Should I apply for a credit card and how?

Are you pondering on whether you should apply for a credit card? Well, the answer quite simply is – ‘Yes’ - you should apply for a credit card (this is true for most people).  The credit cards seem to have transformed our lives. In fact, one can term credit cards as a revolution. Today, you find ads in TV/newspapers/website/shops and almost anywhere and everywhere; all asking you to apply for a credit card. When you look around, you see that most people have credit cards. In fact, most people have multiple credit cards. Everyone seems to apply for a credit card. So, why should you apply for a credit card?

There are a lot of benefits associated with credit cards; however, the most important benefit is the convenience that they offer. For most people, this is the prime and the sole reason that instigates them to apply for a credit card. This wouldn’t have been the case a few years ago, when not many merchants accepted credit cards. However, today, most merchants do accept credit cards. So, instead of carrying a lot of cash on you (which is both inconvenient and unsafe), you can just carry a small piece of plastic with you. Moreover, you get interest free credit i.e. you don’t have to pay the bills till the next monthly billing cycle. So, you can buy now and pay later (when your salary arrives) – a great reason to apply for a credit card. To add to that, there are certain merchants that offer interest-free instalment payment plan i.e. you can make a big purchase today and pay for it in instalments on your credit card. So credit cards works as instant long term loan too (not just a monthly loan). Yet another reason to apply for a credit card is the discounts on shopping. This is made possible by the tie-ups between credit card companies and the merchants. So credit cards offer many benefits.

There are various ways in which you can apply for a credit card - you can apply for a credit card in person, you can apply for a credit card on the internet and you can apply for a credit card on phone too (by asking the representative to meet you). You will as such be approached by a lot of sales representatives, all asking you to apply for a credit card with their company.  To apply for a credit card, you will need to fill-in a credit card application form (which is easy to fill and the representatives of the credit card company will assist you in that).  When you apply for a credit card, you basically enter into an agreement with the credit card supplier (the form that you fill when you apply for a credit card is actually an agreement). After you have submitted your application, the credit card company conducts certain checks to determine your credibility; and if everything is fine, you receive the credit card.

So, applying for a credit card is easy and to apply for a credit card or not to apply for a credit card is a matter of personal choice. However, for most people who don’t have any credit card, the recommendation is “Apply for a credit card”.

Rejection of credit card application

As time progresses, more and more people are joining the revolution called ‘Credit card’. Yes, it’s really a revolution. Now you don’t need to worry about how much cash you have in your pocket when you go shopping, just carrying this small piece of plastic (credit card) is enough to assure you of a good shopping treat. You can use your credit card to order things from the comfort of your home (on the internet). So the number of credit card applications seems to be on the rise. However, not every credit card application turns into a physical credit card. Some credit card applications get rejected too.
Let’s check why a credit card supplier would reject a credit card application when he has spent so much time and energy (and money) on wooing new customers.

One obvious reason for rejection of credit card application is human error i.e. the error committed by you in filling up the credit card application. These can be small mistakes like a wrong telephone number or wrong name or the postal code might be wrong. It’s normal to make mistakes, after all we are human being and no human being can be termed as perfect. Another strong reason for rejection of a credit card application could be missing mandatory information i.e. when you forgot to fill-in some mandatory information in the credit card application form. Sometimes, the credit card application could be rejected because the credit card application form has been filled-in in a handwriting that is illegible to the people processing your credit card application. At other times, the sales representative (of the credit card supplier) could have made a mistake in either depositing the form correctly or in guiding you in the filling of the credit card application form (newly hired sales representatives can make such mistakes).

However, these human errors are just minor errors that can be corrected later on and hence the only impact would be in terms of the delay in receiving your credit card. The main and the most important cause for rejection of credit card applications is bad credit ratings i.e. a negative credit history. If you have been using other credit cards or if you have taken bank loans/mortgages in the past, you would have already build your credit rating. If you have been making your bill/instalment payments in time (and in the correct amount), you would have already acquired a good credit rating. However, if you have been irregular or if you have been defaulting on your payment dues, you would have developed a bad credit rating. This credit rating is calculated by credit bureaus who receive feeds from various credit suppliers. All credit card applications are checked for the credit rating of the requestor and if it comes up as negative, the application is rejected outrightly.

