My first card, card "A", has an APR of 8.9%; card "B" has an APR of 9.9%; and card "C" has an APR of 17.9% -Ouch ! I knew I had to see what I could do about this"out of range" interest rate on card "C". So I considered a couple of options.

One choice would be to transfer or switch balance on card "C" to a new card with a lower APR. This would be very easy to do since I had received several pre-approved credit card offers earlier in week. They included "convenience checks" that I could use to payoff that high APR credit card, thereby transferring that balance to a new account.

I decided against this option however because I didn't really want to add another account to my credit profile. Your credit score, that "magic number" that establishes your credit-worthiness to merchants can be affected negatively by having too many accounts.

So instead I decided to contact issuer of credit card "C" to see what they could do about that 17.9% APR which seemed so out of line with my two other credit card accounts. I reasoned this was better of two options before me since I've already established a relationship with this company; a relationship which included many years of on-time payments which reflects positively in my credit profile with credit bureaus.

I called 800 number and talked to a very a nice gentleman. I explained to him reason for my call; two other credit card issuers offered me a much more reasonable interest rate and so I'd like to see what his company could offer to me.

Joe on other hand is a renter, who wants to buy his first home in near future. He pays his rent on time every month as well as his phone and utility bills. Joe is also a good credit consumer but his on-time payments are not reflected in his credit profiles. Why? Because major credit reporting agencies are not set up to track this type of payment and therefore they are not reflected in Joe’s credit score. Chances are good that Joe’s credit score will be lower than Sue’s because his on-time rent payments go untracked by credit bureaus.

As a result Joe will be quoted a higher interest rate and higher fees to his lender when he applies for his first home mortgage. Seems a bit unfair doesn’t it? The good news for Joe and other renters like him is that credit reporting system is about to change.