Many Ohio consumers love credit card reward points. They collect them, then trade them in for air miles or cash back. Then, they feel like they are really saving money. Maybe they are. As long as credit card users in Ohio pay off their bills every month, all of those rewards amount to pure profit. However, if you carry balances over from month to month while building more debt, there is a good chance that your credit card rewards are not worth the price. Unfortunately, most credit card companies charge interest on rolled over balances. Also, if your credit card balances get too high, you can damage your credit score. This could happen even if you make all of your payments on time.
Why Credit Card Rewards Don’t Add Up to Savings for Ohio Consumers with Credit Card Debt
According to recent surveys, a lot of Ohio credit card holders say that they use reward points to upgrade hotel rooms or airline classes. They may also score an occasional free trip or money back. Yet, if they have to overspend in order to earn these perks, they do more harm than good. For example, if they only make minimum payments on heavy credit card debt, it may take years to pay off balances. Then, if these Ohio consumers add up what they’ve paid in interest charges, they may find that it is far more than what they’ve earned in rewards.
In addition, your credit utilization rate strongly affects your FICO score. In fact, it accounts for about 30% of credit scores based on this model. Speaking of 30%, this is the percentage of their available credit that Ohio consumers can safely use without harming their credit scores. Otherwise, if your balances reflect more than 30% of your spending limits, your credit score can drop. This is because lenders consider it risky behavior to rely too much on credit to cover expenses.
Many credit card users in Ohio who want to save money by earning reward points should use a different tactic. They could cut back on credit card purchases, and put the extra money that might go toward bills into a savings account. Then, after a while, these Ohio consumers could build up an emergency fund to cover unexpected bills and expenses. For consumers working to escape debt and improve their credit scores, an emergency fund serves as the best insurance against financial surprises. It also offers the best kind of reward – peace of mind.
Another Way that Ohio Consumers Can Protect their Good or Improving Credit Scores
Ohio consumers working to maintain good credit scores or improve low scores should keep their credit card balances low. In addition, they should pay all bills on time and in full. Next, they should regularly check their financial statements and credit reports. This is because both identity theft and credit report errors can bring credit scores down.
Because most consumers in Ohio have online access to their bank and credit card statements, they can easily check these on a weekly or daily basis. As for credit reports, most experts – including the FTC – recommend checking them at least once every 12 months. This is how frequently the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) allows consumers to request free copies of their credit reports from the three major credit bureaus. Just go to www.annualcreditreport.com to get your most recent credit reports from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
Once Ohio consumers have access to all three credit reports, they should review them carefully, and make a note of anything that doesn’t seem right. If you spot signs of identity theft such as fraudulent accounts or bogus transactions, file a police report immediately. Then, contact Credit Repair Lawyers of America in Ohio. Or, if any – or all three – of your credit reports contain credit score damaging mistakes and errors, get in touch with us right away.
Instead of tackling your credit issues on your own, let our team of credit pros do the work for you. Even if you aren’t quite sure whether or not there are problems with your credit reports, give us a call. We’ll go through your credit reports with you, for FREE. Then, if we discover any issues, an experienced credit attorney will do whatever it takes to get you clean credit reports – for free.
The Free and Legal way to Get Better Credit in Ohio
Don’t let identity theft damage or errors on your credit reports bring your credit score down. At the Law Offices of Gary D. Nitzkin, P.C., we’ve been cleaning up credit reports for consumers since 2008 for free. How do we do it? The law allows us to collect our fees and costs from the defendants in any successful action. This is why our clients pay nothing for the work we do.
Let’s start the conversation about what we can do for your credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at (216) 358-0591 or sending him a message through our contact page.
For more information about Free Credit Repair, please visit https://creditrepairlawyersam.com/ohio/credit-repair/. Or, to learn more about Free Credit Repair After Identity Theft, check out https://creditrepairlawyersam.com/ohio/fix-identity-theft/.
