Credit cards have become a way of living today. We can not do away with it and why should we? Credit cards are a complete package these days. Apart for the basic task of making financial transaction on credit for you that you are supposed to pay by month end, they are in to whole lot of other things.

 

Credit card activities are so diversified these days, they are required in almost every place. Apart from the regular credit cards there are also –

·        entertainment credit card

·        gas credit card

 

These credit cards make living simpler.

 

There are various types of credit card to fit in every pocket –

 

·        secured credit card

·        unsecured credit card

·        pre paid credit card

 

These credit card companies have a huge base; they cater to the needs of every section of society and also lure them with special offers suiting their interests. Market has special credit card for –

 

·        credit card exclusively for women

·        credit cards for students

·        credit card for people with good credit history

·        credit card for people with poor/bad credit history

 

These credit cards have a holistic approach in the offers they give. These offers are useful for all the three parties involved, user, trader and credit card issuing company. Let us have a look at the attractive offers of credit cards –

 

·        air mile reward points for frequent fliers

·        cash back offer on total purchase

·        gift certificates

·        reward point redemption

·        vouchers

·        free dinner for premium customers

·        free tickets to popular shows

 

The list is endless. Every other day there is a new addition to this list.

 

There are a few terms that one should be aware of while dealing with credit cards. This financial terminology can be a little confusing for the first time users but once you understand them, it is a smooth sail. These terms are –

 

·        Annual percentage rate

·        Interest charges

·        Balance transfer charge

·        Penalty charge

 

One should know the rates and basic calculation process of these rates to be on the safer side.

 

Security has always been one of the biggest drawbacks of credit cards. Though, this has never diminished the enthusiasm of credit card buyers and users. There are few things one should always remember while transacting with credit cards. First and the fore most being- never let the credit card out of your sight. In case of theft or fraud immediately inform the concerned credit card company.

 

United States Federal Law is strict on these credit card frauds. One need to be cautious of internet scams. Hackers break the encrypted code and then misuse the credit card details. When ever you are making any transaction with your credit card via internet, make sure that the website is well protected and log out as soon as the process is complete.

 

A little precaution can save lot of hassle at a later stage. Be careful while purchasing the credit card.

 

Credit card is a product of great convenience and fun but should be handled with maturity and care.

 

 

 

Credit cards have come a long way from one card for all users to custom made credit cards. Earlier there was only one scheme and utility of credit card. But now we have credit cards in market that cater to the needs of every section, every group of people, as if the credit card is tailor made to suit your particular interest. These days you have credit card for

 

·        Credit card fro those with good credit history

·        Credit card for those who have bad or no credit history

·        Credit card for people who spend more

·        Credit card for people who spend less

·        Credit for women

·        Credit card for students

 

So you have credit card to suit almost every ones’ needs.

 

 

If you are the one with good credit history and are a regular user of credit card, then there is no dearth of lucrative schemes and offers on credit card. You can avail cash back benefit, airline redemption, shopping discounts and much more. As in financial terms, you have credit cards that offer very low interest rates and even 0% introductory rates. So much to choose from that you might just end up buying more than one card. You are also given additional benefit of having a personal credit accountant to help you in the processing of transaction. He can also suggest you on how to in-cash upcoming deals, bonuses and offers.

 

Credit card for women has everything to make them happy. These credit cards especially designed to coax and cajole the fairer sex is full of shopping discount offers, discounts on beauty treatments, discounts at café, hotel or restaurant. They also have cash back that can be up to 5% of total purchase and that is quite a saving. These credit card also offer vouchers and gift certificates for places of interest to women folk like spa or a new garment shop.

 

Credit card for college student requires no credit history, for you don’t expect them to have one. Instead credit card for college students comes up with building credit history offer, where in if you manage your credit properly and also pay back in time, you are awarded bonus points that can be in the form of a ticket to a popular MTV show. More over introductory prices are 0%, so you need not think much to buy a credit card.

