It’s no secret that you must have a great credit rating to be considered for a card like the American Express Gold.
So many people don’t even truly know their credit score, view their credit reports, or have an idea what it all means.
The first thing you need to do if you want to fix your credit is to get a copy of your credit score from all three bureaus. These bureaus are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Your score may vary by bureau, and not all bureaus report the same information. For instance, an old payment may show up on Experian but not TransUnion, making your score significantly lower for Experian.
The only way to know how debt is affecting your credit rating is to obtain a copy of your credit report, and stay on top of things.
The First Step
If you really want the financial situation and credit rating that will get you that Gold AmEx, here comes the important part …
Get out a pen and circle anything on your credit report that is detrimental to your score. This means chargeoffs, late payments, or the dreaded judgment – anything you see that is negatively affecting your credit has to go.
Fight the Battle
Oftentimes, when you don’t pay bills on time, the original company will sell your debt to a collections agency. Legally, the debt now belongs to the collections agency that purchased it – meaning, trying to settle your debt through the company won’t help. You’ll essentially just be giving the original creditor free money that won’t help your debt or credit rating situation.
Call the collections agency on your credit report if one is listed – or demand, in writing from your original company, the name of the collections agency your debt was sold to.
Collections agencies will hassle you once they know your telephone number, so send a written request via certified mail to handle everything in writing. If companies continue to harass you after they receive this letter, they are in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Check your credit rating periodically using a site like www.creditkarma.com. This site will only tell you TransUnion, but it’s a good starting point – or you are entitled to a free credit report annually. Once you start to see your credit score going up over about 650-700, it’s the perfect time to apply for an American Express Gold Card.
Are you there now? Why not check it out? Click below to apply for the American Express Card that’s right for you.
