Save Money With A Balance Transfer Credit Card

Writen by Nick Davis

It is estimated that about a third of people fail to pay off their credit or store card balances in full every month, and therefore pay interest on the balance. If that applies to you, the chances are you could save money by applying for a new credit card which offers zero (or low) interest balance transfers.

The way this works is that you take out a new credit card offering such a deal and immediately ask them to pay off the debt on your old card. The balance on your old card then becomes zero, and the entire balance goes on to your new card instead, with its zero or low interest rate.

A number of card issuers offer these deals. Zero rate offers typically last from five to twelve months. If you are confident that you can pay off the entire balance during this time, they are a good choice for saving money.

If you think it may take longer to pay off the outstanding balance, a better option may be to apply for a card which offers a low rate for the entire life of the balance (i.e. until it is repaid). American Express™ offers a fixed, low APR for the life of the balance with its Platinum card.

If you are currently paying interest on a balance with your current card, it makes sense to transfer your existing store or credit card balance to another provider. There are a few points to watch out for, however.

1. Check if there is a charge for balance transfers

Balance transfer fees are becoming more common as credit card issuers try to recover some of the money they lose by offering interest-free periods. Fees range up to 2% of the total balance. However, there are still several card providers offering free balance transfers.

2. Remember to make your minimum payment every month

Even though the card issuer offers an interest-free period, you will still have to make the minimum payments each month by the due date, or you will be charged interest.

3. Avoid spending extra on the card used for the transfer

Most credit cards pay off balance transfers preferentially, so if you incur any other debts on the card, they will not be discharged until the entire transferred balance is paid off. That means any new spending will be "trapped" on the card, accruing full interest charges. If you are using your new card to service a balance transfer, therefore, do NOT use it for additional spending as well – use another card instead.

4. Switch again when the introductory period expires

If you have failed to pay off the balance completely once the 0% introductory rate for balance transfers expires, you could apply for another card and transfer your balance again. However, if you plan to do this you should always remember, in the month the 0% deal ends, to move the debt again to another 0% offer. This means you will need to apply for another card about six weeks before the introductory period ends. You will need to be well organized and remind yourself to do this.

5. Note that your credit rating may suffer

If you apply for a number of credit cards, especially at the same time, your applications will be noted by the credit reference agencies, and your credit score may suffer. The most important preventative measure is to spread card applications out. Do this and most people with reasonable income and no bad debts will be fine, though be aware that there will be a small risk to your ability to get competitive credit in future.

Having decided on the type of balance transfer deal you are looking for, do take the time to study the market and see what is available. Do not simply fill in and return the next credit card application form that arrives in the mail. Credit card comparison sites such as www.finest-credit-cards.com can make this easier for you by listing all the best current card offers for you to choose from, and also have a range of articles offering unbiased advice and information.

Nick Davis is the owner of http://www.finest-credit-cards.com, which aims to match you up with the ideal credit card to suit your situation. With details of all the leading card offers updated daily, plus informative articles to guide you in your choice, you will never pick the wrong credit card again.

A Credit Card To Suit All Needs

Writen by Lisa R Johnson

In this day and age, a large number of the population is in possession of a credit card, sometimes even numerous credit cards! Banks and businesses are becoming more and more aware of consumer's desires for specialised credit cards, and have thus introduced a myriad of credit cards that are joint ventures between banks and businesses. There are credit cards aimed at men, and credit cards aimed at women.

If you're a sports fan, for instance, then you can't go past the NASCAR credit card. Or there's the NFL credit card, the World Series of Poker credit card, the MLB credit card, and the Bass Pro Shops credit card. People who love to travel would be interested in the British Airways credit card, or the World Perks credit card. If you like your cars, then the Subaru credit card, or the Volkswagen credit card is for you.

With the price of gas escalating out of control in the current world climate, gas reward credit cards are in big demand! Two such cards available at the moment are the Speedway SuperAmerica credit card, which lets you earn up to an 8% rebate on all gas and merchandise purchased at Speedway, SuperAmerica, and Rich Oil locations; and the HESS credit card, which lets you earn up to a 10% rebate on all HESS purchases.

For women, the Starbucks credit card is bound to be a favourite! As is the Borders and Waldenbooks credit card, for all people who enjoy reading. There are even credit cards for entertainment – both the Sony credit card and the Universal Entertainment credit cards provide fantastic rewards programs. If you have children, there's also a credit card for you – the Toys "R" Us credit card can earn you awesome rebates!

Of course, when it comes to choosing a credit card suitable to your needs, it is important to read the fine print, and not just choose a card because it looks 'pretty'. All of the cards mentioned here can be examined in further detail and compared at http://www.getfastcreditcards.com.