So, these are the 2 most important reasons for rejection of credit card application and you must pay heed to them (especially the credit rating).

Online credit card usage

Commerce and technology, combined as a one package – this is what online credit cards are.
With the advent of internet, the knowledge and communication barriers were broken. Also, with internet, came the concept of e-shops or virtual shops that existed only on the internet. You could shop at these shops by making use of their online credit card payment-acceptance ability. Once the online credit card payments were verified and approved, the goods got delivered to your door. This is what we call convenience at its best.

With more and more e-shops getting setup everyday, online credit card usage is becoming even more popular. The possibility of receiving online credit card payments has given a totally new dimension to shopping. Now, you can not only shop from the comfort of your home, you can even get discounts on these products. This is really amazing. No need to bother about the weather, no need to worry about the traffic jams or any other thing. Just go to an e-shop, select a product, make use of their online credit card payment-acceptance facility to make the payment and be ready to receive the goods at your doorstep.
With online credit card processing facility, starting a business (an online business) has become just unbelievably easy.

However, there is nothing without pitfalls. One of the pitfalls of online credit card usage is the possibility of online credit card fraud. This online credit card fraud can happen in two ways. The first one is related to the company, on whose website you made online credit card payment for purchase of goods; this company itself could be fraudulent i.e. it could take the online credit card payment from you but not deliver the goods to you. Moreover, they could use the details of your credit card (received through the filling up of online credit card payment form by you) for fraudulent purposes. The second type of fraud is committed by fraudsters who use various softwares/devices to capture the details of online credit card payments (as you enter them on the online credit card payment form of a website). These softwares are popularly known as spyware and these fraudsters as online spies. The spyware works by capturing keystrokes or taking screenshots of whatever you do on your computer and then passes it on to the spy. However, there are anti-spyware softwares available which can be used to counter such spyware.

So, the advent of online credit card usage facility is a boon to us. However, you must exercise caution when making online credit card payments e.g. don’t access your bank accounts or make online credit card payments from internet cafes (unless you are absolutely sure about the credentials of the internet café).

Low interest credit cards

A lot of people just look at low interest credit cards when they are looking to get a credit card for themselves. The credit card suppliers too advertise low interest credit cards more that any other kind of credit cards. However, should low interest credit cards be the only ones on your list when you are hunting for a credit card? Probably not. For some people, interest rate or the APR is probably the most important thing to look for when selecting a credit card. However, that doesn’t hold good for everyone. Low interest credit cards are good and should surely be on your list, but APR is not the only thing to look for.

Let’s start with understanding what an APR (annual percentage rate) is and where its importance lies. APR is simply the interest rate that is used to calculate interest on the balance in your credit account with the credit card supplier. There is no interest charge if you make the full payment of your credit card bill (by the due date). However, in case of a partial payment, you will need to pay an interest on whatever you owe the credit card supplier. The APR is backward calculated to get a monthly rate and the same is applied on your balance to calculate the interest for the applicable period.

That means, people who are not sure about being able to pay the full amount, every time, should surely look for low interest credit cards. A low interest credit card helps in reducing your total outgo by curtailing the interest you pay on your balance. So, low interest credit cards help in slowing down the rate at which your credit card debt builds up. Thus low interest credit cards are surely important for a particular group of people, as stated above.

Besides this group, there are others who don’t really need low interest credit cards. These people are capable of (and intend to) pay off their credit card bill in full every month. Their purpose in using a credit card is convenience and other benefits associated with the credit cards. So, be it low interest credit cards or high interest ones; it really doesn’t matter for them.

So the need for low interest credit cards is more felt by a particular group of people. However, even if you go for a low interest credit card, you need to pit the various low interest credit cards against each other (vis-à-vis the other benefits they offer)  and then select the low interest credit card that is best suited to your needs.

So, first you need to evaluate whether you need to go only for low interest credit cards and then select the low interest credit card that fulfils your needs. After all, you don’t go hunting for a credit card everyday.

Is business credit card helpful?

‘Yes’ –is the answer that’s comes out almost immediately. That is true at least for most businesses (especially small businesses). Before we delve deeper into how business credit cards are helpful, let’s try and understand what a business credit card is.

