Knowing the principle differences between credit and debit cards can help you make wiser financial decisions, thus saving you money. Unfortunately, too many consumers seem to mix up these two types of payment tools, especially when it comes to using credit cards and meeting payment obligations on them. Both, credit and debit cards have their advantages and drawbacks. If you want to avoid common pitfalls and stay away from financial troubles that strip most vulnerable Americans of their homes and happiness, it is time to get some education.
Trying to understand what you really need, a credit or a debit card, you should look into your priorities, spending habits and special needs. The basic and crucial difference between the two lies in the”working mechanism”. For example, when you pay with a debit card, it is the same as if you were paying with your own hard cash. Except that the cash is in the form of a small plastic and is actually kept in a special checking account with your bank.
How do you get the money in your checking account? There are several ways you can do it. You can make direct cash deposits, arrange transfers from other bank accounts or have your employer transfer your paycheck to the account. You can load the account any time and each time you need more funds available. Remember, using a debit card, you spend your own money without owing anything like interest to your bank. There are some fees though associated with debit card servicing but they are not significant.
A credit card works as a loan. You don’t own the money on the card – you borrow it from a bank. Hence, there come all these APRs (the price for using a credit line), fees and other charges that cover card service, as well as your borrowing risk. As it is kind of a loan, you do not have to pay the purchase price back immediately. Usually, you have up to 30 days before your first minimum payment is due. At this point cardholders begin to abuse the basic credit card rule – the rule to pay each monthly bill before the due date with more than the minimum required.
The different “working mechanisms” of credit and debit cards determine their pricing and risk. Those who do not make timely payments on credit cards are likely to dig a hole of debt that’s impossible to get out of. And people do make late payments and even miss them. When default APRs and penalty fees apply to already great balances, your financial wellbeing becomes dependent on external factors such as consumer debt counseling services and various debt management programs.
With all this, the advantages of credit cards are evident. You can easily purchase an item or a service which you were not able to afford before. Plus, you can benefit from various kinds of rewards which accumulate with each card purchase and build up into a value redeemable for brand name merchandize and free services.
Showing posts with label Credit Card. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Credit Card. Show all posts
Friday, April 3, 2009
Credit Card Fees and How You Can Avoid Them
Whether you are planning to get your first credit card or just switch to a new one, be ready to face loads of fees. Just like interest rates, credit card fees come in a variety of types and are charged for the card usage, as well as for all common operations with your account. Knowing all types of fees and cases when they typically apply can help you choose a better credit card or avoid unnecessary fees on it.
Let’s start with the type of fee that should be the first to look at when applying for a credit card. Annual fee, or card maintenance fee, is charged for using a credit card on a yearly basis. Depending on whether or not your bank requires the fee, you may save or overpay up to $300 a year. The majority of cards for good and excellent credit, as well as a number of subprime card offers require no annual fees.
So, if you’re looking for a less expensive bank card, it’s worth your time to search for what fee free cards are currently available. If you find a really tempting offer but it has an annual fee, you may ask the bank to waive it. If it does not work, just get one of the numerous cards without a fee.
Then there is an application fee that may be charged on any card regardless of its type and credit requirement. Most often, however, an application fee, also called set up fee, is found on prepaid and secured card types.
As you start using your card account, the number of fees charged triples. Most common of them are cash advance fees, finance charges, balance transfer fees, as well as a whole range of penalty fees that you pay for being delinquent on your account. While these fees are obligatory, it does not mean you cannot avoid them.
For example, a cash advance fee is charged when you withdraw cash from your credit account. What you need is to create a cash fund which you could use in emergencies instead of making a cash advance.
As to a finance charge, it is impossible to avoid as long as you carry a balance beyond a 0% introductory rate and a grace period. A finance charge applies once a billing cycle and depends on your card’s APR, the balance you’re carrying and the method of calculating the charge. One simple way to avoid it is pay your balance in full before the end of the grace period.
Making a balance transfer from your current card, it’s very likely you’ll pay a transfer fee. The fee is a percentage of the money amount transferred and is charged by almost all balance transfer cards available on the market.
The highest and most painful fees to beware of are charged as a penalty when you are late on your monthly payment or exceed your spending limit. Whether or not you pay these fees depends on how responsible and disciplined you are using your credit card.
Obviously, most of the fees mentioned can be avoided by simply following the rules of rationalism and principles of wise credit card use.
Let’s start with the type of fee that should be the first to look at when applying for a credit card. Annual fee, or card maintenance fee, is charged for using a credit card on a yearly basis. Depending on whether or not your bank requires the fee, you may save or overpay up to $300 a year. The majority of cards for good and excellent credit, as well as a number of subprime card offers require no annual fees.
So, if you’re looking for a less expensive bank card, it’s worth your time to search for what fee free cards are currently available. If you find a really tempting offer but it has an annual fee, you may ask the bank to waive it. If it does not work, just get one of the numerous cards without a fee.
Then there is an application fee that may be charged on any card regardless of its type and credit requirement. Most often, however, an application fee, also called set up fee, is found on prepaid and secured card types.
