It’s a simple fact that to get the best credit card, you need a high credit rating. Generally, you build your credit rating over years and years of responsible bill payments, credit use, and financial management. But what if you just need to give your score a little boost? Can you do it quickly?

Of course you can! They recalculate credit scores on a monthly basis, so with a few small changes, you can give yourself a fairly significant boost. It’s impossible to say how significant, since credit scores vary — but it can make a difference.

Boost Your Score

Most ways to quickly raise your credit rating involve your credit card. Although your loans, mortgage, etc. obviously contribute to your credit score, your credit card makes the biggest difference, and is also the easiest to change quickly.

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City-dwelling Aussies are spending an increasing amount of money on their water bills each year, recent figures indicate.

According to data from the National Water Commission, the cost of the resource has risen by ten per cent each year, reports the AAP.

Those who pay their bills with credit cards may have noticed that this increase has occurred annually for the last three years.

The typical bill in cities with more than 100,000 people living in them rose from $756 in 2008/9 to $837 in 2009/10.

Individuals looking to offset the rising cost of water may want to compare credit cards online to ensure they do not pay more interest on purchases and bill payments than they need to.

Earlier this month, the same publication cited a survey conducted by Dun and Bradstreet, which indicated consumers are tightening their belts and that spending is expected to decline in the near future.

Have a question about credit cards?

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WASHINGTON (KTLA) — Drug store chain CVS has agreed to pay $17.5 million in fines Friday in connection claims that it overcharged customers for prescriptions, the Justice Department said.

CVS is accused of collecting excessive funds from Medicaid for submitting inflated prescription claims in 10 states.

Those states are California, Indiana, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada, Rhode Island, Minnesota and Alabama.

Officials said the drugstore chain was collecting more from Medicaid than it would’ve if it had followed correct policy procedures and submitted claims to third-party insurers. Medicaid policy only allows pharmacies to bill for patient’s co-pay.

The Justice Department did not specify how much the government was overbilled.

The claims were brought to the Justice Department by a whistleblower in Minnesota. Read full article…

With homeowners being burdened with some of the highest mortgage interest rates ever seen, and with many of them having to cope with monthly housing expenses that exceed their income capabilities, it is not surprising that Australians are trending towards conservative credit card spending. In particular, 35% of the citizens of Western Australia have a savings account with a zero balance and are currently paying mortgage payments that are less than ideal for their income.

The high mortgage rates are not the only contributing factor, as the cost of food and energy has also increased, causing many Australians to reconsider their personal finances. As citizens begin to realize the advantages of frugal living, safe investing, and minimising debt, the economy is gradually improving.

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Credit card issuer Chase recently launched the “British Airways Visa Signature® Card,” a fairly aggressive airline rewards credit card that comes with an astonishing 50,000 mile bonus upon your first purchase.

On top of that, it offers an additional 50,000 bonus miles if you spend $2,500 on the credit card during the first three months.

100,000 Mile Bonus

With the 100,000 miles in hand, you’ve got enough for two (2) transatlantic flights.

In other words, you can fly to Europe and back twice if you live in the United States, free of charge, less taxes, fees, and surcharges, which I suppose can add up.

You also earn 1.25 British Airways miles per $1 spent on standard purchases and 2.5 British Airways miles for each $1 in British Airways purchases.

Travel Together Ticket

Additionally, if you spend $30,000 in any single calendar year, you can earn a “Travel Together Ticket,” which is a companion airline ticket used in conjunction with the card member’s award flight.

The British Airways Visa Signature® Card also waives all foreign transaction fees, being one of the few credit cards to do so (Discover and Capital One offer similar credit cards).

And when you apply for the British Airways Visa Signature® Card, you are automatically enrolled in the British Airways Executive Club.

Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malev, Qantas and Royal Jordanian are partner airlines.

Annual Fee and Charges

The downsides to this card, aside from a lack of introductory 0% APR, are the annual membership fee of $95 and any fees and taxes that must be paid on flights, as they’re now fairly hefty.

Beware: A flight to Europe may have fees of a few hundred dollars…

But if you don’t carry balances and love to travel, this card does have the potential to save you quite a bit of money.

Related: Best cash back credit card.