Entries Tagged 'credit cards' ↓

Another way to manage your credit card debt is to look for credit unions which offer low interest rates for your credit card. There are credit unions which offer credit cards with incomparable advantages like waived annual fees, credit lines up to $30,000, discounts on automobile rentals, tours, hotel stay and cruise, and 100% protection against identity theft.

Credit unions also offer cards for people with huge debt. This allows credit card holders to have credit line starting from $300 - $1500. Credit unions provide free access of account online, free bill pay and card usage around the world. The catch with these cards is that very high interest rates and annual fees are charged.

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Find a zero percent or lower interest rate credit card where you can transfer your balance. By the time the debt is safely owed by another credit company, a new grace period will be charged less or even zero interest. This can thus be a sane move when you are faced with large credit card debt. Balance transfer on credit card is available to anyone who has a social security number and a mailbox.

Balance transfer is actually one of the many strategies that a savvy consumer does to reduce his credit card debt. It can free you from paying all the balances and interests incurred from an old card. Using this technique, you can open new accounts which offer transfer of balance when an old one expires.

However, credit card balance transfer will always be dependent on your credit worthiness. Your ability to pay additional charges will be screened and gauge. If you’re planning to apply for a balance transfer, be sure that your old account will be closed immediately. Usually, acquiring two credit card accounts damage your credit scores.

Keep in mind also that balance transfer requires diligence. Be cautious of the hidden charges attached and certain percentages charged for the transferred balance. See to it that the banks do not charge high joining or annual fees. Do not let them ever take the upper hand in your balance transfer.

[image from painet01]

Tags: balance transfer, zero percent balance transfer, credit card

Tired of your old credit card’s high interest rates and annual fees? Why not transfer your balance to another credit card, one that offers better interest rates and zero fee balance transfers? You get to enjoy the same privileges of having a credit card but can rest easy at night knowing your interest rates aren’t draining money away from your pocket. Here are some of the credit card companies that offer zero fee balance transfers you might want to get in touch with.

For credit cards that offer zero balance transfer fees of up to 12 months, try:

1. Discover Platinum Card
2. Citi Platinum Select Mastercard
3. CitiBusiness Premier Pass Card

For credit cards that offer zero balance transfer fees of up to 9 months, try:

Citi Professional Mastercard

Other credit cards worth looking at:

1. Discover Platinum Clear Card
2. Citi Upromise Card
3. CitiBusiness Card
4. CitiBusiness Card with ThankYou Network
5. Discover Miles Card

All these cards offer zero balance transfer fees, so you can switch credit cards with confidence. A few of them even offer sign up bonuses which could sweeten up your deal.

There are also cards that offer at least 3% balance transfer fee but may be willing to waive them – just don’t forget to ask. They are:

1. Citi Platinum Select Card
2. Citi Driver’s Edge Platinum Select Card
3. AT&T Universal Platinum Card
4. AT&T Universal Rewards Card

When you’re looking for zero fee balance transfers, don’t forget to ask the credit card company how long the agreement will last. You can take advantage of the great deal and try to pay off your debt as fast as you can. Otherwise, you could end up with higher fees and might have to look for other credit cards again.

More credit cards with zero balance transfers here.

Know more companies offering zero balance transfers?

[image from kwei]

Do you really know how to use your credit card properly? Not the steps on how to get it out of your wallet and giving it to the cashier or swiping it you… I mean, how to use a credit card so that you don’t get your credit card debt piling up?

Here are the do’s and don’ts that sum it up if you want to avoid getting into debt trap caused by credit card abuse:

Do’s:

You feel like your cash isn’t safe when you go to some place that’s why you’d rather bring with you your credit card.

You purchase a big ticket item as long as you pay it off in the short term.

Don’ts:

Your paycheck won’t be arriving until the next few weeks so you think it’s fine if you use your credit card now for your impulsive lunch out.

You let your friends make you use your credit card for their purchases when you have an impulsive lunch out AND shopping spree with you.

According to survey, 80% of US households hold at least one credit card. An average American earner, has 8 credit cards on his wallet, all accumulating interests and debts! It has also been found out that only 2% of credit card holders pay their entire bill each month. $574 billion are accrued as interest for all carried over debt per month! Well, it’s not easy to own 1 card, all the more managing 8 credit cards!

So how do you avoid having to resort credit card debt consolidation services or credit card debt counseling? SELF-CONTROL!

But what if it’s too late and you’ve already amassed headache-inducing credit card debt? Read on.

Ask your credit companies to help you lower your interest rate. You can phone these companies and request them to lessen your interest rates by negotiating and setting some limits. You can do this every six months; target the months of December or June.

