To Get A Gold Or Platinum Card Will Often Cost Up To 75 Per Annum

Category: Finance, Credit.

Who hasn t received a pre- approved offer of a credit card in the mail?

They also warn that this offer has time limits, so you must hurry to take advantage of the offer or risk losing this wonderful opportunity altogether. They try to make you feel like one of the chosen few and you pause and wonder what you did to receive such an honor. But be forewarned! One of the important things to consider before opening a credit card account is the annual percentage rate of the card. Those offers usually come with a price attached, so do your homework before you jump into any of these commitments. Some cards also have a periodic rate which is applied to any outstanding balance at the end of each month.

You need to know that the rate may change and how that rate is determined. Some card companies will offer a variable rate that will fluctuate with the rate of interest or stock market values. Some companies will offer a grace period whereby you will avoid any charges if the pay the account in full at the end of each month. The issuer must mail the bill fourteen days in advance to allow time for payment to be sent. It is important to find out if the card issuer has a grace period if you plan to pay off the balance each month or you may end up with a charge whether you use the card or not. There can be yearly membership fees that range in price from 25 to several hundred dollars.

You may also have transaction fees for cash advances, late payments or for exceeding your credit limit. To get a gold or platinum card will often cost up to 75 per annum. You will need to consider if the credit limit is high enough and how widely accepted the card is. Make sure you fully understand the small print before you commit. When applying for a credit card shop around and compare terms and fees. Once you have made your choice, keep your receipts to compare with the bill when it arrives.

Keep your records in a safe place, such as a filing cabinet, along with account numbers and phone numbers to report lost or stolen cards. Protect your card and account numbers to prevent theft and unauthorized use. And finally, don t have more cards than you will use as this increases the risk of having a card lost or stolen, and the chances are, if you don t use it very often you won t miss it until it s too late.

Are You Safer In Making A Credit Card Application Offline

Category: Finance, Credit.

The Internet has changed the lives of many of us in lots of different ways and we can now do our shopping, download music, book flights, software and ebooks, and even apply online for a credit card. Whether you apply online for a credit card for the first time, or are a pro ready to switch to a new low interest rate credit card, there are a plethora of companies and agencies willing to help you find the best credit card deal around.

Making an instant online credit card application is quick and efficient and comparison charts make it simple to find a low interest rate credit card, or the best credit card deal to suit your personal needs. But what about the risks in giving out your personal information online. Well when you apply online for a credit card, every company offering an instant online credit card application form will have a secure area where you complete the form and your personal details will never be seen by any other human while the information is passed through to the issuing company. Are you safer in making a credit card application offline? It is in fact safer to surrender your personal information or even credit card details over the internet than it would be if you were to use the same information offline. But consider the dangers in applying for a credit card offline.

The personal details requested in an online credit card application form are no different than a promotion form you would pick up at your local bank or financial institution. You will invariably post your completed application form to the head office of the credit card issuer or hand it in to the cashier at your bank. Mail can be lost. posted to the wrong address etc. and paperwork can be misplaced in any office situation. Either of these two offline methods is fraught with danger. You can easily tell when you are on a secure webpage because the url address on the page you are visiting will start with' https' as oposed to' http' for an unsecured site. Never give out your personal or credit card details on the internet unless you see the gold padlock and you are sure the site is a secure area. (You might also check if the security certificate is provided by a reputable organisation e. g. Also you should see a gold padlock to the right of the address bar on your browser.

Verisign) . Firstly when you apply online for a credit card the process is quicker and theres a chance you will receive your credit card at an earlier date than if you completed the application form in ink at home and posted it the following day. There are many other advantages in making an instant online credit card application. Secondly, the facilities for comparing credit cards from different companies is so quick and easy on the Internet and would be impractical to make the same comparisons offline. The online facilities make it easier for you to find a low interest rate credit card or indeed find the best credit card deal that suits your personal requirements. It is always useful before you apply online for a credit card, to compare interest rates, reward schemes and annual fees before you make your instant online credit card application. You are also able to contact the credit card issuers by email should you come across any problemss in completing your instant online credit card application form.

