How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt
A method, with the arithmetic, for getting from a balance to zero.
Mohamed Haytam4 min read
Credit cards and personal finance, explained
Independent guides, comparisons and analysis for U.S. consumers.
How to Evaluate a Credit Card Offer
Mohamed Haytam4 min read
How to Improve Your Credit Score
Mohamed Haytam3 min read
How Credit Utilization Affects Your Score
Mohamed Haytam3 min read
Latest guides and analysis
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Editor's picks
How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt
Paying off credit card debt is a solved problem. The difficulty is sustaining a plan for long enough, which is why the choice of method matters.
Mohamed Haytam4 min read
How to Evaluate a Credit Card Offer
We do not publish card rankings with numbers that go stale. We publish the framework we use, so you can evaluate any offer against your own spending.
Mohamed Haytam4 min read
How Credit Utilization Affects Your Score
Utilization is calculated on the balance your issuer reports, not on what you owe today. That single fact explains most of the confusion around it.
Mohamed Haytam3 min read
The Balance Transfer Guide
How balance transfers work end to end: the fee, the promotional window, what happens when it ends, and the arithmetic that tells you whether it is worth doing.
Mohamed Haytam4 min read
Start with a cornerstone guide
Our in-depth guides to the subjects everything else builds on.
Credit card guides
See allCredit card guides
How to Lower Your Credit Card Interest Rate
Asking usually works more often than people expect. And in two situations, federal rules oblige the issuer to reduce the rate whether it wants to or not.
Mohamed Haytam5 min read
How to Spot a Credit Card Skimmer
What to check before you insert a card at a pump or ATM, why tapping beats swiping, why credit beats debit here, and what to do if your card has been skimmed.
Mohamed Haytam5 min read
Why Was My Credit Card Account Closed?
Why issuers close credit card accounts, when the law requires them to tell you the reason, what a closure does to your credit score, and how to stop it happening.
Mohamed Haytam4 min read
Credit Card Late Fees: Is the $8 Cap in Effect?
The status of the $8 late fee rule, how much a card can legally charge you, and the lesser-known federal protections that stop a late fee before it happens.
Mohamed Haytam4 min read
Your Credit Card Application Was Denied. Now What?
What the lender must tell you after a denial, how to get the free report you are owed, what actually causes declines, and when reapplying makes things worse.
Mohamed Haytam5 min read
Credit scores
See allCredit scores
Does Paying Rent Build Credit?
Mohamed Haytam4 min read
Does Medical Debt Show on Your Credit Report?
Mohamed Haytam5 min read
Does Buy Now, Pay Later Affect Your Credit Score?
Mohamed Haytam5 min read
Credit Freeze vs Fraud Alert: Which One You Need
Mohamed Haytam5 min read
Travel
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The Travel Credit Card Guide
Travel cards trade an annual fee for earning rates and benefits. Whether that trade works depends on how you travel, not on how the card is marketed.
Mohamed Haytam4 min read
Travel Rewards Strategies That Hold Up
Mohamed Haytam3 min read
Transfer Partners Explained
Mohamed Haytam3 min read
Hotel Points Explained
Mohamed Haytam3 min read
The CreditBrief Newsletter
Get smarter about credit cards and money — without the jargon.
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Personal finance & banking
See allPersonal finance and banking
Personal Finance Basics
Mohamed Haytam3 min read
How to Save Money on a Tight Budget
Mohamed Haytam3 min read
The Emergency Fund Guide
Mohamed Haytam3 min read
Banking Basics
Mohamed Haytam3 min read
Getting out of debt
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