 

People with poor or bad credit history need to feel left out; they can opt for secured or unsecured credit card. Also reputed credit card company also helps you to re build your credit history.

 

So you need not worry, what ever your situation is, what ever your demand is, what ever you requirement is- credit card company sure have an answer to it. Credit Card Company will surely offer you some thing to suit your own bill.

 

 

There is so much competition in the credit card market. Every day companies are coming up with new and innovative ideas to lure in more credit card user. Also the credit card users are not using only one credit card; they usually have two or more credit cards of different companies. So then for a credit card issuing company it is not only about selling a credit card, it is also about maintaining it. And to ensure that the consumer uses credit card of their company only, these companies go through cutting edge competition.

 

In such a scenario, customer is the king. He has endless choices and options but one needs to spot out the best credit card in between all this junk and confusion. Many credit card companies confuse the customer with their offers and as a end result, consumer has to pay more than he thought he would do.

 

There are certain highlight features that differentiate between a good credit card and a bad credit card.

 

In a good credit card, APR will not only be less but also the calculation process will be easier. Some credit card companies try to fool the users by promising them lower APR and then later calculate it in such a manner that the rates are exorbitant. APR is calculated in certain parameters and if these parameters are not clearly explained to the user he will naively be trapped in to paying more. So clarification on APR rates and the process of calculation is important.

 

Every credit card comes with a bandwagon of offers and benefits. But what you as a user of credit card should understand is the utility of these offers.  This is what differentiates a good credit card from a bad deal one. For example one credit card, say A gives you free air ticket on completion of 100 points while other credit card, say B gives you the same offer at 75 points, you will naturally be tempted to buy the second one. But, wait, also check that how much point they are giving on each air mile, may be credit card A gives 1 point over each air mile while credit card B gives 1 point at 10 air mile…..so in this way you will earn rewards faster in A and not on scheme B.

 

Thus you need to check on the peculiarities of these aspects also if you want to strike a good deal.

 

Check out the balance transfer rates also. This will help you to transfer credit pay back from high interest rate card to low interest rate card. A highlight feature of good credit card is that it comes with a systematic support center. A support center that is approachable and helping goes a long way in consolidating the relationship between the user and the credit card company.

 

There are certain parameters that will help you choose the correct credit card. As a student credit card applier you should be first ready with few documents that will come in handy while applying. These are the basic document that is required by the credit card company as a proof of your identity. These documents are –

 

·        Date of birth documents- this is required to verify the age of the applicant

·        Address proof – this can be any of the bills like electricity or gas bill that has address written on it. This will be required as a mailing address also.

·        Social security number

·        Driving license number

 

These are some of the basic documents required.

 

Now comes the important question that if you are a student on a look out for just the perfect credit card then what points to consider. Every credit card comes with a set of features, they have their own pros and cons. As a student you have to analyze your spending and then decide accordingly. Two things that you need to do before setting on to credit card hunting are-

 

·        Analyze your spending habits – it is important to sit for a while and write down your main expenditure, especially those that you generally require to do via credit card. Depending on the factors of spending as – what are you spending on, how much are you spending, you can decide the credit card that fits the bill perfectly.

·        Gather information – gathering information about what credit card is all about, what are the plans, what are the offers, how are calculations done, what are the extra costs or hidden costs involved- will help you greatly in making the right decision.

 

What should you look for while deciding on a credit card to buy? There are various parameters for this purpose-

 

·        APR is a very important parameter. Usually the student credit cards are little relaxed on this issue. But this relaxation is only for a short duration, some where around 6 to 8 months. Basically introductory offer of 0% APR is given to almost all student credit cards. But what you should be interested in is not the introductory offer, for remember it is an advertising gimmick. Check out the Annual percentage rate that they will be charging. Depending on this you can make your decision. It is best to go with the lowest possible APR as a student. For you might not be in a situation for taking bigger credit. More over as a student you might also delay your pay backs; lower APR comes in as a saving grace that time.

·        Look out for other introductory offers, apart from APR. go for a credit card company that offers more than this basic and regular offer. See the other rates like balance transfer rate is also less. This is helpful you to easily transfer balance from one card to other.