So, to sum up, you can apply online for credit card in the knowledge that when you make your instant online credit card application, your privacy is secured and your personal details are passed through the system safely. Typically your email will be answered within a few hours, but some will respond almost immediately. Your new low interest rate credit card could turn out to be the best credit card deal on the Internet! Trevor Taylor

Misleading Gas Credit Card Applications

Category: Finance, Credit.

With gas prices still very high, people want to save some money at the pump.

The average gas rebate credit card can save you up to five percent on gas purchases. Gas rebate credit cards are becoming a very popular alternative. If you' re not careful with your credit card use, a gas station credit card could make you pay more for your gas. Before applying for any credit card, read the terms and conditions. Misleading Gas Credit Card Applications. Most gas credit cards claim high cash back percentages, but there is usually a catch. The credit card companies are very careful with their marketing wording.

Here are some examples: cash rebates limited to one gas station company. high cash rebates only during an introductory period of usually 6 to 12 months. a monthly or annual limit on how much cash back you can earn. a tier structure with varying cash back percentages depending on spending. A cash back percentage is usually quoted as' up to 5% cash back' . So know what you are applying for to prevent disappointment. Once they say' up to' , you know you won' t get that high cash back all the time. Keeping a Balance Will Blow Your Cash Rebates. Over time these interest charges could cost a lot more than any cash rebates you earn. With any credit card, if you only make the minimum payment and keep a balance, you will pay interest charges.

Try to only use your credit card as much as you can afford to pay off next month. Suddenly they are paying for everything with their credit card to earn more cash back. This can be difficult to adjust to for some people. Meanwhile it seems as if their bank account is unaffected. Before they know it, their bank account is empty and a big credit card bill shows up. This could lead to impulsive spending. Then the interest charges add up.

Ideally you should keep track of your credit card spending and keep that much cash aside as money already spent. This is how credit card companies can afford to offer cash back. Gas Rebate Credit Cards Offering Rewards Other Than Cash Back. You could earn airline rewards on your gasoline purchases, but they cost more money in the end. If you are trying to save money with a gas credit card, choose your credit card rewards carefully. Airline rewards would likely only cover a portion of you or your family's airline tickets.

Other gas station reward credit cards offer gift certificates. Then factor in vacation expenses and lost wages. Again it usually only covers part of the purchase and it is something you wouldn' t normally buy. Why Are Gas Rebate Credit Cards Still So Popular? To really save with gas credit cards, apply for a gas credit card that offers cash rebates as checks or statement credit. Gas prices are a major economic factor. The credit card companies are aware of this concern.

We hear about gas price fluctuation in the news. Nearly every gas station company has its own credit card and many of them are heavily marketed. If you spend a lot of money on gasoline, a gas rebate credit card can get you the cheapest gas prices. Despite some reward limitations, many of these gas rebate credit cards are very good deals. A gas rebate credit card used responsibly could save hundreds on dollars off your gas bill each year. Pay off your credit card each month and avoid interest charges.

Ensure you are familiar with your credit card rewards program details though. Compare credit card offers carefully and read the fine print.

The Credit Card Companies Sure Didn' T

I couldn' t believe what I was seeing.

What? I recently reviewed my wife's FICO scores and I nearly fell out of my chair. they suggested she was carrying balances on her credit cards that were too high. It couldn' t be. she never carries a balance on her credit cards. There it was. two of her credit card lenders were reporting her" highest balances" as her credit limits. I knew something was wrong, so I reviewed her credit reports to see what her credit card balances were. Highest balance is defined as: the highest balance you' ve ever had on that specific credit card. You' re overreacting. " I' m not.

The difference between" highest balance" and" credit limit" You may be thinking, "What's the big deal? You see, when lenders do not report your actual credit limits to the credit reporting agencies it can wreak havoc on your FICO credit scores. They should report your account as follows: Credit limit( your real limit) : $5, 000. For instance, let's say the issuer is Capital One� (Crap One, as I like to call them) . Current balance owed: $1, 000. Ideally, it should be lower, but this is certainly not bad. You' re using 20% of your available credit on this credit card.

However, let's say that Capital One reports your highest balance as your credit limit. Balance owed: $1, 000. Assuming$ 1, 000 is your highest balance ever, they may report the account like this: Credit limit: $1, 000. Now it looks like you' re using 100% of your available credit- which is not true. It's as if your son earned five A's and one C in his science class at school- but his final grade is a C because the teacher's policy is to use his lowest grade as the final grade. It's evil, because it will drastically lower your FICO credit scores.

