Apply for a credit card with instant online applications. Find low or 0% APR ... Find online credit card applications & apply for a credit card in an instant ... http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com 2012-02-23T01:39:59+01:00 text/html 2011-12-22T02:18:09+01:00 http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com/general/4-moves-that-can-ding-your-credit.html MOST PEOPLE KNOW THAT PAYING bills late can play havoc with your credit score. But not every move that shaves points from your credit score is so obvious. Charging a big balance to a store card. You're tempted to buy thousands of dollars' worth of furniture or appliances and charge it all to a store credit card that doesn't require payments for six months or even a year -- and sometimes longer. But debt that sits untouched could drag down your score, especially if the balance is near the card's limit, says John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit .com. That's because your credit-utilization ratio -- the amount of debt you have relative to your credit limits -- is calculated for balances on individual cards as well as overall. In addition, store cards tend to charge steep rates, so if you don't pay the balance before the interest-free period is over, you will rack up big charges. Trashing a parking ticket. Parking and speeding tickets, library fines, and other dues to the government left unpaid won't go directly to your credit report. But if they are eventually reported to a collection agency, they could damage your score. That goes for anything that could go to collections, such as unpaid rent and medical bills. And even if you pay up, collections will appear on your report for seven years. Stuffing your wallet with cards. If you've had a handful of cards for years, they won't hurt your score. But if you open several new accounts in a short period, your score is likely to take a hit, and you may not benefit immediately from expanded credit limits. Transferring a balance to a new card. The inquiry on your report from the new lender may shave a few points from your score, but the real... text/html 2011-12-22T02:18:09+01:00 http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com/general/5-situations-when-it-is-ok-to-close-a-credit-card.html WHENEVER MACY'S ANNOUNCED A SALE on Jones New York suits or high-heeled sandals, Deanna S.- Walker would dash to the department store. And when her husband would travel for his business, it was such a convenience to pay at the pump with their Amoco gas card. However, the result would sometimes be a carryover of the balance since determining their monthly income was difficult with him being self-employed. "In 2008,1 closed the Macy's card. I did so to become more fiscally responsible," says Walker. "Closing it helped me control the urge to charge items unnecessarily," she explains, noting that cancelling the card helped her address bad spending habits. "This was the right decision based on my goals to reduce and manage debt." Most experts say cancelling a credit card is generally not a good idea because it lowers your available credit and can decrease your FICO credit score as well. They suggest, instead, that you simply toss it in the shredder. The account will remain open and you will have the credit line on your report. But if you find yourself ordering a new card or purchasing items online with your memorized credit card number, you may need to take more drastic steps. In those cases, it's permissible to break the rules of credit management. But before you do, make sure you're not applying for a loan in the near future. Even the smallest dip in your credit scores can increase your interest rate or cause a loan to be declined. Experts have provided five situations in which it's OK to close your credit card. You're tempted to overspend. This can lead to excessive credit card debt for the undisciplined person. "Being addicted to credit is a real issue for some people," says John Ulzheimer, president of Consumer Education at SmartCredit.com. "For those folks,... text/html 2011-12-22T02:18:09+01:00 http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com/general/chase-sweetens-rewards-to-prompt-card-use.html JPMorgan Chase & Co. is giving its three top credit card program customers several options to redeem points and buy gifts for the holiday season, a move that will create buzz for the products and may help spur consumers to move back to using credit cards more often for holiday shopping, analysts say. Chase's annual Ultimate Rewards holiday program will provide special deals to holders of Chase Freedom cash-back cards, Sapphire affluent cards and Ink small-business cards as the issuers continues to encourage use of the Ultimate Rewards website to access card benefits, says Sean O'Reilly, general manager for Chase card services. "The promotion is a way to provide more value to the customer and a way for them to use points for something they may not buy for themselves," he says. For the promotion, Chase is running several options. From Nov. 15 to Dec. 12, Chase Freedom, Sapphire and Ink cardholders who shop online using the ultimatere-wards.com site can earn up to 10 extra reward points for every dollar spent at select merchants. On CyberMonday -- the Monday after Thanksgiving -- cardholders who use rewards points to shop on the site will save 25% on purchases. Chase ran a similar promotion last year and saw a 300% increase in the number of items redeemed that day compared with its regular redemption rates, the company said. Chase Sapphire, which features experiential rewards for affluent consumers, is offering a rewards ski trip with Olympic gold medalist Picabo Street. Ink from Chase is offering four holiday trips small-business cardholders can give to employees as a reward or as a "thank you" gift to customers. Freedom cardholders may use their points to receive gift cards discounted between 10% and 20% through the rewards website, a move Chase and analysts say connects with Freedom's cash-back feature because consumers use cash... text/html 2011-12-22T02:18:09+01:00 http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com/general/credit-card-tricks.html Credit card fraud is big business in Canada. Last year, crooks racked up nearly $366-million worth of charges on lost, stolen or otherwise compromised cards, targeting nearly half a million customers, according to figures from the Canadian Bankers Association. That explains