Credit and Money Cards News

Downturn Drags More Consumers Into Bankruptcy With their credit cards drained, the latest bankruptcy filers are deeper in debt than those in previous downturns. Despite Pledge, Citigroup to Raise Credit Card Rates, Blaming Difficult Environment After pledging that it would no longer reserve the right to raise card rates at any time for any reason, Citigroup now plans to start raising rates for customers who have not had an increase in at least two years. A Towering Economic To-Do List for Obama A look at some of the crucial issues that will test the new administration, and how it might address them. Small-Business Owners Lobby to Cut Credit Card Fees With business slowing and every dollar important to their bottom line, some merchants are pushing for changes. Consumers Feel the Next Crisis: Its Credit Cards After years of flooding Americans with offers and high limits for credit cards, lenders are cutting back sharply on both. Banks Mine Data and Woo Troubled Borrowers Businesses are creating detailed profiles of the financial lives of Americans and selling that information to banks. The College Credit Card Trap If schools dont enforce stronger restrictions on credit card companies that try to lure cash-starved college students with predatory offers, lawmakers must do it for them. Banks Are Likely to Hold Tight to Bailout Money Merrill Lynch chief executive John A Thain says banks are unlikely to act quickly to deploy new-found capital quickly, as Treasury Department hopes, and unlock flow of credit through economy; analysts say problems that began with home mortgages are migrating to auto, credit card and commercial real estate loans; for every dollar banks earned during industry's most prosperous years, they have now wiped out $1.06; nine largest banks have written down value of their troubled assets by combined $32... In Civil Court, One Nation, Under Debt As the final stop on the subprime lending train, the Civil Court has become the 21st-century debtors court. One Thing You Can Control: Your Credit Score Tips for improving your credit standing since your credit score is something that you have a fair bit of control over.

Benefits of Using a Credit Card

Credit cards have many wonderful benefits that will help the cardholder along their journey. Credit cards have been around for many years and are used by more than 80% of people. The reason is clear: credit cards offer enormous advantages over other methods of payment. There are many great ways to use a credit card that will really save you lots of time and aggrivation. Using a credit card is fast, easy and fun.

Buy online

Using a credit card for purchasing products through direct mail catalogs, over the telephone or over the internet is much easier and a lot faster than sending out a check or money order. You will recieve the item faster too, because you will not have to wait for your check or money order to get to the company, then wait for them to clear it, then wait for them to send it. With a credit card, your item will be sent out immediately.

Building a Business Credit History

The use of a credit card is directly connected to your credit score, the report card for borrowers. The responsible way you handle your credit card is recorded in your credit history for lenders to review. Your high score in that credit report shows how creditworthy you are deemed by other lenders and that you pay your bills on time and spend conservatively. Conversely, irresponsible use of a credit card will produce low credit scores which can result in either being denied for future credit or paying much higher interest rates.

Convenience

One of the most obvious strengths of credit cards is their convenience. Having a major Visa, MasterCard, Discover Card or American Express credit card in your wallet means no more running to the bank for cash, counting out change, or hurriedly scribbling in a check book when you need to make a purchase. Credit cards even offer benefits over debit cards, the other piece of plastic many of us carry. While debit cards look like credit cards, they lack some of the benefits of being able to charge. Debit cards, many of which are linked to your checking account, sometimes have 24-hour charging limits, which could prevent you from buying that $900 computer you've had your eye on. Debit cards can even act like credit cards if you sign for a purchase instead of using your PIN number, with the bank usually covering the difference between the amount in your account and the cost of your purchase. However, when the bank acts essentially as a creditor in this manner, you can get slammed with sizable insufficient fund fees for covering your shortcomings. Alternatives to debit cards linked to checking accounts are called prepaid debit cards, which are preloaded with funds and are designed to avoid the pitfalls of spending more than you have.

Buyer protection policy

Credit card companies offer a buyer protection policy. This policy was put into action after all the complaints they have recieved about credit card theft or identity theft. With this poilicy, the cardholder is usualy not liable for any credit card fraud or theft if they report the problem right away. If the cardholder waits too long, they might have to pay up to $50.00 of any charges made on their credit card. If they wait even longer, then they may be liable for all the charges. Once a theif has your credit card, it won't take them long to max it out, leaving you with a huge bill. But if you report it soon enough, usualy you won't have to pay anything. Credit card companies are always working hard to counter credit card theft, because it is the most common problem. Most credit card companies also offer an online account, where the cardholder can go online and view all their purchases immediately. This way, a cardholder can find any fraudulant charges before their next credit card notice come in through the mail.

Articles about Credit Cards
Why's the Chase Platinum credit card so popular?	Choosing a Credit Card when you have Bad Credit
The Chase platinum credit card consistently ranks as one of our site’s most popular credit cards. We like to check in with our users, to make sure we’re doing our job and to make sure they are happy with the job we’re doing...	Bad credit can be a difficult situation to get out of, but there are ways to get a new credit card and work on repairing your credit rating. Some companies may offer cards with low limits, high APRs, annual fees or all three...
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You can sometimes get the lender to ease the pain associated with things like the annual percentage rate and annual fees. Credit card companies are often open to negotiation, on anything from waiving the annual fee to lowering your APR to excusing a late payment. You just need to ask. To attract a new customer it costs a lender between $50 and $150 for each account. Due to the competition in the industry, it makes sense for your credit card company to do what it can to keep you from leaving them for a competitor.

Credit card companies are major corporations with all the strength that entails. So when you use your credit card, you get to apply that strength in your own favor. Making a costly purchase with plastic gives you immediate purchase protection that you do not get when you pay with cash or some ATM cards. When used for purchases, some credit cards automatically extend your product warranty. If merchants don't deliver what you paid for, the credit card issuer can step in to help. The money you are using to pay for a credit card purchase comes from the issuer, after all.