Put simply, a business credit card is a credit card that is owned by a business and not an individual. To understand this better, you can simply draw an analogy between the business credit cards and business bank accounts, which are in the name of the business as well. Other than that, business credit cards work in pretty much the same fashion as the personal credit cards; with a few exceptions. These exceptions are in the form of flexibility in credit limit, low APRs and some other additional benefits that are available to business credit cards only.

Even from just that, business credit cards seem a good proposition. However, business credit cards would be attractive even without those benefits because the main benefit lies elsewhere.  The big-big benefit from a business credit card is realised in terms of business expense accounting. For most small businesses, business expense accounting is a big overhead. With business credit cards, this is handled very easily – you just have to ensure that you make all your business expenses on your business credit card and let the personal expenses be on the personal credit card i.e. segregation of business and personal expenses is all you need to do. So the bill for your business credit card will have all the business expenses on it and you wouldn’t need to collate all the various bills or sort out the items from your personal credit card bill. The key here is to make sure that you use your business credit card for all your business expenses (or as much as you can).  Moreover, a lot of business credit card suppliers realise this need of small business and even organise the business credit card bills in a way that meets the accounting requirements of these businesses. So mostly, they will appropriately group the expenses on the business credit card bill so as to facilitate business expense accounting. In fact, some of the business credit card suppliers go to an extent of providing the bills in a format that can be downloaded and exported to an accounting system i.e. you don’t need to enter the data manually in your accounting system. In case the format is not suitable for your accounting system, you can hire a software professional to write a small quick program to convert it into a suitable format.

Thus just one reason - ‘facilitation of business expense accounting’, is enough to support the case of small business credit cards.

Eliminate credit card debt

How to eliminate credit card debt? – A questions that is asked by a number of individuals around the globe. These are the individuals who somehow (mostly due to uncontrolled spending) landed into the mouth of this monster called ‘Credit card debt’. So what are the ways to eliminate credit card debt?

If you are looking to eliminate credit card debt, you have already reached 50% of your goal because your decision to eliminate credit card debt is the first and the most important step towards you being able to eliminate credit debt. Having said that, it is important to mention that you also need to be firm on this decision and stick to it with complete sincerity and seriousness, till you finally eliminate credit card debt (and even after that).

To eliminate credit card debt, you need planning. This starts with analysis of current situation in terms of your debt and your finances (current and as expected in near future). So to eliminate credit card debt, you need to first check the amount you owe on various credit cards. Just use a notebook to note down the amount you owe on each credit card and the corresponding APR associated with them. Once you have this information handy, you can total up the various amounts to get the total amount of your credit card debt. After all, you can’t eliminate credit card debt if you don’t know how much it is actually. The next thing is to see if you have enough cash handy e.g. in your various bank accounts, which you can put to use to eliminate credit card debt (of course, you will need to take a view on how much cash you will need to fulfil your day to day and specific future needs). If you find that you have enough to eliminate credit card debt completely, just go ahead and eliminate credit card debt and earn your peace of mind. However, if you can’t eliminate credit card debt completely, check the amount that you can use to eliminate credit card debt partially. Next step, as you must have guessed, is to check how best you can use this amount to eliminate credit card debt (even if partially) i.e. which portion of credit card debt should you eliminate first. So, first eliminate credit card debt on the credit card which has the highest APR and which is hitting you the most. Then eliminate credit card debt on the credit card which has the next highest APR and so on and so forth. If you are incurring additional late fees etc on some of your credit cards, you might decide to reserve some amount to make minimum payments on those credit cards (before you finally eliminate credit card debt on them).

What we have seen is just some basic analysis and first steps on how to eliminate credit card debt. You might need to take some other steps to eliminate credit card debt e.g. consolidation of credit card debt is one good option. However, it’s imperative to understand that any and all methods to eliminate credit card debt will fail if you don’t inculcate controlled spending habits.

Credit card services

Credit cards have gained so much popularity amongst the masses that no business can be termed as complete and efficient if it doesn’t use credit card services. Really, without credit card services, most of the businesses would end up losing a significant chunk of business opportunities. Some people go to the extent of classifying such businesses (which don’t use credit card services) as non-serious businesses.

So what are these credit card services that we are talking about?

