One of the most common questions I receive from Creditnet readers is "How can I rebuild my bad credit?"  My responses generally include several suggestions, but the first recommendation I give is always the same- you need to build positive payment history. Sure, there are quite a few other tricks you can try that may provide short-term credit score boosts, but building positive payment history will have more of a lasting effect on your FICO scores than anything else.

Credit cards can certainly serve as a status symbol. Why do you think so many Visa commercials feature a James Bond-esque motif? In particular, credit cards made of metal have long been a symbol of wealth and luxury. Now, such cards are extremely limited (many believe there are less than 10,000 in circulation), and they are generally distributed by invitation only.

Jedi fans will be roaming college campuses and city streets tomorrow wielding lightsabers and sporting their most authentic costumes in celebration of the unofficial Star Wars Day, May 4th.

Stemming from a play on one of the film's most popular quotes, "May the Force be with you", fans worldwide have twisted the phrase into "May the 4th be with you" and set aside this day to honor all things Star Wars. So don't be alarmed if you see people speaking weird guttural languages to each other, trying to open their car doors using the Force, or acting like their arm just got cut off in a lightsaber duel. It's all part of the fun.

For a true Star Wars fan, however, the celebration lasts longer than a single day.  You may have been embarrassed about your obsession with Jar Jar Binks action figures when you were in high school, but now that you're in college, there's no shame in letting your true colors shine through. In fact, there's nothing quite like surrounding yourself year round with the best Star Wars memorabilia student credit cards can buy.

Here are five collectibles that are sure to draw the envy of your fellow Star Wars geeks for many years to come:

1.) Yoda Backpack

If you haven't heard yet, your fellow Americans in the District of Columbia celebrated a holiday on April 15th.  Emancipation Day, which marks the day President Lincoln signed a law in 1862 that freed over 3,000 slaves in D.C., is usually observed on April 16th but was moved to the 15th this year so it wouldn't fall on a weekend.

By law, local holidays in D.C. affect tax deadlines the same way federal holidays do.  So this means that your federal income taxes aren't due until today, April 18th.  You got an entire extra weekend to pay the tax man! I hope you took advantage of it.

But what if you still haven't gotten your act together in time to file your income tax return?  No need to worry, because you always have the option to file an extension and get a reprieve until October.

Capital One announced early this morning that they've hit the one billion mile mark and have brought the Capital One Venture card "Match My Miles" program to a close. Originally slated to run through May 13th, the offer was obviously popular as it took less than a month to match all the free miles they were willing to give away. At a cost to Capital One of $.01 per mile, that's a mere $10 million, not including whatever they paid Alec Baldwin to have his face plastered all over your TV throughout March Madness.  Based upon the incredible popularity of the card, it sounds like it was money well spent.