why the industry has been pushing the adoption of more secure microchip cards that require users to slide their plastic into a terminal and enter a PIN, similar to the way debit cards work. But a word of caution: just because you have a new chip card in your wallet doesn't mean you're safe. While the industry says it has already seen instances of fraud drop since the new cards were first introduced two years ago, the expensive process of moving cardholders and merchants to the new technology has also created new opportunities for crooks--including some scams that can make it appear as though it's the cardholder that is at fault, possibly leaving them on the hook for losses. The problem stems from the fact that chip cards are still equipped with a magnetic stripe. That's so cardholders can pull out their plastic at stores that may not have the latest equipment, or use them in the United States, which so far has balked at the cost of adopting the technology. Like regular credit cards, the stripes can be "skimmed" by thieves using special equipment and a compromised terminal. The new twist is that if crooks also manage to observe the cardholder entering their PIN--either by watching over their shoulder or by setting up a hidden camera--it may be possible for them to use the forged cards either in bank machines without chip and PIN technology, or on machines designed to fall back on verifying magnetic strips (to accommodate foreign visitors without chip cards). This was the type of fraud that spiked... text/html 2011-12-22T02:18:09+01:00 http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com/general/give-them-credit.html THERE ARE SOME INSTANCES, such as travel or an emergency, when it is handy to have a credit card as a back-up to a cash card and a debit card. With most credit cards you need an income when you apply and often the income needed is more than most university students earn. There are only two credit cards that target students: Westpac's Student Visa and Commonwealth Bank's Low Fee Student Credit Card, according to RateCity's database of more than 200 personal credit cards. RateCity chief executive Damian Smith, says both cards waive annual fees while you are studying, which is good. But not so good are the high interest rates. Westpac charges 20.45% on purchases and cash advances. The CBA's rate is 20.24% on purchases and 21.74% on cash advances. "Provided you are paying off the card in full every month, then this interest rate issue won't directly affect you - but one miss on repaying will make for an expensive source of credit," says Smith. Students should look for a card with reasonable rates. The average purchase rate for cards with income criteria of up to $20,000 is 16.39%, although they start from 10.49%, says Smith. Also you should only be paying a low annual fee - or none at all. Smith says that out of these cards, the typical annual fee starts at $15 a year and there are 27 cards with none. Students should avoid a card offering rewards or other incentives. "Rewards programs often come with higher rates and fees and you typically need to spend at least $12,000 per year on your card as well as pay off your balance every month for it to be worthwhile," he says. Smith recommends students should keep credit card use to a minimum - perhaps only for emergencies or travel. Also keep... text/html 2011-12-22T02:18:09+01:00 http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com/general/how-to-get-approved-for-a-credit-card.html A dollar doesn't seem to go as far as it once did. No longer will a single greenback get you a gallon of gas, a bus ride or a slice of pizza. Same holds true for the FICO scores that determine an individual's creditworthiness. Before the recession, credit card issuers were extremely eager to hand out plastic, relaxing their standards to the point where it seemed anybody could get their hands on one or more cards. Lately, a credit score of 720 just isn't worth as much as it was in the good old days. "A score of 720 used to be considered excellent," says Ben Woolsey, Director of Consumer Research at CreditCards.com. "Now, excellent is more like 750. The card issuers have become a bit more conservative and have raised the bar in terms of what they consider good." Ten Things Credit Card Providers Are Looking For The FICO score--which stands for Fair Isaac Corp., the company that pioneered credit scoring more than half a century ago--encompasses a number of factors that credit card providers consider when deciding whether or not to accept an application. A few of those components sit atop the pyramid. "We review each application situation individually, but more or less it's based on stability," says Tara Burke, spokesperson for Bank of America. "Those factors include employment status, ability to pay, willingness to pay and FICO score." Credit card providers are reluctant to specify the precise metrics and cutoffs they use--Burke and representatives from Chase, Discover and Capital One all declined to share specifics, explaining such details are competitive information and could be used against them by rivals. Still, credit card experts have a general sense of what providers like to see. Perhaps the most important factor is payment history. Applicants who have a track record of paying their other cards on... text/html 2011-12-22T02:18:09+01:00 http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com/general/id-analytics-unveils-prescreen-credit-score.html ID Analytics, a leader in consumer risk management, today announced a new alternative credit scorethat has proven to help U.S. lenders and card issuers safely maximize their universe of prospects while minimizing risk. Credit Optics? Prescreen is the latest addition to ID Analytics' Credit Optics suite of alternative credit risk solutions designed to deliver accurate risk insights into a consumer's creditworthiness using real-time data not available from other sources. This new insight enables card issuers to reduce the cost per account to prescreen potential customers, both for direct mail and instant, or prescreen-of-one campaigns. TowerGroup estimates that U.S. card issuers spend $5.3 billion annually on direct mail solicitations for new account acquisitions. This includes mailing countless offers to consumers that issuers will ultimately deem uncreditworthy. Leveraging ID Analytics' ID Network?, a proprietary network of unique identity data collected from a broad range of