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Wednesday, March 17th 2010
Credit Card Glossary

Credit Card Glossary: Terms and Definitions

Confused by credit card terms? CreditCards.com's glossary of credit card definitions will help. From account holder to Regulation Z, we have defined the most-common and most-confusing credit card terms.
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Utilization ratio

Utilization ratio is used in the calculation of credit scores. It compares the amount of credit being used to the total credit available to the borrower. Having a low ratio -- in other words, not much debt but a lot of available credit -- is good for your credit score. Also known as a balance-to-limit ratio.

Related Terms:annual percentage rate (apr), authorized user, automatic payment, available credit, balance-to-limit ratio, bank, bank card, basis point, billing cycle, cash advance fee, chapter 11 bankruptcy, chapter 13 bankruptcy, chapter 7 bankruptcy, charge-off rate, co-signer, collection, consumer credit file, cramdown, credit bureau, credit bureau risk score, credit card, credit card number, credit freeze, credit inquiry, credit limit, credit line, credit monitoring service, credit obligation, credit rating, credit report, credit reporting agency (cra), credit score, credit utilization ratio, debt, debt management plan (dmp), debt-to-income ratio, debt-to-limit ratio, debtor, default, deferred interest, deleveraging, delinquent account, double-cycle billing, expired card, fico score, finance charge, float, forbearance, foreign transaction fee, grace period, hard inquiry, hard pull, hold, inactive account, index, inquiry, introductory period, introductory rate (or intro apr), issuer, joint account, joint credit, late payment fee, line of credit, magnetic stripe, margin, mcc (merchant category codes), merchant category code (mcc), minimum finance charge, minimum payment, monthly periodic rate, new balance, opt out, over-limit, overdraft protection, pay to pay, payment due date, penalty rate, piggybacking, pin (personal identification number), purchase rate, qualifying ratio, revolving line of credit, roll rate, secured credit cards, service charge, setup fee, terms and conditions, thin file, total finance charge, unsecured credit cards, vantagescore, wall street journal prime rate, z score, z score, zero balance, zombie debt
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