Know the Credit Card Well Before Applying for One

Owning credit cards are quite handy. You need not bring cash but still able to b
uy anything you want since almost all establishments, including those selling on
line, accept all types of credit cards. In fact, even if you do not have money
yet, you can already make any purchase that may be heavily needed. It therefore
provides safety and an answer to emergency needs.
However, people who are making use of credit cards should have discipline and be
responsible enough not to spend beyond their means or end up being burdened wit
h tons of debt. Those who are uncontrollable can even end up facing bankrupty.
Always keep in mind that credit card interests can be costly once compounded. I
f you have several credit cards and you have no control with your spending, chan
ces are you will not be able to pay them all properly and credit card interest c
an hurt you badly.
There are actually some ways to make credit card maintenance not as costly as it
is. With the huge number of credit cards being offered by different banks and
other financial institutions, you can afford to choose the best ones depending
on your style of spending.
First thing that can hurt you when acquiring a credit card is the annual fee. W
hile many of these card companies will require cardholders to pay an annual fee,
there are also plenty of credit cards out there which offer zero annual fee. T
his alone is already a big savings.
Another thing that makes cash better than credit cards are the interest rates.
The Annual Percentage Rate, better known as the APR,is what the card companies c
harge to holders to enable them to profit. These credit cards differ in the int
erest rates they charge. Some are a lot bigger than the others. Paying cash fo
r purchases becomes a lot better than these cards because with cash, there is no
need topay extra for interests.
The good news is, there are many promotional activities and other attractive com
e-ons that these card companies think of and one of them pertains to the APR. So
me offer 0% APR for the first three months. Others are offering it on the first
6 months and some even on the first year.
In applying for a credit card, it is very important to consider a lot of things.
You should not let any agent or sweet talking banners online that offer free c
redit cards or zero percent credit card without really knowing what is between t
he fine lines. Never consider getting anything you do not really know about.
Many credit cards will offer 0% interest but upon one late payment, you will ins
tantly be charged a bigger interest for the whole amount. There are some cards
that will offer smaller interest rates but has other hidden charges that you wil
l realize only upon the receipt of the bills.
If you intend to get credit cards and has no capacity to payin full, you will ha
ve to pay the minimum fees plus the interest rate charges. Therefore, you need
tomake sure that the credit card you will get is the best there is in the market
in terms of the most important details such as the APR and the annual fees. Ge
t the cards with no annual fees and the smallest APR offered. You also would wan
t to get a card that has the longest free APR which is usually for a year.
The most important thing about all this however is your discipline and diligence
in paying for your monthly bills religiously without delay to make sure that yo
u will not need to pay additional and unnecessary charges.
Escaping from Credit Card Interests
When applying for a credit card, you will surely find the acronym APR. If you w
ill spell it out,APR is simply the Annual Percentage Rate. This is the interest
rate charged by the credit card to cardholders per year. The percentage is com
puted against the whole amount you owe the company and pro-rated to a rate bille
d to you monthly.
The number of credit card issuers abound today. To out-do one another and impre
ss more clients, each one tries to offer the best deals especially in terms of a
nnual percentage rates. There are credit cards that gives 0% APR. This however
does not mean that the card will not charge you interest rates on your purchases
. What it actually means is that you will be offeres no APR but only for a cert
ain period. Some cards offer it for the first three months, others for the firs
t six and still others for one year. After the said period, the standard rates
of the credit card will apply.
There is however a catch with these 0% APR offers. If you fail or delay paying
for even a single billing, the whole amount you owe the card company will be cha
rged with an even bigger interest rate or at least the standard rates. Additiona
lly, all succeeding purchases will also be charged within interests. It is vital
therefore that you be wary of all the details of the promotional offers in your
choice of cards so as not to be shocked with sudden balooning debt.
When you apply for a credit card, your APR may be affected by your credit rating
. Those with poor credit history may still be issued a card but the APR will be
much higher. It is up to you if you are willing to take these interest rates or
not. There is however a way to beat the high credit card interest rates being
charged by banks and other financial institutions.
Firstly, if you can afford it, pay the full amount reflected in your bill. Doi
ng this will prevent you from being charged any APR. This however may be a diff
icult thing to do for many ordinary individuals. Another alternative may be a b
it schemy
but it can surely work to your advantage.
You can escape paying any APR if you will apply for one credit card with an offe
r of 0% APR offered for one year. After a year, the card issuer will begin char
ging you interests. What you do is stop using that card and apply for a new one
that also offer similar promo on the APR, preferably for a year again. This giv
es you another year of free APR. With the huge number of credit cards inthe mar
ket, you will not run out of choices. You can surrender the others that you hav
e used already so that you need not have too many cards. You can do this on and
on and you will not have to pay any credit card interests for as long as there
are card issuers that will approve your applications.
What is even more important is the responsibility in paying off the bills on tim
e and the discipline to charge to the card only the expenses that are necessary.
This way, you will not be buried with debts.

