Cash Card Deals

When youre looking at a credit card offer, take a look at the small print it seems like a maze, but its vitally important. With the trend nowadays towards easier-to-read summary boxes, there arent as many excuses for ignoring the terms as there used to be. Anyway, credit card lenders are devious, and there are plenty of things there designed to catch you out heres what you should be on your guard against.

Annual Fees.

Even though youre already paying them interest, many credit cards still charge you an annual fee. Its not as common as it once was, but its still around. You should be especially careful to check for fees on Gold and Platinum cards even though theyre not that hard to get any more, they still tend to charge much higher fees than normal cards.

Penalty Charges.

Pay attention to what kind of fees youll be charged for a late payment, or if you take a cash advance, or if you accidentally exceed your limit on the card. Some cards have unjustifiably high fees, and you shouldnt sign up for them.

Interest Method.

This is one of the most overlooked of all the things in the small print, just because its so hard to understand. Essentially, every company has a slightly different way of working out how much interest you should pay each month. There are three main methods:

With the adjusted balance method, you are charged interest on whatever your balance was when the company sent the bill. Another version of this is the previous balance. Youre charged interest on your balance as it stood at the end of the billing cycle before this one, regardless of how much youve spent or paid off since. Odd, but easier to understand.

Then theres the average daily balance. This is the most complicated, but also the most common now. Your balance from the end of each day in the billing cycle is added up, and then divided by how many days there were, and interest is charged on this amount. This method is only good for you if your balance jumps around a lot, as it avoids you paying lots of interest on a balance that just happened to be large on the billing date.

Also, make sure you look at the rate of interest each month, instead of just relying on the APR. The APR is an estimate of the total cost of borrowing it is the monthly interest plus the various charges that will show you exactly how much you would pay.

Grace Period.

Check that the card youre looking at has a grace period on purchases. Otherwise, you could end up being charged interest from the minute you spend. Almost no cards have a grace period on cash advances or credit card cheques, however.

Currency Conversion Fees.

If you plan to use your card abroad, you should take a look at how much the card charges for transactions made in other currencies. Some cards can be much more expensive than others.

If you havent taken a moment to scout new credit card offers, the time has arrived. Credit card companies are battling for the largest client base, and as a result, consumers are on the receiving end of very attractive benefits. One of the most popular types of cards on the market today is the cash back reward card. Although the logistics change depending on the financial institution, the result is the same: get cash back on every purchase!

Below are the top four cash back rewards cards; check out the benefits and choose the one thats right for you. Ive chosen these particular offers because of the size of the rewards and because of low interest rates.

Chase Cash Plus Rewards Visa Card

This is one of my favorite cards because Chase doesnt bog down the customer with a laundry list of rules and regulations. With some available cards, you have to follow very specific guidelines in order to receive rewards. With the Cash Plus Rewards Visa, all you have to do is use the card, and youll get cash back.

Every time you use the card at a grocery store, gas station or drug store, you receive 5% cash back. When you use it for other purchases, you get 1% cash back. Then, when you build up a balance, you can either request a check from Chase Bank, or you can request a gift certificate for merchants such as Best Buy, Macys and Home Depot.

Theres no annual fee for the Cash Plus Rewards Visa card, and new customers receive a 0% introductory APR for up to twelve months on both balance transfers and purchases.

HSBC Cash Back Rewards MasterCard

I recommend this card for anyone who enjoys security protection and fair, competitive rewards. With the HSBC Cash Back MasterCard, you receive 1% cash back on all purchases, with no spending requirements. They offer a 0% introductory APR for the first twelve months. There is no annual fee, and youll receive Zero Liability in the event that your card is stolen or used without authorization.

With the Chase card, you received 5% back on some purchases, which is not true of the HSBC card. However, this card comes with unlimited purchase protection, extended warranties, and travel accident insurance.

Citi Dividend Platinum Select Credit Card

This is a card for anyone who wants cash back rewards, but who plans on paying the card off every month. Customers receive 5% cash back on purchases at grocery stores, drug stores and gas stations, and 1% back for all other purchases. Citi offers a 0% APR on balance transfers for the first twelve months, but the regular APR is higher than the other cards being compared here. The cash back rewards are good, but this is not the card on which to carry a balance.

Citi offers the highest in security protection with a Photocard option and a fraud early warning block. They also provide Lost Wallet Protection, which means that if your card is lost or stolen, they will replace it within 24 hours.

