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Zero Interest Credit Cards – Do They Exist?
According to Google, lots of folks are searching the Internet for 0% interest credit cards, no-interest credit cards, and interest-free credit cards. Do such cards really exist, or are these potential card holders embarking on a wild goose chase?
You can find 0% interest credit cards. However, the length of the 0% interest period varies from card to card. If you have been hunting for a card that never charges interest, you are, sadly, out of luck. Credit card companies make money from the interest you pay them. But some credit cards do offer an interest-free first year, or even longer. This is great for card holders who anticipate carrying a balance, but who will be able to pay it off before the introductory period runs out.
At the time of this writing, several companies offer 0% interest cards. The Citi Platinum 12 month BT MasterCard, as its name suggests, offers 0% interest for 12 months at an average APR of 16.9%. The Discover Platinum also offers 0% interest for 12 months, with an average APR of 10.99%.
Other cards have lower rates and longer interest-free periods. These include the Advanta Platinum Rewards MasterCard, with 0% interest for 16 months and an average APR of 7.99%; and the American Express Blue Credit Card, with 0% interest for 15 months and an 11.74% APR.
These are just a few of the 0% interest cards out there. It definitely pays to shop around and find the one that best suits your needs. Look for balance-transfer cards that offer rewards, too, if the terms are agreeable.
If you are thinking of getting a 0% interest card in order to transfer other another card’s balance onto it, do your homework first. You could get hit with a balance transfer fee, typically 2% of the amount you wish to transfer. Also, these cards might carry interest charges for purchases made. Look for credit cards that offer 0% interest for the life of the transfer, but also beware of ‘minimum monthly spend’ requirements. If you fail to meet those requirements, the interest charges will start rolling in.
Yes, there are 0% interest credit cards out there – if, by zero interest, you mean a no-interest introductory period, or zero interest on the life of a balance transfer. Either type can be very valuable to card holders in the right situations. Just remember that the only truly interest-free credit card is the one you pay off each month. Don’t carry a balance, and you will enjoy the benefits of 0% interest all the time.
Prepaid Credit Cards Canada – 4 Reasons Why They Are Good
The prepaid credit card for Canadians is sometimes referred to as a secured card.
There are four benefits of prepaid credit cards
Guaranteed Approval credit card There are many people who are visiting this site who have bad credit, starting off new with a new credit rating and are very eager to have a guaranteed approval CC. This ensures that they receive a credit card and start their credit rating with Equifax and TransUnion. Rebuild your credit score If somebody has bad credit, they want to be sure that they can rebuild their credit score with certainty. I read a post on another site today where a fellow who had immigrated to Canada 5 years ago indicated that he was doing well financially but had no credit cards and thus no credit rating. This gentleman expressed that this was very inconvenient for himself and his family. This is limiting as without a credit score, he won’t have a chance of applying for a mortgage or car loan in the near future. Convenience of using a credit card Millions of Canadians take for granted the use of a credit card for day to day purchasing activities. Things like renting a car, or hotel room usually require the use of a credit card. Without a credit card, it makes travelling more difficult. This prepaid CC gives it users the flexibility that other people have on a daily basis. A few other points of convenience are that you can make payments online and you don’t have to carry around large amounts of cash with you. Security deposit as little as $75.00 A security deposit means that you’re guaranteeing that the credit card will be paid off. This is the part where the credit card is “prepaid”. A small security deposit of $75 makes it alot more convenient for the majority of Canadians to obtain one.
It’s important to explain here that the above is a description of secured credit cards in Canada. While these types of CCs are relatively new in Canada, the terminology “secured credit cards” may get confused and interchanged with “prepaid credit cards”.
Cash Back Cards Versus Reward Points
Most of the credit card companies have come up with cash back as well as reward point schemes. You can avail huge discounts with the help of cash back and reward point cards. There is a facility for you to donate these reward points to charity organizations. Some cards also offer the facility to transfer the cash back to your savings account as an investment. But above all you should be careful and watch out the interest levied on these cash back cards. The interest charged on these cash back cards are heavy compared to the interest on other ordinary cards.
Cash back credit cards do not have many restrictions as other reward cards have. You normally get a discount of one percent to two percent on your credit purchases. The cash back rewards come in different forms like discounts on gas purchases or other furniture purchases. Here you have to worry about accumulating a given number of reward points in order to make use of these discounts. Most of these cards do not have annual fees charged unlike the reward cards where the annual fees gets adjusted with the discount you earn. You are able to get back a percentage of what you had spent for the purchases made. You have various methods of getting back this offer. You could get back the cash by means of statement of credit or you could ask for a check or you could ask them to directly deposit the amount into your savings account.
Cash back companies help you to make use of the discount amount in any of its retailers. There is no limit to the amount of discount that you can earn since the more you purchase the more discounts you get. There are some companies who even offer up to five percent discount on purchases made.
Reward points will have to be accumulated for a certain limit and once you are eligible you can gain a lot of rewards right from airfares to merchandise and other great offers. You will be able to get more rewards than the normal cash back. The only drawback here is that it has a lot of restrictions. There are definite periods before which the reward points have to be collected. Also these cards come with annual fees. So whatever reward points or discount that you earn almost gets adjusted with the annual fees. There are also restrictions on the stores that offer these rewards. Some discounts are given in such a way that you can redeem it only at the same store or chain of stores.
Looking at both these type of discounts, you will find that cash back discounts are more beneficial than the reward points offered by the credit card companies. With the cash back cards you have the facility to spend the cash discount immediately as against the reward points which need to be accumulated and only after reaching a target can be redeemed as rewards.
