Joshua Heckathorn

Home / Author / Joshua Heckathorn
Joshua Heckathorn's picture
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.

Visit 's Google Plus profile for more.

Recent Blogs

CARD Act of 2009 Takes Effect Today

February 22nd, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn

[caption id="attachment_1263" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption=" "]Capitol and flowersPhoto by Silver 7 Photography[/caption]

It's been a long nine months since the CARD Act was signed into law, but the wait is finally over. Today is the day! The Credit Card Accountability and Disclosure Act of 2009 is now officially in effect.

Unfortunately, there's nothing really new and exciting to talk about. Everyone, including myself, has beaten this topic to death for almost a year now. However, I just couldn't let the day pass by without at least mentioning the significance of the new rules taking effect.

Better Safe Than Credit-Less

February 10th, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn

[caption id="attachment_1239" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption=" "]Girl holding cardsPhoto by Andy Newson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net[/caption]

In spite of all the consumer-friendly changes the CARD Act of 2009 will bring to the credit card industry, there's absolutely nothing that will stop credit issuers from continuing to slash credit limits or close accounts whenever their little hearts desire.

For some changes, such as new annual fees or revamped rewards programs, they may need to provide you with 45-days' advance notice, but there's no such rule in the event of an account closure. In fact, they don't even need to give you prior notice at all.

Capital One Accused of Dishing Out Low Blows

February 5th, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn

] What would you do for a whopping $1.00 of new credit from your credit card issuer? Hmmmmm...let me see—nothing? You certainly wouldn't agree to move old charged-off debt to a new credit card just so you could start making payments and paying interest again, right? That would be absurd! That is, unless you were tricked into doing so.

Limited Options for Cards Sans Currency Conversion Fees

January 28th, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn

Dear Creditnet: I received a credit card offer in the mail from the university I attended for graduate school. It's a MasterCard issued by a major bank with no annual fee, and it also boasts no currency conversion fees for international transactions. Is this a perk that's common through other no annual fee credit cards as well? I travel overseas often, so this could really come in handy on future trips.

American Express Points for Taxes? No Thanks

January 22nd, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn

Photo by Andres Rueda[/caption] It's always annoyed me that we can't pay our taxes with a credit card for free. I mean, come on—it's 2010, and I still have to cut a check or set up a direct debit to the IRS each year. It just seems so old fashioned. I would much rather use my credit card to pay online, rack up rewards points, and enjoy having an extra 30 days or so before coughing up the cash to pay my balance in full. Wouldn't you?

Pages