Credit Card Facts

That powerful plastic that you wave to sales ladies when shopping for just about
anything you want is what you call credit card. This is one type of a payment
system provided by banks and other financial institutions to be issued to client
s and consumers based on their credit history. Credit card issuers will grant th
e card holder a certain limit which they can use as they please and pay back on
a monthly basis. Almost all the most important establishments are accepting all
types of credit cards. It is therefore a great replacement for cash since carry
ing them may not be as safe as just buying withyour cards.
Credit cards allow its holder to revolve the amount assigned to the card. Thus,
it differs from a charge card where the whole amount has to be paid by the end
of the month. With the credit card, you may choose to pay the whole amount you
charged to it upon billing period or just the minimum amount due which will resu
lt into the charging of interest rates or APR (Annual Percentage Rate).
APR is the interest rate applied to the amount you charge to your card. Each cr
edit card type may charge different APRs. Most of them try to offer the most at
tractive rates so as to convince people to get their credit cards. People apply
for credit cards for many reasons. One of them is to build a credit record or
history. This is an important factor in seeking other loans such as a car loan
or a real estate mortgage. Even if you have the money to pay cash, you will bene
fit in using credit cards since you will be able to how an impeccable credit his
tory when the need arise. Just make sure you keep your record clean.
While there are many advantages to using a credit card, there is also downside t
o it. Credit cards tend to be a form of temptation especially to those wo have
little self-control and end up mxing out their cards without any sure source of
money to pay it with. This problem has been in existence for a long time alread
y and many people have become victim to this with many going bankrupt.
To help you in using your credit card wisely and prevent it from being a burden
instead of a financial help, you may choose to follow the following tips:
- Apply for only one or two credit cardsfor your use.
- Use your card wisely by asking yourself before making any purchase if what you
will purchase is something necessary or does it have to be bought now? Another
very important information you have to know before any purchase is whether or no
t you have the money to repay it? Also consider how long you will be able to re
pay the amount you will charge to the card since it is through knowing that you
will be able to compute how much you will ultimately be paying. Once you know,
determine if it is worth it or the amount ends up being too big.
- Be sure that the amount you will pay monthly for your credit card bills will n
ot be more than20% of your monthly wage.
- Before you apply for a card, shop around first and compare the various cards o
ffered in the market. After doing so, you choose the one with the lowest APR an
d annual fees and those that offer longer grace periods before the application o
f financial charges. There are cards that offer zero annual fees and zero APR f
or a certain period. That would be the better choice.
- It is advisable to pay the full balance of the card but if it is not possible
, it would be best to pay more than the minimum amount due.
If you will stick to some of these advices, you will be able to make you card us
eful to you.
Scrutinizing the Credit Card Balance Transfer Feature
Credit cards are commonly used by individuals for many reasons such as medical a
nd emergency expenses, building credit history, for the prestige of owning sever
al cards, to make it unnecessary to bring cash and many other reasons. The reas
on for heavydreit card debt could also be plenty, e.g., poor financial managemen
t, sudden lost of job, hospital and emergency expenses, etc.
It may surprise you to know that if the payments you make on your card bills wil
l be limited only to the minimum amount at a minimum 16% APR, you will end up pa
ying double the original amount over 30 years. This is why the balance transfer
feature being offered by many credit card companies has become an attractive al
ternative to many cardholders.
One attraction of many of the card companies today is their credit card balance
transfer feature that serves as a chance for cardholders to restructure the card
debts they already have at a lower interest rate. Credit cards try to outdo eac
h other in terms of the APR or the Annual Percentage Rate. Some even offer a fr
ee balance transfer fee. This fee is something you will normally be charged wit
h if you will transfer your card balance to them.
Credit card balance transfer interest rates range from as low as 11% per year to
16% per year. There are currently many card issuers that are offering 0% balanc
e transfer rate. This would be the most ideal type of card to apply for. Howev
er, it is very important to scrutinize well what are indicated in the policy of
the card when it comes to this feature. You should be able to read the fine pri
nt and avoid unnecessary charges that you may come across with if you are not ca
reful with your card account.
Some people may not know it but most of the balane transfer features, if not all
of them, will charge you the standard rate on your card balance if you will be
late in your payment. If you applied for balance transfer at 11% APR and be lat
e in your monthly due, you will be reverted back to the default rate of let us s
ay 30% APR. This happens to many people because they are not aware that such ag
reements occur when you apply for their balance transfer feature. This will just
bring you back to your original situation.
Another point of consideration is the earlier mentioned balance transfer fee. Th
ere are now many cards that offer this for free. That would be your best choice
. When getting another card for the balance transfer feature, be sure to stop u
sing the other card where you transfered the balance from. Doing so will only b
urdenyou with bigger debts that will be harder to manage. Likewise, you should
make sure to pay your bills on time or suffer bigger interest rates that could a
ffect your credit rating. To acquire a creit card with this feature, you can eit
her ask through phone or inquirefrom the internet. It is through the internet w
ill you be able to compare different credit card features and decide which one c
an offer you the best rates.

