What Are Interest Free Credit Cards

Posted by admin on April 12, 2011

Credit cards that charge no interest on your purchases or on your balance transfer for a certain period of time are said to be interest free credit cards. This interest free period is for a certain time and limit. This gives you the chance for more shopping around and spending without any tension of being levied any extra amount. Thus you can save a lot on these cards.

At times it is so that the interest you pay would depend entirely on how good or bad you fair in credit ranking. Your annual income and nature of past payments also matter a lot. If you have had a bad credit history then you might have to pay a higher interest as compared to those who have good credit ranking. Thus, by paying off your balance on time or even before the due date you can easily assure the interest free credit card for your good credit ranking. Today all the major credit card companies provide customers with interest free credit cards whether they are Virgin credit card or Egg credit card or even Natwest credit card accompanied with additional offers.

Any interest free credit card can prove very advantageous for you by many means. This option gives you the chance of balance transfer and helps you to pay off your existing outstanding balance of your borrowings without added burden of interest. This card proves to be the handy tool when you are looking forward to a big purchase and want to repay in the easy installments. This card proves to be a boon for you if it is used wisely. Unfortunately the credit card issuers generally hide the actual APR and which comes into picture once the interest free period is over. This proves hard because now you have to pay more than what you may wish to.

Interest free credit cards are a great option for those running into high debts. Since, you can get an opportunity to pay back your debts without mounting any more of them. But do not let the concept of interest free credit cad pile up your debt any further. Within that interest free period you have to repay your outstanding amount within the stipulated period. The best way to find the interest free credit card is to go for a detail market research, seeking all the avenues available for the information and then go for any credit card.

Posted in Credit Card | Leave a comment

What are Gold Credit Cards?

Posted by admin on April 5, 2011

Gold credit cards are special privilege cards that are traditionally offered by credit card companies either to high earners or to their loyal customers who have a good credit history. Traditionally they are considered to be status symbol because they are associated with high annual income, which offer added services and benefits.

Gold credit cards are beneficial if you are a high spender seeking associated benefits such as free air miles, cash back, reward points etc. These credit cards give you the added advantage of high or no credit limit. Though generally the credit limit is quite high still it depends on your annual income and your credit rating. Companies will certainly not offer a gold card to people with a bad credit history or to those who have low income.

The credit card companies will generally offer a better service and many more benefits to these privileged customers. Additionally, they have lower interest rates as compared to that of standard credit cards. Generally, there are low or no annual fees on Gold credit cards. View your statements, pay your card balance and transfer balances. There is an online fraud guarantee, so you’re not responsible for any unauthorized purchases.

Gold credit cards main features:

Payment protection plan protects in case of involuntary unemployment, accidental injury or sickness.
Card protection Plan protects your account in case of loss or theft of your card.
You can share it with family and friends. Thus avail a greater flexibility and convenience.
It provides complete travel insurance up to 250,000
A number of travel benefits.

A word of caution is necessary here. You will have to spend a lot to make it work for you. As with all credit, you will reap the benefits when you are able to afford the repayments, however, the moment you fail you may land yourself in a financial trouble. Missing your monthly payments would mean penalty fee and costs plus a dwindling credit rating, creating problems in future.

Posted in Credit Card | Leave a comment

What Are Credit Card Rates?

Posted by admin on March 29, 2011

Credit card rates have always been an issue in applying for a credit card. These rates are what everyone should know before choosing a credit company from another. Shopping around for the best rates will give you the best deal.

For you to own a credit card, you should first know what are credit card rates? What is an APR? What are the different kinds of rates?

Credit card rates are used to measure the interest of your credit card. It is used to know how much you would pay if you hold a balance on your account, if you have a cash advance or loan, and if you transferred a balance from other credit cards. The credit card rates are usually computed annually.

1) APR. The APR signifies the annual percentage rate of the interest. The APR is used by the bank to know how much would be charged on your bill for a yearly basis. There are two kinds of APRs:

* Fixed. This kind of APR is an interest rate which has been arranged by the bank. The fixed APR would not be changed unless the bank or the credit card owner would amend the contract of agreement. Majority of credit card accounts that has fixed rates does not change often.

* On-going. This kind of APR is a kind of interest rate that could change even after the signing of contracts and the grace period.

Note: Both the fixed and APR rates would depend on consistency of the bill payments, if you would request your APR to be changed either lower or higher and if certain government provisions was made regarding the annual rates of your credit card.

* Special APRs. These kinds of annual rates would depend on the contract you have signed. If your terms specify a penalty APR when you would not be able to pay for your bills, this kind of rates would apply.

2) Interest rate.

* Fixed. A fixed interest basically means that your rate cannot be changed unless the bank informs you that there have been some changes in the policies.

* Variable. A variable interest rate changes automatically whenever the basic rate of the bank increases or decreases.

