How to Apply For Credit Card Balance Transfer Offers

A lot of credit card balance transfer offers undeservedly end up in the trash. Next time you receive an offer in the mail, take a moment to consider the benefits. Better still, why wait? You can use the internet to locate the best introductory offers. If you choose to take advantage of one, you can significantly increase your monthly, disposable income. The higher your current debt and the higher the interest rates you are currently paying the greater your savings will be. You can use these savings to quickly reduce your card debt or to help pay for personal and family needs. However, if you choose the latter option you would still be wise to use at least some of your savings to pay down debt.

This is great news for the majority of American families who are overwhelmed with various types of consumer debt. By taking advantage of credit card balance transfer offers, individuals and families can totally turn around negative financial circumstances.

Not only can interest savings be used to pay down their card balance as well as have some extra money for monthly expenses, they can reduce stress and buy you time to get your finances in order. Because introductory offers are only temporary, it is important to make the most of them. So it is a good idea to create a budget and live within it during this period of time.

Of all credit card balance transfer offers, the best ones will offer a zero interest rate for a decent period of time with low balance transfer costs and low ongoing fees and charges. Try to find an offer with an interest free period of at least nine months, preferably twelve months. Also consider balance transfer fees and ongoing fees and charges when making your decision. Make sure you do your due diligence before you submit an application.

To locate high value credit card balance transfer offers, simply do an internet search. Look for all-in-one sites that provide a small but excellent range of introductory offers that you can choose from. This will save you a lot of time doing the initial research yourself. These sites provide detailed comparisons between different introductory card offers. They also provide online application facilities.

Credit card balance transfer offers can be the first stop to becoming debt free and financially secure. If you use the introductory period to get your finances in order, you can gain long term benefits. At the end of the introductory period, if your balance is higher than you would like, you can transfer your balance to another introductory offer card. Alternatively, you could choose to refinance into a low rate unsecured loan.

The benefit of doing this is that you gain a fixed term after which you will be debt free whereas such cards always offer the potential of resorting to them and increasing debt once again. Irrespective of what decision you choose to make at the end of your introductory period, when you first transfer your balances it is important to learn to live within a workable budget. Used wisely, balance transfers can give you the boost you need to get back on your feet financially.

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How Do I Choose the Right Credit Card?

Credit cards and college students go together. They might as well be conjoined twins; however the relationship can be volatile. It means that individuals that unable to control their spending habits eventually will finally become 'debt-slave' when they landed in serious financial trouble particularly credit card debt.

Which type of card should I choose in the first place?

The first step is the crucial step in keeping yourself out of debt. It is extremely important that you have to be financial literate before applying for one card.

Do some survey before you applying for a card

Each credit card has its own balances, rates, and other benefits, and different students have different needs that determine which credit card could potentially be most beneficial for their lifestyle.

Identify your personal spending habit - Good or Bad Spending Habit?

It is much easier for students who have an established credit score and a good ability to manage their finances; to apply for a good rewards card. These cards generally tend to carry a higher line of credit, opening up the potential for more spending and larger purchases.

However, they also tend to bring higher interest rates and greater Annual Percentage Rate (APR) meaning that a person who has poor credit score or an inability to manage their personal finances which actually ended up in serious credit card debt.

Even though he or she owes a lot of money, they can find that the potential benefits to these cards is great, however a student without the proper money management skills or without a steady form of income would be well advised to consider another option for their credit card needs.

'Safe cards' for students

Therefore, student credit cards can be great alternatives for other students who have problems in managing their finances when they are first time away from home. Some forms of student credit cards even come in the prepaid credit card form, meaning that students are even more encouraged to keep a closer watch on their spending habits.

Advantages of 'safe cards'

In any case, these forms of cards generally tend to have a smaller line of credit and lower interest rates, which has a two-fold benefit for students.

The smaller line of credit encourages less spending and more responsible spending.
A person will be able to spend based on the low credit limit. This encourages people to plan their spending only at necessary items.

A missed payment will incur less finance charges.
It avoids individuals from getting themselves into long-term credit card debt that tends to build up from heavy monthly fees on unpaid balances.

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How to Choose the Right Credit Card For You

So your thinking about getting a credit card but your not exactly sure what to look for right? Well there are a lot of different things to consider when applying for a credit card. Some things to think about are the interest rate, annual fees and features the credit card may offer. Here are a few tips that will help you choose the best credit card for you.

Tip #1 Determine how you plan on using the card.

This is one of the most important things to determine when looking for a credit card. Will you be paying your credit card bill off in full each month or are you going to carry a balance? If you will be paying your credit card bill off each month you won't have to worry about interest rates so you may want to look for a card that offers some sort of rewards program. If you will be carrying a balance each month you will want to find a card that offers low interest rates. Be sure to find the lowest rate possible since this will save you the most money on finance charges each month.