Some lenders don' t report credit limits at all. Why's this bad? Some lenders refuse to report your credit limits. Because when there's nothing in the credit limit field on your credit reports, that account isn' t helping your FICO scores as much as it could. Remember, how much you owe( your balances) versus how much you' re approved for( your credit limits) makes up a large part of your FICO credit scores( see Life After Bankruptcy Issue# 16) . If your credit cards aren' t helping you increase your credit scores, they' re useless to your recovery from bankruptcy.

So if you have high credit limits and low credit usage, that's a good thing. How can credit card issuers get away with these dirty deeds? It will help raise your scores. Some lenders do this out of ignorance( unfortunately, they' re in the minority) . Credit card issuers know that when they don' t report your credit limit accurately it can screw up your credit scores. Most do it to gain a competitive advantage.

In fact, about 5 years ago a disturbing trend started taking place with the top 50 credit card issuers. Soon after, other large credit card issuers jumped on the bandwagon and withheld their customers' credit limits. Two of the largest issuers stopped reporting credit limits to all three credit reporting agencies. After about six months it was more common to see a missing or manipulated credit limit than it was to see an accurate one. Why in the world would credit card companies refuse to report real credit limits when they know it will hurt their customers' FICO scores? It got so bad that Fair Isaac Corporation performed a quick analysis and determined that the practice of not reporting accurate credit limits hurts some consumers' FICO scores. In two words. monetary gain.

The credit card issuers thought they were losing customers to their competitors. In 123 words. Here's an example. When a limit is reported on credit reports, all the other credit card companies can see it. Let's say I have a National City Bank� credit card with a$ 2, 500 credit limit reporting on my credit reports. If Capital One saw that my limit with National City Bank was$ 2, 500, they could then offer me a$ 3, 000 or$ 5, 000 limit to entice me to switch cards.

This is called" poaching. " And the easiest way to prevent poaching was to not report their customers' credit limits. Credit card issuers were stealing business from each other by making their credit limit offers a little better than what you already had. Who cares if it hurts your FICO scores? But I care. The credit card companies sure didn' t. And I know that some credit card issuers still don' t report any credit limit information at all.

So how can you determine if your FICO scores are being damaged? Capital One is the most notorious offender. (Surprised? ) Others just report your highest credit balance as the credit limit. Review your credit reports. If you' re not sure, look at the last statements you received from each of your credit card issuers and write down what the limits should be. Look to see if your credit limits on your credit cards are being reported properly. If they' re not listed on your statements, call the credit card issuers and ask them what your credit limits are. You may ask yourself, "How do I do that? " If you find one of your lenders incorrectly reporting your credit limits, or not reporting anything, here's what to do: Telephone the credit card companies and alert them of the problem and how it affects you.

Then compare them to the limits showing on your credit reports. Ask them to start reporting the accurate credit limits. So the sooner you take action the sooner you' ll see results. Remember, it takes 30 to 60 days for any change to post to your credit reports. On the same day you telephone them, follow up with a written letter( via registered mail) to the person you spoke with on the telephone summarizing the problem in writing and outlining the plan of action they gave you over the phone. If after 45 days you don' t get a response. your next line of defense is to hire an attorney to represent you. Be sure to date the letter and keep a copy.

Hopefully it won' t come to this. but a threatening letter from an attorney can work wonders. Will you take them to court? If the lender refuses to adjust their policy for you, then you have a decision to make. Or will you transfer your balance to a more reputable lender? Here's my take on things. I' m not a big proponent of transferring balances, but this would be a situation where you may have no other choice. The Fair Credit Reporting Act says that any accounts that are inaccurate, misleading, incomplete, unverifiable, or outdated have to be deleted or corrected- or it's a violation of federal law.

This is especially important for people recovering from bankruptcy- it's hard work to increase our credit scores and we need every FICO score point that we earn. I would argue that an account with an inaccurately reported credit limit is not only inaccurate, but is also grossly misleading- especially to FICO credit scoring models. In summary: Make sure you know the reporting policies of all your current lenders, and any lenders you' re thinking of applying with. You should use only lenders that are willing to give full credit for your good credit habits.