Here are the top credit reporting services that you can use to stay on the top of your credit score at all times:

1. Equifax: Equifax gives you immediate access to your 3 nationwide credit reports and daily monitoring of all 3 credit reports with customizable alerts. You are also guaranteed by up to $1,000,000 dollars in insurance.

2. MyFico: MyFico is the top dog in the credit reporting category. It monitors your credit report at Equifax on a daily basis and your FICO^® score on a weekly basis and lets you know when you reach your target score or when you qualify for a better interest rate. You’ll also get alerts if there are any major changes in your credit report. A great way to keep up with your credit history without having to spend too much on it on a consistent basis.

3. TrueCredit: TrueCredit is another top credit reporting service that lets you keep up with your score and protect yourself against errors and ID theft. TrueCredit gives you 3-Bureau Credit Reports & Scores that can be  updated every 30 days plus alerts once major changes have happened in your credit report. You also get $25,000 ID theft insurance as a part of this package.

4. Free Score 360: one of the best ways to protect your identity is by keeping on top your credit record. And what a better way to do that by getting your credit information from credit bureaus. Free Score 360 gets you all 3 credit reports from TransUnion, Equifax & Experian, and it monitors them for you as well. This service allows you to stay on the top of your credit history at all times and avoid major errors or issues on your report.

5. CreditReport.com: another credit monitoring service that monitors your 3 credit reports and makes sure you are in the know when a change happens in our credit report. CreditReport.com alerts help you keep an open eye and defeat ID thefts before they can do any major damage.

Whether you decide to go with one of these premium services or just stick with your free credit scores, you want to make sure you read your reports carefully to identify any errors or suspicious entries. The last thing you want is not getting the deal or the job you deserve because of an error in your credit report.

Blippy is one of those startups. It’s based on a very interesting concept. Essentially, you provide them with your financial information, and the service tells the world what you are buying. On the surface, it sounds like a very interesting service. After all, you can give others an idea what you are buying for real. What you don’t expect to see with such a service is your credit card numbers been leaked to Google. Unfortunately, that’s what seems to have happened. It’s not known how widespread the problem is, but the fact that some credit card numbers have made it to Google’s cache is alarming.

That’s the problem with giving away your credit card information to any company. Some companies are better than others when handling your private information but no service is foolproof. You can always keep on the top of your credit report or sign up for an ID protection service to reduce the risk of your identity and financial information being stolen without you knowing it. But the best way to approach this is by not giving up your information to companies you are not too sure about. In fact, you should try to minimize the number of companies that have access to your information.

Here is how Blippy people intend to fix the issue:

As a continuation of our efforts from yesterday, when four credit card numbers were discovered in Google’s cache, we’re taking the following measures: 1. We’re continuing to work with Google to have them remove all sensitive information from their cache. 2. We’re analyzing our backup databases from January and February to understand what additional information the Google cache may have.

Would that really make people who have had their information found on Google feel better? I am not sure. That’s why you should not share your information with any company unless you absolutely have to. “Social” may be the game in town but that does not mean you should risk having your sensitive information exposed to the world just because you want to be “social.”

The app will continue locating your iPhone and sending you e-mails so you know where your phone is. You can then use the information to retrieve your iPhone and inform the authorities. In these tough times, there are plenty of unethical people and criminals who don’t feel bad grabbing your phone. This app can certainly teach them to think twice before they pick up another iPhone.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just turn your credit card information off when this happened in real life? We are still far away from bio-metric and wireless solutions such as that. In the meantime, you can count on apps such as Trap a Thief to recover your stolen phone, and that’s a start.

If you are looking for a a credit card iPhone application, here are 5 you should try:

ProcessAway Credit Card Terminal: one of the best credit card apps for iPhone. Let’s you authorize and capture charges, verify and hold funds, void holds, issue refunds, and do all kinds of things for your business on the go.

Billing- Credit Card Terminal: a premium credit card terminal application for iPhone that lets you enter transactions, manage your customers, and your business tax issues right on your phone.

A Personal Assistant Premium: a wonderful iPhone app that lets you manage your bank accounts and credit card information while you are on the move.

Debt Snowball Pro: if you have got a lot of debt, and you want to eliminate your debt as fast as possible, Debt Snowball is your app. Very simple to use and helps you find out how much you need to pay to finish up your loan as fast as possible.

iMerchant Pro – Credit Card Terminal: lets you take credit cards, email receipts, track sales, and more right on your phone.

What’s your favorite iPhone credit card application

We are getting awfully close to tax time, and a lot of people are worried about getting their taxes done right. But there is never a better time to protect your identity with ID theft services than right now. Many ID theft companies are offering promotions either for tax time or just in general to help you get your financial life in order and avoid having to deal with identity theft. LifeLock and TrustID are two top ID Theft protection services that are running promotions in the month of February. So don’t forget to check them out before they expire:

• LifeLock: one of the best ID theft service protections on the market. For a limited time, they are giving away the H&R tax software for free for those who sign up for their service. Ends by the end of February
• TrustID: you can save 20% on all Family Identity Theft Protection plans. If you want to give your family the gift of ID protection, TrustID is a great option to consider.

Both these services can help you reduce the risk of having your ID stolen by hackers and ID thieves. ID theft could happen to anybody no matter how you are careful. And while I don’t recommend sharing your information (e.g. social security #) with the world. the above services could give you peace of mind on a daily basis.

Credit card companies will have to find more ways to extract money from their customers. One way to do that is by adding an inactivity fee. So if you don’t use your card enough, you may have to pay a fee to keep your account open. Annual fee and higher APRs may also be in the horizon.