In simple words, by credit card services we mean the ability to accept credit cards as a mode of payment. Well, we can also term the use of credit cards as a credit card service. However, generally, credit card services will include the services that enable acceptance of credit card by a merchant. So, for a shopkeeper, use of credit card processing machines to accept credit card payments, is a credit card service that he is providing to his customers (and he himself is receiving this credit card service from the provider of credit card processing machine and others involved in making this process so smooth). Since carrying cash is no more a common practice, any shop that doesn’t use/provide such credit card services would end up losing a lot of customers because customers can’t pay with anything other than a credit card. So, for most merchants, providing credit card services (or credit card processing services) to their customers, has become very essential part of business.

With the internet boom, came a lot of online businesses. These businesses were in the form of virtual shops (or e-shops) that existed either only on the internet or were a virtual extension of physical shops. All these businesses (some selling goods, some selling services), needed a way to accept payments from their customers. This gave birth to online credit card services. The simplest use of these online credit card services is in the form of a simple webpage/web-form that asks you to provide your credit card details. These details are then verified and processed to debit the amount from your credit card and credit it to the merchant’s accounts. Since credit card details are sensitive information, these websites started implementing mechanisms/technology to secure it and prevent it from getting in the hands of fraudsters. Such sites are now called secured websites and form the backbone of e-commerce.

Besides these basic ways of implementing credit card services, the credit card services are provided in some other forms too e.g. over-the-phone payments using credit cards, use of third party online credit card service providers who provide you with an interface to accept credit card payments.

So, there are a lot of different ways in which credit card services are implemented and as the time goes by, the expanse of these credit card services is sure to increase.

Credit card processing

It comes as a surprise how credit cards have found their way into our lives (and out wallet). Credit cards have gradually turned into becoming a necessity (rather than luxury). You can find credit card processing machines in almost all the shops today. With the advent of internet, online credit card processing has become popular too. ‘Credit card processing’ as such is a really interesting topic. This article tries to put into perspective the people, systems and the equipment that go into credit card processing.

First, let’s check the equipments used for credit card processing. So, there are credit card processing softwares for online credit card processing, there are credit card processing machines (i.e. the credit card reading machines at shops), there are data verification/validation devices/softwares that verify the security information on credit cards, there are communication devices/systems that enable safe transfer of credit card information from one point to another, and then there are other credit card processing equipments like the credit card processing equipment that is used for the preparation of the actual plastic (credit card).

Then there are various service providers that provide services related to credit card processing. There are suppliers for credit card processing equipment and suppliers for online credit card processing services. Then there are postal and courier service that help deliver credit card bills in time. There are merchants/petrol-bunks etc which provide facility of payment collection boxes at their premises (another important aspect of credit card processing).

Besides that there are complete systems for processing credit card applications, there are systems for credit card bill processing/generation, there are people at call centres who help in addressing the queries from credit card holders and, very importantly, there are people (sales representatives) who help you in filling the credit card application forms. Another important entity with regards to ‘credit card processing’ process is the credit rating bureaus. Credit card bureaus maintain a database of credit ratings for individuals and businesses. This rating is based on the data received from various credit providers over a period of time. This rating is the most important part of credit card application processing and a bad rating can lead to rejection of the credit card application altogether.

Thus, credit card processing involves a coordinated effort from a lot of professionals and service providers. In that sense, we can also say that credit card processing is an industry in itself that has generated a lot of employment.

Consolidate credit card debt

People who are in debt (credit card debt) often get to hear this advice ‘Consolidate credit card debt’. So, what does that ‘Consolidate credit card debt’ mean? Well, pretty simply, ‘Consolidate credit card debt’ means consolidating the debt on various credit cards into one (or two) credit card. This consolidation can be done either through a low interest bank loan or by transferring balance to a new credit card (i.e. transferring the amount you owe, on one or more credit card, to a new credit card(s)).

So what should you do when you are looking to consolidate credit cards? Well, the key thing to look for is the APR or the annual percentage rate. Whatever method you adopt to consolidate credit cards, APR will always be the key; in fact, you could say that it is the sole criteria to look for. So, if you use a bank loan to consolidate credit card debt, the interest rate on the bank loan should be lower than the APR of the credit cards whose debt you are consolidating. Similarly, if you are moving to another credit card, you must make sure that the APR of the new credit card is lesser than the credit cards whose debt you are consolidating. However, there is a catch that you must be aware of when laying a plan to consolidate credit card debt. The APR rates advertised by most credit card suppliers are the short term APR rates which are meant to lure you to consolidate credit card debt with them. By short term we mean APR rates that will applicable only for an initial period of less than 12 months or some other period after which the APR rates increase. When you go on to consolidate credit card debt with these credit card suppliers, they will offer you a lower (even 0%) APR for the first 6-12 months; and a much higher APR after that. You should check what this higher APR rate is. Your decision to consolidate credit card debt will be fruitful only if the new APR rate is lower than or equal to the APR on your current credit card. You might check with your current credit card supplier to see if he is able to lower your APR (if that works, it will make things really easy for you).

