Does your credit card work for you? Learn from credit card reviews how to make a credit card work for you!
September 9th, 2009 ccblogger
Everyone knows how prepaid credit and debit cards work. You load money on to them and use them until all the money is spent. You can’t spend more money than is on the card and you can reload money onto it at any time.
But, you probably don’t realize how beneficial the READYdebit card is.
READYdebit is different because it comes with virtually no fees-of any kind. For instance, it comes with $0 overdraft fees, Free direct deposit, Free online check writing, Free Online Bill Pay and so much more.
Many prepaid cards require you to keep a certain balance or charge you a certain fee per transaction. The READYdebit card does not come with these frivolous charges. The READYdebit card is dedicated to making your experience fee-free. The READYdebit card comes with less fees than any other prepaid card on the market today.
If you sign up, you’ll get it. The 100% guaranteed approval makes this prepaid debit card nice because it is available to people of all different credit types. If you have good credit, this is a good choice because it will keep your finances well-rounded. If you have no credit, the READYdebit card will help you build credit and get used to using a credit card. If bad credit has been weighing you down, it isn’t a problem anymore with the READYdebit card.
READYdebit is there to make your financial situation fee-free. It is the perfect card to help you build, rebuild or maintain your credit. READYdebit comes with many perks, including free online bill pay and direct deposit. It’s about time you were in good hands financially. Let READYdebit take care of all of your prepaid debit card needs.
Posted in Credit Cards | No Comments »
March 5th, 2009 Admin
Everyone has different "taste." This "taste" includes taste in food, clothes, home decor, furniture, etc. Afterall, that is what makes this world such an interesting place. But, did you know that consumers can get different credit cards according to their individual style.
The biggest indicator of your credit card style is the way that you were raised. Sound bogus? Let me explain…
When you were growing up, you probably intently watched how your parents handled their finances. Whether you realize it or not, you probably handle your finances much of the same way you saw your parents handle theirs. For instance, did your parents primarily use their credit cards to make purchases? Is that the same way that you handle your expenses and purchases? Chances are that your financial style is the same as your parent’s financial style.
Your financial style can predict what type of credit card you use. There is a countless array of credit card types out there. These include:
-instant approval credit cards
-High interest
-Low interest
-Cash back
-Travel rewards
-Rewards credit cards
-Annual fee credit cards
-Etc, etc, etc
So, which type of credit card fits your "taste" or financial style? Let’s take a look.
If you use your credit card for everyday purchases and make sure to pay off the entire balance every month, you will be better off with a reward-based credit card or a cash back credit card. You have the opportunity to rack up the points, without paying a dime of interest.
If you do a lot of traveling, either for your personal life or for your business, you might be better off with a travel reward credit card. Each time you use your credit card, you can earn points that can be used the next time you travel. You can either use these points frequently or save them. The more points you save, the better chance you have of paying for your next trip entirely with your reward points.
If you don’t pay off your entire credit card balance every month, you are better off with a low-interest or no-interest credit card. This will minimize your payments and the amount you will end up spending on interest.
Make sure you fully understand all of the ins and outs of your credit card terms. It is also extremely beneficial to understand what your credit card "tastes" are. This way, you can carefully choose a credit card that will benefit you and your finances the most.
Posted in Credit Cards | No Comments »
February 20th, 2009 Admin
The Importance of Payment Scheduling
One of the biggest problems that credit cardholders face is remember when a payment is due. Many cardholders try to juggle several different cards, each with a different due date and payment amount.
Here are a few reasons why you should schedule your credit card payments or automate the payment schedule.
1. You’ll Save Money. How many times have you paid a $10 late fee? How about a $25 late fee? Add up all of the money that you have wasted by missing due dates. Think about what you could do with that money now. Scheduling your credit card payments is a great way to keep all of that money in your wallet. You could even put that money into a savings account and watch your responsibility grow. Many bank accounts also offer a free bill pay service. Try using this service to have your credit card bills paid automatically every month. You can stay on top of your due dates without even having to think about it.
2. Your Credit Report Will Thank You. Many people don’t think that being a few days late dings their credit. Well, here’s a news flash. It does. Lenders can look up your payment history and see if you make it a habit to be late while paying your bills. Just because your bill paying tardiness doesn’t get reported to the credit bureaus each month, doesn’t mean that it won’t affect your ability to qualify for loans down the road. For instance…I used to work at a credit union. Each time a member came in to apply for a loan (whether it was an auto loan, a second mortgage, a line of credit, etc), we looked at their payment history. Those individuals who always paid their bills late usually didn’t get approved for the loan they were seeking. Keep this in mind.
