Best Credit Cards for You!

Despite many card providers suffering falling profits and staggering rises in the level of bad debts, competition is still rife within the market and providers continue to launch headline ‘best buy?deals. Andrew Britchford, credit card analyst from Moneyfacts.co.uk explains how consumers can avoid some of the common pitfalls associated with credit card deals and make the best of the offers available. Choosing the right card can be more complicated than you may think.

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Despite many card providers suffering falling profits and staggering rises in the level of bad debts, competition is still rife within the market and providers continue to launch headline ‘best buy?deals.

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Tags: Card, Card Balance

Just as the name suggest, this method is the simplest among all. It is not only simple as with the respect of its calculation but also with the respect of the amount of interest it determines.

This is basically a method whereby interest is calculated by applying interest rate on the principle in every period. Unlike the other two methods that I’ll be touching upon, this one gives the lowest amount of interest. You may find this method used with the loans which are given out on short term basis usually.

‘Compound Interest’ Method:

This particular methodology of determining interest over the loan you take may prove to be a little perplexing. Not only the method of calculation seems difficult, the amount of interest may also be in excess to that calculated in the prior method.

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Tags: Differentiate Interest, Interest

If you are drowning in credit card debt, or have collection agencies calling you at work and at home, it’s understandable if you feel overwhelmed right now. However, you can get your credit card debt under control, eliminate it, and show the credit card companies that you can handle credit responsibly. Here are some useful tips for getting out of credit card debt for good.

Work with the credit card issuer

If you sense that you won’t be able to make next month’s credit card payment, proactively contact the credit card issuer yourself. Explain your situation to the company and ask for a lower monthly payment, a lower interest rate, or both. Most credit card companies are reluctant to resort to a collection agency to collect on their debts, since this results in your debt being sold to an outside agency for pennies on the dollar.

Pay more than the minimum

If you ever hope to reduce and eventually eliminate your credit card debt, you must pay more than the credit card’s minimum monthly payment.

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Tags: Card Debt, Credit Card, Credit Card Debt, Debt

Just when you think you know all of the tricks and traps the credit card companies can come up with, The Consumerist has been getting some tips on a new one from Chase.

The Monthly Cycle Trap

In the wake of all of the humor surrounding the new iPad, I am going to delve no further in that direction.   That said, it seems that Chase has set up a nice little trap surrounding their statement cycles, both for credit cards and mortgages statements.     The idea is that if you make a payment before your statement closing date, they count it towards your previous month, not your current statement.     Let’s say your statement closes on the 15th and your payment is due on the 8th of the next month.     If you make a payment before the 15th, they payment is credited towards the previous statement, not the next one.     This is a problem, I suppose if you try to pay a statement very early, and it doesn’t count towards that statement.     Essentially, you have about three weeks between when your statement closes, and when your payment is due.    If you pay early, it is as if you didn’t pay at all for that statement.    Of course we all know the consequences if you pay late.

Playing Devil’s Advocate

Why would you want to pay early anyways?   I suppose if you carry a balance, you might save a little interest, but in the example in The Consumerist, the cardholder makes a payment on the day after his due date.   I don’t get it.    From the bank’s standpoint, how can they know which statement you intend your payment to apply to?    It would seem that making the decision, based on the date the payment is received is the only way they could do that.

On The Other Hand…

First, there is no reason you should not be paying all of your bills electronically in this day and age.

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Tags: Cycle Trap, Trap

Deciding to cancel a credit card is a big decision. Do you know both the pros and cons of doing so? If you are thinking about canceling your credit card you should take a step back, realize the good and bad, and then make a final decision when the time comes. Of course, you don’t want to wait too long. You may have a very good reason for wanting to do this.

If you have no self control and continually use your credit card to get in trouble, now is the time to get rid of it. Despite any drawbacks, you need to protect your finances first and foremost. When you no longer have your credit card you no longer have to worry about using it and adding to your current debt.

What about the hit that my credit score will take? The main reason that many people keep a credit card instead of canceling is because they have heard it will negatively affect their credit score.

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Tags: Card, Credit Card