You are pre-approved! Every time I check my mail there is at least one or two pre-approved credit card applications. You get them too, I’m sure. You can even have terrible credit and they still continue to flood your mailbox. And if you just filed bankruptcy you will get more of them than you know what to do with!

Credit card debt is so easy to get into–over and over again. Most people don’t feel like they are spending real money until the bill comes, and then it’s too late. The credit card companies know how to make it very tempting to fall back on any good habits we’ve created and just spend away. It’s hard to get away from, but we have to resist temptation.

(more…)

New credit card rules will take effect in February 2010 as part of Credit Act of 2009. Credit card issuers will have greater limitations such as not being able to raise interest rates on balances that are not 60 days late. Some card fees are going away as part of this act and new rules will be in place for more disclosures by the card issuing companies. However, most credit card issuers and banks have already made plans how to overcome some of these restrictions and fees.

Watch out for new fees and increased interest rates being passed on to you in order to recover some of the lost revenue. So if you have a credit card that does not have any annual fees, you might be surprised with a new annual fee. Bank of America and Citibank are planning to start charging some customers annual fees, especially those who don’t use their cards up to certain limits.

(more…)

Many mastercard holders join up for a credit account with an 8.9% interest rate and then later realize that their interest rate has been bumped to 27.4%. Why?

You know that your credit score affects the credit card rates that you just qualify for. However, did you know that a very little clause within the fine print of the mastercard terms and agreements, called the “Universal Default Penalty Clause” might mean that you’re already paying the next interest than when you signed up for the mastercard? What will this fine print mean to you?

If your credit score goes down or one in all your alternative credit conditions change, then your interest rate increases significantly. This will not mean any new charges you create to the present particular credit card account: the higher rate affects the whole balance. Yes, even items you purchased with the understanding that your interest rate would remain the first rate.

(more…)

This article is in relation to Australian credit card providers. I’m sure you will find that the same or similar information will be true for credit providers in your country/region. Why is it that these types of business are all about ‘Buyer beware” especially when even our respective governments teach us that these same companies are to be trusted…(Banks, Financial Institutions)?

An Australian consumer advocate group, Choice, has released information from a study carried out on 20 credit card companies here in Australia.

It showed that the amount of interest charged on credit cards varies greatly between providers, (when the provider starts and stops charging interest and how fairly they apply the interest free days as actually advertised interest rate).

The fairer credit providers were shown to be Heritage building society, Bendigo Bank, Certain GE cards, and Teachers Credit Union, while the most unfair credit card providers mentioned in the study were, American Express (no surprises here), Commonwealth Bank, Bankwest, ANZ, and also Westpac.

The tricks of the Banking trade make it very difficult, if not nearly downright impossible for the consumer to compare the merits and relative benefits of competing card providers’ as the headline interest rate is only part of the story.Most card companies backdate the interest rate to the purchase date, if your repayment on the credit card is late (this means that if your one day late you will pay the whole interest amount on the preceding 55 days) or even if you might under pay by a slight amount (ie:- if you make any shortfall, even as low as $5.00) and if this happens on an amount of, say, $2500.00 that is really going to hurt. Consumers would be very surprised to know that if they had 2 credit cards with exactly the same interest rates and used them in the same way, (similar purchase amounts and repayments of interest etc) they could be charged twice as much interest on one credit card for overdue interest than on the other.

(more…)

Getting hit with unexpected setbacks like job loss or costly medical bills can make it nearly impossible for a person to make ends meet. It can happen to anyone really. Impending bad credit and financial stress is usually the grim outlook. That said, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will get turned down when you apply for a credit card in the future.

An individual can easily still get a credit card in their name, even with a very poor credit history. Simply by applying for a card like the First Millennium Platinum Card and making good on payments, they can start to bring their credit rating back up. At the same time, they benefit from the advantages of possessing a credit card. There usually are quite a few charge card agencies which will extend guaranteed credit to individuals with bad credit.

Completing the Application

The two most common cards are secured and unsecured. Unlike prepaid cards, they will have an available credit limit and do have an impact on your credit rating. Secured cards usually require some money down. This ensures the provider should you default on payments, they will be able to recover some or all of the money. Unsecured cards don’t require any deposit and at the time of application, you will be approved based on the usual methods. Unsecured card providers are normally the only ones who do credit checks and even then, you could still be approved with a bad credit history.

