An interview between Scott Bilker of DebtSmart.com and Norm Magnuson, President of Public Affairs, from the Consumer Data Industries Association.


The Questions (posed by a consumer named Nicole):
1. I have been told that certain credit cards (e.g. Capital One, Cross Country, and others like those) do not carry a lot of weight on your credit report. I was always under the impression that all credit cards carried the same weight. What is the truth?


2. I would like to pay off my credit cards. Should I just pay them off and try not to use them? Or should I just go ahead and cancel them?





Scott: "Are there certain types of credit cards that look better on a credit report."


Norm: "The lenders make that decision."


Scott: "Can you tell if a secured or unsecured credit card is listed on a credit report, and does that affect your score?"


Norm: "No, they don't designate secured or unsecured."


Scott: "So all lenders have their own criteria."


Norm: "Oh, absolutely. All 10,000 lenders develop their own underwriting criteria. Some, because of their interest rates, and other factors, are willing to provide cards or loans to consumers that might be less credit-worthy than others. With all of the competition out there, you ought to shop around for credit."

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