As you start using your card account, the number of fees charged triples. Most common of them are cash advance fees, finance charges, balance transfer fees, as well as a whole range of penalty fees that you pay for being delinquent on your account. While these fees are obligatory, it does not mean you cannot avoid them.
For example, a cash advance fee is charged when you withdraw cash from your credit account. What you need is to create a cash fund which you could use in emergencies instead of making a cash advance.
As to a finance charge, it is impossible to avoid as long as you carry a balance beyond a 0% introductory rate and a grace period. A finance charge applies once a billing cycle and depends on your card’s APR, the balance you’re carrying and the method of calculating the charge. One simple way to avoid it is pay your balance in full before the end of the grace period.
Making a balance transfer from your current card, it’s very likely you’ll pay a transfer fee. The fee is a percentage of the money amount transferred and is charged by almost all balance transfer cards available on the market.
The highest and most painful fees to beware of are charged as a penalty when you are late on your monthly payment or exceed your spending limit. Whether or not you pay these fees depends on how responsible and disciplined you are using your credit card.
Obviously, most of the fees mentioned can be avoided by simply following the rules of rationalism and principles of wise credit card use.
Bad Credit: Clearing Your Credit Report
Your bad credit prevents you from getting the most attractive and beneficial credit card offers available. So, you need to be able to improve your rating as soon as possible. Remember, bad payment records stay in your credit report for years, keeping you from lowest interest rates and rewards.
Basically, there are 3 ways you can clear your credit report and boost your score rating. The first one is to obtain a special credit card with built in credit repair services. Today, individuals with bad score ratings have a great variety of ways to obtain such a credit card and use its benefits and flexibility for making purchases. However, it is not only the convenience that you should look for when using this credit card. Make sure that the card issuer provides free online access to your account and sends monthly reports to all the three credit reporting agencies. Then all you need to do to improve your score and clear your consumer report is pay your bills on time every month. Eventually, the negatives in your credit report will be replaced with positives. To speed up the process of credit repair you can also do the following:
Keep a decent debt-to-income ratio.
If you have other credit card accounts and they are not delinquent, keep them open. This way, you’ll grow your credit history and show stability with credit.
Try to finance your everyday “wants” with cash and use your card for emergencies only.
Consider getting a second or part-time job to earn money to pay for past due debts.
Remember, your ability to get a card with poor credit depends on how bad your score really is. If your credit is hopeless and you have unmanageable debt, you’d better consider the other two ways of clearing your credit report.
One of them is credit debt consolidation. There are lots of organizations out there that claim they can settle your debts with the creditor and clear your report. However, many of them a scammers looking to rob you blind. So before you rush to sign a deal with the first company you see, talk to an attorney. It may help you find a legitimate and reputable company to help consolidate your debt. Anyway, you should be aware that you credit report will not get clean right away. All the debts that were settled through a debt consolidation service are recorded as “not paid as agreed” and remain in your credit file for 7 years from the date the account first became delinquent.
And the last thing you can do to make your credit better is to file bankruptcy. It may seem nonsense because bankruptcy remains in your report for 10 years. But on the other hand you get a clean slate, and in the subsequent 10 years you can rely on a cosigner to get a credit card to help you rebuild your payment history and clear your credit report.
Basically, there are 3 ways you can clear your credit report and boost your score rating. The first one is to obtain a special credit card with built in credit repair services. Today, individuals with bad score ratings have a great variety of ways to obtain such a credit card and use its benefits and flexibility for making purchases. However, it is not only the convenience that you should look for when using this credit card. Make sure that the card issuer provides free online access to your account and sends monthly reports to all the three credit reporting agencies. Then all you need to do to improve your score and clear your consumer report is pay your bills on time every month. Eventually, the negatives in your credit report will be replaced with positives. To speed up the process of credit repair you can also do the following:
Keep a decent debt-to-income ratio.
If you have other credit card accounts and they are not delinquent, keep them open. This way, you’ll grow your credit history and show stability with credit.
Try to finance your everyday “wants” with cash and use your card for emergencies only.
Consider getting a second or part-time job to earn money to pay for past due debts.
Remember, your ability to get a card with poor credit depends on how bad your score really is. If your credit is hopeless and you have unmanageable debt, you’d better consider the other two ways of clearing your credit report.
One of them is credit debt consolidation. There are lots of organizations out there that claim they can settle your debts with the creditor and clear your report. However, many of them a scammers looking to rob you blind. So before you rush to sign a deal with the first company you see, talk to an attorney. It may help you find a legitimate and reputable company to help consolidate your debt. Anyway, you should be aware that you credit report will not get clean right away. All the debts that were settled through a debt consolidation service are recorded as “not paid as agreed” and remain in your credit file for 7 years from the date the account first became delinquent.
And the last thing you can do to make your credit better is to file bankruptcy. It may seem nonsense because bankruptcy remains in your report for 10 years. But on the other hand you get a clean slate, and in the subsequent 10 years you can rely on a cosigner to get a credit card to help you rebuild your payment history and clear your credit report.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
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