Business Reward Credit Cards – How to Choose
With so many business reward credit cards on the market today, sometimes it is hard to know which one to choose. What should a person look for in choosing a new best charge card? There is a large assortment of cash rebate credit cards available today. As an individual or a small business owner, finding the best charge card reward program for your personal use or your business will require good judgment and perception. Here are a few points to consider.
Small Business Startup:
Let’s not forget that if you are planning to start up your own small business, and you do not have enough cash on hand, a cash back reward credit card may come in very handy. Business reward credit cards may be used as working capital or to purchase equipment to begin your business operations. That one month grace period can be used to stretch your working capital to the maximum and allow you to actually acquire accounts receivables and receive your first income before the grace period ends. Also, business reward credit cards are enriched by rewards and a cash back reward charge card is especially intended for small business owners.
Is the Card Companies Promotion truly Attractive?
When looking at the best cash reward charge card, you will notice that most card companies will lure the customer with a 0% introductory rate on the annual percentage rate, or more commonly called the APR. If this is the case, ask the company how long will this introductory savings be? Don’t go for what seems like a really good deal right away. Check for the annual fee, penalty fees, and make sure that the annual percentage rate remains at the lower rate once the introductory offer expires.
The True Rewards:
Usually business reward credit cards offer greater rewards and promotions than an individual’s charge card. Be sure to take advantage of this fact and use it to you and your businesses advantage. You want to choose business reward credit cards with rewards and bonuses that will match your kind of business. There are companies that award points for every dollar spent on your card. Most cash rebate charge cards also have cash back programs which entitle you to rebates on all of your purchases. If you purchase lots of products for your business on a regular basis, then this type of charge card should work well for you.
Convenience:
As a small or in-home business owner, time is precious. Like the old saying, time is money. Having online access to your account, seven days a week makes it a very convenient way to pay your bills and do your banking. Make sure your card company has options that are compatible with your financial software program so you can easily download your monthly financial statements. With this information you should now be well informed and ready to make the decision. Don’t be in a hurry, do your research. You can search online for numerous business charge card applications.
For more information on the best business reward credit cards visit http://www.NewBestCreditCard.com
Gas Cards For the Whole Family
A family that consists of multiple drivers, mom, dad, and teenagers is very wise to get a “Gas Credit Card” that is useable by everyone. You will find that in many cases the average family spends a lot of money on gasoline to keep their vehicles on the road.
Dad usually needs to go to work and back using his vehicle on the highway a lot and perhaps if his driving requires him driving a distance or constantly the fuel mileage really mounts up. Mom usually drives a lot taking the younger children to meetings, sporting events, going shopping and a variety of other duties that causes her to spend much money on fuel. Teenagers spend a lot of money on fuel because in most cases they have part time jobs, go to school events and like to do a lot of pleasure cruising.
In America driving a car has always been a very pleasurable event for the whole family. The driving on Sunday afternoon use to be quite an event for everyone and taking short trips to visit relatives on the weekend has always been a special way that families like to get together and enjoy each other’s company.
All these driving events require that a person use a lot of fuel for their vehicle. That is why a gas credit card for the family is a very important tool to help maintain the budget and make it possible for everyone to be able to do the driving that is necessary.
Paying The Price Of Credit Card Jumping
Having a debt and paying no interest on it seems almost too good to be true. But many consumers use their credit cards to do just that. The process is known as rate surfing or credit card jumping.
How Do I Start With Credit Card Jumping?
Many credit card companies offer preferential rates to new customers. These can take a variety of forms. Some credit cards offer long term low interest rates. Others offer a 0% rate on purchases for a fixed period, usually six months. Still others offer a 0% interest rate on balances transferred to the credit card. This last type of offer is the one that is of most interest to credit card jumpers.
All people need to do is apply for the credit card as usual. Most credit card forms, whether online or in print, have a section where applicants can write the card numbers of the cards they hold and the amounts they want to transfer. Balances can be transferred from other credit card and from store cards.
Some credit card companies also allow new applicants to transfer loan amounts by using credit card cheques. It is worth checking that such cheques also enjoy the 0% balance transfer rate. Credit card cheques are often treated as cash withdrawals and can attract a higher interest rate.
How Does Credit Card Jumping Work?
The key to successful credit card jumping is to move the outstanding balance to another credit card with a 0% rate just before the interest free period expires. This means:
- Finding a new credit card with a 0%i balance transfer rate (maybe by looking on the internet)
- Applying for the new card at least a month before you want to transfer the balance
- Transferring the money from the old card at least a week before the interest is due to be applied.
This is not a difficult strategy for anyone who is well organised. To avoid hurting their credit rating, which could lead to refusal for other cards, it is essential for card users to make at least the minimum payment each month. The payment should also be made on time.
Do Credit Card Companies Make Money From Jumpers?
They don’t – or at least they didn’t. Credit card jumping has cost credit card companies hundreds of thousands of pounds each year. That’s why credit card companies have come up with a new way to make money from credit card jumpers. It’s called the balance transfer fee. The balance transfer fee is a fee of around 2% that is applied to balance transfers. This means that credit card companies get their money up front.
This is not good news for credit card jumpers, though credit card jumping may still be worthwhile if the current interest being paid on the debt is high. Although many credit card companies apply a balance transfer fee, not all do, so it is worth shopping around. There could still be time to do some credit card jumping.





