Credit Cards Tips for You

Living with poor credit conditions make things worse and more expensive too. It not only hampers your prospects of obtaining a new credit with better terms and conditions but it also makes purchase of many financial products and services more costly. For instance, if you are willing to purchase a car insurance policy but have poor credit record, the car insurer will charge more premium amount from you. Again, if you are purchasing brand new utilities, the utility provider will scrutinize your credit history and then decide upon whether you have to make any security deposit. The credit card issuer or a loan provider will check your credit history before sanctioning you a credit card or a loan. Given these, it is important to have the necessary credit repair strategy in place.

Good credit is very important in accumulating money through loans, insurance and credit cards. But that is not the single reason to maintain a good credit. A good credit score can have several other benefits too. Read more…

Chase unveiled a revised summary guide for Chase Total Checking that makes its terms and conditions easier to understand for consumers. Chase collaborated with the Pew Health Group’s Safe Checking in the Electronic Age Project to develop a simple disclosure form that uses everyday words in a consumer-friendly format. Consumers can now more plainly see a description of fees and services, how to avoid certain fees, when deposits are available, and the order in which withdrawals and deposits are processed. Chase also is eliminating account closing fees to simplify and enhance the customer experience.

The American Express Platinum card is widely recognized as being the most feature filled premium rewards card available to the general public the only other card that bests it is the elusive, invitation only Black/Centurion Card. Despite carrying a lofty $450 annual fee, Amex Platinum card devotes are more than willing to ante up as those who take advantages of this card’s perks can reap significantly more than that in benefits. Like their consumer version of the card, American Express has endowed the Business Platinum Card with nearly every imaginable feature to allow cardholders to realize the maximum savings from this ultra-premium product.

American Express Business Platinum members earn one membership rewards point per dollar spent, and two points per dollar spent when booking travel through American Express. The Membership Rewards program allows cardholders to redeem points for a myriad of gift card and travel related statement credits at a rate of one cent per dollar spent. There is an extremely valuable 20% bonus when points are redeemed for travel (I’ve personally focused on redeeming my points for travel since this perk was added in early 2011. Not o

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Ever wonder what a credit card thief gets for his troubles? The answer is $3.50.

A European hacker nicknamed Poxxie hacked into the computer network of a US company and stole 1,400 credit card numbers. He then sold them for $3.50 on his own website.

Poxxie sold the numbers to buyers who now trust the quality of his products – AKA stolen card numbers. Ironically, he stated, “The main thing in any business is honesty.” I don’t know about you, but stealing credit card numbers doesn’t seem honest to me!

Sadly, this isn’t the only such case out there – not by a long shot. Other hackers perform similar activities on a routine basis. Credit card theft alone has become a $100 plus billion dollar per year industry. Let’s take a look at some of the stats in the high-stakes business of credit card theft.

Amount of Card Numbers Stolen Annually

It is estimated that thieves steal 8.4 million credit card numbers in the US each year. Many do so on Amazon.com.

Other sites, like Poxxie’s, allow customers to shop by card type, credit limit, bank and zip code. Think of them as

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If you’re thinking about using a debt consolidation or debt settlement service to help you get out of debt faster and save money on your monthly payments, make sure you do your homework before choosing a company. There are definitely shams and scams out there.

First let me say that debt consolidation is *not* the same as debt settlement/negotiation, which most people don’t realize.

Debt settlement companies charge hundreds of dollars as an initial “admin fee” to set up your account, plus a monthly service fee. The fees vary depending on the company and the amount of your debts.

Such companies take your money every month, but don’t make monthly payments to your creditors! Instead, they put it in a trust account, negotiate your debts with your creditors, then make a lump-sum payment when there’s enough in your account to pay a creditor in full.

That can take *years* depending on the amount of debt you have with each creditor. Meanwhile, you can be sued by your creditors and your wages can be garnished! (Or just don’t make payments to your creditors. You’ll end up

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