Credit Card Offers and How To Deal With Credit Card Debt
By Steve Gee
Do you have too much credit card debt?
You spend too much one month and you put it all on your credit card account. You can’t pay it all off so you leave it until next month but you can’t pay it off next month either. Before you know it your bill has grown into something that you can’t manage and you are going to have to do something dramatic if you are ever going to get the debt under control. Why not make your credit card account work for you instead.
Credit card offers available
0% APR credit card offers are readily available but they only give you zero interest for a limited time and often have some catches. They may give you zero interest on the balance you transferred onto the card but not on new purchases for instance. You should also make sure that you understand what happens after the introductory offer period. Will the interest rate go sky high in 6 months time?
You can use the 0% APR credit card offers to slow down your accumulation of debt and give you a chance to start paying it off. It's a lot easier to reduce the balance if they aren't forever adding interest to it. Be ready at the end of the introductory period however because the interest will start piling up again. When you get close to the end look around for another 0% APR credit card that you can transfer your balance to. This is called 'surfing' your credit cards.
Here are some things to look a=out for when hunting for credit cards.
APR or Annual Percentage Rate
This can vary a lot and will make a huge difference to your monthly repayments.
Interest Free Period
Most cards charge interest from the date of the statement but some calculate your interest from the date of your transactions. In most cases the maximum interest free period is 56 days.
Cash Withdrawals
Be careful when drawing cash from a credit card. The interest rate can be much higher than it is for purchases or transfers. They also start charging you interest from the moment you withdraw the cash with no interest free period.
Annual Fee
Make sure that there isn't one.
Consumer Protection
This can give you protection in the event of goods not received or faulty or even stolen. There is often a minimum value transaction that allows you to benefit from this protection so make sure you know what it is.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance when you purchase by credit card can be useful especially if you commute to work. Check the terms and conditions before you take the credit card though.
Cash Back
Some cards will give you 1% or more of every transaction back. This doesn't sound much but it can add up over the course of a year.
Reward Schemes
Some cards offer air miles or reward points for large stores. This might interest you if you are a frequent flyer.
Charitable Donations
This can be a painless way to donate a little of what you spend to charity. Often you won't notice it because other cards may have given it back to you in the way of cash back.
Online fraud guarantee
Having a guarantee that you won't lose money due fraud when you use your credit card on line can be a very comforting thought.
Gold and Platinum Cards
They only give these cards to people that they think will be able to pay back larger debts accrued on them. Think very seriously about taking one of these credit cards.
I hope that this information has been helpful to you in making an informed decision about using credit cards to manage your debt.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Gee
Do you have too much credit card debt?
You spend too much one month and you put it all on your credit card account. You can’t pay it all off so you leave it until next month but you can’t pay it off next month either. Before you know it your bill has grown into something that you can’t manage and you are going to have to do something dramatic if you are ever going to get the debt under control. Why not make your credit card account work for you instead.
Credit card offers available
0% APR credit card offers are readily available but they only give you zero interest for a limited time and often have some catches. They may give you zero interest on the balance you transferred onto the card but not on new purchases for instance. You should also make sure that you understand what happens after the introductory offer period. Will the interest rate go sky high in 6 months time?
You can use the 0% APR credit card offers to slow down your accumulation of debt and give you a chance to start paying it off. It's a lot easier to reduce the balance if they aren't forever adding interest to it. Be ready at the end of the introductory period however because the interest will start piling up again. When you get close to the end look around for another 0% APR credit card that you can transfer your balance to. This is called 'surfing' your credit cards.
Here are some things to look a=out for when hunting for credit cards.
APR or Annual Percentage Rate
This can vary a lot and will make a huge difference to your monthly repayments.
Interest Free Period
Most cards charge interest from the date of the statement but some calculate your interest from the date of your transactions. In most cases the maximum interest free period is 56 days.
Cash Withdrawals
Be careful when drawing cash from a credit card. The interest rate can be much higher than it is for purchases or transfers. They also start charging you interest from the moment you withdraw the cash with no interest free period.
Annual Fee
Make sure that there isn't one.
Consumer Protection
This can give you protection in the event of goods not received or faulty or even stolen. There is often a minimum value transaction that allows you to benefit from this protection so make sure you know what it is.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance when you purchase by credit card can be useful especially if you commute to work. Check the terms and conditions before you take the credit card though.
Cash Back
Some cards will give you 1% or more of every transaction back. This doesn't sound much but it can add up over the course of a year.
Reward Schemes
Some cards offer air miles or reward points for large stores. This might interest you if you are a frequent flyer.
Charitable Donations
This can be a painless way to donate a little of what you spend to charity. Often you won't notice it because other cards may have given it back to you in the way of cash back.
Online fraud guarantee
Having a guarantee that you won't lose money due fraud when you use your credit card on line can be a very comforting thought.
Gold and Platinum Cards
They only give these cards to people that they think will be able to pay back larger debts accrued on them. Think very seriously about taking one of these credit cards.
I hope that this information has been helpful to you in making an informed decision about using credit cards to manage your debt.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Gee
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