Blue Cash from American Express

This is the perfect card for anyone who wants to share the benefits with a family member. Blue Cash offers up to 5% back on all purchases the most at drug stores, grocery stores, gas stations and home improvement stores and you receive the same cash back rewards with additional cards. That means that if your spouse, parent or child has a copy of the card, you earn cash back with their purchases as well.

Blue Cash offers a 0% introductory APR for the first six months, with a low regular APR afterwards. There is no annual fee, and no spending requirement to start receiving cash back. You might also want to check out American Express Smart Chip service with ID Keeper. This web tool allows you to store personal log-in and password information for the web so that you dont have to input your information every time you log on.

Cash back reward cards are an excellent way to get your feet wet in the credit card world. Try some of these on for size, and see what they have to offer. If youre going to be buying things anyway, you might as well reap additional benefits!

The Chase Free Cash Rewards Visa Card Offering Great Cash Back Rewards

J.P Morgan Chase & Company is successfully serving millions of institutional, private and corporate customers in the United States. Chase is a company of repute and functions in over 50 countries.

Chase has brought for its customers the Chase Free Cash Rewards Visa Card, which provides you cash back facilities. If you are looking for a credit card with such a rewarding option, you can try out this card.

The Card Rewards

The Chase Free Cash Rewards Visa Card offers its customers a fabulous rewards program that makes it possible for you to obtain one point for spending one pound. This is not all; on reaching the 2500 point-mark, you will get a 25 gift check.

The cardholder also has the option of selecting a 25 gift certificate from a range of retailers and merchants. Furthermore, the credit card gives you the opportunity of earning an extra 1000 bonus points for making your first purchase using the card. The maximum number of points you can earn in a 12-month time-period is 60000 points. The rewards have no expiration period.

The card enables you to be on the fast track for receiving cash back facilities. If you have fabulous credit and desire to have a credit card with a sound rewards program, you can go for the Chase Free Cash Rewards Visa Card.

This credit card, however, might not be suitable for you if you want to carry an occasional large revolving balance, as the card uses the Two Cycles Average Daily Balance method for determining finance charges. The makes the card a little expensive in comparison to credit cards using the Average Daily Balance method.

Other Benefits

On qualifying for the Chase Free Cash Rewards SM Visa Card, you can get to enjoy a 0% introductory rate, which is applicable for a full years purchases and balance transfers. However, with the expiry of the introductory period, you can still enjoy the low rates on purchases and balance transfers. These facilities along with the no annual fee feature are certainly very beneficial for the customers.

The card also comes with other enjoyable facilities, like travel accident insurance, rental car insurance and extended warranty. It also offers access to the usual Chase platinum services and benefits, such as extended warranties for purchases, auto rental insurance and travel accident insurance.

The card also offers facilities like many Internet account related services, many travel and emergency assistant services, and lost and stolen card reporting.

You can also enjoy emergency card and cash replacement, no liability for unauthorized transactions, a financial statement at the end of the year and other benefits. However, it is advisable to be cautious about the applicable limitations, and exclusions.

The BLUE CASH for Business from American Express – A Card For The Business Owners

Founded in 1850, the American Express is a financial organization that is highly respected. Now, it has around 78200 employees. American Express cards are renowned for their remarkable benefits and excellent customer service. They promise the customers immediate purchasing power.

One such card, the BLUE CASH for Business from American Express is a cash back version of the BLUE Card, which was introduced in 1999. The BLUE CASH card is basically a business credit card, which is specifically made for the small business owners interested in a cash back rewards program and having an average credit.

What Does The Card Offer?

The BLUE CASH Card from American Express is equipped with a 0% introductory Annual Purchase Rate (APR) available for the first six months on your purchases and 7.99% rate on the balance transfers, also applicable for the first 6 months only. After the end of the introductory period, the purchase APR remains within a reasonable range. The card has no annual fee.

The card creates enough scope for the cardholders to earn rebates through a reward program. The rebates are offered for the expenses you make within the “OPEN Savings” network, which include general purchases, Hertz, Staples, AT&T, FedEx and others. Here, the cardholders can earn up to 5% cash back on purchases.

As a cardholder, you can earn up to 2.5% cash back on purchases even outside the network of the “OPEN Savings”. The high-rebate percentage scheme will be valid until the annual spending on your card reaches the 15000 limit. After you reach the limit, the purchases made within the OPEN Savings network will fetch you 2% cash back and the other purchases will get you 1% cash back.

Package Of Benefits

The other benefits offered by the BLUE CASH for Business from American Express includes unlimited extra fee-free cards, business advice from experts, travel and emergency insurance, extended warranties on certain purchases, travel accident insurance, car rental insurance, emergency card replacement, various Internet account related services, purchase protection and more.

