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.
Anchors to Understand the Fine Print Easily
Why so many credit card holders avoid reading the fine print in their credit card terms and conditions? First of all, fine print is more difficult to perceive. Along with bright, attention-getting ads, which promise you lowest APRs and best credit card perks, the information in the fine print overflows with complex and evasive financial terms. And though everything is written in English, sometimes it seems to be all Greek to credit card holders.
The main problem most credit consumers face is credit card lingo misunderstanding. Creditors are very well aware of this fact. But they do not rush to change the situation. Credit card industry is based on the iceberg principle, where consumers can see just its top. All the pitfalls are hidden below the surface. And lenders take advantage of that. They make profit from your financial missteps.
When you just start establishing your credit history, when you are young, inexperienced and not really competent in credit card management, you understand usually just the basic notions like annual percentage rate, credit card fees, and rewards. Young people, as a rule, do not take pains to read terms and conditions, not talking about the fine print.
Even older and wiser card users can stumble applying for another credit card offer. Some of credit card features sound so tempting. For instance, you are offered a low rate credit card with no annual fee and great rewards. How can you resist applying for such every-card-holder's-dream plastic? Of course, you will rush to make this extra-beneficial credit card deal. But if you read terms and conditions you will discover a lot of hidden agendas there. And the offer will, most probably, turn out to be far not the best credit card existing.
However, the statistics shows that about 30% of credit card owners read their credit card agreements. And this 30% are protected from unexpected changes in their credit card terms. This does not mean that their rates and fees are not subjected to change. But once their promotional period is over and their interest rate climbs to its regular level, those 30% do not stare with their eyes wide open, they are ready for such changes.
So, to be all armed and prepared for any unexpected situation, you are, once again, to read the fine print. And to make your study of the terms easier, here are some anchors that you are to pay special attention to.
Interest Rates
Do not look at your introductory rate and ongoing APR only, as interest rates on balance transfers, cash advances, and purchases differ. Pay attention to whether your plastic comes with a fixed APR, or with a variable one.
Credit Card Fees
Examine your set up, maintenance, balance transfer, cash advance, and foreign exchange fees. Penalty fees and the cases when they are attached to your plastic should be a special concern for you.
Grace Period
Your grace period is also of great importance. Not only because during this period your purchases are interest-free (if you manage to pay off your balance until the grace period expires), you should know its length in order not to miss the due date of your first payment. These days creditors tend to cut this period to 20 days.
Minimum Payments
Though credit card holders try to make more than a minimum payment, if you face some financial problems one day, it is good to be sure that you can pay regular 3% of your balance. But some minimum payment rates can make up 4%.
These are the basic features that every credit card offer has. But these four points will not give you the low-down on your credit card's benefits and shortcomings. So, I repeat it over and over again, spare no efforts on reading your credit card fine print. That is the guarantee of your financial success.
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.
You can find hundreds of e-articles and tips on reasonable credit card spending and staying away from debts. After you read them, it seems that it is pretty easy to stick to several rules of rational credit card use. But when you try to put theory into practice, it turns out to be much harder than it seemed.
Even if you do your best and manage to live within your financial means and spend the amount of money on your credit card that you can afford to pay off, you cannot be protected from unexpected situations in life and some external factors. Now that the US economy is experiencing a slowdown, it is high time to do the impossible and take control over you spending habits.
People got so much used to comfort, to living in apartments and houses with all conveniences. Can you imagine living without water, gas or electricity? Like cavemen. Me neither. However, utility bills are among the most avid money eaters on your expenditure list. But most people just make a helpless gesture looking at their monthly credit card statement. That's the way the cookie crumbles.
Actually you can make the cookie rumble the way you need it. You just need to make some efforts and get used to saving on utilities. Keep on reading and you will find several tips on how to reduce your utility bills and cut down your monthly credit card payments.
