Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Bad Credit Credit Cards

Chances are you've gotten your share of offers for Bad credit credit cards, Bad credit visa cards and Credit cards for people with bad credit. Re-establish your credit with a pre-approved bad credit credit card, regardless of your credit history, some with low introductory rates and other perks. Many of these solicitations urge you to accept "before the offer expires." Before you accept, store around to get the best deal. A credit card is a word form of borrowing that often affects charges. Credit terms and statuses impact your overall cost. So it's wise to compare terms and fees before you hold to open up a credit or charge card account.

The following are some of import terms to see that generally must be disclosed in credit card applications or in solicitations that necessitate no application. You also may desire to inquire about these terms when you're shopping for bad credit credit cards.

Annual Percentage Rate. The APR is a measurement of the cost of credit, expressed as a annual rate. It also must be disclosed before you go obligated on the account and on your account statements. The card issuer also must let on the "periodic rate" - the rate applied to your outstanding balance to calculate the finance charge for each charge period. Some bad credit credit cards allow the issuer to change your APR when interest rates or other economical indexes - called indexes - change. Because the rate change is linked to the index's performance, these programs are called "variable rate" programs. Rate changes raise or lower the finance charge on your account. If you're considering variable rate credit cards, the issuer must also supply assorted information that lets on to you: that the rate may change; and how the rate is determined - which index is used and what further amount, the "margin," is added to determine your new rate. At the latest, you also must have information, before you go obligated on the account, about any restrictions on how much and how often your rate may change.

Free Period. Also called a "grace period," a free time time period allows you avoid finance charges by paying your balance in full before the owed date.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Credit Card Benefits and Drawbacks

Credit cards have got both benefits and drawbacks. It is wise to see both before applying for a credit card. While they can be very useful, credit cards can also be risky. Even people who are usually good with their money get into problem with credit cards. A credit card can be useful, but may also stop up putting you in a hard financial state of affairs if misused.

Here are some of the benefits of credit cards:

Withdraw cash 24 hours a day, anywhere in the world.

Buy online. It is the quickest and easiest way, and you are protected against credit card fraud.

Repay in regular instalments. Typically, these incur interest.

Usually, there is an interest-free repayment period, which you can utilize to refund your debt in full, interest-free.

One of the chief benefits of using a credit card rather than a debit entry card is the protection provided by the Consumer Credit Act. This states that if you have got got problems with commodity or services you can get your money back from the card issuer if you can't get it back from the supplier.

Some cards supply purchase protection insurance, which pays out if something you have bought with the card is lost, damaged, or purloined within ninety years of the day of the calendar month of purchase.

A credit card can cost nil - if you pick a card that doesn't charge an annual fee and you always pay the measure in full every month.

A credit card can salvage you money if you take one that earns you cash every clip you purchase something. How much cash you get back is calculated as a small percentage of the amount you have got spent on the card. Some cards offer inducements other than cash - Air Miles or shopping vouchers, for instance.

Even if you make not pay your monthly measure in full, a credit card can be cheaper than running an overdraft on your current account, especially if your bank charges a monthly fee as well as interest when you overdraw.

Using a credit card can work out cheaper than using traveller's checks or foreign currency to pay for things abroad. This is because the exchange rate used by card companies to convert foreign disbursement into sterling is better than normal tourer rates. However, because of credit card charges for cash withdrawals, a debit entry card is better if you desire to utilize plastic to purchase currency, whether over the counter or from a foreign cash-machine.

You can give to charity for free if you subscribe up for a charity credit card.

Credit cards are often cheaper than loans for short-term borrowing. You pay interest on the remaining debt, not the full amount - and there are no early salvation penalties.

Credit cards offer flexibleness to fit uneven income and outgo patterns: you take what to pay off each month, between the minimum and the sum outstanding.

Their consolidated accounting enables one check to settle down multiple transactions – while all look neatly on one pre-prepared statement each month.

There is an automatic ‘interest free' time time period per statement period.

Credit cards enable distant buying via the internet, by telephone or mail order.

Credit cards can include further benefits like insurance screen on purchases, cash-back, AirMiles, Nectar or Reward points, and holiday discounts.

Here are some of the drawbacks of using a credit card:

Credit cards can be unnecessarily costly.

