I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt, No Excuses - Just a 6-Week Programme That Works

6. Use your rewards

I have two credit cards. My primary credit card is a Citibank Premier Pass Elite. Citibank offers no-fee and for-fee versions of this card (the no-fee card offers half the rewards). I ran the calculations and decided to pay the $75 annual fee because I spend enough to justify the cost. With this card, I earn one point for every dollar I spend and one point for every mile I fly, plus free companion fares for domestic flights over $379. You can check this card out, along with the free version, at www.citicards.com.
I also have a United Airlines student card that I got many years ago. I use this card only to maintain my credit history, so I’ve set up an automatic charge of $12.95/month for a music subscription site

It involves getting more credit to improve something called your credit utilization rate, which is simply how much you owe divided by your available credit. This makes up 30 percent of your credit score. For example, if you owe $4,000 and have $4,000 in total available credit, your ratio is 100 percent (4,000 ÷ 4,000 × 100), which is bad. If, however, you owe only $1,000 but have $4,000 in available credit, your credit utilization rate is a much better 25 percent ($1,000 ÷ $4,000 × 100). Lower is preferred because lenders don’t want you regularly spending all the money you have available through credit—it’s too likely that you’ll default and not pay them anything

5. Get more credit. (Warning! Do this only if you have no debt.)

4. Keep your cards for a long time and keep them active

3. Negotiate a lower APR

Most people should switch from a for-fee card to a free card, so ask your credit card company what they’ll do for you. If they waive your fees, great! If not, switch to a no-fee credit card

Say, “I’d like to have this removed

2. Get all fees waived on your card

Paying your bills on time is absolutely critical