Credit Statistics Survey Report

Looking for a Credit Card for Christmas Shopping? Before you submit a credit card application, first review the main points which will help you choose the right credit card for your needs.

What Charges You'll Make - If you're going to use the credit card mainly for booking airline reservations and hotels, it might be best for you to get a travel credit card that offers sky miles and hotel points or cashback. If this will be an emergency credit card only, then your main concern may be for a low interest rate credit card with low fees.

When You'll Repay Charges - Will you pay off credit card charges in full every month, or will you carry a balance month to month? If you're going to carry a balance, you want the lowest possible interest rate as well as a low introductory rate. But if you'll payoff balances in full every month, then interest rate really doesn't matter so no annual fee and/or a long grace period would be a bigger concern. If you're going to carry a balance, be concerned about how the finance charge is calculated. The most common method is the Average Daily Balance, which means that the daily balances are added together and then divided by the number of days in the billing cycle. Stay away from credit cards that compute the balance using two billing cycles, as this method costs more money in financing fees.

What Amount You'll Charge - If you're going to use the credit card for all your monthly expenses, then you need a card that has a high credit limit and a high cashback percentage.

More info about Interest Rates, Credit Limits, Incentives, Fees and Penalties

Interest Rates - The interest rate (Annual Percentage Rate) APR can either be a fixed rate or a variable rate that is tied to another financial indicator, most commonly the prime rate. With a fixed rate credit card you know what the interest rate will be every month, whereas a card with a variable rate can fluctuate. Of course, even the interest of a fixed rate card can change based on certain events, such as paying your credit card bill late, exceeding your limit, or simply because the credit card issuer decides to change it after providing you ample advance notice.

Credit Limit - This is the amount of money the credit card company will let you charge to the card. This amount varies depending upon the card offer and your credit history. Be sure to get a credit card with an ample limit, because getting close to your max can hurt your credit score. Just remember that you don't have to max out your limit just because it's available.

Incentives - To compete for and to gain customers, many credit card companies offer rewards. Even if you normally use cash, why not use your credit card and then use the cash to make the payment during the grace period? You still won't pay interest and meanwhile you'll rack-up rewards. A credit card with 5% cashback will earn you $5 for every $100 charged. If your total bills come to $2,000 per month, you'll earn a free $100 every month. Look for a rewards program that you'll use and which offers flexibility, such as cashback or travel.

Fees and Penalties - Compare common charges such as late fees, overlimit fees, balance transfers, cash advances, and for making payments by telephone. Regarding balance transfers, look for credit card offers with no transaction fees and zero percent interest for at least 12 months.

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Credit Statistics Survey Report

By Credit Federal | Published 06/25/2009

A credit statistics survery report comprised from searches spanning 114 days, reveals the percentages of bad credit, poor credit, fair and excellent credit ratings, as well as popularities with credit cards and loans.

Over the past 114 days, a percentage of visitors to CreditFederal have used our self scoring credit check and/or our search tool. Below is the credit survey report:

Using our self-scoring credit check:

52% of visitors were in the bad credit range.
20.7% of visitors were in the poor credit range.
9.3% of visitors were in the fair credit range.
18% of visitors were in the excellent credit range.

Interesting Notes:

According to the self-rated credit survey, it appears the percentage of middleclass people in the fair credit range are the minority. There's a noticeable drop in the fair credit range as compared to the poor credit and excellent credit ranges.
Since the majority rated in the bad credit range, the data strengthens our concern over government legislation that will stifle; or terminate, subprime credit offers for bad credit people.
For info about the dangers of government legislation, review these articles:
New Government Credit Card Act
Government Credit Card Control Dooms Rewards

More credit stats:

In comparison between credit card searches for a gas card or a card that offers general travel rewards, 54.14% desired a gas card as opposed to 45.86 desiring a travel (hotel, skymiles, etc) card. Although there's not a large gap between these two card types, the data may indicate a drop in vacation travel due to the economy slump and a greater concern for fuel savings.
Comparing major, name brand credit cards versus bad credit card offers, only 9.51% searched for name brand credit cards, whereas 90.49% searched for bad credit card offers. Again, this data highlights a continuing and increased need for subprime credit offers, and less government regulations which restrict; or eliminate, the availability of bad credit offers.
Comparing only searches for major, name brand credit cards (excluding searches for bad credit card offers), 48.15% searched for Chase cards, 28.23% searched for American Express cards, and 23.62% searched for Discover cards.
Comparing credit card searches to loan (auto, home, personal, etc) searches, 64.67% sought credit cards whereas only 35.33% sought loans.