Credit cards may be expensive for cash withdrawals

Credit cards may be expensive for foreign currency purchases.

Their credit bounds can be deficient for your requirements.

They encourage a ‘pay now, concern later' outlook and do it too easy to get into debt.

Credit cards are very unfastened to fraudulent use.

You may freely reissue this article provided the author's life stays intact:

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Credit Card Wealth Secrets

"Credit card wealthiness secrets," the advertisement read. I assumed it was yet another over-hyped impracticable scheme. It probably was, but it made me retrieve the modern times in my life when I have got used credit cards to do money.

As Henry Martin Robert Kyosaki says, there's "good debt" and "bad debt. Borrowing for consumer points is bad-debt. You restrict your hereafter options, and you get less in life. It looks like more, because you get it now, but with interest, and the inclination to pay more than than when purchasing on credit, you'll never be able to purchase as much as those who pay cash.

Credit card wealthiness secrets have got to go around around the thought of "good debt." This is any borrowing that additions your income, or bring forths capital gains. So how make you get your credit cards to begin doing that for you?

Credit Card Wealth Creation

A good friend once borrowed $6,000 from me at 9% interest. I didn't have got the money at the time, but I had a credit card offer for a cash advance for 8 calendar months at 5% interest. I loaned him the money for six months. Okay, a 4% spreading meant only a $120 net income in the end, but it was easy.

A better illustration is when we bought a small house in Montana. A cash offer would get us a great deal, so with our nest egg and a $2,000 worth of repairs on a credit card, we made it work. We paid less than $100 in interest before merchandising the house a few calendar months later for a $6,500 profit.

My money was tied up when my blood brother establish a motortruck we could do some money on. I set it on a card, and paid maybe $35 in fees and interest. The car was sold 10 years later, and we divide the $950 profit.

A friend of mine once borrowed $300 at more than than 100% annual interest ($50 for two months). Why? To purchase the tools he needed to re-start his dry-walling business. He probably made enough the first hebdomad to refund the loan.

The point is that any debt - whether from credit cards or other beginnings - can be good debt if it makes more than than it costs. I have got got known people that have started successful businesses or "flipped" houses for large additions with the aid of credit cards. Get rich quick? Doubtful, but then my incredulity almost made me forget my ain "credit card wealthiness secrets."

Friday, July 25, 2008

History of Credit Cards

Credit Cards have become an absolute necessity so much so that we take them for granted. A number of money experts have already slated the paper currency as a dying dinosaur. But have you ever wondered where did this plastic money of credit card come from? Whose genius was it anyways?

Though the idea of “have now, pay later” existed since the 1700s but it was only in the early 20th century that the banks started taking credit protection in form of overdrafts. In 1914 Western Union gave its customers a metal card allowing them interest free deferral payments. This gave their clients a freedom to spend beyond their means. However, the idea of actual credit card did not strike ‘father of Credit Cards’, Frank McNamara until he forgot his wallet back home while going out for a dinner with friends.

This embarrassing moment was just too much for McNamara. Thus, he created the “Diner’s club card”. It was initially a businessmen’s card for dinners and retails purchases while traveling but by the end of 1950 it had become a phenomenon. A national frenzy that began with just 200 customers who could use it in 27 restaurants, it swelled to such massive size that it spread over the whole USA with 20000 customers and more varied kinds of retailers subscribed to it as credit providers. The Diners card charged seven percent for each individual transaction with card subscribers paying a three-dollar annual fee. Stores and service companies readily extended this facility. They could benefit from it since the customers spent more than they would if they had to pay the cash up frontally.

The General Petroleum Corporation was one of the first companies to offer an actual credit card that allowed for fuel and automotive repair purchases to its employees. They could use their card and make payments towards these things with portions of their paychecks.

The monopoly of Diner’s club was short lived. McNamara withdrew his share of money from the company in 1952. Very soon American Express launched its similar yet more generalized credit card and Bank of America came out with BankAmericard (now called VISA) in 1958. Master card came up in 1966. These new market players overpowered the old titan.

While McNamara created credit cards, John Biggins is acknowledged as the inventor of the bank credit card. He worked at the Flatbush National Bank of Brooklyn in New York. In 1946, Mr. Biggins developed the "Charge-It" program in which local merchants who accepted the card would deposit sales slips into the bank and the bank billed the customer.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

What You Need To Know About Credit Cards

What is a credit card?

