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These days most of us avail loans to buy a house, set up a business, or buy a car. Many students take loans to further their education. How soon the loan is sanctioned, the rate of interest, and the amount sanctioned will all depend on your credit score which is based on your credit report. People with scores of 700 and more are the beneficiaries of lower interest rates and quick sanctions. Imagine if your score is greater than 700 and another person has a score of 698 then the person with score 698 will have to pay interest that is higher by one-half percentage point. And, this means over a year a person with a lower score will pay USD 19,000 and more as interest on a loan of say USD 165,000.

A credit score takes into consideration: payment history, current earnings, current debt, length of credit history, types of credit utilized, and your new credit. If two or more members of your family are earning then apply for a loan jointly.

You can take a few simple steps and ensure that your credit score is higher than 700.

•    Maintain a long healthy credit history. Keep alive your oldest credit card and be sure to pay all bills in time. Never keep bills pending over a 30 day period. If in a crunch at least pay the minimum charges due.

•    Do not have too many credit cards. Learn to say “NO,” to offers of free credit cards. And, maintain a good credit limit. Avoid using all the available credit on the cards.

•    Ensure that the credit report you have is accurate and that there are no errors clerical or otherwise.

•    Plan your finance such that it is healthy. Consider debt consolidation.

•    Never suddenly close or open accounts. This leads to suspicion that you are trying to manipulate your credit report.

•    If you are having problems speak to your creditors well in advance and work out a stage wise repayment. Request the creditor to refrain from reporting the late payment.

•    Late or delayed payments drive your score down so always pay bills dead on time. Keep a tab on due dates and ensure that all bills are paid.

Are you a small business owner, especially one that interacts frequently with the public, such as a real estate agent?  Do you spend considerable time taking clients out to lunch, sending out flyers or other mail, or driving a lot in your business?  If so, consider applying for a Chase Business Rebate Card.

This credit card has some wonderful advantages to consider.  First, there is no interest for the first twelve months.  That means that the business upgrades you have been considering can be done now, and paid for over the next year.  Whether it is a new suite of software, a whole new computer system, or a new copier, you can put the purchase on your Chase Business Rebate Card and not be charged any interest for the entire next year.  This allows you to be more efficient and also to relieve those worries about your current computer actually lasting another six months.

If you purchase the new computer or the new software at an office supply store, not only do you have time to pay for it, but you also get cash back rewards for purchasing it.  The Chase Business Rebate Card gives 3% cash back for any purchases at an office supply store.  This 3% cash back reward is also given for purchases at home improvement stores, hardware stores, restaurants, and gas stations.  So, for people whose businesses have customer interaction similar to real estate agents, this card is wonderful, since the 3% rebate applies to many of the main items purchased.    It is also wonderful for individual contractors and other building industry professionals that do a lot of purchases at building supply and home improvement stores.  As with most rebate credit cards, you earn rebates for every purchase on the card, no matter what store it is used at.  So even purchases at grocery stores would earn 1%.

The Chase Business Rebate Card is also set up to help business owners simplify running their business.  There are on-line management tools available to use.  There are free additional credit cards for your employees, so that each employee has access to the same rewards as they participate in the business.  The Chase Business Rebate Card also has quarterly reports available on card use, so that the owner can keep track of what is being spent during each week of the quarter, to see how the monies are directed.