Joshua Heckathorn

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Joshua Heckathorn

Joshua Heckathorn is a credit expert and has been featured on CNNMoney, FOX Business, Yahoo Finance, The Street, and many other national publications during the past twenty years.  He received a Bachelor of Science in Management (Finance) from Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Business and earned his MBA from Seattle University.

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Recent Blogs

Ask Creditnet: Credit Card Use on a Fluctuating Income

January 28th, 2011 by Joshua Heckathorn
Dear Creditnet: I need some expert advice. My credit score is in the low to mid 500's...sad i know! I have 7 credit cards that I use all the time, but they have low limits under $1,000. My work is commission only too, which often causes me to make late payments and then get hit with big fees. How can I better manage my credit cards and improve my credit scores?

Free Checking: Another One Bites the Dust

January 18th, 2011 by Joshua Heckathorn

I've had a free checking account with WAMU (now Chase) since 2004. And while I've never used it as my primary checking account, I did maintain a decent balance while running several transactions through it each month. Frankly, it was just nice to have around when I needed it, and I probably would've never thought about closing my account had it not been for a letter I received from Chase a few weeks ago.

Ask Creditnet: Beacon vs. FICO Scores

January 13th, 2011 by Joshua Heckathorn

FICO credit scores Dear Creditnet: I recently applied for a home loan and was completely caught off guard by my credit score. I subscribe to a credit monitoring service, so I thought I knew my scores before I began the application process. Boy was I wrong! I thought my Equifax credit score was 668, but the score my banker pulled was 618. He told me they use the Equifax Beacon 5.0, so why is there such a difference? They're the same scores, right? Unfortunately, this 50 point swing is costing me an extra 1.5% in interest. Ouch!

Discover More: 0% Interest Plus No Balance Transfer Fee!

January 4th, 2011 by Joshua Heckathorn

Discover More credit card Every now and then a really great offer comes on the market for consumers looking to finally get rid of their high-interest credit card debt. This is one of those offers folks! Why is it so great? Well, one of the easiest ways to pay off nagging credit card debt that you just can't make headway on is to transfer the balance to a no interest credit card and devise your own plan to pay it off during the promotional period.

Best Travel Rewards Credit Card of 2010

December 31st, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn
 

Travel rewards programs suffered major cutbacks in 2010 as credit issuers faced a slew of new federal regulations, lower profits, and customers who were reigning in credit card spending. As a result, many cardholders, including myself, began ditching their travel rewards cards for those that offered cash back at a fixed percentage. And while I certainly love getting a fat cash rebate check at the end of the year, there's just something extra special about hopping on a flight to the other side of the world for free. It makes vacationing all the better! I miss that, and I'm sure others do too.

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