It’s time to think about scheduling your credit card payments. You can create your own scheduling system or try an automated one. Either way, you’ll be better off than you were before you started scheduling your payments.
Posted in Credit Cards | No Comments »
February 16th, 2009 Admin
Wouldn’t it be helpful to have a condensed guide that gave you all of the credit card secrets that you needed to know to stay ahead of the game?
Well, today is your lucky day. Pay close attention to these credit card secrets to know what you need to do to make the most of your credit card experience.
1. READ and UNDERSTAND the fine print. Most consumers don’t read the fine print and this is a dangerous habit to get into. Before signing up for a card, make sure you read all of the fine print and understand all of it as well.
2. Pay your bill on time. Paying your credit card bill on time can not only save you money in late charges, but it can ultimately save your credit history as well. Most consumers don’t realize that if your payment is late on one card, the interest rate on any of your other cards could go up.
3. Get rid of those annual fees. Do you have a credit card that has an annual fee? Do you have good or excellent credit? If your answer is “yes,” you are in good luck. All you have to do is call up your credit card company and ask them to get rid of the annual fee. Seventy-five percent of the time, this really works. So take advantage of it.
4. Pay in full all of the time. Don’t waste your time paying minimum payments. Minimum payments will get you no where. Paying interest on credit cards just doesn’t make sense. You end up paying much more than what a product is worth.
5. Pay attention. How many credit cardholders really read their statement every month? Not many. It is so important to pay close attention to your monthly statement. You can catch due dates that have changed. You can also keep a close eye on credit card fraud and unauthorized charges.
6. Waive it. You will always pay your credit card on time and in full. However, things do come up. If you don’t make it a habit to pay your credit card late, you can often get that “occasional” late payment waived.
7. Security insurance. Most credit cards come with insurance. You don’t need to buy extra insurance, but many people do. Check and make sure you aren’t spending unnecessary money on security insurance that won’t do you any good.
8. High-interest cards. Try not to use high-interest rate credit cards. Many of these cards come with a great “introductory offer.” However, once the offer has run out, the interest rate skyrockets. If you do have a balance on a high interest credit card, try and pay that one off first. The idea is to pay off the cards with the highest interest first. You can save yourself a bundle in the long run.
9. Credit Union Credit Cards. If you are looking to get a new credit card, try going through your local credit unions. Credit unions often have better rates and fees than other credit cards.
10. Insurance. Credit card insurance is different from credit card security insurance. In the event that you become disabled, unemployed, or experience other unforeseen situations, credit card insurance puts a stop to your payments. The downfall to this insurance is that it is extremely expensive. It also delays your debt instead of eliminating it.
There you have it. All of the credit card secrets that you need to know. Understand and follow these tips to make the most of your credit history and credit card usage.
Posted in Credit Cards | No Comments »
December 30th, 2008 Admin
New Credit Card Regulations Are In
Credit card regulators and lawmakers recently approved a set of regulations that will protect credit card customers.
The news that the Federal Reserve Board approved credit card regulations came on Thursday December 18, 2008. This date is an important one for credit card customers around the world. However, the regulations won’t be put into effect until July 1, 2010.
There were three major boards that approved credit card restrictions. These were the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration. In short, the new credit card regulations will place tight reins on banks and other credit card companies.
These credit card regulations are revolutionary. They will prohibit credit card companies and banks from certain practices. These practices include: applying interest payments in ways that maximize penalties for the consumer. Lenders will now be forced to be more “transparent about their billing practices.”
Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman, said, “These protections will allow consumers to access credit on terms that are fair and more easily understood.”
The regulations will also put an end to:
-Double-cycle billing-This method takes an average of the balance from the previous two bills. Because this method will no longer be used, consumers “who carry a balance will no longer get hit with retroactive interest on their previous month’s bill.”
-Interest rate increases-Credit card companies will no longer be able to raise interest rates on “pre-existing credit card balances unless a payment is over 30 days” past due.
-Reasonable amount of time-Consumers will now be given a reasonable amount of time to make payments. Payments will also be applied to higher-interest-rate balances first. This tactic will go a long way in reducing interest fees and penalties.
-New credit card statements-Consumers won’t have to decipher confusing credit card statements anymore. Each statement will clearly list when each payment is due, including the time of day. Statements will also highlight any changes to the accounts.
-An end to universal defaults-This out-dated policy let credit card lenders increase interest rates on one particular card if the consumer missed a payment on a completely different card.