About the Author
Lisa R Johnson is co-owner of http://www.getfastcreditcards.com, a website where American citizens can view and compare countless credit card offers, and can also then apply online immediately for credit cards.

Credit Card Services And Why We Need Those Little Cards

Writen by David Riewe

Practically everyone in the United States has credit cards. From teenagers to retirees, almost everyone has at least one credit card. Everywhere we go we see ads - in the television, radio, newspapers, billboard advertisements - on credit cards. Some credit cards are even mailed directly to our homes. But what are credit cards and why should you have one?

Simply stated, a credit card (or for many, just known as credit, is a financial arrangement between you, the consumer or the card user, and an institution (in most instances a bank), that you have to borrow instant money from them and promises that you will repay them back in the future. The institution agrees to that it will give the money you need and expects you to pay them over a certain time period, like on a monthly basis. Your payment will include not just the entire money you owed the group or institution but also an additional charge that is known as an interest rate, if you are unable to pay your full balance on time monthly.

Credit can provide various services, making it an indispensable tool for today's consumers. These include:

Convenience. You saw this wonderful dress in a shop. Perfect for tonight's party, you thought. But you don't have money right now. Thanks to your card, you can buy anything you want right now. Credit cards give you that wonderful allowance not to bring that much cash and to order goods from catalogs. In addition, many of the online-based shops and stores, such as Amazon.com, mainly accept payment using credit.

Emergency Protection. For emergency situation, credit cards can be an extremely helpful tool that could be your friend that could pay for your emergency needs, like when your car conked out in the road, or your mother gets hospitalized, or any emergency situations that you need money but can't get it from the usual means.

Putting you in the right budget. Want to keep a detailed record of your expenditures? Credit cards can do that.

Security. In today's world, carrying large cash has become a problem. If your cash gets lost, there's no way you can retrieve it. Compared with credit cards, money cannot be returned back when it got lost or stolen. If your card, for example, got broken or it got lost or someone stole it from you, you can always ask for a credit card termination or cancellation. You will have another card, a new one that will replace it in a few days.

Traveling. If you're quite a traveler, whether across the town or country, or outside the US, it is relatively easier to travel with a credit card.

When used responsibly, credit cards are can help improve our daily lives. With cards, life could be so much easier.

About The Author
David Riewe is a Publisher and Online Marketer. Visit his Credit Resources Blog Below: http://www.push-button-online-income.com/creditcards/.

Credit Cards And Marriage

Writen by Alan Bernstein

Getting married is a wonderful thing and brings forth a whole new life together as a couple. Part of being married means working together as a team in all aspects of our lives– physically, spiritually, emotionally and also financially. Indeed, the matters of finance and debt have caused much disagreements and breakups amongst married couples. Thus, it is always important to have mutual agreement, openness and correlation between the husband and wife in matters concerning finance.

The major area of concern when it comes to finances is the area related to personal debt, especially credit card debt. Many couples go into a marriage without being aware of the debt of their fiancées. Indeed, although debt is a personal burden while you are single, married couples will eventually have to face the problem of debt together after they are married. This can cause stress in a marriage, which is why 70% of divorces in America are caused by financial issues.

It's best to exercise sound planning towards consolidated finances after the marriage. This means that you should try to clear any outstanding debt that you may have before you are married. Bringing these into the marriage may mean asking your spouse to bear for a debt that he or she didn't get into in the first place. Cancel credit cards that are charging high interests and leave one or two that offer favorable rates. You can always inform the credit card companies that you are getting married and are looking into closing some of your accounts.

The best ways to clear your credit card debt is by planning your monthly expenses and budget an amount each month to pay off your debt. You may transfer some of your outstanding balances to 0% APR card to lighten your burden while you pay with monthly installments. Also, don't charge any more expenses to your credit cards unless really necessary, as these will just increase the debt value that you are trying hard to pay off.

Apart from that, the both of you may also want to cross-check your credit reports so that any discrepancies can be sorted out as soon as possible. If you do this now, you will help to prevent disagreements later on which may arise from debt which you and your spouse had no knowledge of.

After your credit card debt is cleared, strike a mutual agreement between the both of you on the type of expenses that should be charged to credit cards and those that should be paid with cash. Also, be sure that the both of you understand that credit card balances should be paid off each month. Another alternative is to have your credit cards issued under separate names even after you are married so that any credit problems will not affect your spouse's credit standing.

Alan Bernstein recommends Find Credit Cards to apply for a Morgan Stanley credit card today.

Common Credit Card Terms And Their Meanings

Writen by Karyn Kudrna

When shopping around for a credit card, it is very important to understand the terms and fees that each card offers in order to make an informed decision regarding the best credit card for you. Because these terms affect your overall cost, it is important to compare the terms and fees of various cards before opening an account.