Tip #2 Read the fine print.

Read the credit card disclosure to see what terms and conditions apply to the credit card. Are there any minimum finance charges? How long is the grace period? What is the APR? How much are the late fees? These are all important things to look for when reading the credit card terms. By looking at the credit card terms you can compare different credit cards to see which one will benefit you the most. Be sure to also know what the introductory rate is and what the rate will be after that introductory period is over. Some cards will offer a 0% intro APR and then the rate will shoot up to over 20% once that introductory period is over. Also keep in mind some cards have an annual fee and some don't so be sure to take that into consideration.

Tip #3 Determine what credit card features will benefit you the most?

Are you a frequent flyer? Do you want to save money at the gas pump? Or do you want to receive cash back on your purchases? There are all sorts of different rewards that credit card companies offer. If you are a frequent flyer you may want to get a credit card that gives you free airline miles. If you purchase a lot of gas each month you may want to get a gas rebate card that can save you 3%-10% at the gas pump. Or if you just want to receive money back on all your purchases you might want to look at a cash back credit card which may give you up to 5% cash back on your purchases. In the end you want to get a card that will work for you. You need to ask yourself what type of card will benefit you the most?

By John McClendon

Learn About Your Bad Credit and Credit Cards

Do you have bad credit? If so you may be wondering what you can do to get a new credit card. Many people end up with bad credit because of identity theft, medical bills, or simply because of a rough credit history in the past. That doesn't mean they are irresponsible or incapable of paying their bills. But, when you have bad credit you know that getting new credit is almost impossible. That's because no company wants to take the risk of not getting paid. Fortunately, there are lots of cards for bad credit out there. The following information will help you find the best credit cards for bad credit out there.

Interest Rates

There are lots of credit cards out there designed for bad credit. So, you will want to compare them and find the best interest rates that you can. Of course, when you have bad credit you should expect interest rates that are higher than normal. But, as you improve and show your responsibility then you will be able to lower your interest rate and restore your credit.

Fees

Some credit cards for bad credit have really high fees. These are not worth paying because they will take up all of your available credit and not help you out with your bad rating. There are other credit cards out there that will help you get the credit you deserve and won't slam you with high fees. The best way to find these cards is to do a little bit of research. Just start searching the web for bad credit credit cards and in no time you will be able to determine which ones are right for you.

Limits

Most of the time you will receive a low limit if you have bad credit. That is just the way it goes and there is no reason to complain about it. Instead, simply make sure you make your monthly payments and keep your balances as low as possible. If you do this then you will see your credit limit rise over time. And, eventually, your credit rating will be high again and you can get other cards with higher limits.

Credit Reporting

When you apply for a credit card for your bad credit you want to make sure that they report to all of the credit bureaus. This is perhaps the most important thing because it will allow you to improve your credit ranking much faster. Those credit cards that don't report are really no help to you because they don't report your new responsibility. So, instead of getting just any credit card get one that will report to all the credit bureaus. This will ensure your credit rating increases quicker.

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How to get out from credit card debt

Credit cards offer you a convenient solution at the store checkout. However, credit cards can also place people in positions of financial difficulty very quickly. A large percentage of people’s income goes to servicing debt and then specifically to servicing credit card debt. For many, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. By taking some positive steps you can get out from underneath your credit card.

Cut Up Your Credit Cards

The first step in managing your credit card debt is by cutting up your credit cards. Most people who pay off their debt end up accumulating that same debt within one year. This digs you into a very deep hole if you have already borrowed money to pay off your credit card debt. Temptation is one of the biggest obstacles to tackling credit card debt.

Spend less than you earn

To manage you money and your expenses you need to have learn to budget. A budget will list your income and your essential expenditure – rent, bills, food. It will also list your non-essential expenditure. In most cases the essential expenditure will be less than your income. This means if you minimize your non-essential spending you can spend less than you earn. Any extra money you have can be used to reduce your debt.

Pay more than the minimum payment

Any extra money you are able to save should not sit in your savings account. Interest on your credit card could be than 20%. Use your spare cash to pay off your credit cards or al least reduce the amounts you owe on them. Almost 50% of all credit card holders pay only the minimum payment and that is how credit card companies make their money. If you pay more than the minimum monthly payment, then you reduce the balance owed and this also reduces the interest.

Investigate other forms of credit

For most consumers, their credit card is the most expensive form of credit. Currently mortgage interest rates vary around 7-8%. A personal loan is around 13% while a credit card can be as much as 29%. If you have multiple credit cards that are at there limit, then you will be contributing a lot of your income just to service the credit card interest, let alone paying off the debt. Investigate other forms of credit and consider moving your debt to a form of credit which has a lower interest rate. Do your research to discover if this is possible given your situation.

Source: Fox Symes