The OPEN Savings Network

The BLUE CASH for Business from American Express provides you access to the OPEN Savings Network, which is a small business network. This offers you the resources and associations to help you in the smooth functioning of your business. Other than the unlimited fee-free additional cards and savings, the network permits you to manage your account online with the Small Business Dashboard. You can also track charges with the Expense Management Reports.

You can avail expert opinion and advice for help on business matters; you may as well discuss business issues with other business owners online.

There are three reasons that you might have missed a payment on your credit card: either you cant afford to pay, the payment didnt get there in time or you just plain forgot. I sympathise: paying credit card bills is a surprisingly difficult thing to do reliably and consistently. Sooner or later, something is bound to go wrong.

Whatever happened, though, theres one thing you need to do, and quickly get on the phone.

Phone and Grovel.

Apologise like youve never apologised before. Dont panic, stay calm, but make it clear to whoever you get through to that youre very sorry, and things like this never happen to you. If you just forgot, then tell the truth about what happened and if you cant afford to pay, then you should say that too.

You will be surprised at how lenient credit card companies usually are if you phone and apologise after all, the sensible ones want to keep you paying interest to them for a long time to come, so its not really in their interest to punish you.

Remember to be very grateful when they let you off, and tell them it wont happen again. Whatever you do, dont get angry or frustrated. Its you thats in the wrong here!

You have to think and act like youre a model customer, and be willing to transfer your balance elsewhere as a punishment for them if they wont let you off this one mistake. Transferring your entire balance to another card will make them sit up, take notice, and start making you much better offers than you ever got before.

Try to Keep It Off Your Credit Report.

You need to do everything you can to persuade them not to add your late payment to your credit report, at least if you want to apply for any credit in the next few years. Remember that any late payment could be a black mark against your name for as long as ten years.

On the other hand, if the worst happens and it does get onto your credit report, dont worry about it too much. As long as theres only one late payment, it doesnt matter too much, especially once a year or so has gone by. Its the people who consistently pay late who get the truly terrible credit ratings.

In the Future, Always Post Early.

This goes especially for the people whose payments didnt make it in time, but its good advice anyway it saves you trying to find money at the last minute. It is a bad idea to wait until the day before the deadline to make your credit card payment, as there are just too many things that can go wrong.

Also, its generally a bad idea to let bills of any kind stack up until you get around to them, because bills arent fun, and you just wont. Pay your bills on the day you get them, and youll live a much less stressful life.

If youve got a really unmanageable amount of credit card debt, you might be considering a consolidation loan. A consolidation loan is a loan that you can use to pay off all your debts, meaning that you can pay them off for less money without having to worry about lots of different bills. Like anything, though, consolidation loans have their advantages and their disadvantages, and it pays to take a careful look at what they offer before you commit yourself.

The Interest Rate.

You should always shop around to get the best interest rate you can if you opt for debt consolidation. This interest rate is almost as important as the one on your mortgage, but much harder to change after youve signed on the dotted line. Dont be fooled by any offers that give you a good rate for a limited time youre going to have this loan for quite a while.

That said, the chances are that any interest rate youre offered on a debt consolidation loan will be significantly lower than the interest rates youre currently paying on credit cards. If you have lots of cards at a high rate and youve had no luck transferring the balances, then debt consolidation could be a very good idea.

The Length of the Loan.

The most dangerous thing about debt consolidation loans is that the ones with lower payments generally last a very long time you could be paying it off for twenty years, or even longer. You should try to find a loan that doesnt last as long, and asks for payments that are as much as you can afford. If you look at what your payments would be and think oh, how cheap!, the chances are youd be signing up to them for a long time to come.

Look Out for More Cards.

One of the most dangerous things about getting a debt consolidation loan is that, since your credit cards have all been paid off, it can be tempting to accept the next few offers you get for new ones. After all, now youre saving all this money, you can afford a few more cards, cant you? Dont fall into this trap! Consolidating your debt and then running up more is an extremely bad idea.

You Could Lose Your Home.

Of course, this is the absolute number one most dangerous thing about debt consolidation. Almost without exception, the loan will be secured on your home. That means that if you start missing payments, the finance company will kick you out, take (repossess) your house, sell it, and pay back the debt with that money.

Theres a whole industry around property developers buying repossessed houses and selling them on for a profit. The chances are that youll come out of it with nowhere near enough money left to buy even the smallest home, and nowhere to live. Just imagine that. If you do take a debt consolidation loan, you need to read the small print as if your life depended on it (it does), and then be very, very careful. Good luck.