Annual Fees

These are the annual membership fees, or participation fees charged by some card issuers. They can range from $25 up to several hundred dollars.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

The annual percentage rate, or APR is the cost of credit as a yearly rate. By law, this rate must be disclosed to all applicants of a credit card. This rate is often variable, meaning that it can be raised or lowered depending upon the performance of the index, or econonmic indicator, that it is linked to.

Balance Transfer

This is the process of transfering an unpaid credit card balance from one card to another. Often the card receiving the balance will charge the card holder a balance transfer fee.

Cash Back

Some credit cards offer cash back incentives to the card holder. These offers usually mean you will receive some percentage of the total amount charged to the card monthly, quarterly, or annually. This percentage may be paid to you by check or may be reflected on your account as a credit.

Grace Period

This is the period of time offered by some cards that allows the card holder to pay the balance in full without accruing any interest charges. If your card does not offer a grace period, then you may be paying finance charges from the date the card is used.

Introductory Rate

Credit cards often offer special "introductory rates" to new card holders. These rates may be as low as 0% for a specified period of time. After the introductory period ends, the annual percentage rate will increase to the cards regular ongoing rate. It is important to know what this rate is as well as how long the introductory period lasts prior to applying for one of these cards.

Transaction fees

Some credit cards will charge additional fees for transactions such as cash advances or balance transfers. Late fees may also be applied when a payment is received after the due date.

Karyn Kudrna is owner of the website http://www.credit-123.com which offers information on low interest credit cards

5 Tips For Finding No Credit Credit Cards

Writen by Rebecca Spitzer

Millions of people have trouble with their credit each year. From late payments to bankruptcies, families and single individuals work to overcome their poor credit histories and find a way to get along in this world of fast cash and credit card payments. So if you have poor credit or no credit at all, how do you get a credit card? Well, poor credit and no credit are different, but the methods for finding a credit card are very similar. So let's go over a few here:

· Check your mailbox. Unless you have opted out of pre-screened credit offers, you should get a few in the mail. Read the fine print and see if any of these offers suit your needs.

· Search online. The World Wide Web is an endless resource for credit card possibilities. You can use search terms like "no credit credit cards," "poor credit credit cards," and "secured credit cards." You will get a list of results that is longer than you need.

· Ask your bank. Many banks these days offer secured credit cards for people with poor or no credit. A secured credit card is simply a card that is set up after you make an initial deposit to your credit account. Usually, this amount is between two and five hundred dollars. After your deposit is made, you will have a line of credit up to the amount of you deposit, depending on the financial institution's regulations. Use your card as you would any credit card, and after a year, you may qualify for a standard credit card that is unsecured.

· Check out college bookstores. Believe it or not, these are great places to find random offers for no credit credit cards. Companies want to appeal to students, who have little or no credit, by offering credit cards for an annual fee. You can ask for any brochures the bookstore includes in bags at the point of purchase.

· Get referrals from people you know. If you have a friend that has overcome bad credit or has built their credit from scratch, ask them how they did it.

Rebecca Spitzer recommends Find Credit Cards for comparing no credit credit cards.

Credit Check

Writen by Alison Cole

Credit checks are done to determine the credit score of an individual. A credit score is an indication of a person's financial creditworthiness. It is used to verify whether the person qualifies for a loan, or any other credit, based on whether he has repaid his past loans satisfactorily. A credit score is used by banks and other lending companies for estimating how risky the borrower is. In other words, a credit report is a reflection of the past credit history of an individual.

In the U.S., the credit score is based on the FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) score that is calculated by using some mathematical and statistical techniques. There are also other versions of calculating credit scores such as Beacon and Empirica. A FICO score is based on various factors including punctuality of payment in the past, capacity used (ratio of current revolving debt to total available revolving credit), length of credit history, types of credits used, and recent credits obtained. FICO scores range from 300-850, wherein a score below 600 is considered "bad" while a score above 720 is considered "good". Every U.S. citizen can obtain a credit report from a reporting agency as per the FACT Act (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act).

Credit checks are very useful. Some applications of a credit check are to find out about prospective tenants for renting out properties or to learn about potential employees before offering employment. Credit checks are mostly done by creditors before giving loans.

There are many credit-rating agencies that do credit checks. These do credit checking for individuals as well as corporations. The fee for a credit check ranges from $20 to $1,000, depending on the information required. The three most famous credit-rating agencies in the U.S. are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

There are also independent credit-rating agencies. Information about these can be obtained from the Internet. Many organizations also provide free credit-check facilities when you sign up for any other service with them.

Credit Check provides detailed information on Credit Check, Free Credit Checks, No Credit Check Loans, Collection Agency Credit Checks and more. Credit Check is affiliated with Credit History Repair.