(more…)

The loss of a loved one is very hard on anyone. The fact that you have to carry on without them is bad, but inheriting their debt is even worse. Unfortunately, under some situations you can inherit their debt, especially if you were the joint account holder. However, if you are just an authorized user and you did not sign the application, you are not liable for the bills and all you only have the charging privileges, then you are not responsible in paying the bills.

Upon the death of a loved one and you start being harassed by creditors, then you should first get legal help. Talk to a lawyer, get the credit card details and agreements that belong to your loved one so that they can determine if you are liable or not. Just because you were married, and you inherited your spouse’s 401(k) does not mean you inherited his credit card debt. Just because your parents died and you got their house, does not mean you got their credit card debt too. There are a few things you need to determine in the event of a loved one’s death:

1. The validity of the debt.

2. Is the debt within the statute of limitations?

3. Are you responsible for the debt?

(more…)

Debt is a problem when you are alive and it is still a problem when you die. A number of factors such as where you live and who applied for card can affect whether or not the debt follows you to the grave or if one of the living will have to pay for it. The sentence “Till death do us part” might not apply here, so if you do not want to put your family through a hard time after you die, then you should always be on top of your credit card payments. As if losing you was not painful enough, now they would have to deal with the harassment from collection agencies too.

When you owe money to a business, they will do anything to get it back, so here is where you must be careful. Rather than absorbing the debt and writing it off as a loss, credit card companies will go after who ever are listed on the card. If you had opened a joint account with your spouse, then upon your death they will be responsible in paying back the debt. If you and your company jointly owned the account, then your company will have to make payments upon your death. So as long as the account was co-signed (is a joint account) with a (still) living person, then they will have to pay on your behalf.

(more…)

Self help is always important to eliminate credit card debt. When you can not find any other means to reduce or pay back your loan you must plan your budget and focus on savings. There are numerous options which can eliminate this debt. The debt consolidation loans are increasingly becoming popular in this regard. Debt consolidation loan is a form of loan which meant to pay off the previous loans. It has relatively lower interest rates and fixed terms and conditions.

The debtors of credit card usually seek this kind of loan to pay the mounting debts of credit cards. But this is suitable for the people who have fixed assets like house of their own. Debt consolidation loan is provided only if a house or a property is given to the lender as a guarantee of loan returning. The property is sold if the borrower fails to return the money in time. So an element of risk is involved in it. Sometimes, the bad credit individuals make new credit cards with which they pay off prior credit cards.

(more…)

If you feel that debt management is impossible and you will not be able to pay back huge loan of your credit card, you must attempt to reduce credit card debt by negotiating with your creditor. It is not necessary that you involve a third party in it to get reduction. You can do it yourself if you have clear idea of the money you can offer at once and a property which you can give the creditor as a guarantee in case you are paying in installments the reduced debt.

If you ask how can you reduce credit card debt! The answer would suggest you many ways. The negotiation with the creditor can be the best option when you can not wait for monthly budget plans and savings to pay the debt. Reducing the debt by the payment of savings done by cutting the personal expenditures is difficult. So you must negotiate with your creditor. The creditors always welcome claims and requests from their credit card holders. So you can take the benefit of this opportunity. Make settlement of your debt without hiring the professional services.

But before you go for a credit card debt negotiation, you must keep in mind that the settlement for reduction will lower your credit score in future. Here you can decide to give up the use of credit card in future if once you are out of the debt. When you will stop payment of your debt, which a prerequisite of reducing and negotiating with your creditor, you will have to face a low credit score in future. To reduce credit card debt, you will have to stop your submission of payments. When you are an on time payer previously, the creditor will negotiate with you. Do not delay more than 3 months in contacting your creditor for seeking reduction in loans.

(more…)

Capital One was founded by Richard Fairbank and Nigel Morris in 1988. Capital One Financial Corp’s primary focus is on consumer cards, home loans, auto loans, banking, and savings products. Capital One was one of the first charge card mass marketers starting in the early 1990s. The Capital One Platinum Preferred business card is an excellent choice for any consumer.

Capital One is one of the strongest credit card companies on the market today. This card provider has many features that customers can take advantage of. The most enticing feature that the Capital One Platinum Preferred business credit card has to offer is its introductory rate. New cardholders will be happy to take advantage of 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers until 2010. That gives new customers one year without having to pay interest. This credit card is an excellent choice when transferring a balance from one card to another. Transfer your balance from antoher card If you are paying a high interest rate. Someone with a $10,000 balance being charged 18% will save $1800 by transfering their balance to the Capital One Business Platinum Preferred credit card. If you are planning on making a large purchase you will have the opportunity to pay it off in a year.

(more…)