Before you move on to consolidate credit card debt you should understand that consolidating credit card debt will be beneficial only if you pledge to adopt and follow disciplined approach to credit card usage i.e. controlled spending and regular/timely payment of credit card dues.

Chase.com credit card offers

Online credit card applications seem to be the in thing and Chase too offers online credit card application facility. Here, ‘Chase.com credit cards’ refers to the chase credit cards that can be applied for online. Just for those who don’t know, ‘Chase’ is a brand that is owned by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (a leading global financial services firm).

By ‘Chase.com credit card offers’, I mean the credit card offers that are available at chase.com. Obviously, ‘Chase.com credit cards’ would be regulated by chase. Again, as with any other credit card supplier, ‘Chase.com credit cards’ on offer would be changing too.

Anyways; one night, before going to bed, I thought of just checking the chase.com credit cards section. Here is what I found:

There is a separate Chase.com credit cards section. As I browsed through the Chase.com credit cards section (the online application ones), the first one I encountered was called ‘Chase Cash Plus’ or the ‘Chase Cash Plus Rewards’. These promise faster rewards and offer 5% earnings on gas and on purchases made at grocery-stores/drug-stores. For other shopping venues, it offers 1% earnings. These earnings can be in the form of gift certificates or cash.

The next on the Chase.com credit cards section was the ‘Flexible rewards Visa signature card’. Here you earn a point for every purchase of $1. You can keep collecting these points and then finally redeem them for your choice of things (like cash, travel, gift certificates or some kind of merchandise). The redemption can start at 2500 points (and you get a bonus of 1000 points once you make the first purchase). Moreover, this one doesn’t have any annual fee either. So that was the second one in the Chase.com credit cards section.

Moving on in the Chase.com credit cards section, I found ‘Free Cash Rewards Platinum Visa card’. This one, as the name goes, offers cash rewards. You can get a $25 check or a gift certificate on redemption of 2500 points. Since there is one point earned for every $1 spend, this mean that you effectively get 1% cash back on these cards.

I had started loving browsing through the Chase.com credit cards section. So I moved on to the next one in the Chase.com credit cards section. The next one on the Chase.com credit cards section was ‘Chase Perfect Platinum MasterCard’ which doesn’t limit you to getting rebates only on a particular brand of gasoline; instead, you get rebates everywhere. ‘

Chase Platinum MasterCard’ was the next one in the Chase.com credit cards section. This one offers online account management i.e. monthly statements, bill payments etc can all be done online (also you don’t have any annual fee on this one).

There were few more cards on Chase.com credit cards section and one especially caught my attention. This one was at the bottom of Chase.com credit cards section and was called ‘Check Gallery Platinum Visa Card’. Here you could choose the design of your card from those available e.g. cowboys, smileys etc.

By now, I was so sleepy that I really had to shut down my computer and go off to sleep.

Note: The information given in this article was correct at the time it was written. However, the author does not guarantee the correctness and completeness of this information at any time.

Chase credit cards

Credit cards have become almost a necessity in today’s world. There are hordes of credit card suppliers who issue thousands of credits cards every day. Chase (of the JPMorgan group) are a well known credit card supplier. Chase credit cards are pretty popular among the masses.  

Chase credit cards come with various different benefits and accordingly chase credit cards are classified into various categories. There are general purpose chase credit cards which promise great rates and excellent service. Then there are chase credit cards for people who shop regularly with some retailers. These are termed as rebate cards since they offer rebates on shopping when you shop with certain retailers. These also offer cash rewards. There are entertainment credit cards for people who wish to get VIP access to some concerts, events etc.

