1. If you spend more than 50% of your credit limit every month, this indicates to the Credit Bureau that you do NOT have enough cash on hand to meet your monthly expenses. This will identify you as a high credit risk and will actually reduce your credit score by 60 - 70 points overnight (Fair
Isaac).
2. If you miss 1 or 2 payments on your credit card debt, the issuing company will skyrocket your interest rate to a whopping 27% -
30%!
3. Out of a random sample of 3 million American consumers (included in Experian's National Score Index), 51% of them have at least 2 credit cards and 14% of them have 10 or more credit cards.
What is the Military
Star credit card?
The Military Star credit card is a retail credit card. A retail
credit card is a card that can be used only at one particular
store or chain of stores. In this case that means that the
Military Star card can be used at any military Exchange
facility, Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine, or Coast Guard. It
can also be used for online or catalog shopping for the exchange
system. The Military Star card is comparable to a Wal-Mart or
Target card (not the bank cards that carry that name). There is
also a
Military Star MasterCard offered by Chase Bank. That card can be used like any other
bank card. The interest rate is the same as the Military Star
card.
What are the interest rates on the Military Star card?
The Military Star card has only one standard interest rate, 4.99
percent above prime. It does not use a tiered system with
variable rates dependent upon your credit score as most other
retail cards do. One nice feature is the reduction of the
interest rate to 6 percent if a service member is deployed. You
do have to fill out the paperwork to show you have been
deployed. The interest rate is higher than some bank cards but
slightly lower than most retail store cards.
Can the balance on the Military Star card be applied to
a debt consolidation?
Video: Credit Programs for Military and Veterans
The balance on the retail card, the original Military Star card,
may be able to be applied to a debt consolidation loan. You’ll
need to speak with a debt consolidator to determine the
specifics of your situation. You will not be able to transfer
balances to the card form other cards. It is a retail card, and
can only be used for purchases from
the military exchange system. The
new (first offered in mid 2008) Military Star MasterCard can be
used like any other Chase Bank MasterCard, and could, therefore,
be used for debt consolidation purposes.
How can credit card debt affect a military member’s
finances?
Even though the military has a different lifestyle than most
civilians, its members are subject to the same pressures as the
rest of society. If a Marine runs up excessive credit card debt
and his creditors sue and get a judgment for unpaid balances,
paying that judgment through garnishments or execution could
well reduce the Marine’s available income to the point that she
cannot pay the mortgage and loses her home.
What can you do to prevent these results?
A military member also has he same options as the rest of us.
Debt consolidation can help the member get a handle on his or
her debt. Debt can be consolidated through negotiation and
settlement, or through debt consolidation loans. Military
members entitled to
Judge Advocate legal assistance may be able to obtain assistance in
negotiating with creditors to obtain a reduction in the amount
owed.
Video: What is Judge Advocate Legal Assistance?
In seeking and obtaining a debt consolidation loan the stability
of your military income can be very helpful. This is
particularly true when the economy is bad and civilian
employment significantly insecure, as it is today.
Here are some websites where military personnel can get
discounts, free stuff, or government assistance:
The Military Star credit card is a retail credit card. A retail
credit card is a card that can be used only at one particular
store or chain of stores. In this case that means that the
Military Star card can be used at any military Exchange
facility, Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine, or Coast Guard. It
can also be used for online or catalog shopping for the exchange
system. The Military Star card is comparable to a Wal-Mart or
Target card (not the bank cards that carry that name). There is
also a
