Debt Consolidation the Right Way
Allowing credit card debt to pile up can be a disaster, and today millions of people around the world are in over their heads when it comes to this particular debt. Instead of feeling trapped, as if no solution exists, you might consider credit card debt consolidation. For many, this has proven to be a highly beneficial solution, but some factors need to be considered.
Advices for starters
For starters, you need to understand what credit card debt consolidation involves. Simply put, this service is a process that makes it possible for all credit card debt to be rolled into one debt. [...]
The Ultimate Showdown – Debit Card v. Credit Card
I pay my bills online all the time now, but what is better to use a credit card or debit card? They both have their advantages and disadvantages so which one is really better with price, identity protection, and fraud protection? Electronic payments accounts for more than 65% of regular bill payments, and that percentage is only increasing. Debit and credit cards have become the payment methods of choice over cash because of their convenience, but which type of card is safest when it comes to protecting consumers from fraud?
Debit Card and Credit Card liability
The FTC requires that consumer liability [...]
Budget Busters – What the Heck is That?
Ruin Your Credit with These Habits…
Commercialism is everywhere, and one can’t seem to survive without being expected to run up credit card debt. It’s the “gotta have it now” syndrome, and it is ruining your health. Think you are immune to this syndrome? Let me ask you: do you have at least one credit card? Are you depending on payday loans to get you through the month each month? Well, I am afraid to tell you—you have the syndrome and it is going to eventually wear you down due to lack of sleep and an abundance of worry about your [...]
VantageScore 3.0 could help millions get credit
The latest version of the VantageScore credit scoring model, VantageScore 3.0, created by the three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — will raise the credit ratings of many Americans. It will also allow millions with limited credit histories access to loans they would previously not have qualified for.
VantageScore 3.0 factors in alternative data
If you have ever had a debt go to collection, it used to follow you around on your credit report for seven years, whether it was paid off or not, affecting your credit rating. However, under the scoring model employed by the new VantageScore 3.0, [...]
What you should know about consolidating credit
Carrying balances on too many credit cards can damage your credit score. In order to staunch the bleeding and perhaps obtain a better interest rate, many consumers consider consolidating credit via balance transfer. Does doing this hurt your credit score? Here are some of the ins and outs.
Does consolidating credit hurt your credit score?
Credit consolidation doesn’t add to your total debt right out of the gate, so in that sense, it does not negatively impact your credit. However, shifting balance from multiple credit cards onto one card sends the credit utilization on that one card way up, likely to the [...]
American Express Blue Sky offers enticing airline rewards
How can you earn a free airline flight on a rewards card without delving into frequent flier miles? One way is to use the American Express Blue Sky credit card. Cash back and a variety of other benefits make Blue Sky more valuable, as some of the rewards can be used to book a flight at any time. Advance reservations and shorter-distance trips give AMEX holders real value for their dollars.
American Express Blue Sky Preferred on points
For every dollar spent on an American Express Blue Sky Preferred credit card, the cardholder earns 1.33 cents per dollar. That applies to all [...]
Bank of America card pays consumers for paying down debt
Most credit card rewards programs pay card holders for spending and adding to debt. However, Bank of America recently issued a new card that rewards people for paying down debt. The BankAmericard Better Balance Rewards card incentivizes cardholders for paying their monthly bills on time and for throwing in a little more over their minimum charge.
Bank of America rewards responsible debt management
If a card user doesn’t have any late charges and pays a little more than the minimum payment required, they can earn $25 per quarter. In addition, if they also have a bank account with Bank of America, they [...]
Best secured credit cards for rebuilding your credit
If you have poor credit and are looking for means through which rebuilding credit is possible, the truth is that it won’t be clean or simple. Loans and standard credit cards won’t be an option, but secured credit cards might. Despite high interest rates and the need for collateral, they can help you rebuild credit slowly – so long are you’re willing to provide collateral up front and pay hefty fees for the privilege of banks reporting your made payments to the credit bureaus. Here are some of the best secured credit cards on the U.S. market today.
Best secured credit [...]
Prepaid debit cards for kids, pros and cons
Some are touting prepaid debit cards as a progressive way to pay a child’s allowance. Supporters say they teach children how to handle money in a digital age. Others say those lessons are dubious, and better taught in other ways.