Many credit card companies offer a popular incentive called cash back. Cash back is the money given to the cardholders by credit card companies for every pound spent by them. Cash back is often given in a single payment once in a year. The cash back incentive has proven to be successful for those users who charge everything, including clothes, gas, groceries, and dinners, etc to their credit card.

Therefore, if you are comfortable with charging everything to your card, a cash back credit card is all you need. Cash back credit cards are advisable for those credit card users who pay off their outstanding charges every month. However, if you are not able to pay off the balance every month, then you will have to pay interest charges that are higher than the amount paid back to you. This is because interest charges by these cards are colossal.

The Best Cash Back Credit Cards Need a Good Rating
If you have a good credit rating then credit card companies award you with cash back credit cards. Every purchase charged on the card gains you points. After attaining a certain number of points, you can get some more points for redeeming your cash. Thus, you can even reduce your balance by getting it credited to your outstanding credit card bill or by getting the company to send cash to you.

It is a win-win for all – Merchant charges fetch good earnings to the credit card companies, while merchants earn more by attracting more customers and the consumers get their cash back for using these cards. Thus, a cash back credit card is advantageous to every body.

Calculate The Cash Back

The cash paid back to you is calculated as a percentage of your total spending and it ranges from 0.5% to 2%. Different companies offer individual rates of percentages. For example, The Discover Platinum Card generally offers 1% cash back, but if purchases are made from the merchants who avail the Get More Program, then the rate offered is about 5% of the spending.
If there is no outstanding balance on the credit card then the cash back option is an attractive package. However, if you are paying an interest, then that amount will possibly outweigh the gain of cash back. Select a card with very low annual percentage rate (APR) or a card offering an interest free, introductory period.

Tips for Selecting a Cash Back Credit Card

* Make sure whether the headline rate is paid on all purchases or only on a portion of the annual spending. Some cards offer 0.25% on the first 1500 spent, a 0.50% on the next 1500 spent, thus allowing a full 1% on the purchases that exceed 3000.
* Be aware of any cap on the total amount of cash back in a year.
* Enquire whether cash back is paid by check or is deducted from the credit card bill.
* Check whether the card offers an initial bonus, whereby the consumer earns more cash back in the initial months. Check the duration for which the offer is valid and what the rate is after the initial period is over.
* Always be on the hunt for a cash back credit card that offers schemes allowing cash back for huge discounts with the selected merchants.
* Beware of any hidden costs in getting the annual cash back payments.
Compare the schemes offered by various cash back credit cards and always be on the lookout for those offering better cash back amounts. Modern consumers are excited about making money while spending.
* Make sure which purchases are eligible for cash back programs. Ask pertinent questions like – are all the purchases rewarded or not?
* Look for the cards that offer highest amount of percentage of cash back and carefully study how much are you really getting back into your pocket.
* Try to increase your cash back because some companies push their customers to visit certain retailers for getting a larger cash back amount.
* Enquire how frequently can you redeem the cash back? Some companies allow redemption of cash back as payments in return of their balance or for giving it for charity as soon as a certain amount is accumulated
* Try to find if your card charges a fee for cash back.

All in all, a cash back credit card is an advantage, if you have no outstanding balance to your credit. A disciplined cardholder is always preferred by companies. The best cash back credit cards are those that offer better cash backs with low and long-term annual percentage rates.

When youre paying back debts, a little strategy can make a difference of hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The best strategy is simple, but effective.

List Your Debts.

Write down a list of every debt you have, how much it is, and what the interest rate is. You might have trouble finding this information, but its worth getting it all together in one place and write it down. You cant manage your situation strategically if you dont even know it, can you?

Remember to include your credit cards (with the different rates and balances for purchases and cash advances), other cards, loans, mortgages, and even money youve borrowed from friends and family. Every bit of debt counts, and youre trying to get it down to absolute zero.

Bad Debts and Good Debts.

Go through your debts and mark them good or bad. You might think this is odd, but some kinds of debt are nowhere near as bad as others. A mortgage, for example, is an investment in a house, paid over a fixed term theres no real risk of paying a ridiculous amount of interest or never getting it paid off, like you could with a credit card.

Good debts: mortgages, student loans, car loans.
Bad debts: credit cards, store cards.

As a rule, good debts are for a fixed amount of time and allow you to buy something valuable that you cannot afford, while bad debts are revolving and are just used instead of cash.

Time to Prioritise.

Cross your good debts off your list, for now you shouldnt think about paying them off more quickly until youve got all your bad debts out of the way.