Another category of chase credit cards is the travel cards where the credit card holders get travel related discounts and rewards. This category of chase credit cards is very suitable for people who travel a lot. Yet another set of chase credit cards is grouped as auto and gas cards which offer rebates and rewards on everyday purchases. Retail cards are another kind of chase credit cards where you receive points on purchases made using this chase credit card. These points can then be redeemed for shopping certificates, entertainment etc. For students, there is a separate breed of chase credit cards which is called student cards. These student cards help the students in building a (good) credit history and also offer some special benefits for students. Similarly there are college & university alumni cards for supporting your alma mater. There is another set of chase credit cards that operate on similar lines. These chase credit cards are called ‘cards to support organizations’. The organization can be something like a charity or any other organization that you want to support. Then there are military cards that are meant for the members of military (both past and present). You can support your favourite teams or sporting organizations by getting a sports card. Finally, there are business cards which can be used by businesses for organizing their expenses, availing low interest rates and getting other benefits related to business.

Thus chase offers a lot of different credit cards which cater to the different needs of various people. By comparing the features of these chase credit cards and by understanding the main objective behind them, one can easily zero-in on the chase credit card that is best suited to ones needs.

Note: The information given in this article was correct at the time it was written. However, the author does not guarantee the correctness and completeness of this information at any time.

Apply online for credit card

Is it ok to apply online for credit card?

With the fast pace of our everyday lives, we don’t have time for anything really. This is where the combined power of commerce and technology comes in. The capability to apply online for a credit card is one such example. Yes, you can apply online for a credit card. The revolution behind providing you with the ability to ‘apply online for credit card’ is called ‘internet’.  You can not only apply online for credit card but also use your credit card to do online shopping (and get the goods delivered to your door at no extra cost compared to the local store).

So, it is possible to apply online for a credit card. To apply online for credit card, you just have to fill-in an application form that is presented to you on the website of the credit card supplier (who provides the capability to apply online for credit card). This application form is very similar to the one you would have filled-in in person – the details asked are same and the processing of the application is same too. You will find that a lot credit card companies encourage you to apply online for credit card. This is because they save on the costs related to salary of representatives, paper, etc. Moreover, when you apply online for credit card, your details can smoothly flow into the database of the credit card supplier i.e. the manual intervention is minimal when you apply online for credit card. This will in turn lead to faster processing of your application. Though it is not necessarily true, if you apply online for credit card, your credit card might reach you much faster. Moreover, if you apply online for credit card, you save on all the time and hassle associated with approaching a credit card company etc etc. You can compare the credit cards (again online) before you apply online for credit card.

Some people don’t like to apply online for credit card. The main reason is their discomfort in giving out the personal information online. One quick check, before you apply online for credit card, is to see if the website address of the page (where you are required to enter your details) starts with ‘https’. ‘Https’ indicates that it’s a secure website (you might also check if the security certificate is provided by a reputed organisation e.g. Verisign). If you don’t see an https, you should not apply online for credit card of that company.  Besides that, some people don’t apply online for credit card because they are not comfortable in filling up the form all by themselves. In such a case, you might either not apply online for credit card (and apply in person instead); or you might just go through the form, note down your questions/problems and seek the answers by calling the customer service centre of the credit card company.

So, applying online for credit card is surely a good option.

All about credit card rate

What’s the thing that is most prominent on any credit card ad? Well, it’s the credit card rate (or the APR, as we know it). The credit card rate is the most publicized thing in the world of credit cards. A lot of people just compare the credit card rate of various credit cards and just go for the one that is offering the lowest credit card rate (or APR). Credit card rates are, in fact, one of the most important factors in the selection of a credit card (though not the only factor). Therefore, a proper understanding of Credit card rates is even more necessary.

So, what is a credit card rate or APR? Very simply, credit card rate is the rate of interest that the credit card supplier will charge you with on the amount you owe them. The credit card supplier will charge you an interest only if you don’t make full payments in time.  When you receive your credit card bill, it specifies the full amount you owe the credit card supplier. It also specifies the minimum payment that you must make (by a particular date), in order to avoid incurring a late fee and other inconvenience. You have the option of making either a full payment or just the minimum payment. If you make a full payment (by the due date), you are not charged any interest. However, if you decide to go with the minimum payment or some amount that is lesser than the full amount, the credit card supplier will charge interest based on the credit card rate and the balance amount. This credit card rate is the interest rate that you agreed with them at the time of applying for the credit card. The credit card rate or the annual percentage rate, as is obvious, is an annual interest rate. The credit card suppliers use this annual credit card rate to calculate the monthly credit card rate and then they calculate the interest on the balance amount that you owe them. The balance amount here is simply = Full amount – (payment made by you). This interest is added to your balance for the next month (at the time of next billing cycle). If you again make a partial payment, the new balance is calculated again and the credit card rate (monthly one) applied to it for calculation of new interest; and it keeps going on and on until you make the full payment.