industries including telecommunications and payday lending, Credit Optics Prescreen can help issuers focus on new, profitable customers. "Today, lenders rely on our Credit Optics solutions to fine-tune their credit decisioning processes at acquisition and to manage portfolios. Now, Credit Optics Prescreen is available to optimize investments in marketing campaigns targeting new customers by ensuring only creditworthy prospects receive the offers," said Steve Seoane, vice president, Enterprise Solutions for ID Analytics, Inc. "This is another way in which we are helping businesses to grow their portfolios safely by delivering a more complete picture of the consumer." Credit Optics Prescreen is compliant with the Federal Credit Reporting Act and can be used to screen consumers for pre-approved credit card marketing campaigns. Key benefits include: For more information about our Credit Optics Prescreen alternative credit score, please visit www.idanalytics.com. text/html 2011-12-22T02:18:09+01:00 http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com/general/rewards-cards-get-more-rewarding.html YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED, while shredding the latest crop of credit card mailers, that rewards programs seem to be getting more generous. After retrenching during the recession, "card issuers are back in the game in a big way trying to get new customers," says Ben Woolsey of CreditCards.com. They're using retooled rewards as a lure. Here's how to assess three of the newer offers so you can separate the garbage from the good deals. BETTER REWARDS--FOR A PRICE Several major issuers have introduced souped-up versions of their basic rewards card, with better perks for those willing to pay an annual fee of up to $95. Issuers are hoping to increase fee revenue, while realizing "that they have to give value to the consumer to make the cards that much more worthwhile," explains Schwark Satyavolu, CEO of BillShrink, a site that helps consumers evaluate credit offers. Take American Express Blue Cash Preferred, launched in April. For $75 a year you get 6% on groceries, vs. 3% with the no-fee Blue Cash card; 3% vs. 2% on gas and department store purchases. Chase and Capital One are offering similarly enhanced versions of their free Sapphire and VentureOne cards. The fee on all of these is often waived the first year; plus, you get a bigger bonus than with the free card--points worth $500, vs. $250 on the Chase Sapphire options--if you spend a certain amount within the first few months. WORTH IT? The bonus and fee waiver make these cards winners for the first year. After that, it depends on how much you charge, and in some cases, what you buy, says Tim Chen of NerdWallet.com. With the Capital One card, which effectively pays 2% on everything, you'd need to spend $8,000 a year to come out ahead of the free version. Recouping the fee is... text/html 2011-12-22T02:18:09+01:00 http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com/general/survival-guide-household-finance.html As Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney has repeatedly warned, Canadian household debt is at alarming levels. The first step to depression-proofing your personal finances is paying down that debt. Robert Abboud, a certified financial planner based in Ottawa and author of No Regrets: A Common Sense Guide to Achieving and Affording Your Life Goals, says high-interest-bearing consumer debt should be tackled first. That would seem obvious, but his experience shows Canadians haven't universally grasped this concept. "I find that people for some reason tend to focus really heavily on their mortgage and putting an extra hundred or two against their mortgage," says Abboud. Focus on eliminating your monthly credit-card balance first, then other forms of consumer debt such as car loans and lines of credit. An opportunity also may exist to use home equity to bundle high-interest debt at lower rates, he adds. Canadians should also be hoarding cash to mitigate the effects of a potential layoff. Employment insurance will usually cover only a fraction of your salary, so extra money will come in handy to make ends meet. Advisers have traditionally recommended holding three months' take-home pay in cash at all times in case of job loss. And while you are gainfully employed, Abboud says, now is the time to secure a line of credit. "You want to have access to cash if you need to feed yourself," he says, but prudence must be exercised. It's not there to score a new flat-screen television. "Don't use it. Just get it." 3 Smart spending tips Did we mention that Canadians have a spending problem? Abboud offers a simple word of advice for shopaholics: "Don't." But when the wallet does need to come out, spend wisely: Cut the daily indulgences. "Where we all get killed are on the variable expenses," he says. Avoid the... text/html 2011-12-22T02:18:09+01:00 http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com http://www.bestinstantcreditcards.com/general/watch-out-for-business-credit-cards.html THE PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS RELEASED A STUDY showing that millions of individuals and small business owners receive offers for business credit cards each month. While this might sound like a tempting offer for some, you should note that business credit cards are not covered by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. Consequently, entrepreneurs who use credit cards for business or commercial use could be faced with high fees and sudden interest rate hikes. If your business is structured in such a way that you're personally liable for your business debt (such as a sole proprietorship or partnership), you are personally responsible for the card. Therefore, your business credit card usage is reported on your individual credit report, which means your personal credit could be negatively affected. Here are some things you should watch out for: Account terms can be changed at any time. The Pew study found that 80% of business credit cards allow issuers to change terms of an account at any time with little or no notice or ability to opt out. Penalty fees are unrestricted. The study also found that 73% of business cards had a late fee attached to them and 67% of business cards had an over-limit fee. Payments can be applied to lower-rate balances. Credit card companies can apply your payments to low-rate balances first while interest accrues on your higher-rate balances.