Credit Cards UnleashedFind the Right Credit Card For You

The times are tough, and you can’t expect to get any favors from credit companies these days. If you are not keeping on top of your credit score, you are leaving yourself open on only to identity theft but also to errors. You can always try to get your free credit scores on a regular basis (from annualcreditreport.com for instance) but I rather keep a closer eye on my credit report rather than settling for the free credit scores that us consumers are entitled to annually. Thankfully, there are credit reporting services out there that allow you to keep track of your credit  score at all times and catch the errors and anomalies before they turn into something serious.

Here are the top credit reporting services that you can use to stay on the top of your credit score at all times:

1. Equifax: Equifax gives you immediate access to your 3 nationwide credit reports and daily monitoring of all 3 credit reports with customizable alerts. You are also guaranteed by up to $1,000,000 dollars in insurance.

2. MyFico: MyFico is the top dog in the credit reporting category. It monitors your credit report at Equifax on a daily basis and your FICO^® score on a weekly basis and lets you know when you reach your target score or when you qualify for a better interest rate. You’ll also get alerts if there are any major changes in your credit report. A great way to keep up with your credit history without having to spend too much on it on a consistent basis.

3. TrueCredit: TrueCredit is another top credit reporting service that lets you keep up with your score and protect yourself against errors and ID theft. TrueCredit gives you 3-Bureau Credit Reports & Scores that can be  updated every 30 days plus alerts once major changes have happened in your credit report. You also get $25,000 ID theft insurance as a part of this package.

4. Free Score 360: one of the best ways to protect your identity is by keeping on top your credit record. And what a better way to do that by getting your credit information from credit bureaus. Free Score 360 gets you all 3 credit reports from TransUnion, Equifax & Experian, and it monitors them for you as well. This service allows you to stay on the top of your credit history at all times and avoid major errors or issues on your report.

5. CreditReport.com: another credit monitoring service that monitors your 3 credit reports and makes sure you are in the know when a change happens in our credit report. CreditReport.com alerts help you keep an open eye and defeat ID thefts before they can do any major damage.

Whether you decide to go with one of these premium services or just stick with your free credit scores, you want to make sure you read your reports carefully to identify any errors or suspicious entries. The last thing you want is not getting the deal or the job you deserve because of an error in your credit report.

Credit card companies have been getting away with dubious business practices for quite some time. It was the matter of time before more regulations were imposed on them. 2010 is finally here and some of those rules we have been waiting for have gone into effect. The Federal Reserve’s website has introduced a new fun tool that lets credit card customer go through their cards’ agreements to find out more about their policies.

Not every credit card provider is included in this list. This is not the only site you can gather information on your credit card issuer. But the tool is pretty useful. It’s interesting to note that the Federal Reserve seems to be encouraging people to use their “credit,” albeit more wisely. The trouble is people should stay away from spending the money they not only don’t have but won’t have. That’s a big part of the problem the U.S. is experiencing. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever wondered about whether you can trust a certain company that you give you your credit card information to? There is a reason why companies such as Amazon and eBay are trusted the most by consumers. Even those companies are not 100% secure when it comes to dealing with your credit card information. There are plenty of useful services offered by startups and small businesses that require you to give up your credit card information. But can you trust these companies with your financial information?

Blippy is one of those startups. It’s based on a very interesting concept. Essentially, you provide them with your financial information, and the service tells the world what you are buying. On the surface, it sounds like a very interesting service. After all, you can give others an idea what you are buying for real. What you don’t expect to see with such a service is your credit card numbers been leaked to Google. Unfortunately, that’s what seems to have happened. It’s not known how widespread the problem is, but the fact that some credit card numbers have made it to Google’s cache is alarming.

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Nothing’s more frustrating than having your credit card stolen and having to call your credit card provider to cancel your card and even reverse some of the charges that have been made to your card. But did you know that you can actually use a fake credit card number to find your iPhone when it’s stolen? When someone steals your iPhone, there is a good chance that they will look into the information on your iPhone to find out whether you have been naive enough to leave sensitive information for others to take advantage of. One app helps use that to your advantage. Trap a Thieve for iPhone tempts the thieves to grab “fake” credit card information off your iPhone. Of course, the thief has no idea he/she is dealing with a fake number. Once they try to grab the information, your iPhone will send its location to you.

The app will continue locating your iPhone and sending you e-mails so you know where your phone is. You can then use the information to retrieve your iPhone and inform the authorities. In these tough times, there are plenty of unethical people and criminals who don’t feel bad grabbing your phone. This app can certainly teach them to think twice before they pick up another iPhone. Read the rest of this entry »

The iPhone has truly changed the way we use our cell phones. Not only you can play games, manage your tasks, get GPS directions, and make phone calls on your phone, but you can also accept credit cards right from your phone. That’s extremely useful for businesses which are more on the mobile side. Thankfully, there are plenty of credit card iPhone applications that let you manage your business on the go.

If you are looking for a a credit card iPhone application, here are 5 you should try:

ProcessAway Credit Card Terminal: one of the best credit card apps for iPhone. Let’s you authorize and capture charges, verify and hold funds, void holds, issue refunds, and do all kinds of things for your business on the go.

Billing- Credit Card Terminal: a premium credit card terminal application for iPhone that lets you enter transactions, manage your customers, and your business tax issues right on your phone. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyday that goes by, we hear more stories about people who have had their identity stolen by ID thieves. It does not matter whether you are a famous person or a hard working small business owner. ID thieves show no one any mercy. As long as they can use your track record to make money, they don’t hesitate to come after you. That’s why everyone should take every measure possible to protect his/her identity from being stolen by ID thieves. One way to do it is by making sure your computer is not infected by viruses or keyloggers. But as careful as you are with what you do on your computer, there are still ways for ID thieves to get their hands on your information. That’s why ID protection services come in handy.

