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When it comes to credit reporting and understanding everything that goes into making your credit score, it is very important to understand what trade-lines are.
Quite simply, trade-lines are the actual information items that are reported by creditors onto your credit reports. These trade-lines can be either positive or negative, and they are extremely important factors that the credit bureaus use to determine your credit score.
Every loan and credit card, and many other types of accounts, report your payment information to the credit bureaus via trade-lines. If you pay your credit card on time each and every month, then you will have a positive trade-line from your credit card company on your credit report. If you miss payments or have defaulted, then the company will report that you are late on your payments and the trade-line will be negative.
A very large percentage of what makes up your credit score is dedicated to the status of the trade-lines on your credit reports.
While much of the credit repair process is focused on removing inaccurate and negative trade-lines from your credit reports, it is equally important to add positive trade-line activity in order to have a good credit score once the negative entries have been removed.
Many times people who have had, or who currently have bad credit find it difficult to establish positive trade-lines on their credit reports due to falling into one of three categories:
- Category 1 has just recovered from bad credit by removing negative entries but now has no credit history.
- Category 2 has no credit history at all due to never having opened an auto loan, credit card or other product which reports to the credit bureaus.
- Category 3 is in the process of repairing their credit by removing negative entries, but currently does not have a good enough credit score to be approved for any loan or credit cards.
The good news for people in each of these categories is that there are several resources available to you which can create positive trade-lines on your credit reports no matter your current credit score or previous credit history. Even individuals with no credit history at all can obtain the tremendous benefit of adding positive trade-lines to their credit reports with several easy and inexpensive options.
Secured credit cards and loans are quite possible the most amazing tool for rapidly increasing your credit score by a very large amount. Secured credit cards are different than traditional credit cards because they are specially developed for people who need to rebuild credit, or for other non-traditional purposes, such as obtaining one for your child to teach them credit discipline.
The requirements for opening a secured credit card or secured loan are often easily met by individuals with no credit history or poor credit history, as long as they are employed and can make an initial deposit to open the account. They are great tools to lean credit responsibility, and even though almost anyone can qualify to receive a secured credit card, they still provide the tremendous benefit of providing a positive trade-line to consumer’s credit reports by reporting payment activity to the credit bureaus.
Typically the consumer will open an account with a cash deposit, and then be issued a credit card with a corresponding credit limit minus any applicable fees. The benefit to consumer credit scores from obtaining an inexpensive positive line of credit such as this reporting onto their credit reports is immense and can far outweigh the cost depending on the circumstances.
Another tool which can add positive trade-lines to consumer credit reports is Rental Kharma. If you are renting an apartment or other home, Rental Kharma will monitor the regular rent payments you already make each month and begin reporting them onto your credit profiles as positive trade-lines for a small fee.
When combined with a reduction of negative information from your credit reports the addition of these two positive trade-lines can provide a literally life-changing transformation in your ability to obtain things like mortgages, auto loans, medical loans and all other credit requiring activities, including employment. Score increases of 150 – 200 points in 60 – 90 days are very possible when utilizing these techniques, and I can’t recommend them highly enough.
Take the first step towards being ready for life’s greatest adventures right now by signing up for these great products and getting on the road to great credit, you’ll be amazed at the opportunities that become available to you when you improve your credit and start having a good or even great score.
Get started with two easy steps:
- Click here to apply for your First Progress Platinum Elite MasterCard®. The sign-up process is easy, fast and secure.
- Click here to sign up with Rental Kharma. They will submit your rent payments to your credit reports and get you the positive trade-line you deserve in about 3 Minutes.
Continue to pay your rent each month and be responsible with your new Platinum Elite MasterCard®, and these two positive trade-lines will likely provide a huge benefit to your credit score and ability to secure credit moving forward.