·        Look out for additional benefits and reward points. Some credit card companies offer earn thank you scheme. Cash back offers are also good. Frequent fliers scheme might not be useful to you. Go for schemes that seem possible and not those high sounding ones that will be difficult to even achieve.

·        A penalty fee is an important parameter. Students are usually on the defaulter’s list of the credit card companies. So it is best to go for a credit card that charges the least for late payments.

 

These are the basic parameters to check for while purchasing a credit card.

 

 

Credit card is like a trap. If you are a good credit card user then you have a good credit history and maintaining a good credit history always helps in the long run. More over if you have the reputation of being a good credit card user, you might avail promotional reward cards, offers etc. credit card issuing companies love to pamper those clients who are good creditors, so as to maintain a long lasting relation with them.

 

How to become a good credit card user and maintain a good credit history?

 

First of all you should try and not use credit cards for taking loans. Taking loans suing credit cards can lead to major financial debacle. You take huge amount of loan and in case you are unable to pay back within a month, you have to pay hefty charges as interest rates. Calculate and take the amount of loan that you can easily pay back in a month’s time. Otherwise it will be called as misuse of credit card and this sort of misuse causes a big hole in the pocket. Secondly, if you are unable to pay in time you are on the credit card issuing company’s defaulter’s list. Thus to maintain a good credit history, you should always maintain a balance between what you are spending and your repaying capacity.

 

It is natural that some times there can be an emergency situation where in you will need to take credit more than the amount that you can pay back in a month’s time. In such a scenario, it is best to pay back the amount as quickly as possible. In fact repaying the credit amount taken through credit card should be your priority. This way you will have two advantages – one need not pay unnecessary interest and other charges and also get the badge of a good creditor.

 

Avoid a situation where in you have to pay late fees. Pay the credit bills regularly and duly at the end of every billing cycle. This is important because such fees accrue up to a huge amount that will make you sweat to pay back. So why allow such a situation to come. Plan your expenditure and revenue systematically. Make sure that you pay your credit bill timely.

 

Don’t fall in to the trap of spending more via your credit card just to be eligible for some contest or free offer. It should come as a part of spending and should not decide your spending options. Beware of such marketing strategies and avoid being fooled by the credit card companies.

 

Follow these guidelines and live a debt free and care free life.

You are a good user of credit card. You have complied with all the precautions every time but still there is no fool proof security system and you fall prey to fraud relating to your credit card. Once you suspect that a fraud is committed to your credit card, what should you do?

 

Now this is a crucial time and your actions should be correct otherwise you might find you’re self in to a bigger trouble. All purchaser of credit cards, be it student, women or the very regular ones, should have good information on what to do in case of fraud with your credit card, to protect you’re self.

 

There can be three types of problems one might face regarding credit cards. They are –

 

·        Situation 1 can be if some fraud is done to your credit card. you suspect that there is some misuse with your credit card.

·        Situation 2- your credit card is stolen.

·        Situation 3- you have lost your credit card

 

These three situations are the problem situation. What should be ideally done in such a situation is enumerated below –

 

·        First of all, do not panic. Once you realize that any one of the following above mentioned things have occurred to your credit card, take a deep breath and then move on to the following steps.

·        Credit card companies are equally interested and eager to stop any such frauds and misuse in case of credit card being stolen or lost. They have 24 hours toll free number to aid you in such an emergency situation. In case they do not have this facility, check their website or the introductory pack that they might have sent to you. It will surely have contact number of some official, who can be communicated about such an emergency. Reporting about the theft, loss or fraud of credit card at the earliest is very important.  To avoid panic in such a situation, one must always keep emergency phone numbers properly noted in diary, the moment any purchase of credit card is done.

·        Federal law is very strict in this matter and also supportive of the credit card holders. According to them, once you have reported the fraud, theft or loss of credit card to the concerned credit card issuing company/bank, from that moment onwards you are not responsible regarding any financial transaction. It is then at the onus of the credit card issuing company to follow up the issue and seal all transaction immediately.

