I’ve been hearing a lot about credit scoring myths these days in our Credit Talk forum. You've probably heard many of the ones I'm thinking of too: "quick and easy ways" to magically add points to your credit scores in a short period of time. Usually they're the same ones that have been circulating around for years, like these two favorites:

• Close any credit card accounts you don’t use, increase your income, and your credit score will increase too!
• Just use cash to pay for everything and your credit will be perfect!

I hope you haven’t fallen for any of these. If you have, I’m happy you're taking the time to visit this site and educate yourself about credit cards and how to use them responsibly. It's definitely a step in the right direction.

Just when I was beginning to think interest rates were finally bottoming out, rates on 30-year fixed mortgages dropped again to an all-time low of 3.4 percent last week. According to a press release issued by Freddie Mac last Thursday, "all mortgage products, except the 5-year ARM, averaged new all-time record lows."

Dear Creditnet: I have cleaned up my credit for the most part, but I still have a few old credit cards with balances that are reporting as collections on my credit reports. I could pay these off in full now, but the creditors are offering me settlements for about 30% of the actual balance. Will it help my credit scores more if I pay these off in full, or should I just accept the settlements and save the extra money? - Angela M. from AZ

I love credit cards that don't have an annual fee. Why? Because there isn't much that makes this credit card junkie happier than racking up rewards for nothing. Don't get me wrong. I carry plenty of cards with annual fees too, but the no annual fee credit cards are the ones that generally stick around in my wallet for the long run. Unfortunately, as credit card companies continue to face stricter government regulation and lost revenues, there's one thing they can always fall back on to increase their bottom lines—the mighty annual fee.  That's why millions of cardholders across the country have been receiving notices of new annual fees for cards that have always been considered "free" to use. Personally, I not only received notices of new annual fees, but I also watched several of the annual fees on my favorite rewards cards get jacked up by as much as $50 per year!

Update: This credit card offer may have changed since this article was published. Check out the credit card details page here for up-to-date information: Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express.

Let's be honest, the 25,000 point sign-up bonus for the Starwood Preferred Guest card from American Express (SPG) isn't anything to write home about. You can earn a quick 10,000 points by making your first purchase, and then an additional 15,000 points after spending $5,000 on the card within six months. It's OK, but nothing spectacular. So, if you've got your mind set on landing the biggest sign-up bonus on the market for a new travel rewards credit card, check out the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card instead. It's a much better deal. Having said that, there are a lot of travel junkies out there who still love keeping the SPG card handy in their wallets. Here's why: