Free Project International. You would think that with a name like Debt Free Project International, credit cards would be a no-no. Quite the contrary is true. DFPI is in favor of responsible use of credit cards because when used correctly, they are actually part of an excellent banking strategy. It’s all about maximizing the potential of your resources, the by-product of which is getting out of debt and creating wealth.
Ok, so, on to the discussion about comparing credit cards. Your ability to get a credit card is directly related to two factors. First, your credit score. Second, your ability to pay the bill. Your credit score is weighted more heavily than your ability to repay, because in essence, it already has your ability to repay calculated as part of your 3 digit score. Basically, your credit score is a way of determining the level of risk you pose to your lender if you were to borrow money – or, how likely you are to repay it. The higher the credit score, the more likely you are to repay the debt. You can find more information on credit scores here.
A Quick Note About Credit Cards and Your Credit Score
I should note that when I’m talking about credit scores, I’m talking about the actual credit score that will be viewed by the lender. These scores come from FICO and are generated by FICO’s algorithm based on the information that exists at each of the 3 credit bureaus. So, in essence, there are three major bureaus, each with a slightly different FICO scoring model applied to the specific credit information they have on you. If you don’t know what your FICO credit score is, you can get it directly from FICO at the MyFico.com website. This is your “real” FICO score and you can get it now for free by joining Fico’s Score Watch® and signing up for their free 30-day trial.
Anyway, there are basically four ranges of credit scores that will determine your ability to get a credit card. Depending on what range your score falls in will determine what type of credit card you can get, and more importantly, what the interest rate is that you’ll pay and what rewards the card issuer might offer you. Again, the higher the score, the lower the risk, so the lender will charge you less and reward you more if you have a higher credit score.
“Bad” Credit Scores Equal Bad Credit Card Deals
The first FICO credit score range is from 350-619. This is called “BAD”. If your score falls in this range, then you will most likely not qualify for any card other other than a pre-paid card. There are NUMEROUS places on the web to look for a prepaid credit card. If you must go the prepaid route, you’ll want to watch for transaction fees, deposit fees, weekly fees and any other number of fees that the card may have. Also, make sure that the card has either a Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express logo. One other feature that most people find very useful is a direct deposit feature. This allows you to access funds almost immediately.
Based on our research, the following companies offer the best values of prepaid cards:
“Fair” Credit Scores Mean Better Credit Card Deals
The next credit score range is “fair”. This group includes credit scores from 620-659. In this credit score range, the best offer we could find is one offered by Discover Card – the Discover® Student Card. When you apply, the card will ask you for your college information. Outside of them asking for it, we could find no information in their fine print that disclosed it was an absolute requirement. Whether or not they audit the information supplied is unknown. I personally highly doubt that they do. The major benefits of this card are that there are cash back rewards – 1% automatic, up to 5% if you enroll in different programs each month, and 5%-20% if you purchase products online at certain websites. It’s a fairly low interest rate (currently at 14.99% with a 6-month 0% rate) and there is no annual fee. The Discover brand card is not as widely accepted as the Visa and Mastercard products, so as a back up to this card, your Visa and Mastercard options are limited to a small number of “higher risk” lenders of which the First Premier Visa/Mastercard is one of the more popular. The Visa/Mastercard options in this category will have an expensive application fee, a very low credit limit (normally $250 or $300) and outrageous annual fees. Avoid these if you can.
Good Credit Card Values Come From Good Credit Scores
The next credit score range is 660-749. This is the “Good” range. Most consumers’ credit scores are in this range. There are a plethora of companies who offer programs for people with scores in this area. Again, there is the Discover Card option, but their normal card, not the student version. Additionally, Visa, Mastercard and American Express have numerous lenders that offer programs for people with “Good” credit scores. Some of the more popular ones are Capital One, Chase Bank, Bank of America and any number of credit unions or banks. A good source to compare cards if you’re in this range is at CreditCards.com.. You can also find good comparison tools at BankRate.com.
Got an Excellent Credit Score – Get an Excellent Credit Card
The last credit score range is 750-850 and is called “Excellent”. For people fortunate enough to have credit scores in this range, there shouldn’t be any obstacles in getting an great credit card with low rates, no annual fees, and high cash back rewards programs. The key features to look for if your score is in this range is a high credit limit, low interest rate (prime plus 0% to 7%), no or a very low annual fee, and a high cash back or other rewards program (hotel points, airline miles, etc.). Again, the best place to compare cards if your score is in this range is CreditCards.com and BankRate.com. Also, consider looking at your local bank and credit union as well. Many times their local program will be better than the national one.
So, to recap, if you have a low score, you’ll need a prepaid or secured credit card. If you have a fair credit score, look closely at the Discover Student card. If your credit score ranges from Good to Excellent, visit either CreditCards.com or BankRate.com and use their comparison feature to find a card that’s perfect for you. We hope you’ll report back to us with what you found so that others can benefit from your efforts as well.