So here is the moral of story. Credit card rules may have gotten tighter with addition of more consumer protection measures. At the same time, that is not going to keep credit issuers from finding ways to make money off of you. If you have a card that you don’t use regularly, you may want to cancel it or distribute your costs evenly across all your credit cards. But don’t fall for this scheme and spend more than you have. Canceling a credit line may not be ideal, but if it saves you money, it’s a must.

You heard that right. Credit card companies are not too happy about the latest regulations that will go into effect in the next year, and they are using every lawful tool available to them to make enough money to cover their losses. So it’s not surprising to see them raise their interest rates. But an APR of 79.9%? Is that even possible? Apparently it is. First Premier Bank has now become the record holder in the APR department by charging an obscene amount of interest. The bank is apparently testing the fees and may not keep it on forever.

In reality, you can’t blame credit card companies for trying to be profitable businesses. But there needs to be regulations to protect consumers against obscene interest rates. Most people wouldn’t even fall for such offers, but people are so desparate these days that you just don’t know what they are willing to do. The CEO of Cardhub put it best:

Even when the cost of credit is astronomical, for people in true emergencies, it’s much better than not having access to credit

At the end of the day, we need to change the culture of spending in this country. You should not spend the money you don’t have and looking at the possibility of paying 79.9% interest on the balance due on an annual basis should only turn people off. Unfortunately people continue to go beyond their means and no regulation seems to change that.

Visa Black Card is not for the faint of heart. It’s certainly not for everyone. It’s one thing to get a good credit card. Getting an excellent credit credit card can be tough, but luxury credit cards such as  Visa Black card push it to a whole other level. Visa Black Card is a luxury credit card offer by Barclay’s Bank designed for about 1% of folks in the U.S.

The Visa Black card will get you noticed. It’s made of carbon graphite, which sets it apart from other plastic cards on the market. But if that’s not enough, only a certain few can even qualify for this card. And if you are lucky to qualify for Visa Black card, you’ll enjoy 24-hour Concierge Service and luxury gifts from some of the world’s top brands. There is also a cash back feature (1%), which could come in handy as this card packs great spending power, and the more you spend, the more change you will have for other things. And don’t forget the Travel Lounge Priority Pass!

Who’s this card for?

For anyone who qualifies for the offer (but don’t hold your breath if your credit is not perfect). Only a select few can get this card. You can apply for this card as a consumer or professional. But if you have had experience with American Express Centurion or Accolades card, you probably know how hard it is to get approved for these luxury credit cards.The Visa luxury Black card is a great addition to the world of luxury credit offers. Not everyone can get it, and the $495 annual fee is not cheap, but if you do get it, you know you have made it

November may be coming to an end, but there are still plenty of good deals to take advantage of before the shopping season ends. Since Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just a few days away,  there are going to be plenty of good deals to take advantage of. LifeLock also has a good deal going for the holiday season. As you probably know, LifeLock is one of the best identity theft protection services on the market. They protect your credit and help you reverse the damages that may have been done by ID thieves. The service is cheap as well. It costs as low as $99 annually. So in some sense, it’s a no brainer.

LifeLock is having a promotion for November, giving you 10% off annual or monthly plans plus 30 days of free service. That should give you enough time to test the service to find out whether it is right for you. Of course, you won’t know how helpful these services are until you have your ID stolen or messed with. But there are still some tangible benefits to using LifeLock:

• WalletLock™

  WalletLock™

  WalletLock™ assists you in the recovery of the contents of your lost or stolen wallet and sensitive documents; including your credit/debit cards, driver’s license, Social Security card, insurance card(s), checkbook, and traveler’s checks (excludes cash, pictures, and other monies).

• eRecon™

  eRecon™

  eRecon™ patrols over 10,000 criminal websites for the illegal trading or selling of your identity and other personal financial information.

• TrueAddress™

  TrueAddress™

  TrueAddress™ notifies you when a change of address is made to verify the request was made by you and not identity thieves rerouting your mail to another address.

• Pre-Approved Credit Card Opt-Out

  Pre-Approved Credit Card Opt-Out

  Pre-Approved Credit Card Opt-Out – we request the removal of your name from the lists that are responsible for sending you pre-approved credit card offers.

• LifeLock Identity Alert™ system

  LifeLock Identity Alert™ system

  Our advanced LifeLock Identity Alert™ system provides you broader identity coverage, greater control, and early notification by phone, email, and/or postal mail whenever we detect your personal information being used to apply for many forms of credit cards, wireless services, retail credit, utilities, check reorders, mortgage loans, auto loans, and non-credit related payday loans.

• $1 Million Total Service Guarantee

LifeLock’s coupon (NOVEMBERCOUPON) is valid for November only (saves you 10%). So take advantage if you don’t have an ID Theft service protecting your credit.

If you are new to the credit card game or just haven’t spend time to find out what you need to do to better manage your relationships with credit card companies, here are 5 books that you should read:

How You Can Profit from Credit Cards: shows you the right way to manage your credit cards and take advantage of low interests to save money and get everything you need for less.

BestCredit – How to Win the Credit Game: if you think credit card companies are the most honest folks around, think again. While they may not want to trick you, they do bank on you missing the smallest details. Read this book to find out how to deal with them properly.

How to Take Advantage of the People Who Are Trying to Take Advantage of You: find out how you can make money from credit cards and use their tactics against them.

Can I Pay My Credit Card Bill with a Credit Card?: a beginner’s book designed to help you get answers to those burning questions that you don’t feel like asking in public.

The Skinny on Credit Cards: another great book that shows you how to play with credit card companies on a level footing. You certainly don’t want to be taken advantage of by them.

There you have it. These books are not the only resources you should refer to but they are a good start. The key here is not to engage in a relationship with credit companies without knowing the game.