There are many ways to find out whether your identity is stolen and protect yourself against further attempts, which is why keeping track of your credit information is important. By knowing what’s in your credit and how it’s changed, you can foil the ID thieves easier. Thankfully, there are various tools that let you track your credit and get alerts in case of a suspicious activity. Here are the top credit protection tools that you can use to protect your ID like a pro:

1. LifeLock: LifeLock really needs no introduction. You have probably seen those commercials about the CEO of LifeLock giving his social security to everyone in a street. Now, you don’t want to do that, but it’s good to know that you are protected by a company that constantly monitors your information to make sure everything is in order. With LifeLock, you get $1,000,000 service guarantee backed by XL Capital, and your fraud report stays in the system for 90 days. With LifeLock, you also get credit reports. These guys remove your name from the list of pre-approved credit offers. eReco (another LifeLock service) goes through known criminal websites for the illegal selling or trading of your personal information (including your Social Security number, credit card number, driver’s license and email address, if provided) and informs you when something is found. TrueAddress notifies you when we detect any new address information associated with your name in address databases nationwide. Overall, LifeLock is one of the best ways to protect your identity at all times. No system is foolproof, but it’d be awfully tough to fool LifeLock.

2. TrustedID: TrustedID is another great ID theft protection solution for individuals and families. IDFreeze helps you protect yourself against ID theft before they happen. CreditLock makes sure your credit report is not available to anyone without your permission. Overall, TrustedID is a great choice for families. Here are some of the other services that you get with TrustedID ID Theft protection service:

• Fraud Flags
• Public Database Scanning
• Credit Card Scanning
• Social Security Number Scanning
• Name & Address Scanning
• Bank Account Number Scanning
• Lost Wallet Protection
• Medical Benefits Protection
• Annual Credit Reports
• $1,000,000 Warranty Protection
• Family Protection Read the rest of this entry »

We are getting awfully close to tax time, and a lot of people are worried about getting their taxes done right. But there is never a better time to protect your identity with ID theft services than right now. Many ID theft companies are offering promotions either for tax time or just in general to help you get your financial life in order and avoid having to deal with identity theft. LifeLock and TrustID are two top ID Theft protection services that are running promotions in the month of February. So don’t forget to check them out before they expire:

• LifeLock: one of the best ID theft service protections on the market. For a limited time, they are giving away the H&R tax software for free for those who sign up for their service. Ends by the end of February
• TrustID: you can save 20% on all Family Identity Theft Protection plans. If you want to give your family the gift of ID protection, TrustID is a great option to consider.

Both these services can help you reduce the risk of having your ID stolen by hackers and ID thieves. ID theft could happen to anybody no matter how you are careful. And while I don’t recommend sharing your information (e.g. social security #) with the world. the above services could give you peace of mind on a daily basis.

There are many of us who don’t pay attention to all the documents we receive from our credit card issuer. After all, there are only 24 hours in a day, and if you are spending most of your day working, the last thing you want to do is read documents from your credit card company. If you have opted in for online statements and updates, that’s even worse. You could get updates from your credit card company without even noticing. But did you know your credit card company can raise your fees, introduce new fees, and even add an annual subscription fee to your card at any time? You can always reject the new terms, but how could you know if you don’t read the documents you get from your credit company?

Credit card companies will have to find more ways to extract money from their customers. One way to do that is by adding an inactivity fee. So if you don’t use your card enough, you may have to pay a fee to keep your account open. Annual fee and higher APRs may also be in the horizon. Read the rest of this entry »

You heard that right. Credit card companies are not too happy about the latest regulations that will go into effect in the next year, and they are using every lawful tool available to them to make enough money to cover their losses. So it’s not surprising to see them raise their interest rates. But an APR of 79.9%? Is that even possible? Apparently it is. First Premier Bank has now become the record holder in the APR department by charging an obscene amount of interest. The bank is apparently testing the fees and may not keep it on forever.

In reality, you can’t blame credit card companies for trying to be profitable businesses. But there needs to be regulations to protect consumers against obscene interest rates. Most people wouldn’t even fall for such offers, but people are so desparate these days that you just don’t know what they are willing to do. The CEO of Cardhub put it best:

Even when the cost of credit is astronomical, for people in true emergencies, it’s much better than not having access to credit

At the end of the day, we need to change the culture of spending in this country. You should not spend the money you don’t have and looking at the possibility of paying 79.9% interest on the balance due on an annual basis should only turn people off. Unfortunately people continue to go beyond their means and no regulation seems to change that.

Visa Black Card is not for the faint of heart. It’s certainly not for everyone. It’s one thing to get a good credit card. Getting an excellent credit credit card can be tough, but luxury credit cards such as  Visa Black card push it to a whole other level. Visa Black Card is a luxury credit card offer by Barclay’s Bank designed for about 1% of folks in the U.S.

The Visa Black card will get you noticed. It’s made of carbon graphite, which sets it apart from other plastic cards on the market. But if that’s not enough, only a certain few can even qualify for this card. And if you are lucky to qualify for Visa Black card, you’ll enjoy 24-hour Concierge Service and luxury gifts from some of the world’s top brands. There is also a cash back feature (1%), which could come in handy as this card packs great spending power, and the more you spend, the more change you will have for other things. And don’t forget the Travel Lounge Priority Pass!

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