Note: Both the fixed and the variable rates could be changed by the bank anytime. This means that any bank could alter the terms and conditions of your credit account for a fifteen-day notice.

Posted in Credit Card | Leave a comment

Watch Your Mail Credit Card Offers Are Dangerous

Posted by admin on March 22, 2011

Sure, free gifts are great. Who doesnt want a free gift? But when free credit card offers come in the mail, we may feel like were the most important person in the world but we should be careful. When those free offers are from credit card companies, we may want to avoid signing up altogether and simply throw them out! The credit card companies like us because we have good credit. But it could be our financial ruin if we sign up for too many cards!

This is because credit card providers use the concept of risk measurement to determine who need to receive a credit card. And if your credit rating is good, you seem to be a good risk to the credit card providers. So they make many of their offers attractive.

When you get these great offers in the mail, you should consider very carefully before you jump in with both feet and get every credit card that comes your way. Why? Because credit cards are loans and the lenders feel you can only have so many loans out at once before it becomes unmanageable based on your income.

Its a downward spiral: Your credit rating is so good that youre thought of as a great risk. And because they think that youre a good risk, you get many offers. But because you get lots of offers and you sign up youre thought of as a bad risk! Even if you dont use all of the available credit limit on your cards, the availability is there and thats what lending institutions look at.

And, if you find that your outstanding debts (such as credit cards, loans, or bills owing) have gotten out of hand from excess credit cards, you just might want to consider pulling it all together through a debt consolidation loan. A debt consolidation loan gives you the benefit of getting a fixed monthly payment (rather than an unknown variable payment) and a lower interest rate and usually over a longer period of time to repay.

So credit cards arent necessarily a bad thing. We need them in this day and age. But what you need to do is approach them thoughtfully, selecting the best and discarding the rest. And if things have gotten out of your control, consolidate your debt to get control of it again.

Posted in Credit Card | Leave a comment

Watch out for hidden dangers in your credit card

Posted by admin on March 15, 2011

Credit cards are a valuable tool in todays society, and have many benefits including improved cash flow and buyer security. However, credit cards have dangers too, and if they are used badly or you are unaware of the potential problems, you could end up paying out a lot of money and getting into debt. Here are some of the hidden dangers of credit cards, and how you can avoid them:

Default penalties

If you make a late payment on any bills at all, it could mean your interest rate and credit limit are affected. Even if your payment history is perfect on your credit card, late payments on other forms of credit or bills can give the credit card company an excuse to charge higher rates. To avoid this, make sure you try and pay all bills on time.

Short grace periods

Many cards used to have grace periods, meaning the period which your transactions dont gather interest, of around 30 days. Now these grace periods are getting smaller, with many companies only offering grace periods of 20 or even no period at all. This means your balance will start accruing interest as soon as you buy something, and so you will still pay interest even if you pay the bill back at the end of the month in full.
Late payment fees

If you are even 1 day late with payment of your bill, then you will incur hefty late fees, which are usually around 20-35. If you pay late more than once or twice then your interest rate can also go up. Make sure that you send payment well in advance so that your payment will always arrive on time.

Over-limit fees

Another high cost you can occur are over limit fees. If you buy something and you are near the edge of your credit limit, interest payments could push you over your limit. Going even a few pence over your limit will cost you around 20-30. These fees can soon add up. For example, if you are late with payment and the charge puts you over your limit, then you get another charge. If you are late a few times and go over your limit, you could end up spending hundreds of pounds just on fees. Make sure you know the cost of late payment and over-limit fees, and try to stay well under your limit if possible.

Mandatory arbitration

Mandatory arbitration is one thing you should look out for when you sign a credit card agreement. This clause means that if anything goes wrong and you feel the card company has acted badly, you cannot take them to court. By signing the agreement you have agreed that all matters will be settled by arbitration. This gives credit card companies the chance to act badly and not have to go to court over it. If this clause is included, make sure you think about the consequences of signing.

Although there are hidden dangers, if you are aware of them and use your card wisely then you will not incur hefty charges and will find your card extremely useful.

Posted in Credit Card | Leave a comment

Things To Avoid In A Rewards Credit Card

Posted by admin on March 8, 2011

Tough competition in the market among different credit card issuers force these companies to come up with their own strategies in attracting more customers to sign up for them credit card. The emergence of rewards credit card in a variety of categories and features can be a bit confusing for potential card holders.

As a customer, bear in mind that not all credit card issuers are genuinely seeking the card holders benefit. Although, some rewards credit card can really work to your advantage, some credit card companies seek their own advantage and only use reward programs as a means to cover up unreasonable terms and mainly to entice their card holder to spend more on their credit card.