A credit card is a card that allows you to borrow money to pay for things. There will be a limit to how much you can spend called your credit limit. At the end of each month you can either pay off the whole of the amount you owe or make a minimum repayment.

Other kinds of cards include:

1) A cheque guarantee card, issued by your bank, that you can use to ensure that your cheque will be honoured up to a certain limit. 2) A chargecard where you have to repay the full amount at the end of each month. 3) A debit card, issued by your bank, where whatever you spend is immediately deducted from your bank account

Do you need a credit card?

Using a credit card is a useful way of making purchases:

a) A credit card means you don't need to carry huge amounts of cash around and risk losing it. b) A credit card means you can buy items over the internet. c) A credit card means you can make purchases abroad without having to worry about local currency. d) A credit card gives the opportunity to spread the cost of a large payment over several months. e) A credit card is useful in an emergency. For example, an unexpected repair to your house or car.

How do you choose a credit card?

The main two UK credit card issuers are Visa and Mastercard. These are accepted in most places and in 130 countries worldwide. Beware of less well known brands that may not be accepted everywhere.

Before you choose which credit card is the best for you, remember to read the terms and conditions carefully. Never sign up for a credit card without fully understanding what you are agreeing to.

Remember that all the plus factors will be prominently displayed in large print.

You may have to study the small print carefully to discover if there are any negative factors.A list of the current cards on offer in summary is available on this credit card summary page.

What You Need To Consider:

1) APR (Annual Percentage Rate) This is the rate of interest that you will pay on any outstanding balance.

2) Special Introductory Rates You may be offered a low or 0% rate of interest for a limited time (Up to 6 months) when you sign up for a new card. A higher rate of interest may be charged for cash withdrawals.

3) Balance Transfer Rate Card issuers may offer you a lower rate of interest if your swap your balance from another credit card to theirs.

4) Interest Free period Remember to check when interest payments will begin. Will you pay interest from the day of the purchase? Or will you have a number of days interest free before you begin to pay? There is usually no interest free period for cash withdrawals.

5) Cashback and Rewards Some cards over points or rewards for every pound spent on the credit card. Make sure that these are appropriate for you. For example, there&'s no use collecting airmiles if you never fly.

6) Minimum Repayment Remember to check what the minimum monthly repayment will be. If you borrow £1000 on your credit card the monthly minimum repayment will probably be in the region of £25. But if you only pay this amount each month it will take a long time to pay off the balance and cost a lot in total when you include the interest payments.

7) Annual Fees This is the fee that the issuer will charge you every year for using their credit card. Not all credit cards have an annual fee, so remember to consider this when you are choosing which one is right for you.

8) Late Payments There will be an extra charge, as well as the interest owed, if your payment is late. This charge may even be more than the amount you owe so be very careful to check what the charge is, and to ensure that all your payments are made on time. A good way of doing this is to set up a direct debit from your current account.

9) Exceeding Your Limit You may also be charged a fee if you exceed your credit limit.

Will Your Application Be Accepted?

Whether or not your application is successful will depend on your credit rating. Your credit rating depends on your credit history (a record of your use of credit) and is based on the record of your ability to repay debt.

You can obtain a copy of your credit file by contacting a credit reference agency. There may be a small fee for this service.

When you application has been accepted you will be given a credit limit. The credit limit will be fixed when you first apply for your card (although you can ask for it to be increased or decreased later) and the limit, including the amount you have left available to spend, will be shown on your monthly statement.

Insurances and Protection.

What You Can Do:

1) Take good care of your credit card to ensure that it isn’t lost or stolen.

2) To prevent misuse of your card you must report any loss or theft of your card to the issuer immediately. Many issuers allow you to register all your cards with them so that in the event of you losing a purse, handbag or wallet they can all be cancelled with just one phone call.

3) You must keep all your receipts and also check your statement carefully and report any suspicious transactions. For example payments that you have no record of making.

4) Credit card companies are now issuing cards with PIN (Personal identification numbers) which are known as Chip and PIN cards. Rather than signing your name you will be asked to enter your PIN onto a keypad. You must ensure that you keep this number secret.

What The Issuer Will Do

1) The issuer should insure you against loss, misuse or theft of your card.

