Courtney Mihocik

Senior Editor, Credit Cards
Ribbon Icon EXPERTISE
  • Credit scores
  • Building credit
  • Student credit cards
  • Credit card comparisons
Education Icon EDUCATION
  • Bachelor of Science in Journalism, Ohio University

 

Courtney Mihocik is an editor at Bankrate Credit Cards and CreditCards.com with expertise in helping people with limited or no credit to understand their options for improving their credit scores. She focuses on the subprime category and provides guidance to people on their credit-building journeys.

Courtney is passionate about creating a space where people can learn more about managing their personal finances, specifically helping her peers achieve their credit card and credit score goals. She believes that public education fails to teach the essentials of personal finance to students and wants to make up for it in her editorial work.

Previously, she led insurance content at Reviews.com and worked as the loans editor at The Simple Dollar, where she produced daily personal finance articles from founder Trent Hamm in addition to student loan, personal loan, business loan and bad credit loan articles. Before entering the digital media space, Courtney worked in hyper-local print journalism, covering arts, culture, food, news and more for publications in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Courtney wants you to know
Courtney graduated college with a 750 credit score, which quickly plummeted to the 500s when she nearly defaulted on her high student loan payments she couldn’t afford. After applying for an income-driven repayment plan and six years of careful budgeting, hustling and responsible credit use, she’s happy to report her credit score is back hovering around 750 and she can qualify for better financial products.
Courtney’s recommended readings

Rethinking credit: Tips for first-gen credit users
How bad credit affects your mental health
Consumer credit protections: Know your rights

We all make mistakes with our finances, and it’s not shameful to ask for advice or help to get your life in order financially. With credit cards, it’s especially important to be wary of racking up a high balance and relying on transfers to avoid interest. As an editor, I want Gen Z and millennials to have the same — if not better — financial opportunities than generations before.

— Courtney Mihocik

Courtney's latest articles

  • Instacart Mastercard®

    A great choice for grocery delivery fans, but markups and fees could take a chunk of your earnings. See our full Instacart Mastercard review.

    13 min read Oct 05, 2022

  • U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card

    Start-up and expanding business owners may appreciate the lengthy intro APR that the U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card offers

    9 min read Oct 03, 2022

  • Wells Fargo Rewards® Card

    The Wells Fargo Rewards card offers a decent rewards rate and stands out from the crowd with 15 months of 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers.

    6 min read Sep 27, 2022

  • IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card

    The IHG® Rewards Club Traveler Credit Card offers great travel points-earning potential by letting cardholders earn twice when they stay at IHG properties

    11 min read Aug 31, 2022

  • First Access Visa® Card

    For those in the market for a credit-building card, the First Access Visa Credit Card is a possible option, but it comes with lots of fees.

    12 min read Aug 02, 2022

  • Brink’s Armored™ Account

    A solid prepaid card—although kept nearly identical to Netspend cards—but upgrading to a debit or credit card is still worthwhile.

    7 min read Jul 07, 2022

  • Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card

    Though it's relatively low-cost for an unsecured credit-building card, the Mission Lane Visa is pricier than most secured cards.

    10 min read Sep 14, 2021