We Regret to Inform You…

We regret to inform you, we are unable to approve your recent credit card application.

Our decision was based in whole or partially on the following factors…

Blah blah blah.  You know the rest.

So, I got my first denial a few weeks ago.

But don’t worry, please, hold back your tears.  It’s no big deal, and I wanted to write this for those of you out there that are really scared of getting denied.  In reality, a couple of denials won’t destroy you or your credit.

I mean, it’s not like you serve jail time for just asking about a new credit card…

“But, how do you stay out of debt?”

I get plenty of questions from my friends about my credit card habits.  “Why do you have so many?”    “Aren’t credit cards annoying?”  “Can’t you just use a debit card?”  “How do you stay out of debt?”

That last one, or variations thereof, is usually the most common.  We’ve come to learn that ‘credit card’ is synonymous with debt.  You know what?  For a lot of people, that’s true.

But it doesn’t have to be!  I follow just a few rules to make sure I make money (or miles!) off of credit card companies, not the other way around.

Here are my three cardinal rules of credit cards.