Welcome! My name is Mike, the founder of CreditCardForum. Let me tell you how it all began…

Picture this: You are barely old enough to vote, but you already have credit card debt amounting to tens of thousands of dollars! Worse yet, this debt didn’t arise from frivolous or even discretionary spending, but rather from catastrophic medical bills. Well, that’s my story!

At the ripe old age of eighteen, I nearly died when my old Ford Taurus was T-boned on the driver’s side by a massive truck (went straight into me when he was supposed to have turned). After several dozen surgeries, months in the hospital, and years of rehabilitation, I eventually recovered, but as you can imagine it all came at a steep price. Friends and family call me “the real life 6 million dollar man” not just because of all the titanium inside me, but the fact that my bills amounted to a 7-figure fortune!

Fortunately, insurance covered the vast majority. However, when you subtract the vast majority from a number that large, the amount left over is still a staggering sum of money! Coming from a single-parent Midwestern household where money was also extremely tight, I only had one option to pay those bills: credit cards… and lots of them! Between them all, the cumulative amount of my credit limits ran into the six-figures (but remember folks, this was before the Great Recession when credit was handed out like candy… would be impossible nowadays).

How did I manage so much debt?

First of all let me start at by saying this is a cautionary tale… NEVER do what I did if you find yourself in similar circumstances. Such a massive debt literally engulfs your life. Night after night I found myself Googling away into the wee hours, soaking up every piece of information I could find about managing credit card debt. Tips and tricks for 0% balance transfers, APR negotiation, and credit line allocation became my specialty. This is what eventually led me to start CreditCardForum- an independent social community where consumers can help each other for all things credit card.

The shift from massive debt to milking rewards

Aside from massive debt, do you want to know what else happens when you’re regularly charging medical bills for thousands each to your credit cards? Rewards! I milked all my cash back, point, and mile programs to their max. How good am I? Let me put it to you this way… throughout the years of having this debt, I would estimate that for every $1 the banks collected from me in fees and interest, I would rake in $10 worth of rewards. That may sound crazy, but that’s what’s possible once you learn the techniques to beat the banks at their own game.

Despite the fact that I was winning the credit card game, it didn’t change the fact that I was still burdened with an astronomical debt, continuously being floated across dozens of cards. And when the stakes are that high, even my ultra-frugal lifestyle wasn’t enough to pay down the problem. Then an idea popped into my head: Why not let the credit card companies pay off the debt for me?

How is that possible you ask? Well thanks to CreditCardForum, I had a platform where I could sell advertising. And of course, the natural fit would be selling ads to the credit card companies themselves. So I did this and used the earnings to pay off the bills one by one. Today I am proud to say I am debt free.

But whether you’re managing debt or chasing rewards, CreditCardForum is here to help you.

Do you need card recommendations?

From credit union to store cards, the forum and blog is buzzing with reviews. If there is a specific card you have in mind, type it into the search box in the upper-right and there’s a good chance you’ll find it on here. For a list of special deals CCF has scored with the banks, check out the latest offers on the CreditCardForum homepage.

Do you need advice or feedback?

CreditCardForum is a leading portal for reviews, opinions, and advice generated by people just like you.  Get advice on low interest credit cards, the best gas rebate credit cards, how to deal with fraud… or just lousy customer support which sometimes can be just as bad!  Whatever your questions and concerns may be, check out the forum to post your question and get feedback! As a disclaimer, I need to say this site is “not professional financial or legal advice.”

Do you work in the media?

There are tons of credit card sites out there, but how many are built around consumer sentiment? CreditCardForum is the leading social community solely dedicated to credit cards. Would you like to find out how consumers feel about a specific issue? Whether you need feedback about an unfair billing practice, opinions on the best travel cards, or just about anything else… I can help you! I’m available to help you with your story literally anytime; days, weekends, even on a holiday at 3 am… I will make it work! Just shoot me a message using the contact form. I look forward to talking with you!