The theft of a credit card is far more than the loss of a piece of plastic and the money that can be spent on it. Recent studies have indicated that theft of credit cards is only part of the greater crime of identity theft. This guide will help you minimize the damage a thief can do to your credit rating. Before you begin, make note of this important rule of thumb: In any kind of financial transaction (including reporting a theft) it is absolutely essential to get as much in writing as possible. You may, unfortunately, need to dispute items and issues for a long time, and having written records will be a sanity-saver!

A thief goes through trash to find discarded receipts or carbons, and then uses your account numbers illegally. A dishonest clerk makes an extra imprint from your credit or charge card and uses it to make personal charges. You respond to a mailing asking you to call a long distance number for a free trip or bargain-priced travel package. You're told you must join a travel club first and you're asked for your account number so you can be billed. The catch! Charges you didn't make are added to your bill, and you never get your trip

Put simply, an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is a measure of how much your credit will cost you expressed as a percentage. APR is very often expressed as a total percentage (such as "5.99% APR Introductory Rate"), but in the fine print of your credit card disclosures, you will find what your APR is linked to. Most APRs are linked to the WSJ Prime Lending Rate, published by the Wall Street Journal. When this rate changes, your credit card rate is not far behind - especially if it goes up. Remember, credit cards are different from federal student loans and private student loans but the rate calculations are similar so read on to learn more...

For loans or investments that involve compounding interest, there are two popular interest rate related terms. 1) Annual Percentage Rate, or APR, is a measure of how much interest will be on an annual basis without taking into account compound interest. 2) Annual Percentage Yield, or APY, is the same interest rate measure, but accounts for compound interest - a better measure of how much you will actually pay in interest. Banks and credit card issuers often

You probably get the same spam every day that we do - "reduce your debt now with our service!", "get out of debt fast", etc. Well, we at StudentPlatinum.com decided to get in on the action and really research how all this debt calculation works. It's not a secret - in fact, by law the calculations which determine your interest and payments cannot be a secret, it's just somewhat unpleasant math.

During the course of our research into the best credit cards available, we have come across some stinkers, as you might imagine. The new holder of the crown for lousy deals is any credit card which bears the appellation "two cycle average daily balance". Why is this term now on our D-list? Here's why: As we explained in our not so secret secret to debt reduction, the average daily balance computation works in your favor if you make multiple payments each month. This is a good thing, as it helps you reduce your debt faster. Two-cycle average daily balance is the credit card's solution to this problem. How it works is simple: instead of computing your average daily balance for the current billing cycle, it computes the average daily balance for the current and previous billing cycle.

Credit is a big catch-22 - you can't get credit without establishing credit, and you can't establish credit without getting credit. So how can a student establish credit? First, review what makes up a credit rating - the FICO score. More information on FICO scoring can be found in our Credit 101 Tutorial. The basic breakdown is: 35% Payment history 30% Outstanding debt 15% Length of your credit history 10% Recent inquiries on your credit report 10% Types of credit in use Logically, then, you will want to begin working on the first and third items, while minimizing the second and fourth items. In order to establish credit, you will need to obtain a loan and establish a solid payment history while not shopping around extensively for credit.

Your FICO score is not the only piece of information transmitted about you when your credit is checked. In addition to the FICO numerical score, up to four FICO "reason codes" - reasons to approve or deny credit - are included with the report. Here is a table of FICO Reason Codes. Use these codes with credit reports you've already obtained in order to know why you've been turned down for a loan request, and to chart your course towards improving your FICO score.

It's important to understand that credit card companies are in the business of making money. As such, they can make money in one of three ways: Annual fees which bring in a steady revenue stream. Interest rates which bring in revenue based on balances carried. Penalty fees which bring in revenue when customers miss payments.

On many credit applications, there are places for other individuals to input information and roles they play with regard to the account. The most common roles include co-signer, credit reference, and joint account holder. Here's a quick explanation of the differences, in order of liability: A credit reference is an individual who agrees that they will provide reliable information about the borrower to the lender. A credit reference can also refer to a primary contact person in the event the borrower cannot be reached. Credit references do not leverage their credit rating or reputation; they merely provide information to creditors. Common credit references include family, friends, and even businesses that the borrower has worked with in the past.