That’s how credit card rate acts in this vicious circle. Hence, credit card rate is termed as the most important consideration in choosing a credit card.

All about college credit cards

College credit cards are the credit cards that have been specially designed for college students. College credit cards are more popularly known as student credit cards. College credit cards allow the students to experience the benefits of credit cards much earlier in their life. Through college credit cards, the college students are able to learn more about credit cards and their use. In fact, for most of the students, their college credit card is their first credit card that acts as a gateway to the world of credit cards. Some other students might have previously used supplementary credit cards linked to their father’s credit card account; however, for such students too, their college credit card is the first one that is truly theirs.

College credit cards are not very different from other types of credit cards in the basic sense; they function in the same way as any credit card would. However, there are some differences, which basically arise from the fact that college credit cards are used by people who have no prior experience with credit cards and who perhaps don’t understand the concept of credit cards completely. Hence, the credit card supplier is at risk with issuing credit cards (college credit cards) to such people whom he is not sure about. Most of the students don’t have a credit history either. In such a case, the supplier of college credit card cannot be sure of receiving the credit card bill payments in time (and even receiving them at all). To counter such risks, the supplier of college credit card requires the parent of the student to co-sign the college credit card application form as a guarantee. Moreover, the credit limit on college credit cards is generally around $500-$1000 per month, which is lower than what it is for other credit cards (this credit limit is generally sufficient to fulfil the typical needs of a student). Another risk mitigation instrument used by the college credit card suppliers is the interest rate or APR. The APR on college credit cards is generally higher than that for other credit cards. Again, this is done to dissuade the students from overspending on their college credit card (and finally not being able to pay their credit card bills).
However, if we were to look at these impositions in a positive sense, we would find that these are actually in favour of the student (who is still getting trained to take on the real world of credit cards).  Moreover, college credit cards also help the students in establishing a (good) credit history which is another important benefit that becomes handy when the student needs any type of  loan at a later stage in his/her life.

So, college credit cards are really something that every student should consider going for.

Bad Credit Credit Card

“Bad credit card card” is used to refer to credit cards that can be obtained even with a bad credit rating. The bad credit card cards provide opportunity to people (with bad credit rating) to improve their credit rating. In that sense, bad credit credit cards act as rescuer for such people. So, bad credit credit cards also act as necessary a training ground for people who have not been able to control their spending urge in the past.

Bad credit card cards are commonly known as secured credit cards. The bad credit card card (or secured credit cards) requires the individual to open up an account with the credit card supplier and maintain some cash balance in the account. Why is that required? Well, credit cards are a business for the credit card suppliers; so how can they trust someone who has defaulted on his/her payments in the past? After all, a business is about profits and such risks are a threat to profits. The bank or the credit card supplier will generally pay interest on the balance in your account. However, it’s best to check this with the bad credit card card supplier/bank. The credit limit on the bad credit card card is determined by the cash balance in the account and is generally between 50-100% of the cash balance. These bad credit card cards are also referred to as debit cards, owing to the fact that they work less in a credit-giving manner and more in a debit-giving manner.

There are plenty of bad credit card cards available in the market. When searching for the bad credit card card that is best suited to you, you should consider 4 things in particular: the minimum balance that you are required to maintain in the bank account, the credit limit that you will receive (i.e. the percentage of your bank account balance that you are allowed to spend on your bad credit card card), the fees/other-charges applicable to the procurement of bad credit card card and the rate of interest that you will receive on the balance in your bank account. An ideal bad credit card card would have no fee/other-charges associated with it and would require zero or a very small amount as minimum bank balance. It would also have something like 90-100% of bank balance as its credit limit. Moreover, an ideal bad credit card card would also offer a good interest rate on the bank balance.

Bad credit card cards are really a good concept that provides respite to people with bad credit rating by letting them enjoy the benefits of credit cards while they mend their credit rating.