               

So it is not much pf a panic situation when it comes to credit card fraud. All you have to do from your part is to report. Rest is the duty of the credit card issuing company. Once reported about the fraud, your responsibility is over and you are safe. Remember to report immediately, without any delay.

These days every credit card comes up with more and more offers. Some where in the hype of these offers, schemes and rewards, one forgets to ask the real question related to credit cards. How good these offers and rewards are is a matter of debate.

 

Credit card companies are offering a wide array of rewards to credit card holders. Let us take one reward at a time and see the genuinely of each of them. One of the most common credit card offers is the frequent fliers reward points. If you purchase air ticket through credit card, depending on the cost of ticket, you will earn some points. These points keep on adding till one reaches the prescribed number of reward points where in you win a free air ticket. In this if you want free air ticket to some other European country then you need to fly harder for the total limit points required for this is more.

Now the question that is hidden between the lines is how much time will one take to accumulate required reward points to win a free air ticket. This is more of a market strategy to lure people in to that particular scheme. If you are truly a frequent flier and on an average fly for five to six times in a month, then you should opt for such a scheme, otherwise you will have to patiently wait for longer time to avail that free gift. And in between that wait you have to pay more than the normal annual fees.

 

So it is up to you to decide whether you want to continue paying higher annual fees and wait for reward point to accumulate or opt out of it. People who have to compulsorily travel frequent due to professional needs should opt for this scheme, for they can manage to reach the reward point faster.

 

These rewards work best for big credit card spenders; they spend more and earn reward cards faster. Cash back reward offer is one such scheme that benefits one and all. The more you shop, more the cash back. This one is especially a great advantage to women, natural shopoholics. It is like a discount encouraging you to shop more. On one hand it is a benefit as long as you shop what is required but you may also fall victim to this vicious cycle of discounts. Well, but the fun of receiving a discount is understandable to a woman’s heart. There is surely a different joy in it.

 

Go for reward card only if you are average or more than average credit card user. Otherwise, you will be unnecessarily paying extra amount every year. Beware of falling in to this trap. A sound suggestion is do not make these reward cards or offers, deciding factor while purchasing credit card.

 

 

Credit card holders are also entitled to some protection by US Federal. So you need not bother while buying credit card, you know where to go. Credit card companies can not dupe the credit card holders; Federal law is there to protect them against any such deceiving act of companies.

 

It has been made mandatory that credit card issuing company should credit your account on the same day as payment is received. This quick action is required to protect interest of credit card holders and to save them from paying even a penny extra. On your part as a consumer, you should be sure of the address to which you are sending the pay back amount. Wrong address means loss of time and thus addition of interest charges to your account. It is best to always cross check with the credit card issuing company on whether the payments have been received timely.

 

These days most of the credit card companies also provide for free online account. Opt for this facility; this will leave no space for communication gap or misunderstanding. You can closely watch your account. It is good to check the account properly when the credit card is used and when payments are made.

 

Error on credit card bill is the commonest of all problems related to credit card usage. When you receive the statement, go through it properly, look for any discrepancies. Many a times it is seen that you have not shopped a particular item through your credit card but it is showing so. Immediately take the issue to credit card issuing company and get the transaction to that particular item stopped till the problem is resolved. You have all the rights to ask question on charges levied to you and it is mandatory for the credit card companies to answer you satisfactorily.

 

You can always dispute the issue if you are not satisfied with the goods received or want to stop payment to a particular merchant because you have either not received the product or if the product does not match the promise made.

 

Remember to maintain the records of all purchases done, till you have paid for it. This will help you to cross check the statement of credit card sent to you. You as a credit card holder have lots of rights; all you need to know is –

 

    whom to approach, and

    how to approach

 

If you approach the concerned authorities timely with all the required data then US Federal will surely ensure your protection. More over credit card companies are also keen to maintain a good image because one wrong review in today’s time, can affect lot of market for them. Though, you as a consumer must not forget to use credit card with caution.