Prepaid debit cards for kids
With so many purchases now being made online, a cash allowance may be problematic for parents and their offspring. One option to avoid having kids reimbursing their parents’ credit cards is to load their allowance onto a prepaid debit card. Some endorse the notion on the grounds that it teaches kids how to use money the way [...]
How credit card lenders determine credit worthiness
Credit card lenders use a variety of predictors to determine your credit worthiness. We will look at some of them, and give some tips on what you can do to improve yours.
Red flags credit card lenders look for
The more obvious red flags that credit card companies look at when determining how good a risk you are include things like late payments, delinquencies, bankruptcies, outstanding debt balance, how long you have been using credit, how many lines of credit you have and the types of credit you have been extended in the past. The severity, timing, and frequency of each is [...]
Watch out for credit card checkout fees
Last summer, an antitrust settlement between merchants, big banks and credit card issuers Visa and MasterCard all but did away with credit card interchange fees, or the swipe fees merchants pay to the networks to process consumer payments. While merchants – and by extension, consumers – received $7.2 billion in temporary relief from interchange fees, there’s a new fee that merchants can now charge consumers who pay with credit cards, called a checkout fee. It may be applied to credit card transactions in 40 of the 50 U.S. states, and does not apply to debit card purchases.
Checkout fees must be [...]
How to avoid the perils of excessive credit card rewards spending
One of the benefits of having a rewards program tied to your credit card is all the stuff you can earn, from goodies and airline miles to cash back. However, increasing your credit card spending in order to earn these awards amounts to a double-edged sword that can eviscerate your budget. Here’s how to avoid the perils of excessive credit card rewards spending.
Avoiding excessive credit card rewards spending step No. 1 – Stay awake
Right off the bat, the most logical way to ensure that you aren’t letting your credit card spending run amok is to reign in the spending and [...]
Enjoy low interest and no fees with the PenFed Promise Visa
If you aren’t satisfied with your bank’s credit card due to high interest rates and hidden fees, consider dumping it for a credit union. If you or an immediate family member is a member of the U.S. armed forces of a government contractor, Pentagon Federal Credit Union (aka PenFed) is offering the PenFed Promise Visa card. Low rates and no fees at all clean up the money-wasting mess in a hurry.
How the PenFed Promise Visa works
The PenFed Promise Visa card offers new applicants a 7.49 percent three-year introductory APR, which is more than competitive against nearly any credit card on [...]
Credit card use most important factor in credit reports
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a new study about credit reports. It found, among other things, that credit card activity is the single most important factor examined by credit reporting agencies when determining credit worthiness.
Responsible credit card use highlighted
That probably isn’t surprising to most people. However, it does spotlight where consumers should concentrate their efforts in order to keep credit scores high for the next time they need to buy a car or want to take out a mortgage.
Richard Cordray, director of the CFPB, said: “Credit cards are given great weight in credit profiles — a lesson that [...]
Chase Slate – A great credit card for balance transfers
Are you carrying a balance on one or more credit cards that bear an unfavorable interest rate? Perhaps it’s time for a balance transfer, if you can’t simply pay it off altogether. With promotional financing, many credit cards enable you to drastically lower or completely eliminate interest accrual over the promotional period, typically ranging from 6 to 18 months, depending upon the card issuer. Courtesy of WiseBread, here’s a look at the Chase Slate card, a new balance transfer credit card with a 15-month interest-free financing period for new purchases and balance transfers, and no annual fee.
Chase Slate card avoids [...]
MasterCard Display Card has keypad, screen
We all know computerization is getting smaller and smaller as technology progresses, but this is ridiculous. MasterCard recently announced the deployment of its “Display Card.” The high-tech credit cards come with a built in screen and a touch-sensitive numeric keypad.
Display Card improves security
Banks will sometimes issue authentication tokens, or dongles, for some electronic transactions that require a secondary method of proving identity beyond just keying in a PIN. These transactions generally involve large sums of money or changing personal details on an account.
The Display Card eliminates the need for that secondary form of identification.
‘In the customer’s wallet’
The London-based Standard Chartered [...]
CFPB gives stay at home parents some credit
Since 2009, some stay at home parents have been denied credit cards because they do not have their own source of income. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking to correct that.
CARD rules problematic for stay at home parents
One unfortunate by-product of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act is that it prevents many stay-at-home parents from being able to acquire their own credit cards. The 2009 legislation sought to make credit card issuers more transparent and accountable to consumers, not to restrict credit from those who need it.
The CARD Act did much to protect consumers from predatory [...]
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