About the Author
Curtis E. Arnold, a well-known buyer educator and advocate, is the founder of CardRatings.com, an award-winning web site that has been supplying objective, current data regarding credit cards free of charge since 1998. His internetsite has made it easy for millions of cardholders to find more beautiful credit cards and lower their card debt.
Some 1,000 distinctive credit card offerings are rated by both experts and cardholders on CardRatings.com, and new reviews are added daily. Cards are categorized for people with no credit or poor, fair, good, or splendid credit–and by whether they offer a low-interest rate, cash back, miles, or other rewards. CardRatings.com likewise provides a free forum (containing over 115,000 posts)–where Curtis interacts regularly with participants–to talk about credit issues such as sharing ideas on how to make the most of credit cards, get out of debt, and solve credit issues. Sharing elaborate info with buyers has three indispensable further and added gains from Curtis’s point of view: It inspires more inviolable contest among card issuers, helps formulate a more consumer-friendly credit card industry, and keeps CardRatings.com in touch with the needs of cardholders.
Curtis knows firsthand the desolating effects of credit card debt. By the time he was finished with his graduate studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, his credit card debt reached $45,000. The stress it formulated in his life was “unbelievable,” as Curtis puts it, and has a lot to do with why he wrote this book. His goal is to spare you the experience of what he went through and to show you the best ways to gain from your credit cards.
Over the years, Curtis and CardRatings.com have received an enormous amount of national advertising and praise, thanks to consultations Curtis has given to The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Money Magazine, NPR (National Public Radio), CNN, ABC News Radio, AARP, Dow Jones Newswire, Bottom Line/Personal, PBS, SmartMoney Magazine, Reader’s Digest, MSN Money, MSNBC TV, The Associated Press, CNBC, TIME Magazine, and more.
Since it is founding, Curtis has expanded CardRatings. com’s role and online offerings. For example, the internetlocation now provides all the selective information (card terms and conditions) for the credit card and ATM/debit survey published by the New York State Banking Department, the oldest bank regulatory agency in the nation. The website also includes credit card news and counsel on everything from getting a line of credit to getting a copy of your credit report to getting a better rate or rebate. It’s also a good place to turn if you’re looking for business or student cards.
Arkansas Business, a weekly journal, chosen Curtis as a “Top 40 Under 40” business leader in 2005, recognizing him as an intriguing business and political leader who bears watching. He was chosen as a National Council of La Raza panelist in 2006 to talk about Hispanic credit card issues, and he was a guest speaker in 2007 at The Responsible Credit Roundtable, which provides a forum for leaders of the credit card industry and nonprofit organizations to devise, test, and apply ways to improve communication and account exercises to build value for both companies and customers.
Curtis has a queer passion for educating students when it comes to credit. He serves on the Advisory Board for the Center for Consumer Financial Services at Rochester Institute of Technology, which provides national leadership and exploration on student credit issues. Curtis also steadily speaks on college campuses with regards to the ins and outs of credit. Finally, he presently serves as co-chair of the Arkansas chapter of the Jump$tart Coalition for Financial Literacy, which seeks to educate students when it comes to personal finance issues.
Curtis participates in other buyer advocacy groups with respective missions. For example, he contributes on a on a weekly basis basis to CreditBloggers.com, a blog where leading financial experts talk about credit, loan, debt, and identity theft topics. Curtis is also a fellow member of Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending, a coalition of Arkansans devoted to combating abusive payday-lending practices. Finally, he’s a fellow member of the Financial Literacy Education Consortium, a community of pros concerned with “best practices” in the deliverance of financial education to their constituents.
Before founding CardRatings.com, Curtis worked in respective capacities in the financial industry, for example, at Advancial Federal Credit Union, Regions Bank, and Metropolitan National Bank. In addition, Curtis gained a great deal of priceless “eBusiness” experience by working for Intelemedia Communications in the high-tech corridor of North Dallas.
Curtis enjoys being involved in community organizations in the Little Rock area, where he has served on the Board of Directors for Arkansas Festival Ballet. He has been a fellow member of Toastmaster’s International, the West Little Rock Rotary Club, Techpreneur, a nonprofit establishment that inspires technical entrepreneurship, and the Little Rock Bop Club. Curtis is likewise an active fellow member of The Summit Church in North Little Rock.
Last but not least, Curtis cherishes his family life. His wife Nancy serves as the accounting supervisor for CardRatings.com. Curtis and Nancy presently reside in North Little Rock, Arkansas with their five children– Dallas, Erin, Hunter, Avery, and Claire.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Praise for How You Can Profit from Credit Cards
Finally, someone has written a guide for savvy buyers who want to make the most of the plastic in their wallets. Curtis Arnold explains incisively how to maximize your rewards so you’re rather in a literal sense getting free cash and likewise outlines winning schemes for negotiating the lowest interest rate and using remainder transfers to your advantage. Anyone who wants to build credit, improve their credit, or net income from their credit cards must read this book.
—Liz Pulliam Weston
MSN Money Personal Finance Columnist and Bestselling Author of Your Credit Score and Easy Money
Curtis Arnold is America’s premier credit card expert. Whether you’re attempting to get your original card, compare credit offers, or figure out how to beat the credit card companies at their own game, Arnold’s wisdom and insider tips will prove invaluable.
—Lynnette Khalfani-Cox
The “Money Coach” and Author of The New York Times Bestseller Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom
If you have had sufficient of credit card tricks and traps, this book will show you how to turn the tables. Curtis Arnold knows the credit card business inside and out and offers proven ways to put plastic to work for you, rather than versus you.
—Gerri Detweiler
Consumer Advocate and Author of four books on personal finance including the forthcoming book Stop Debt Collectors
For most Americans, credit cards are seen as a necessary evil. Curtis Arnold transforms that perception. Using his advice, persons may get rebates, perks, better interest rates, and all kinds of gains from their cards that they never knew were possible. This book helps you become the master of your credit cards rather of a victim.
—Jordan E. Goodman
“America’s Money Answers Man” and Bestselling Author of Everyone’s Money Book on Credit
Curtis Arnold provides you with tips for protecting yourself from highpriced credit card traps, how to use credit to your advantage, and much more. This is a must-read book!
—Marcia Brixey
Author of The Money Therapist and Founder and President of Money Wise Women Educational Services
Curtis Arnold’s new book is loaded with great information, including numerous intuitive tips when it comes to how buyers may in truth use credit and credit cards to gain themselves financially rather of just benefiting the credit card companies. This is a most perceptive book.
—John Ulzheimer
President of Consumer Education for Credit.com “Credit Caoch” contributor on CNBC’s The Millionaire Inside and Author of “You’re Nothing but a Number; Why achieving outstanding credit scores will have to be on your list of wealth building strategies“
Credit cards may be a worthful cash tool when applied correctly, and Curtis Arnold tells you how. From intensified buyer protections to remunerative rewards, “How You Can Profit From Credit Cards” reveals mysteries of the credit card industry that may gain you rather of the bank. This book makes you an expert not only when it comes to credit cards, but a lot of of the credit issues in your life. And it blows the cover off a good deal of dirty tricks by card issuers. When it comes to paying with plastic, Arnold knows his stuff.
—Gregory Karp
Award-winning syndicated personal finance columnist and Author of Living Rich by Spending Smart: How to Get More of What You Really Want.
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Must read for those mesmerized in all distinct elements of the credit world