Lets discuss some of the things that should be avoided when searching for the right rewards credit card:

High Annual Fee Rewards Credit Cards

Stay away from reward credit cards that have an expensive annual fee. Think about it. If youre going to get 1% for every pound spent on your purchases, then youll only get a 50 reward for a 5,000 purchase. If you need to pay an annual fee of 50 every year just to get your 50 reward, do you think its worth it?

Always calculate the exact possible amount of rewards you can earn and compare it with the payment you would need to pay each year to renew you credit card membership. There are rewards credit card that comes without an annual fee and offers the same point systems. Dont easily get attracted to the key features that a particular reward credit card advertisers. Instead, read the full terms and conditions to get better view of the exact incentives you can get.

High Interest Rewards Credit Cards

Watch out for reward credit cards with a high APR and at the same has a variable rate of interest. Always remember, that youll be charge with interest each time you fail to pay off your monthly credit card balance on time. If this is the case, you might end up paying for very expensive credit card bills which does not even come close to the little amount of rewards you earn.

Furthermore, variable interest rates rely on the Prime Rate. Thus, when the Prime Rate increases, your APR can also dramatically change from a reasonable rate to a very expensive one. Take note that variable APR also comes with a minimum cap which means even if the Prime Rate falls, your APR will not go below the appointed minimum cap.

Rewards Credit Cards with Blackout Dates

Some reward credit cards impose a blackout date on collecting points as well as redeeming points. If this is the case, you can end up wasting all the points youve already earned just because you did not gather the minimum points that will qualify you for a reward. Also, be careful about the terms on redeeming the points youve earned. For instance, some credit card forfeit reward points if the card holder has an outstanding balance on his account. If you dont understand the terms very clearly, you can lose your rewards without even realizing it.

Posted in Credit Card | Leave a comment

The Working Of A Credit Card

Posted by admin on March 1, 2011

Ever wondered how this amazing piece of plastic gives you the power to purchase products from various stores right from a shoe to your grocery to a refrigerator? In todays time and age it is rare to find a U S citizen without a credit card. Surveys reveal that most own at least one card and many have two and even three credit cards. Then of course there are those who have credit card folders with nearly 5 10 credit cards from various organizations.

A credit card is today an important source of identification proof apart from being really handy when you dont want to carry wads of cash with you on your person. Even if you want to rent a car, you need to have a credit card as proof. A credit card really gives you the freedom to make a purchase and then pay back for it only a month back. However, consumers have got to beware of this easy pay back system. Once you get caught in the whirlpool of having notched up your credit balances in your various cards, it is very difficult to get out of it.

If you are capable of paying back the entire amount within a month then it is great, however, most consumers tend to avail of the rolling facility, where you have to only pay back a minimum amount every amount and continue to make purchases on your card every month. This mounts to a huge sum and as they say it snowballs to a mammoth sum to a point when you cannot pay back and then issues brew with the legal system and you are in big trouble then.

You know the finance charge on certain cards can go up to a frightful 23 per cent and that means you are paying way above the actual sum you actually made your purchases. Statistics reveal that in 1999, in America, the consumers were charged nearly 1.2 trillion on their credit cards. Whew! Quite a stomach churning sum that. So, if you do own a credit card, do ensure that you dont get into the whirlpool of getting together huge sums of credit. Paying back becomes next to impossible, throws you to the far end and you become a nervous wreck as you struggle to pay back.

When you have a credit card, ensure that you use it wisely and make good use of it. Yes, this piece of plastic is indeed a fantastic invention provided you use it prudently and wisely. It can be very handy and gives you a better purchasing power and the confidence to walk into a store and make the necessary purchase. So go ahead and enjoy the many uses of a credit card but use it wisely.

Posted in Credit Card | Leave a comment

The Truths And Myths Of Getting A Credit Card

Posted by admin on February 22, 2011

So, you want to know the truth about credit cards? Do you want to separate the fact and the fiction of applying and receiving a credit card? Well, here are a few of the top questions asked when it comes to trying to get a credit card.

Is it hard to get a credit card?

No; depending on a few different factors when trying to get a credit card. First thing is it depends on your credit. The better credit you have, the more likely you will get approved for the credit card. On the opposite side, if you do not have credit or your credit is not perfect, you still have a chance of getting approved, you are just more limited in your options for a credit card.

Are Credit cards safe?

The answer is yes. Credit cards are much safer than they used to be. Credit card companies are beginning to give you your money back if your card is used or stolen. This is beginning to be called dispute resolution. Always make sure to get rid of all receipts and sign the back of your credit card immediately when receiving it.

How to Apply for a Credit Card?

There are several ways to apply for a credit card. You can research credit cards you want and call and apply, you can fill out those letters you get in the mail and send them in or you can do it even faster and know within minutes by finding the card you want and applying right online.

Is it good to have a credit card?

