Highlights
- Extensive journalism experience covering personal finance and business topics
- Covered home price fluctuations leading up to the housing market crash
- Views credit cards as a good financial resource to draw on, if used wisely
Experience
Poonkulali Thangavelu is a senior writer and columnist at CreditCards.com and Bankrate, addressing debt and credit card-related legal and regulatory issues.
She believes that making good financial decisions enables people to get more out of life and is happy to contribute to this endeavor. She uses credit cards extensively and sees them as a good financial resource to draw on, if used wisely.
She has extensive journalism experience covering personal finance and business topics. She draws on her financial expertise (she holds an MBA degree, with finance and marketing concentrations, as well as a BA in economics from accredited Indian universities, in addition to an M.A. in journalism from the University of Mississippi, where she was awarded a graduate assistantship) and likes to simplify the subject matter to enable readers to make good decisions. And she has participated in the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton seminars for business journalists program to keep abreast of business topics.
While covering the mortgage market for National Mortgage News, she curated and edited a newsletter targeting the home-equity lending niche of the mortgage industry. In this role, she cautioned that home prices were getting out of hand in the period leading to the housing market crash that started in 2006.
She has also contributed to multiple business and consumer-oriented publishers, including Investopedia, CreditKarma and Multi-Housing News. Her work has been picked up by various national publishers such as the San Francisco Gate, Chicago Tribune and McGraw Hill, along with being syndicated to Fidelity, MSN, Nasdaq, Yahoo! and others.
Her career includes a stint doing consumer market research for global advertising agency Ogilvy (formerly Ogilvy & Mather) as well as experience as an equity analyst and writer.
Making good financial decisions enables people to get more out of life, and I’m happy to contribute to that endeavor.
— Poonkulali Thangavelu
Poonkulali's latest articles
-
Paying off credit card debt could help raise your credit score and bring down your overall debt levels, making you a more attractive prospect to lenders and fetching a lower interest rate.
4 min read
Mar 30, 2023
-
What happens to your credit card account if the bank issuing it shuts down?
3 min read
Mar 29, 2023
-
Here’s what you should do if you run into credit card fraud while abroad.
3 min read
Mar 24, 2023
-
Credit card interest rates have a high mark up over the prime rate. Why are card APRs so high?
5 min read
Mar 22, 2023
-
The Fed continues its fight against inflation and is expected to take rates higher, meaning cardholders could see higher rates, too.
4 min read
Mar 22, 2023
-
Credit card rates have been going up. When can a lender raise your rate?
4 min read
Mar 10, 2023
-
You are generally not responsible for your spouse’s credit card debt unless you are a co-signer for the card or it is a joint account. But some state laws vary and you may be liable for this debt.
3 min read
Mar 08, 2023
-
Credit card balances have been growing, with consumers piling on debt as prices rise. The most recent Fed data shows card balances continued to grow in January.
3 min read
Mar 07, 2023
-
Do only food items qualify for grocery cash back rewards?
3 min read
Mar 07, 2023
-
What happens if your issuer accidentally sends you two credit cards, and how to ensure it doesn’t hurt your credit score.
3 min read
Feb 27, 2023
-
The CFPB’s recent proposal to cap late fees, and what it could mean for you.
5 min read
Feb 22, 2023
-
Credit card issuers must provide an explanation for denying your billing error dispute.
3 min read
Feb 14, 2023
-
More than half of U.S. adults say financial infidelity is just as bad as physical cheating.
4 min read
Feb 09, 2023
-
If you make more than your minimum payment, the excess should go towards higher-interest balances.
2 min read
Feb 01, 2023
-
A credit card offers a line of credit and you can build up credit with it.
6 min read
Mar 29, 2023
-
A variety of cards on the market meet specific needs. How do you choose a suitable card?
6 min read
Mar 20, 2023
-
From security codes to minimum payments, here are the concepts you need to know.
6 min read
Mar 14, 2023
-
Credit card consumers enjoy various protections under laws such as the CARD Act.
5 min read
Mar 09, 2023
-
If you are under 21, you will need proof of your income or to add a co-signer to get a card, but there are other options you can consider.
4 min read
Mar 08, 2023
-
Looking to remove an authorized user? The process is simple.
5 min read
Mar 07, 2023
-
What’s the difference between preapproved and prequalified? Learn the difference.
5 min read
Mar 06, 2023
-
Learn the benefits of making your child an authorized user on your credit card.
5 min read
Mar 03, 2023
-
Building a good FICO credit score is one of the best things you can do for your financial health. Here’s what your FICO score entails.
5 min read
Mar 01, 2023
-
A business credit card is a great way to keep your personal and business finances separate and can come with some extra perks.
4 min read
Jan 18, 2023
-
The CARD Act doesn’t set a cap on interest rates, but there are things you can do if your rate rises.
5 min read
Dec 23, 2021
-
You can carry a balance on a credit card, but not with a charge card.
6 min read
Feb 16, 2023
-
Both cards offer 2 percent cash back on all purchases, but offer different benefits.
5 min read
Jan 30, 2023
-
Compare and pick the best 0% APR travel credit cards
6 min read
Jan 30, 2023
-
This card lets you pay your rent with no added fees and earn rewards while you’re at it.
4 min read
Jan 26, 2023
-
Comenity Bank, now known as Bread Financial, offers 140+ store credit cards to retailers around the world.
5 min read
Jan 25, 2023
-
No matter the season, a rewards card can help lighten the load of your spending.
11 min read
Jan 18, 2023
-
The right credit card deal can make holding a card even more valuable.
6 min read
Jan 16, 2023
-
The Citi Premier and Chase Sapphire Preferred are both solid rewards cards.
5 min read
Jan 13, 2023
-
You can pay your student loans off with credit, but that doesn’t mean you should.
5 min read
Jan 10, 2023
-
Here’s what you need to know about the best cards in this niche.
5 min read
Jan 10, 2023
-
In a world where most people pay with plastic for convenience already, it makes sense to have a comprehensive credit card strategy in place to get the most out of cash back rewards.
5 min read
Jan 05, 2023
-
The Citi Double Cash earns the most rewards, but the Capital One Quicksilver offers some additional benefits that might be more valuable to some cardholders.
6 min read
Dec 09, 2022
-
Need extra time to pay for your Amazon purchases? Find out your financing options here.
6 min read
Nov 21, 2022
-
Business owners looking for cash back rewards may want to consider the Capital One Spark Cash Plus or the Ink Business Cash Credit Card.
7 min read
Apr 04, 2022