Statistics Survey Disclaimer: Data was collected online via CreditFederal's search and self-rated credit check tools. As such, these statistics may not accurately reflect consumer credit stats on a net-wide level. Use of our survey results are at your own discretion and your own liability.

Is my credit score OK or average?
How do you rate your credit score? Use our simple, free credit check calculator to estimate your credit range. You can also use our credit prequalification tool to gauge your credit.

Other credit survey reports:
Federal Credit Card Survey Ratings
Credit Card Survey
Visa Emergency Savings Survey
New Home Loan and Mortgage Refinancing Stats

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Credit Statistics Survey Report - by <a href=http://creditfederal.com>CreditFederal.com</a> <div style="text-align: left;">A credit statistics survery report comprised from searches spanning 114 days, reveals the percentages of bad credit, poor credit, fair and excellent credit ratings, as well as popularities with credit cards and loans. Over the past 114 days, a percentage of visitors to CreditFederal have used our self scoring credit check and/or our search tool. Below is the credit survey report: Using our self-scoring credit check: <ul><li>52% of visitors were in the bad credit range.</li><li>20.7% of visitors were in the poor credit range.</li><li>9.3% of visitors were in the fair credit range.</li><li>18% of visitors were in the excellent credit range.</li></ul> Interesting Notes: <ul><li>According to the self-rated credit survey, it appears the percentage of middleclass people in the fair credit range are the minority. There's a noticeable drop in the fair credit range as compared to the poor credit and excellent credit ranges.</li><li>Since the majority rated in the bad credit range, the data strengthens our concern over government legislation that will stifle; or terminate, subprime credit offers for bad credit people.</li><li>For info about the dangers of government legislation, review these articles:<a target='_top' style="font-family: Verdana;" href="../blogs/342/New-Government-Credit-Card-Act"> New Government Credit Card Act</a><a target='_top' href="../articles/659/1/Government-Credit-Card-Control-Dooms-Rewards"> Government Credit Card Control Dooms Rewards</a></li></ul> More credit stats: <ul><li>In comparison between credit card searches for a gas card or a card that offers general travel rewards, 54.14% desired a gas card as opposed to 45.86 desiring a travel (hotel, skymiles, etc) card. Although there's not a large gap between these two card types, the data may indicate a drop in vacation travel due to the economy slump and a greater concern for fuel savings. </li><li>Comparing major, name brand credit cards versus bad credit card offers, only 9.51% searched for name brand credit cards, whereas 90.49% searched for bad credit card offers. Again, this data highlights a continuing and increased need for subprime credit offers, and less government regulations which restrict; or eliminate, the availability of bad credit offers. </li><li>Comparing only searches for major, name brand credit cards (excluding searches for bad credit card offers), 48.15% searched for Chase cards, 28.23% searched for American Express cards, and 23.62% searched for Discover cards.</li><li>Comparing credit card searches to loan (auto, home, personal, etc) searches, 64.67% sought credit cards whereas only 35.33% sought loans.</li></ul> Statistics Survey Disclaimer: Data was collected online via CreditFederal's search and self-rated credit check tools. As such, these statistics may not accurately reflect consumer credit stats on a net-wide level. Use of our survey results are at your own discretion and your own liability. Is my credit score OK or average? How do you rate your credit score? Use our simple, <a target='_top' href="http://creditfederal.com/free-credit-check.html">free credit check</a> calculator to estimate your credit range. You can also use our <a target='_top' href="http://creditfederal.com/credit-loan-prequalification.html">credit prequalification</a> tool to gauge your credit. Other credit survey reports: <a target='_top' style="font-family: Verdana;" href="http://creditfederal.com/article/articles/656/1/Federal-Credit-Card-Survey-Ratings">Federal Credit Card Survey Ratings</a> <a target='_top' style="font-family: Verdana;" href="http://creditfederal.com/article/articles/282/1/Credit-Card-Survey">Credit Card Survey</a> <a target='_top' style="font-family: Verdana;" href="http://creditfederal.com/article/blogs/281/Visa-Emergency-Savings-Survey">Visa Emergency Savings Survey</a> <a target='_top' style="font-family: Verdana;" href="http://creditfederal.com/article/blogs/70/New-Home-Loan-and-Mortgage-Refinancing-Stats">New Home Loan and Mortgage Refinancing Stats</a> </div> This article provided courtesy of <a href=http://creditfederal.com target=_new>www.CreditFederal.com</a>, a personal credit resource of good or bad credit credit cards and loans.

Credit Tip: Need a high limit for Christmas credit card charges? If you have bad credit, consider a personal loan by refinancing your mortgage. Even if you have cash to buy Christmas presents, we recommend using a prepaid card to make purchases because it's safer than carrying cash.