Credit Card Rewards, a Wonderful Reason Why You Should Continue Using Those Plas
tics

Individuals apply for credit cards basically to satisfy various financial needs.
They will continue getting their plastics despite big APRs (Annual Percentage
Rates) and annual fees and other charges. This is therefore quite a welcome srp
rise to find that your credit card will provide you with a number of rewards tha
t will not only save you cash but also allow you to have fun while using your cr
edit cards.
Cardholders will surely become excited to know that rewards await when they use
their credit cards. However, different cards offer different rewards. If the r
ewards offered by a card issuer however is not someting useful to you, then it i
s as good as nothing. It is therefore important that you choose well the reward
s being offered by different credit cards and choose those that match your lifes
tyle.
It was in 1986 that banks and other card companies started offering customers di
fferent rewards programs. The main reason for this is to attract individuals to
patronize their cards. With much of the interest rates also increasing, these
credit card rewards serve as a way to continue to entice customers to keep on us
ing their cards. Some of the most common and attractive rewards are cash rebate
s, air miles, free gasoline, free travel, free groceries, free merchandis, gift
cards, etc.
If you are a housewife who stays home all the time to fend for the children and
the household chores, then a miles or a travel rewards card may not be usable.
Free groceries or gift cards for rewards will be more practical. It is therefor
e important that the rewards features are first scrutinized before credit card a
pplication. Another good reason to why you should carefully study the cards you
will consider are the details involved with regards to these rewards. Some wil
l only be able to claim the rewards if a certain ceiling or limit is reached. T
hat would mean that you will have to spend a lot first before you become eligibl
e for the rewards. If you are much just to get the reward, then that will be do
wnright stupid.
You should also be checking credit card's APR. You would not want to get great
rewards but will charge you high APR. Many card issuers tend to apply bigger fe
es and higher rates on credit cards with great rewards. This actually helps the
m in paying for the rewards package. So be careful what card you choose.
One of the best possible rewards from these cards perhaps are the cash back rewa
rds or the rebates. This is usually dependent on the amount you used in the car
d. You can get the cash rewards through check or by crediting it in your account
.
To sum it up, credit card companies are making use of various types of rewards a
s an attraction for their credit cards. Although many of these rewards are actu
ally very useful for those whose lifestyle is corresponding to the rewards, ther
e are also some traps that you do not want to fall into. It is therefore import
ant that you choose your credit card well and make some comparisons beforeyou do
your application. One you have your card, make sure that you maximize the use
of the card as well as the power of the rewards program it offers you.