Currently, Americans have about $976.3 billion in revolving credit. Additionally, 4.9 percent of all credit cards were delinquent at some point during the third quarter. These new credit card regulations will really go to work for the consumer. Although, we will have to wait awhile before the policies take effect.
Posted in Credit Cards | No Comments »
December 10th, 2008 Admin
FICO 08
Have you heard about FICO 08? Fair Isaac announced on July 31, 2008 that it will begin using a new credit-scoring model. This model will include “authorized user accounts when calculating someones FICO credit score.”
Fair Isaac estimates that about 50 million consumers are legitimate, authorized users on someone else’s credit card. Legitimate authorized users include parents, spouses and children. These authorized users must have an established relationship with the primary account holder.
When it was originally developed, FICO 08 didn’t plan on taking authorized user accounts into consideration. The reason was to prevent piggybacking on a complete stranger’s credit card and “artificially inflating one’s score.”
FICO scoring has included authorized user accounts into consideration in the past. However, these versions weren’t used for long because it offered an easy way for people with bad credit to raise their FICO scores. Too many people took advantage of the system and abused it in order to inflate their real scores.
Some lenders have complained about using FICO 08 saying that it would “inhibit compliance with the Federal Reserve’s Regulation B.” Regulation B requires lenders to consider the credit history of each account that is shared by spouses in assessing a married person’s credit risk.
Of course, Fair Isaac is keeping the exact formula a secret. However, the company does say that it has found a way to reduce piggybacking while restoring authorized-user accounts.
Tom Quinn, the vie president of global scoring solutions for Fair Isaac, said, “The FICO 08 scores of legitimate authorized users will now reflect the information on their credit reports about the account(s) on which they are authorized users.”
VantageScore, the competing model, never considered such a move.
Barrett Burns, president and CEO of VantageScore Solutions, said, “VantageScore excludes authorized-user trade lines, whether with good or bad payment histories, to ensure the risk assessment of a credit applicant represents the true credit risk of the prospect and not the originating borrower with whom the authorized trade line is associated.”
Fair Isaac 08 should come as good news to consumers who depend on authorized users to boost their credit score. However, it could be quite some time before consumers see what their FICO 08 score really is.
What do you think? Is FICO 08 good news or bad news?
Posted in Credit Cards | No Comments »
December 8th, 2008 Admin
Outstripping Credit Cards
Reports show that debit cards are the newest craze in the financial/money industry. More and more consumers are halting their spending using credit cards and switching to use a debit card.
Cancelling a credit card or two is becoming a fast-moving trend that is sweeping the nation. Instead of buying now and paying later, consumers are only buying now what they can pay for now. Debit card use is already beginning to surpass credit card use.
Consumers are using debit cards instead of credit cards for two main reasons:
1) Debit cards provide a reliable budgeting tool that significantly reduces spending.
2) Some consumers are using debit cards more because they can’t be approved for a credit card in such a tight credit crunch.
Whatever the reason, debit card use is sure to surpass and outstrip credit card use. Here are a few statistics for you.
-Debit card spending is expected to increase by 13 percent by the end of 2008.
-Credit card use is expected to increase only by 3 percent.
-Debit card purchases are expected to reach $1.2 trillion by the end of 2008.
-Compare that figure with the $1.9 trillion expected to be spent using credit cards.
The growing number of debit card use is definitely bittersweet for banks and other financial institutions. Debit cards to not present the same risk that credit cards do. Consumers can only spend what they have in their account when they use debit cards. On the other hand, debit cards are not nearly as profitable as credit cards because credit cards are associated with high interest rates and fees.
Banks will find a way to benefit more from the rising number of debit cards that are being used. They always do.
What are your plans for the future? Which plastic will you find yourself pulling out more often? Debit card or credit card?
Posted in Credit Cards | No Comments »
December 1st, 2008 Admin
Expect Your Credit Card Rate to Go Up
Just the other day, I received a notice from our credit card company. In short, the letter was explaining that our credit card rates would be going up as of January 1, 2009. My husband and I use our credit card responsibly, practice good money management and pay off the balance every month. We have never missed a payment and have never been late. So, why is our credit card company hiking up the rate by over 10 percent?
The economy has forced companies everywhere to make changes to their policies and procedures. However, consumers from around the country are still wondering “why them?” Although the Federal Reserve recently cut the benchmark rate to 1 percent, many people’s credit card rates are still going up.
