Information Center – News and Articles about Credit Cards
Ezpreapproval.com presents the Information Center — a new and improved credit card news service. We will inform you with up-to-date articles on credit cards for good credit, bad or no-credit history. Get information on best credit card deals for student credit cards, cash back credit cards and business credit cards. Learn about the top deals on credit cards with the lowest APR deals and other hot issues.
Finding the Right Card before You Submit Your Credit Card Application
In the United States, 74% of consumers have credit cards. Those that do not, have a unique opportunity to choose a credit card that works well with their lifestyle and needs. There are a lot of credit card products available, and the wise thing to do is to evaluate all options before making a decision about which credit card application to fill out. It will be of great benefit to shop around for credit and not just accept the first bank credit card application offer you receive.
Credit Card Use in Numbers
A recent credit card survey conducted revealed some interesting facts about card usage. There were 140 cards from 45 users that were surveyed. This is what the researches found:
- More than 23% of the cards offered rewards (cash rebates, point cards, or airline miles). The average interest rate was 12.55%
- 80% of the cards had lower introductory rates.
- The average interest rate was 11.97%, which was a drop from the year before (12.19%). 99 variable rate cards were found, that had an average rate of 12.12%. The fixed rate average was 11.60%.
- 73% of the cards had a higher APR for cash advances. There were also 103 cards charged higher rates on cash balances. The average rate on these was 19.5%
- There were no annual fees on 68% of the cards. Of those that had an annual fee, they ranged from $15 to almost $100.
You must have an action plan that will enable you to examine the various types of credit card products offered and how to compare them. This will help you understand what is available and also help you decide which type of card is right for you. It may be a balance transfer card, a cash-back card, or any other type of card. Once you know which the right type is for you, determining who offers the best deal will be quick and easy.
Types of Credit Cards
Knowing that there are a variety of different credit cards available is the first step in choosing the right product. The following are some of the most common types:
Airline Mile/Frequent Flyer Credit Cards - These credit cards award you miles or points whenever you use your card. The amount is based on the dollar amount of your purchases over a certain time period and the points can be used towards airline travel. These cards are good to use if you are a frequent traveler or if you want to use your card to plan your vacations.
Secured Credit Cards - These are cards that have been secured with cash or other collateral. These cards are perfect if you have a bad credit history or very little credit.
Balance Transfer Credit Cards - These cards allow you to transfer a higher-interest balance onto a low interest credit card. Usually after you transfer a balance to a card with a low APR, the APR for the balance will stay at the lower interest rate for a certain amount of time. This can save you hundreds of dollars in interest charges.
Cash-back Credit Cards - When you use a cash-back credit card, you get cash rewards for making purchases. Usually the rewards equal around 1% of the total purchase and exclude interest and finance charges. This card is great if you consistently pay off your entire balance every month.
Reward Credit Cards - These are somewhat similar to cash-back credit cards, except you earn points instead of cash. You accumulate points towards a reward, which is based on how often you use your card during a certain period of time. Examples are frequent flyer miles and hotel discounts.
Low-interest Credit Cards - These offer a low introductory APR and then eventually change to a higher rate or to a low fixed rate credit card. This card can save you a lot in interest, especially if you pay them off before the introductory time period runs out.
Pre-Paid Cards - These cards are similar to gift cards. You can deposit a certain amount on the card and then use the card to purchase items up to that amount. These cards do not require a credit check and even have "Credit rebuilder" programs and rewards programs.
Side-by-Side Credit Card Comparisons
After you determine which type of card is the right one for you, it’s time to compare them side-by-side. Things to compare are the fees and terms of the cards from the category you’ve chosen. One way to make it easy is to write out a checklist of the most common features, fees and other terms that are offered. This can be done on a computer spreadsheet if you wish. Or if you want something even faster, numerous credit analyzers can be found online.
Whichever method you decide to use, here are the things that should be compared: Grace period for payments, online account access, online payment ability (either manual or recurrent), APR, introductory interest rate & period and exchange rate policy. Be sure to examine the various fees that are associated with the cards. These may include annual, cash advance, balance transfer, foreign exchange, late, and miscellaneous fees. Even some of the no fee credit cards have several situations that will incur fees.
Choosing the Best Credit Card for YOU
The card that is best for you will depend on your spending and payment habits. You must think about how you are going to use the card - whether you will be paying off the balance in full (only about 50% of credit card holders do) and if you’re interested in points rewards cards or frequent flyer cards.
If you will carry a balance each month, then look for a low interest credit card. If you are planning on a large purchase and want to save interest, fill out a 0% APR balance transfer credit card application.
Look closely at your comparisons. Remember that promotional offers change, so read the fine print and look over the terms and conditions for each card before you apply.
Lastly, remember that the card that’s best for you might not have the lowest fees. The card you choose should provide the best fit for your lifestyle while at the same time providing the greatest overall value.
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The XXI century is the century of high-speed and nanotechnologies. It seems people strive to speed up all processes to make this already hectic and sometimes chaotic rhythm of life even crazier. They are ready to shrink everything they can lay hands on to make nanotechnologies work. In fact people just want to make their life more convenient.
Contactless credit cards are another product designed to upgrade our life quality through saving customers' time during the checkout process. These new-age credit products are gaining more and more popularity with customers. The so-called wave card makes the checkout process easier and faster. The recent opinion poll proves that contactless plastics won many hearts. According to the survey's result, over 90% of wave cards owners find them to be very convenient and user-friendly. Plus such plastics are accepted nearly everywhere regular credit products are accepted.
The financial economy crisis in the US has been admitted the largest financial shock for America since Great Depression. US banks incur billion-dollar losses. The number of delinquencies keeps rising. Associated Press has announced the results of data processing on 17 trusts dealing with securitization of credit cards.
The results leave much to be desired, to put it mildly. The volume of credit card debt with a delay of 30 or more days has gone up by 26% as compared to October, 2007. Now it makes up $17 billion. It stands for over 4% of credit card debts. The information on card holders debts for Associated Press was provided by the leading US companies.
We are used to see credit cards the way they look today, and it is hard to imagine that they looked different and served for another purpose than paying for goods and services. We call them plastics. In fact, a century ago credit cards had a different shape, size and were not made of plastic.
The appearance of credit cards dates back to the beginning of the XX century. Who were they created for? The target audience was wealthy people. The cards could be used as business certificates and licenses for the so-called "loyalty programs" at some restaurants, gas stations and merchants. Those cards, you can be surprised, were made of cardboard.
Rapidly growing credit card crime rate causes more and more concern of credit consumers and credit providers as well. Credit card fraud is a number one card holders complaint to Federal Trade Commission. According to the statistics, over 85% of credit card owners that fell victims to credit scam discover the fraud only after they get turned down by credit issuers, having applied for a new credit card or loan.
Credit bureaus cannot stay indifferent to the problem of credit fraud and identity theft, in particular. Equifax, one of the three US major credit bureaus has introduced a new ID theft protection service. "ID Patrol" is a multifunctional tool that allows protecting customers from identity theft.
