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Most Recent Articles
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- Secrets That Your Credit Card Provider Is Keeping From You
If you think that you know everything there is to know about your credit card, then you could be in for a rude awakening. Credit card providers make untold billions of dollars annually because of several closely guarded secrets that they won't easily share with you. By keeping you in the dark they can make money at your expense. Don't be beaten down as I am about to shine the light in the darkness to expose trade secrets that they hope you will never learn about.
Congratulations, you have been approved for a new major credit card! However, do not let the headiness of having a better than average credit rating skew your judgment: now is the time to get very familiar with the credit card agreement that came along with your new card. - Rewards Cards: Redeem Your Points!
I wrote previously urging anyone who still has a credit card that does not give them a “reward” for using that card to convert to a rewards card or switch to a credit card provider that has a rewards program. The reason? If you are going to use a credit card you might as well get something out of the experience. Of course, a rewards card makes no sense for the person who doesn’t pay off their card every month as the interest on the card will likely offset any points accumulated. So, if you are a savvy consumer who lives debt free you can accumulate points quickly and get some nifty stuff. Let’s take a look at one plan and how to make it work for you.
Alright, I am not going to reveal this particular provider’s name. However, I will tell you something about the program. If you spend a dollar on mostly anything, you accumulate a point. It is that easy. Moreover, this particular provider is automatically bestowing 500 points on new users for just using the card once within the first 90 days. Not bad, especially when you only need 2000 points to qualify for merchandise, cash credit, or travel. - Rewards Cards: Convert Your Current Card
If you are a current credit card holder – MasterCard or Visa -- you may be overlooking an important way to make your card work even better for you: by joining a rewards program. Why possess a plain old credit card when you get rewarded for using the same card? Let’s take a look at how you can receive benefits from your current card.
Some cards are offering rewards based on your purchases. Depending on the card selected, your rewards card can offer to you a variety of benefits such as: - Low Interest Credit Cards: A Thing Of The Past?
With interest rates rising, low or zero percent credit cards may soon become a thing of the past. However, the wise shopper can still secure a low rate by carefully shopping around. Here are some ways you still get a bargain rate card:
Contact Your Current Provider. Chances are the interest rate with your current credit card provider has been inching up for the better part of the past year. Whereas previously you could have had a 5% rate, the card may now be up to 8, 9, or even 10%. What can you do? Contact your credit card provider and ask for a lower rate. They can tell you no, at the risk of you going elsewhere, or give you a fixed lower rate. If your provider refuses to budge, see if they would consider a lower rate for a certain period of time, let’s say for six or twelve months. The added savings of the temporary lower rate can be beneficial especially if you have a big purchase coming up that you plan on paying off within 6 to 12 months. - Low Interest Credit Cards: A Thing Of The Past?
With interest rates rising, low or zero percent credit cards may soon become a thing of the past. However, the wise shopper can still secure a low rate by carefully shopping around. Here are some ways you still get a bargain rate card:
Contact Your Current Provider. Chances are the interest rate with your current credit card provider has been inching up for the better part of the past year. Whereas previously you could have had a 5% rate, the card may now be up to 8, 9, or even 10%. What can you do? Contact your credit card provider and ask for a lower rate. They can tell you no, at the risk of you going elsewhere, or give you a fixed lower rate. If your provider refuses to budge, see if they would consider a lower rate for a certain period of time, let’s say for six or twelve months. The added savings of the temporary lower rate can be beneficial especially if you have a big purchase coming up that you plan on paying off within 6 to 12 months. - Free Credit Reports: Get Yours Today!
You may have seen the ads telling you where you can get copies of your consumer credit reports for free. Read the fine print and you will see that there is some sort of catch with these ads that will ultimately cost you money. You don’t need to pay for your reports no matter what someone else says. Let’s take a look at how you can really and truly get copies of your credit reports for free.
Thanks to an amendment made to the Fair Credit Reporting Act in 2003, Congress authorized the Federal Trade Commission to mandate that copies of your credit report be made available to you for free. Previously, in order to secure your report, you would have had to pay a fee. As of September 2005, residents of all fifty states are now eligible to obtain a free copy of their credit report from Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax once per year. - Free Credit Reports For You
American consumers are now entitled to receive one free copy of their credit report per year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies. Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union are now all required by law to furnish to you a copy of your credit report. This is good news for consumers; please read on for additional helpful information.
As of September 1, 2005, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that the three national credit reporting agencies provide one free copy of your credit report to you annually. You do not need to contact the three reporting agencies separately to obtain your reports, instead you can order them online at www.annualcreditreport.com; or by calling 877-322-8228; or by completing the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mailing it in. - Credit Card Late Charges And How To Avoid Them
It is simply getting ridiculous the charges credit card companies are imposing on consumers who are late making payments. Yes, creditors have a legal right to do what they are doing, however ethically speaking that is certainly open to debate! Let's look at some ways you can avoid costly credit card late fees:
1. Pay your bills on time. This one is obvious. When you get your bill, open it up and pay it right away. Waiting means forgetting or hoping that your payment arrives on time. - Credit Card Company Tricks
Don’t let them fool you. All those solicitations you receive in the mail for credit card applications are meant to reel you in and hook you. Big time. In addition, new bankruptcy laws in the US and higher monthly minimum payment requirements are in place to help stem defaults on loans and to force consumers to pay down debt quicker. All of this sounds great, but credit card companies want to keep you in debt as long as possible. Please read on for all the stimulating details.
If you have had problems in the past paying down debt, do not think for a moment that you will have it any easier in the future. Thanks to legislation introduced by Congress and signed by the president earlier in 2005, filing for bankruptcy to escape debt has become more difficult. Much more so. In addition, credit card companies have raised your monthly minimum payment levels, in some cases doubling the minimum amount you must pay. Consider this last step a side issue related to the new bankruptcy legislation; the credit card companies are not legally obligated to raise minimums but they were pressured into doing so in exchange for passage of the new bankruptcy law. - 3 Free Credit Reports For You
If you were to tell someone that they can have a certain item for free, more than likely their response would be, “what’s the catch?” In the case of credit reports there is no catch, you can now get a free copy of this report through the three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnions, and Experian. Let’s take a look at the law and how you can benefit from it.
An amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires the three national credit reporting agencies to provide one free copy of your credit report to you annually. Beginning on December 1, 2004 and culminating on September 1, 2005, the Federal Trade Commission is requiring that these agencies offer reports on a rolling, phase in basis. In other words, on December 1, 2004, if you live in certain western states you became eligible at that time and every three months later additional states were added. By September 1, 2005, residents of all states are eligible.
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