 

Credit card becomes confusing when the terms and jargons of fees and charges come up. There are so many various types of charges that at the end of it, you just want to pay, without bothering what exactly you are paying for. More over ignorance about these fees and charges might lead to problems. If you do not understand these terms clearly, you will be unable to strike a good bargain and select the best deal of credit card. May be you will be lured with less interest rates for a particular credit card company but then they might have hefty annual fees, so you end up paying heavy price for maintaining that credit card. And this we might call as a good credit card.

 

An annual fee is once in a year membership fees paid by the user of credit card. This is usually an affordable price, though it might differ for premium users. If you opt for platinum or gold credit card that offers more facilities then obviously the annual fees for such a credit card will be on a higher side. Other wise normal annual fee ranges some where between $2 to $50. with gold or platinum credit card the annual fees can shoot to $75 to $100. So depending on your usage of credit card, you might choose the credit card. A credit car with higher options will charge higher annual fees.

 

A transaction fee is charges over every transaction you make. Now this fee differs from card to card. Some credit card will issue a charge every time you get a cash advance. Again, some credit card companies try to exploit the user by charging a monthly transaction fee, irrespective of the fact whether any transaction has been made or not. Such a fee is good for those who make very frequent transaction. Otherwise it is an unnecessary payment. Depending on the frequency of your requirement, you can ask for a credit card that charges a suitable annual fee.

 

APR is another area of concern and confusion. APR is annual percentage rate. APR is also an annual rate. You must be extremely clear of all the aspects related to APR.

    What is APR

    How it is calculated

    What are the indexes on which APR is calculated?

    What are the factors on which APR will change?

    Will change in APR affect changes in other fees like interest charges etc

 

One needs to clarify all these points to make a more sound decision regarding credit cards. You need to understand the monthly statement clearly to pay off the bill and also track down irregularities, if any. Proper knowledge always helps in financial matters.

Credit cards have become a normal accessory to have. And this is one of those accessories that are advantageous too. But many among us, do possess a credit card but are not very sure of some important terms related to credit cards. Knowing them will give you an obvious upper hand in dealing with the credit cards.

 

It is a highly competitive world and credit card business gives high profit thus involves high risk and tremendous competition. Every other you might be seeing advertisement of credit card schemes and offers, either in your post box or in your mail box. In such a scenario, mind gets baffled and it becomes so difficult to make a correct decision. A common man is confused as to buy which credit card and go for which scheme. All this will become easier, if a credit card user has general idea of basic concept. This understanding will help in making the right decision regarding purchase and use of credit cards.

 

 Credit card is a small rectangular plastic card wit a chip inside. It is this chip that does all the work. We use credit card to make transactions on credit. While doing so, the credit card issuing bank will lend money directly to the trader. You are required to pay back within a certain amount and not immediately. It is because of this feature that credit cards have become highly popular and object of every day usage. So you can shop and also maintain a balance in your credit card both at the same time. Then pay back the amount at a latter stage and that too without interest or any extra cost.

 

Grace period is an often used term associated with credit cards. Grace period is the time that you get to repay your credit without any interest. So if you are a student with less pocket money, then you should look for a credit card scheme with more grace period. Also if you are a businessman who makes huge transactions via credit card, you must go for a scheme with loner duration of grace period.

 

Interest charge, is the interest you are supposed to pay after the lapse of grace period. If you pay the amount in the mentioned grace period then you need not worry about the interest charges. Be very careful about the interest charges. Credit card issuers will try to lure you by saying that they are giving grace period but do not mention openly about the interest charges to be paid in case the grace period is not met. Usually the interest charges are very high and it is calculated from the time of shopping. You must opt for a credit card scheme with least interest charges.

 

Credit limit is the maximum amount of money that you can transact within a given period of time. Again you can choose the credit limit according to your needs. If you are a home maker or a student you would not require a higher credit limit while a businessman should definitely go for a credit card scheme with a higher credit limit.