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Melissa Lambarena

Senior Writer & Content Strategist
Expertise
  • Credit cards •
  • debt
How I Think About Money “Reaching your financial goals is possible when you build habits at a pace that works for you. The first step toward success is to get started and leave room for error and learnings along the way. ”
9+ Years of Experience
290+ Articles Written
549K+ Readers Reached
Previous experience
NBC Los Angeles, KTLA, LA Daily News, KCET
Education
B.A. in sociology from University of California Los Angeles
Organizations
National Association of Hispanic Journalists
Melissa Lambarena is a senior writer on the credit cards team at NerdWallet. She has enthusiastically covered credit card-related topics for over nine years. Her prior experience includes nine years as a content creator for several publications and websites. Through her work, she aims to help readers extract value from credit cards to meet financial goals like stretching their budget, building credit, traveling to dream destinations and paying off debt. Her articles have been published in The Associated Press, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, USA Today and Yahoo Finance, among others. Melissa has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Melissa's take: Products that deliver

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Use Your Credit Card to Get Quick Cash with Low Fees
4:38
Featured video

Use Your Credit Card to Get Quick Cash with Low Fees

Credit cards are a convenient way to pay for something, but historically they've lacked flexible or inexpensive ways to access your credit line beyond making purchases. But lately, more convenient and affordable options are surfacing. In recent years, both traditional credit card issuers and startups have introduced products and features that make it easier — and cheaper — to tap your credit line to reimburse a friend, pay off large purchases at lower rates, cover a bill you can't normally pay with a card, or get cash deposited into your bank account. We sat down with Melissa Lambarena, our credit cards expert, to chat through all of the new options on the market. 0:00 Intro 0:13 What to know first 0:52 Targeted flexible financing credit card offers 2:10 Credit cards with installment-options built in 2:37 Services that charge your card 3:43 Peer-to-peer payments 4:02 Final thoughts And... the latest on flexible credit lines on our site: Card Issuers Are Offering Cheaper Ways to Access Your Credit Line: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/card-issuers-cheaper-ways-access-credit-line What Is a Credit Card Cash Advance?: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/what-is-a-cash-advance Subscribe to our channel and also follow us here: Facebook: https://facebook.com/nerdwallet Instagram: https://instagram.com/nerdwallet Twitter: https://twitter.com/nerdwallet --- This video is for informational and educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Any comments posted under NerdWallet's official account videos are not reviewed or endorsed by NerdWallet or representatives of financial institutions affiliated with the reviewed products unless explicitly stated otherwise. Avoid disclosing personal or sensitive information such as bank account or phone numbers. NerdWallet employees do not offer personalized financial advice and will not respond to posts here.

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