Traditionally, when the Federal Reserve cuts rates, credit card companies slash their rates as well. This is a good sign for consumers because their monthly payments are reduced every time interest rates are reduced. So, why the disparity now? Credit card companies and other financial institutions are trying to offset the rising costs of credit card operations with higher rates and fees.
It used to be that high rates and fees were distributed among higher-risk consumers. Not anymore. Credit card rates and fees are being raised even among low-risk consumers. Banks, financial institutions and credit card companies have really tightened the grip on risky consumers. Now, responsible consumers that pay their bills on time are being hit hard with higher rates and more expensive fees. Everyone will soon find it much more expensive to carry a balance on their credit card.
People are finding it more difficult than ever to get and use credit. Consumers around the country are also finding it more expensive to live off of credit these days. Even though the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates, credit card companies are raising them to offset the rising cost of credit card operations. Simply put, you can expect your credit card rate to get higher just like mine has.
Posted in Credit Cards | No Comments »
November 26th, 2008 Admin
Federal Aid to Go to Credit Card Companies
The Federal Government just announced a new plan that will help credit card companies. Government leaders are working on a new facility that will encourage companies to issue credit cards.
This new program will actually help companies make student loans, finance car loans and issue credit cards. The plan is expected to be unveiled shortly. Additionally, the Federal Reserve announced that it will buy up to $600 billion mortgage-backed assets.
Henry Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, said that a “relatively modest share” of the bailout plan will be used for the new program. Here’s how it is expected to work.
The government will purchase up to $100 billion in direct obligations. These obligations will be purchased from mortgage giants. Another $500 billion will be bought in mortgage-backed securities.
Since the financial crisis hit several months ago, credit card companies have really tightened their standards. A recent survey shows that nearly 60 percent of banks have tightened their lending standards and will continue to do so.
In fact, American Express recently announced its plan to become a financial institution instead of just a credit card giant. Citigroup has also announced its plan for the future. Credit card companies are having to get serious about lending practices to stay afloat. Luckily, these companies will now get government aid. This step alone will do a lot to save the American economy.
When the bailout bill was initially passed, it didn’t look like credit card companies were going to get any federal aid. The tables have turned now as the government realizes what an important role credit card companies play in our everyday economy.
Posted in Credit Cards | No Comments »
November 4th, 2008 Admin
Facts about Credit Card Debt
Do you know how much credit card debt the average American has? We hear all that time that the average American has over $8,000 in credit card debt. That is an unbelievable high number. Is it a true statistic?
The majority of American people and families don’t owe anything to credit card companies. The majority of American households carry a balance that is less than $2,000. So, do you want to hear the real statistic? One in twenty American households owes more than $8,000 in credit card debt.
Where did this high statistic come from? Most of the information stating that the average American family owes more than $8,000 on credit cards comes from CardWeb.com. This company tracks credit card trends. CardWeb’s statistics prove that ‘the average debt per American household with at least one credit card was $8,940 in 2002.’
Here’s how CardWeb got that number. It took the total amount of outstanding credit card debt at the end of 2002, $750.9 billion. This number was divided by the number of American households that have at least one credit card, 84 million.
Basically, the people with huge amounts of credit card debt ruin the statistic for everyone else. While my husband and I never carry a credit card balance, we know of at least 5 other families that have at least $20 thousand in credit card debt. Let’s look at a few more statistics.
- 23.8 percent of American households do not have a credit card. This includes bank cards, retail cards, cash back credit cards, etc.
- 31.2 percent of American households pay off their credit card balances in full.
- This means that 55 percent of American households do not owe anything on credit cards.
- According to IRS statistics, the average amount of credit card debt among Americans that do carry a credit card balance is only $1,900.
The Federal Government recently conducted a study on credit card debt. Here’s what the Fed found…
- 29 percent of American households owe more than $1,000 on credit cards.
- 21 percent owe more than $2,000.
- 6 percent owe more than $8,000.
- 4 percent owe more than $10,500.
- 1 percent owe more than $21,400.
Fair Issac also recently released credit card statistics.
- A little more than 1 in 8 people use 80 percent of more of their credit card limit.
- Over 50 percent of everyone who has a credit card uses less than 30 percent of their total credit card limit.
- Approximately 48 percent of people with credit cards owe less than $1,000.
- About 10 percent of credit card holders have a credit card balance more than $10,000.
As you can see, credit card statistics vary a great deal. It is safe to say, however, that credit cards are definitely being used in the American society today. Credit cards have been a heaven-send for some people and a crippling tool for others.
Posted in Credit Cards | No Comments »