Now, arrange your debts in order of interest rate, with the highest interest rate at the top. The chances are that the debt at the top will be a store card or credit card, which could have a really huge interest rate. Try to transfer as much money as you can from the high-interest cards down the list to the lower-interest ones.

Once youve done that, focus all your energy on repaying the new top debt. Pay the minimum on everything else, and throw as much money as you can find at the problem. If you have any non-essential monthly commitments, consider cancelling them for a while, and putting that money towards your payments. Stop saving, just for a while. Try keeping track of where your money goes, just for a month you might find that youre spending loads on something you dont even want or need.

Do your best to give up any expensive habits you might have. Youll be shocked how fast your debts can go down if you put the money youd usually spent on smoking, drinking or gambling towards them! Im not trying to spoil your fun here. Youre just making some small sacrifices for a while, and your life will be so much better for it in the long run.

You have to be aggressive against that top debt, and determined to defeat it. This is a war, youre on the attack, and you want to win against your debt. Dont you?

New Business Credit Card – Managing Cash Flow With A Business Credit Card

A business credit card can help you manage your companys finances more efficiently. With a line of credit, you can handle cash flow issues, keep track of expenses, and qualify for deals and discounts.

Manage Cash Flow

Cash flow is always an issue with businesses. Bills are due while you are waiting for accounts to be paid. A business credit card can help you get through these short-term issues without having to take out a line of credit.

For small business, a credit card is often the first type of credit available to you. For sole proprietorships, your personal credit record will determine your credit limit. For other types of ownership, you will need to supply a business plan and financial statements.

Keep Track Of Expenses

Having a separate credit card for your business can help you keep better track of your expenses. Some credit card companies offer spending reports to help you identify spending habits. You can also look at your statement online.

Not only will a separate account help with accounting, it will also look better to the IRS. The government looks suspiciously when business and personal accounts are lumped together. Separate accounts are easier to track, especially important when you are declaring expenses on your tax return.

You can also request additional cards for employees. These company cards can have daily spending limits, to protect your company from fraud. With online statements, you can see watch activity on your account. You know what was spent, even if your employee forgot to turn in a receipt.

Qualify For Deals And Discounts

Business credit cards can also qualify you for special deals and discounts, just like with a personal account. You may choose a program that offers airline miles or reward points. To find the lowest interest rate though, stick with a plain account that has no fees.

To find the best deals, compare several programs. While your mailbox may be full of offers, searching online will probably yield better results. Be sure to read the find print for information on APR and other terms. By finding the right card, you will have a better handle on your cash flow issues.

If youre in a really bad situation, and you just cant even make your minimum payments this month, dont worry. You can negotiate your debts, and pay back much less than you owe as long as they get their debt plus interest in the end, no-one is expecting you to pay the full amount when you just cant afford to.

Settling your debts takes a lot of time, and many people find it intimidating. If you do it right, though, youll be surprised at how kind your creditors (that is, the people you owe money to) can be.

Close My Account.

It might feel bad, but if you cant afford to pay that credit card, youll have to close the account that means you cant borrow any more money with that card. To close the account, youll have to negotiate something called a payment plan.

A payment plan turns your credit card debt into a plain old loan. The company might take as much as 50% off the amount that you need to pay back. It might seem strange, but theyre happy youre paying at all there are plenty of people who just dont pay and have to be chased, costing their creditors time and money. Theyd rather hear from you if youre having trouble, so dont bury your head in the sand.

Its in your creditors best interest to take whatever you can offer them, within reason. Their alternatives are lengthy court proceedings, or paying collection agencies to come round and intimidate you. They know that your offer will probably be the only offer you make before you do something more extreme that could result in them never getting any money back.

Do It in a Letter.

Phoning companies to ask to negotiate your debts isnt a good idea its too easy to get flustered and say the wrong thing. Theyre professional negotiators, and youre not. You need the advantage of having time to think, which is why you should always negotiate with them by post. Getting it in writing also means that you can hold them to what they say later on. Heres a sample letter:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I regret to inform you that I can no longer afford to make my minimum payments of $100 per month on my credit card account with you (account number 111-222-333). I would like to request the closure of my account, followed by the settlement of the debt on a monthly payment plan. Please advise what kind of terms I could expect from such a plan.

Yours faithfully

The Damage to Your Credit Report.

You will rarely be able to negotiate over your debts without doing some damage to your credit report. If youre willing to pay a bigger percentage of the debt, though, you might be able to persuade the creditor to say that it was paid off to their satisfaction, instead of recording that they accepted less than they wanted. Its up to you just how much you feel your credit report is worth if youre planning on getting a big loan anytime soon, this could be something to consider.