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Choosing a loan or card, carrying a balance, and protecting the credit score that sets your rates. Borrow on better terms and pay off what you owe faster.
An EIN-only corporate card approves your LLC or corporation on the company’s own cash and revenue, so you sign no personal guarantee and your personal credit isn’t checked. Before you apply, check the company’s bank balance and revenue against the card’s requirements, and plan to pay in full every billing cycle.
Before you apply for a credit card, check for six common triggers of a denial: a low score, high card balances, recent applications, a thin credit history, low income, and a credit freeze. Start at least a month ahead, so you can pay balances down and lift any freeze before an issuer pulls your report.
A credit card lets you borrow up to a set limit, and each monthly statement shows what you owe, a minimum payment, and a due date at least 21 days later. Find all four numbers in your card’s app. Most cards charge interest on purchases only when part of a statement balance goes unpaid past its due date.
Your 0% balance transfer offer can pay off a car or personal loan if its terms cover balance transfer checks, a deposit to your checking account, or a payment straight to your lender. Move the loan when the fee costs less than the interest you’d otherwise pay and you can clear the new balance before the 0% ends.
If you’re 18 with income or assets of your own, start building credit with one student, starter, or secured card. Put a single small recurring bill on it and set autopay to pay the full statement balance every month. That builds the on-time payments and low balances that count most in your credit score.
Before you close an unused credit card, check what it costs you. A card with no annual fee costs nothing to keep and still helps your credit, so leave it open. Downgrade or close only the cards that charge a fee you don’t earn back or tempt you to overspend.
If you’ve opened at least five personal credit cards with any bank over the last two years, Chase will likely deny your Ink business card application under its unofficial 5/24 rule. Count yours first, closed and authorized-user cards included, and get the Chase cards you want before opening personal cards elsewhere.
If you have $5,000 or more in credit card debt and a FICO score of at least 620, check your rate with Happy Money, which can send the loan straight to your cards. Its origination fee runs as high as 12%, so compare its annual percentage rate with other lenders’ offers for the same amount and term before you sign.
If you carry a credit card balance most months, new purchases collect interest from the day you make them, and that interest soon costs more than any rewards they earn. Switch everyday spending to debit until the balance is gone, then go back to credit once you can pay in full every month.
Before you file for bankruptcy, complete a credit counseling session with an agency the Justice Department approves, no more than 180 days ahead. After you file, finish a second course in debtor education. Skip either one and the court can dismiss your case or deny the discharge, and you keep the debts.
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