How do you keep your credit score healthy? First, it helps immensely to understand exactly what is considered when your credit score is calculated. Many people have no idea what goes into determining that all-important number, and think that simply paying their credit card bills on time is enough to garner a high score and to keep it healthy. You might be surprised to learn that a history of timely payments makes up only one-third of your total credit score. It’s an important part, but other considerations can make your score ill if you aren’t aware of how they matter.

Other factors of a healthy credit score include:
1. Diversity of credit. It’s not enough to apply for a credit card and use it sparingly, and you will lose points if this is all the credit you have, even if the payments are timely. Points are awarded for mortgages, car loans, or any type of installment loans.
2. Fat debt. If you carry a large amount of debt, time to put it on a diet. Points are deducted for high balances, the assumption being the more debt you carry; the harder it is to manage. Allowing your spending to get too close to your credit limit can severely damage your score.
3. Inquiries. The more entities asking about your credit score the more it hurts your credit score. Don’t use a credit inquiry for a discount coupon when shopping – this is another inquiry that could deduct points from your score. Every time you apply for a credit card, it shows up as an inquiry and deducts points, even if you don’t open a new account.
4. Getting older is better. You may have physical health problems as you age, but as far as credit goes, the older the better. Establish your credit early, and this will pay off in the long run.

With a healthy credit score, the doors to a wide variety of options are open to you. You can apply and get approved for the best credit cards on the market; it reduces stress, which could reduce blood pressure readings and a host of other stress-related illnesses. Keep your credit score healthy, and live a healthier life!

Credit cards are often only used for spending money – but nowadays, more and more people are using them to make their debts easier to repay.

Of course, though, credit cards that can help make your debts easier to manage are different to credit cards which are primarily designed for spending.

The type of credit card we are talking about here is one that offers 0% balance transfers. For a pre-determined period of time, credit cards with this offer attached to them don’t actually charge you any interest on balances you transfer over from other cards, which means you can effectively make your debts interest-free for this period of time. Even if you’re required to pay a fee to transfer the balance from one card to another, it could still save you a lot of money.

It is important to note, however, that a credit card like this may not be the most appropriate way of repaying debt for everyone – so if you’re in any way unsure, you should talk to a professional debt adviser about the options available to you first. You may be more suited to debt management plans or an IVA.

How could a 0% balance transfer credit card help me?

First of all, if you move existing debts onto a card with 0% interest, you should be able to repay more of your debt at a faster pace – because you won’t be paying interest on the money you owe.

Also, you’ll be replacing several debt repayments per month with just one – which can help to make your finances a lot easier to manage.

Would a 0% balance transfer credit card be the right choice for me?

As with all other credit cards on the market, a 0% balance transfer deal will have an agreed credit limit.

Of course, this limit will be different on separate cards, and can also change according to your credit score – but it’s important to understand that you may not be able to borrow as much as you could with other types of credit.

As such, you may only be able to use a credit card to repay your debt if the amount of debt you are carrying is relatively low. For larger debts, you may benefit from seeking professional debt advice to find out the most suitable solution for you.

It is also important to remember that this particular type of credit card deal may not be appropriate for you if you don’t think you’ll be able to repay the money you owe. You’ll have to find another similar deal at the end of your 0% interest period – so it could end up more expensive than other forms of credit.

If the debts you are carrying are causing you problems, and you’re unsure as to whether or not you’ll be able to repay the money you owe, you should contact a professional debt adviser before making any applications for credit.

Vanquis Card

People can build up bad credit for a number of reasons. Missed or late debt repayments, having a home repossessed, or having a high level of debt can all contribute to a poor credit score. County court judgments, or CCJs, can also adversely affect your credit. This can make life difficult in a number of ways. Bad credit makes it difficult to get a credit card or a personal or business loan. It might even prevent you from opening a bank account. If you do get a credit card you’re likely to face higher rates than someone with good credit. And it’s not just banks that don’t like bad credit scores. Potential landlords and employers may also look to your credit history in evaluating applications for a flat or a job. Also, bad credit can lead to you being turned down for mobile phone contracts, and you may have to pay higher premiums on your insurance.

For these reasons, it is really important to retain a healthy credit record, and to rebuild your credit if for one reason or another you find it in bad shape.

The best way to get a healthy credit score is to get a credit card. This may sound strange, since for many people with bad credit it was their use of credit cards that was the trouble to start with. But the problem is not with the card, it’s with how it gets used. Getting a credit card, staying below the limit, and paying the bills in full and on time is the quickest way to a good credit score.

But if you’ve got a bad credit rating, then getting a card can be tricky to begin with. And making multiple applications only to be refused will damage your credit score further. The Vanquis bank card is well suited for this problem. Vanquis takes a look at your financial situation, see what you can afford to pay back, and have a good record of saying yes to people who have been turned down for credit elsewhere. This makes the Vanquis card a good way to go both for people eager to turn around a bad credit history and for those who want a credit card but have not been successful in applications with the major banks. In their 10 year history Vanquis have already accepted over a million applications from customers looking to build credit, and they’ve won a string of awards.

The card itself is not just suitable for those looking to build up their credit rating. It’s perfect for those on a low income, or for self-employed people who may have trouble proving their level of income to a bank. The credit limit is set to suit the individual’s level, between £150 and £1000, and this limit can be increased over time. Vanquis have an excellent UK-based customer service team if you need advice on what card is suitable for you, and robust anti-fraud measures that will keep your money safe.

Vanquis is a first step for those new to credit cards, and offers a good way out of bad credit.

It’s important to get your information from a reputable website – preferably one that offers impartial credit card comparisons and advice, without pushing certain products or brands.

Before you begin comparing credit cards, you need to decide which features and benefits are most important to you.

You might be a big spender who plans to pay for all of your monthly expenses on credit, before you pay the balance off in full each statement. If this sounds like you, a card that’s attached to an attractive rewards program could be a perfect fit, as your regular spending habits will help you to accrue loads of points in record time.

Alternatively, if you’re planning to consolidate your debts and transfer the balances of several cards to one new account, you’ll want a credit card that offers a low interest rate on balance transfers. It’s possible to find deals that offer 0% interest on balance transfers for up to 18 months, which is perfect if you’re trying to pay the debt off completely in set amount of time.

On the other hand, if you wish to get a credit card to manage regular purchases and bill payments, a credit card account with a low ongoing interest rate would be ideal.

Once you know what features are important to you, you can begin comparing the myriad of offers out there. These two credit comparison sites are a great place to start.

uSwitch.com allows you to browse more than 200 credit card offers, to help you find the best deal for your situation. The site also offers resources such as an online calculator, a credit comparison guide and a credit card switching tool.

With these resources, you can work out exactly how much money you could save by switching to a new credit card – and you can even compare these savings against other credit card alternatives.

CreditSearcher is an independent service designed to help keep you abreast of all of the current credit card offers in the market. Using their search facility, you can browse various deals on purchases, balance transfers and rewards from leading UK credit card issuers, such as American Express, Barclaycard, Cahoot, Capital One, Egg, Halifax, HSBC, Intelligent Finance, MBNA, Morgan Stanley, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Virgin Money. The site allows you to directly compare deals and links direct to the card providers’ websites, so you can easily shortlist the best credit card deals for your personal situation

Credit Card companies are still not being very quick to act in lowering their interest rates which is quite frustrating when you consider the BOE interest rate is currently on 0.5%. There is no chance the Card companies would ever offer rates in this region so its best to try and get the most competitive rates until we see some downward movement. If you have any store card or other credit card balances where you are being charged  APR 20% then now is the time to act and take advantage of this great offer.