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A balance transfer card is a credit card that's designed to save you money on interest. They typically offer 6 - 18 months on 0% interest on the amount transferred, but they charge a 3-5% transfer fee on the amount. This is a great interest saving option if you have a large balance on a high interest credit card and you don't have the money to pay it off in the near future.

The quality of the card depends on your needs. We recommend applying for cards with the lowest transfer fee (3%) and the longest 0% APR period (usually 18 months). We have have great experiences with the Capital One Venture card, the Barclays Jet Blue card, and the Chase Freedom card.

The quality of a travel credit card depends on your needs. If you fly often, we recommend getting a credit card that's affiliated with an airline (such as the Barclays' Jet Blue card), because they have much more generous points offering than a traditional credit card. They are also often affiliated with other travel services (such as hotels and transport services) resulting in even more cash back rewards. For a full breakdown of the these credit cards, lease visit: https://www.nerdwallet.com/best/credit-cards/travel

The quality of a cash back credit card depends on your needs. Different banks have different contracts with different types of merchants, so be careful when choosing which one to apply for. For example, my Capital One Venture card offers 5% cash back on gas stations and 3% cash back on dining, while my Amazon credit card offers 5% cash back on all Amazon purchases. We recommend taking a look at your spending habits to see which categories you spend the most money on.

There are many ways to save money with credit cards. First and foremost, you can take advantage of the introductory offers on most credit cards, which may be either a cash reward or a 0% APR introductory period for either purchases or balance transfers.

The avalanche method involves making all your minimum payments on your credit cards and allocating any additional money to the credit card with the highest interest rate. This method saves you the most money and gets you out of debt the fastest. The snowball method, on the other hand, involves making all your minimum payments and allocating any additional money to the credit card with the lowest balance. The benefit of this method is that it boosts your morale by allowing you to see the progress of your payments much quicker.

The best budgeting apps in our opinion are Truebill, YNAB, and of course, Debtly.

The best way to save money on interest is to 1) get a 0% balance transfer card 2) get a 0% purchase credit card and 3) get a credit card consolidation loan (though Payoff, Sofi, or Tally)

We recommend using Honey and Groupon. You can download their browser extensions to get coupons applied directly to your checkout portal when making an online purchase. We also recommend shopping at a bulk grocery store (such as BJ's or Costco) for maximum savings on groceries and household items.

Credit scoring differences between fintech apps (like Credit Karma and NerdWallet) and credit bureaus (like TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax) can be caused by a variety of factors. One of the most important factors involves the type of credit scoring model used in calculating the credit score. The FICO score has long been the industry standard, but recently the VantageScore has become a prominent alternative.

Yes, they are reliable, but their credit scoring model might be different from the model used by the official credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax). This is why your Credit Karma score is usually a little different from your official credit score. Official credit reporting agencies use the FICO scoring model, while most fintech apps use the Vantage 3.0 scoring model.

Create an account with Experian. It's free for the starter subscription but that's all you need. It grants you annual credit score updates. Credit Karma gives you weekly credit score updates, but their credit scoring model is different from the ones used by the three US credit bureaus.

Please see the following article for comprehensive breakdown on this topic: https://www.debtly.app/post/alternative-ways-to-improve-your-credit-score

Please see the following article for a comprehensive guide on this: https://www.debtly.app/post/alternative-ways-to-improve-your-credit-score

Yes, closing a credit card account decreases your credit score because it decreases the average age of your credit accounts (which makes up 15% of your credit score).