Thursday, November 29, 2007

Cash In With A Cash Back Credit Card

A cash back credit card is a fantastic way for you to make some cash, while all the time spending! Although it does only suit the customers who pay their bill in full at the end of each month.

A cash back credit card will give you the chance to earn as you spend. A percentage is returned to you on an annual basis for every pound that you have spent. This is usually set at between 0.5% and 2% depending on how generous the credit card lender is. And as I have said already and I cannot stress enough is you should be able to pay off your credit card statement in full each month as is the only way that a cash back credit card will work for you.

A cash back credit card is not for everyone…

If you are a borrower then a cash back credit card will only cost you, even though you will be earning a little back, you will find that this will be eaten up and more by the interest charges, which are usually on a higher scale of APR.

By not incurring the interest payments, then every pound that you spend on the card will see a little winging it’s way back to you and if you do pay your credit card bill off in full and never have worries about doing so, then why not switch to a cash back credit card. If you don’t already have one, there are only a few ways in which you can get money from a credit card lender, rather than the many ways in which they abstract cash from us.

Do not transfer any balances…

There is a word of warning that will come with this though, if you decide that you want to balance transfer an amount from your existing credit card company on to a cash back credit card, then you should try and avoid this, in fact avoid it altogether. As any payments you make to the credit card will only go on to pay the amount transferred and interest will mount up on any purchases that you have made on the credit card, which will leave you paying back more than the cash back card is making you.

There are a few good deals on the go right now, with the Amex Blue cash back card the Amex Platinum and the First Trust Bank cards worthy at a look if you decide that a cash back credit card is for you.

Remember…

1) Pay off your balance every month
2) Cash backs are repaid annually
3) Avoid transferring a balance to your cash back card

So if you have a clear statement at the end of each month then go for it and make that bargain in the sales save you even more cash.

Original here

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Dodge Those Credit Card Fees

Credit card bills can be expensive. Sometimes they can be simply too expensive. Depending on how you use your credit cards, and how much you spend, and how disciplined and controlled you are over your own spending, you may or may not have trouble paying your credit card bills when it comes to the end of the month and the bill arrives in the mail. No matter what your situation is however, there is always one thing you will not, under any circumstances, want to see on your monthly credit card bill, and that is a credit card fee.

Keep it simple and stay on top of your bills…

There are different types of credit card fee and different reasons for incurring them, but the good news is that many of them can be avoided by simply following a few simple rules and keeping on top of your finances and bills. The most important way to minimise the fees you receive from your credit card company is to pay your bill on time and in full each month. Generally if you do this, you will be charged no interest or finance charges at all, and will be receiving all the benefits of a credit card and over a month of credit absolutely free. If you are one of the lucky customers who can manage to maintain your account in this way, you will be very lucky.

However, many people cannot pay their account in full each month, therefore, they incur the most common of all credit card fees, and this is finance charges. Credit card companies actually charge very high interest rates to their customers so if you have the option of borrowing in other ways that may be cheaper it is recommended that you use these methods if you are planning on needing the money for more than a couple of months. It is far cheaper to pay back a short-term loan than to maintain a large credit card balance.

Another credit card fee is a late fee for when you are late in making your monthly payment. Many people who have more than enough money to make their repayments simply through a lack of organisation miss payments and incur large fees. If you are late in making your repayment because you don’t have enough money to make it you may need some debt counselling or other advice to help you manage your way out of this situation.

There are many other fees that your credit card company can impose upon you depending on the company, but being aware of how they are calculated and what sets them off is probably all you need to know to be able to avoid incurring them in the future.

Original here

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Wake Up From Your Credit Card Debt Nightmare

Are your credit card debts giving you nightmares? If yes read on and see if we can save you some money and help you sleep better at night. It is so easy to get yourself into debt, as all these credit card companies seem to be throwing these cards at us.

Learn to understand your statement if you’re paying more than 15% of your monthly salary to your credit card bill then now is the time to take some action. If you pay the minimum payment and the interest charge takes up a lot of your monthly payment, not much is actually coming of the balance. For example say you pay £100 a month now take a look at your statement and see how much actually goes on interest.

Avoid minimum payments…

The minimum payments are a nightmare they are costing you a fortune and will take years to pay of the debt. Credit card companies used to take 5% as a minimum payment of the total money owed, but now ask as little as 2% as people where finding it hard to pay back the 5%. This has in turn created a debt problem for many people.

Here are some ways to help you reduce your credit card debts! Try to stop using your credit card and if you cannot, monitor what you spend. Balance transfers are a good way to save you money, lookout for the ones that offer 0% interest free periods for 6-9 months; this will give you a bit of breathing space. Make sure you check the APR rate once the 0% interest free period is over and cut up the previous card, as you do not want to be tempted again and end up in more debt.

You can move your debt to a credit card with a lower APR…

There is nothing that says once the 0% interest free period is over that you must stick with this card, if you watch what you’re doing you could then change to another card that has the same offer on. Just be careful and make sure you have your dates correct, as you do not want to be getting charged for any late payments.

Once you feel that you have got yourself on an even keel the next step is to try and clear up your debt completely. The way we do this is to start with the credit card that has the highest APR rate, pay the most to this credit card and just pay the minimum payment to the rest of your cards, once this card is finished then go the next highest APR card and so on until all your credit cards are paid off.

For credit card advice please visit here http://www.creditcards-gb.co.uk/creditcardadvice.html

Credit cards are a great thing and we all need them, but they must be on our terms and we must be able to pay them off, if possible at the end of every month. If we cannot, this is when the problems start as minimum payments only get you into more debt and will take years to pay off.

Remember…

1) Try to stop using your credit card
2) 0% balance transfers can help you pay off your debt
3) Pay off the debt with the highest APR first

Once you have got the debt under control and at an amount that you feel is manageable, the next step is to try and curb the spending and clear the debt completely and get back on an even keel, then you can enjoy the spending freedom that a credit card brings you, but under your terms.

Original here