2) The issuer may also insure your purchases for up to 100 days.

3) Your issuer may also provide protection against you being sold unsuitable or shoddy goods.

Important Points To Remember:

a) Credit cards can be a very useful tool to help you to manage your finances. b) Choose your card carefully, remembering to read and understand all the terms and conditions before you sign up. c) Remember to set yourself a budget and decide how much you will pay off each month. d) Check your statements carefully each month. e) Look after your card to prevent it being lost or stolen.

For a glossary of the terms mentioned in this article please visit the credit card glossary page.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Teaching Responsible Credit Card Use

It's an unfortunate fact that most students never get formal lessons in managing their credit and debt. For many immature people, their first brushwood with being responsible credit card users won't come up till they are in college - away from home and the counsel of ma and dad. The minute they step on campus, new college students will be wooed by major credit card companies, all of them eager to set up themselves as 'the first card in your wallet'.

If your kid will be going off to college in the fall, one of the best things you can make for him or her is to get them started on the right ft to handling credit responsibly. Needless to say, illustration is the best manner to teach. The more than than responsibly you manage your ain credit card use, the more likely it is that they'll absorb your attitudes toward the usage of credit cards.

Beyond that, though, one of the easiest ways to learn responsible credit card usage is to cosign an application for one of the credit cards that is especially designed for student usage - and make it before they're off on their own. Each major credit card line characteristics at least one credit card that have low credit bounds ($500 to $1000), no annual fee and a moderate APR.

Make a large deal about applying for the credit card. Explain to them that each credit card application they fill up out volition be noted on their credit report - high school students especially understand the conception of a 'permanent record' - and that the more than credit cards they apply for, the worse their 'permanent record' volition become. That way, when they hit campus, they'll be forewarned against the countless credit card companies telling them 'it's no large deal'.

Show them how to compare credit cards and figure out what credit will actually cost them. If you're not certain of it yourself, see our articles about Annual Percentage Rate and how to calculate out the cost of a credit card. Brand certain that they understand what a 'late payment' is, and how it will impact the charges on their credit card. When they understand that making a payment late volition add $29 to their measure this month, AND addition their APR so that every measure from now on volition be higher, they're far more than likely to appreciate the significance of making payments on time.

Finally, before turning them loose with a credit card, take the clip to sit down down with them and work out a loose budget they can follow. Then do a monthly day of the month to sit down down and travel over the credit card measure and credit card gross together. You'll be able to supervise disbursement and assist them work out ways to remain within budget while still paying off their credit card properly.

It's a common apothegm that it takes only 7 years to set up a new habit. Take a few calendar months before your student caputs off to college to assist them set up good, responsible credit card habits. It's a lesson that volition last them the remainder of their lives.

Friday, July 18, 2008

The Various Types of Credit Cards

There are a batch of credit card companies competing for your business who offer a full range of charge cards in order to be able to lawsuit your needs. Seeking the right information is made easy with help. We have got tons of inside information regarding all about credit cards. All about credit cards allows you to understand the terms and statuses that come up with them. You will read terms like low APR, saving grace period, rewards, incentives, purchase protection and more. What are the usages for a secured, unsecured, low interest, gas, travel, student, bad credit and more? That is why a small research travels a long manner when you are thinking about obtaining one.

Certain charge cards like section shop cards will cost you heavily in interest payments. Those supplies have got tons of poor paperwork and shrinkage and need to do up those losings by charging the consumer a heavy rate. That is another ground why you should avoid costly charge cards. These companies are in the business of finance and definitely desire to leverage your hard earned money.

Credit evaluation is a important thing when making large purchases like a car or a home. Most large purchases such as as these necessitate a new loan, and banks will be willing to impart certain amounts based on your income and history of credit cards rating. Sometimes, even if you have got many credit cards in good standing, this volition look as “too much rotating credit” and you may be denied certain loans or further cards.

Every banking establishment will look at your history of credit cards before giving you a new card account. This is why it is indispensable that you either pay off balances on clip with no delinquencies, or bounds yourself to only a few VISA or MASTERCARD accounts. Building an first-class credit evaluation can only assist you in your financial success. Not only will you get higher credit bounds and gold cards, but it will also be easier for you to get home or automobile loans.