This can be a yes or no; depending if you know how to use them. If you have bad or no credit, than it is recommended that you start out small with a credit card. If you have really good credit; than there should not be a problem for you to try and get a credit card. For both it is recommended that you buy something and pay it off, or pay off the full balance when it is due, do not pay the minimum.

Overall, credit cards can hurt you or help you; it all depends on when and how you use them. If you use credit cards responsibly than they can be very useful and actually help your credit. These four questions are the most commonly asked and can help you on your endeavor of find that perfect credit card.

Posted in Credit Card | Leave a comment

Student Credit Card Debt – How To Avoid It And

Posted by admin on February 15, 2011

Student Credit Card Debt – How To Avoid It And Tips On Managing It

As new students head off to university and college each year they are presented with many challenges. Meeting new friends, encountering new ideas, and managing new responsibilities. Of these, perhaps it is managing money that is the most important. As a new student you’ll find out pretty quick just how hard a weekend bender with the boys hits the pocket-book. So, once your head has cleared you may want to take a look at the following tips that can help any student manage their money and keep their student credit card use under control.

1)Budget

You need to make a budget. If you are not sure how or just not good with money, many businesses such as H&R Block, offer free financial consulting to help you put a budget together. It really isn’t that hard, and does not need to be a huge pain in the ***. You just need to get it sorted out once so you can see where you are spending your money and where you need to spend your money. Most people don’t have a clue where their money is going. Getting a budget organized puts things into a much clearer picture.

2)Plan

Planning is a great way to save money and avoid racking up your student credit card debt. Make it a point to go shopping at regular times (Monday afternoon for example). This gives you a specific time to make sure that you are ready and organized. Before you go to the grocery store, make a list and stick with it. Pay attention to the things that you know you need like shampoo, soap and food, then plan to buy in bulk when you need to restock. Heading out with no set direction will lead you to impulsive spending, getting organized and planning things out will help you stay in control of your credit card use.

3)Buy in Bulk

We noted before that it can be a good idea to buy in bulk. There is no doubt about it warehouse shopping can save a lot of money. Even if you are just a couple of guys sharing an apartment, you can always split large quantities. The key to this is only buying the things you need. Just because you can buy 32 pounds of penut butter for 12.50 doesn’t mean you should. You can however make smart choices and buy staple foods like pasta, rice, flour etc. in bulk. Many household items are also available in larger quantities, and often at significant savings.

4)Use Coupons and rebates

No matter how you feel about them, the truth is that using coupons can save you hundreds of pounds every year. Coupons can be used at grocery stores, retail chains, any store where the item is sold. Some stores offer double coupon days, which is an extra bonus. On average, you could easily save from 5% to 15% simply by presenting a coupon. As a student you get access to many special discounts. Never be shy to ask if a store has a special student discount. In many cases simply asking can save you the tax.

One of the primary goals in managing your money as a student at college or university is to pay attention to your needs and once they are met, use any additional money for fun stuff. It is a very bad idea to use your student credit card as if it were cash.

Posted in Credit Card | Leave a comment

Shred All Your Debts Through Credit Card Debt Consolidation

Posted by admin on February 8, 2011

It is not possible for a person to carry cash all the time, so he prefers the plastic money called as credit cards. While using plastic money, he forgets the ill effect of using credit cards. That is, he has to pay a high rate of interest on using such credit cards. Once the person has entered the black hole of credit card interest, then it is difficult to come out of it. So in order to reduce his interest he should limit his usage of credit cards and also should try to consolidate his past credit card debts.

The person can also consolidate his credit card debts through various alternatives available such as credit card debt consolidation loan or a formal and informal credit card debt arrangement. But the credit card debt consolidation loan is advised to be the best way to consolidate the debts. Credit card debt consolidation loan also helps to save lots of money. Your credit card debts carry high rate of interest, but if you take a loan it will carry lower rate of interest. But sometimes it may not be good for every person. Though the loan carries lower rate of interest it leaves the person in the double debt problem.

Debt consolidation loan can be availed in two forms whether the secured loan or the unsecured loan. In the former, the person is needed to keep his security with the lender. The security is also the one of the reasons which let the lender to lower the rate of interest. While in the latter, there is no need to keep any collateral with the lender. Only the person is required to give a proof of his income and employment in order to avail the unsecured debt consolidation loan.

In addition to the various alternatives the person must also consult the debt counselor. The debt counselor will examine his financial position and will analyze his budget. After analyzing the budget he would advice on the best alternative in regard to your status.

Today the Credit Card Debt Consolation is also available online. Consolidating credit card debts through online makes the task simpler and faster. You are only required to provide a brief of your problem and certain financial details. And the people need not to worry regarding the security of the financial details. Because today every website uses certain encryption softwares in order to safeguard the data of an individual.

Posted in Credit Card | Leave a comment