People often consider closing their credit card accounts when they have moved onto a new card, or when they owe money to the credit card company. This is not, however, generally advisable because the information on a credit report will remain for at least seven years. This means that people gain nothing by closing their credit card accounts when they are in debt, and in fact, end up actually dinging their credit score even worse.

One reason for not cancelling a bad credit history is present is that the good credit history that a person has built up may disappear, whereas keeping a card open and active ensures that the credit card company continues to report. When an account is closed the information drops off the credit report after seven years’ time, from the date of the last reported activity. T

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In the future, credit cards may require an extra layer of security to process transactions, such as a retinal or fingerprint scan. It may also be possible that they will be printed with the card holder’s picture on them. For now, however, anyone who simply has possession of a credit card can use it, as there are very few stores which ask for identification with the use of a credit or debit card (as long as the card is run as credit and not as debit which does not require a pin). This, of course, makes these credit cards an attractive target for thieves and would-be fraudsters. Yet, there are some steps that consumers can take to protect themselves from losing their card, or from getting it stolen.

One tip is to decline to sign the back of the credit card. F

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People looking for more convenient ways of doing their shopping could find using their credit card to pay for their goods online and picking them up at a drive through may save them time and effort.

News.com.au reports that Coles has begun trialling a system to use its petrol stations as a pickup point for customers who have bought their goods over the internet and paid with a debit card.

Customers using the Click and Collect scheme would be able to visit the forecourt of one of 620 stores nationwide that are participating to collect their groceries between 15:00 local time and midnight.

Trails have already begun and the company will make a decision whether to expand the service in the next six months.

General manger for online at Coles Keith Louie told the Australian Financial Review that it could potentially “change the way people shop”.

Those who use credit cards for the service may also be looking to reduce the amount of debt they carry on their plastic, as according to the Australian Debt Study, 60 per cent of people will look to pay off some of their outstanding charges in the next six months.

A new service called “Credit Sesame” gives you access to a monthly updated free credit score based on credit profile information pulled from credit bureau Experian.

While this sounds pretty cool, keep in mind Credit Sesame uses Experian’s National Equivalency Score, which is not a Fico score.

However, it does rely upon the Fico score range, which ranges from 300-850, so that’s a plus.

But they don’t provide a credit report with payment information and tradeline activity, so it’s a bit limited.

The good news is that the credit pull is a soft one, meaning it will not hurt your credit score (since you’re not applying for a loan or any other type of credit).

Signing Up for Credit Sesame

So out of curiosity, I decided to sign up for Credit Sesame – they ask quite a few personal questions, including home address and annual household income, but alas, I continued.

They then ask for your social security number, which is used to pull credit information from Experian (this is standard practice, so don’t freak out).

After that, you must answer a few questions about what may appear on your credit report to verify your identity.

Once registered, Credit Sesame provides you with your credit score instantly, along with your monthly liabilities, which is the combined minimum monthly payments for all your credit card debt and loans (auto leases, mortgages, etc).

They also provide your credit usage, which is the amount of your revolving credit currently in use. The lower the per

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Choosing a credit card from those available on today’s market can be difficult. Not only can credit cards have many hidden terms and conditions, but some of them simply represent a bad deal for the consumer. B

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