Seeking the help of credit companies to lower your interest rates can also be disadvantageous. While most credit companies offer good services, be wary of those which take advantage. Here are some of the pitfalls:

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Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will be issuing a whopping 20 million credit cards this year compared to the 10 million it has issued last year. According to Li Weiping, ICBC credit card center head, credit card spend will also rise from 100 billion to 140 billion to 150 billion yuan this year.

Credit card use started to become common in big Chinese cities just a few years ago and Beijing is encouraging more shops and hotels to accept them, as part of an effort to improve payment services before the 2008 Olympics.

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Erroneous information is bad information and it’s especially bad news for your credit rating. If you have been refused a loan or if your credit rating is in bad shape, maybe it’s time for you to repair your credit. So now the question: can you truly erase negative credit on your credit report? If you mean legally, the answer is yes. Here’s how:

1. Obtain a copy of your credit report first.
Write or get in touch with the three credit reporting bureaus for your credit report. You’re entitled to one free report each year, so make sure to request it at the most opportune time.

2. Review your credit report.
At this point, let’s make one thing clear: only erroneous reports that show up as negative credit on your credit report may be erased. If the rest of the stuff that appear on your credit report is real, you can’t do anything about it.

Once you’ve received your credit report, examine it carefully. There’s a good chance some erroneous entry/entries have found their way in. When you do find them, take note of the date and particulars.

3. Inform the credit bureau and file for a dispute.
You are entitled by law to challenge any inaccurate or incorrect information on your report. The credit bureau should then investigate the item/s. If in case they fail within a specified period of time, the wrong information should be erased from your file. The credit bureau can also correct the erroneous entry and send you or anyone who has requested for your credit report a corrected copy.

4. Work with your creditors.
If your credit rating remains low after this, negotiate the terms of your loans to your creditors. You can then rebuild your credit rating gradually from there.

[image from rhettphone]

When you have too much debt, deciding which one to pay off first can be a little tricky. However, not knowing how to prioritize can push you further into debt quicksand or even land you in jail. Generally, you should pay off the debt for which you stand to lose something and then prioritize the rest in terms of urgency and size.

If you’re still confused, here are some of the things that should appear on your debt cross-out list:

Home Mortgage or Rent
If you don’t own your house, this should be one of the top priorities, especially if you have no other place to go to.

Secured loans
If you owe a company some money for which you had to put up a collateral, pay this off first. If you default, you risk losing whatever property it is you used to guarantee your debt repayment. If you don’t mind losing it, then move on to the next on your list. The only caveat is that defaulting on your payment can affect your credit rating.

Credit cards
Pay off your largest credit card debt first and make minimum payments on the smaller ones. Interest and penalties do add up, making it harder for you to pay them later.

Unpaid taxes
If you owe the IRS, you bet they’ll come knocking at your door soon. You’ll lose a lot if you don’t pay them. If you can’t afford the payment, by all means, negotiate. They’re quite willing to talk as long as you make the initiative.

Car payments
Pay only if you cannot live or work without a car. Otherwise, think about selling the unit and commuting to work.

[image from kinuk]

This is a sponsored review.

If you are looking for a website that compares credit cards from various companies such as American Express, HSBC, Citibank and Chase which also allows you to apply online, Creditme.com might be the site you’re looking for.

Here’s straight from its About page:

Our mission is to make applying credit cards as easy as possible for our members. CreditMe.com categorizes credit card offers by issuer and by credit card type including airline credit cards, balance transfer credit cards, business credit cards, cash back credit cards, credit cards for bad credit, instant approval credit cards, low interest credit cards , prepaid debit cards, reward credit cards , and student credit cards.

Thanks to the Internet technology applying for credit cards has never been this easy. Ok, ok, I know almost all credit companies don’t give applicants any hard time anymore, right?

But if you’d like to at least compare credit cards to see which will suit your financial management style best, if any.

Creditme.com will show you all your credit card options whether you are looking for a student credit card, a credit card for your bad credit (ouch!), or a credit card for the rewards-freak.

However, I think it would be a lot easier for people comparing credit cards to just be shown a single chart or table comparing each credit cards by category and all the specific features that credit card companies provide.

It also provides guides for those who’d like to learn more about credit cards, how to improve your credit and applying online.

If there’s a fashion police that lets you know if you belong to either the best or worst dressed list, in the world of finance, there are credit bureaus determining whether you deserve the trust of creditors or not. Credit scores let you know how credit bureaus think of you, and fortunately or unfortunately, credit scores are fairly accurate, unbiased, and reliable results of how you’ve managed your credit.

When it comes to maintaining your 620 and above credit score, all you have to do remember is that good deeds are equal to good credit scores and vice versa. Continue reading →