Credit Cards UnleashedFind the Right Credit Card For You

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 free 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
• Free Annual Credit Reports
• $1,000,000 Warranty Protection
• Family Protection Read the rest of this entry »

The times are tough. Everyday you hear about more people losing their jobs, and many are struggling to meet their financial commitments. If you don’t have an excellent credit, you are going to find it awfully tough to get a loan, refinance that mortgage, or even get a decent deal on your car. Whether you are a victim of identity theft or have had trouble in the past with paying your bills on time, the time is now to get started with fixing your credit. Without proper credit, you are not going to get any good deal from mortgage and financial companies. Not only that, you may not even be able to get your dream job. So the sooner you start, the sooner you are going to be on your way to your dream credit score.

There are many great credit repair guides out there that teach you exactly how you need to manage your credit score and treat your credit cards if you want to build up your credit history. In fact, I recommend you reading some of these guides to get a better understanding of how credit works and how you need to approach managing it. At the same time, not everyone has time to read a 400 book on credit repair. You may just want to know what you need to fix your credit without all the extra fluff. That’s where Fix your Credit DVD come in handy. Instead of spending days and weeks reading a credit repair book, you can just listen to Fix Your Credit DVD on a weekend and learn exactly what you need to do to get your credit back on track.

Fix Your Credit is a short but informative course on everything you need to know to get started with repairing your credit. It shows you who you need to refer to for help, and what steps you need to take to fix errors on your credit report. Best of all, it discusses the factors that affect your credit score, and how you can sculpt an excellent credit score fast. And you can learn it all in just a few hours. I still recommend everyone should read a credit repair book to get a handle on more sophisticated topics in this area, but if you are in a hurry and need to absorb a lot of new information fast, you should try Fix Your Credit DVD.

Are you a disgruntled credit card user? Believe it or not it’s tough to find someone who is completely satisfied with their credit card issuer these days. Credit limits are falling and folks have had trouble with misc and hidden fees imposed on them by their card issuers. But in truth, folks are responsible for the majority of the problems. You should never in a relationship with a credit card issuer without doing your due diligence.

The great thing about the digital era is that companies can’t hide their track records. You should always try to figure out how companies treat their customers. You can use Google to find out a lot about card issuers. Try to figure out if they treat their customers well or impose unexpected fees on them. I would describe getting into a credit agreement as a form of a marriage. Would you marry someone on your very first night? Some people do. But that doesn’t mean the relationship will last.

Always figure out who you are dealing with before signing on the dotted line. Credit card companies are in business to make profit. Some do it by putting their customers first. Others do it by using deceptive business practices. A simple background check is the least you can do to save yourself a world of trouble.

Your take: are you satisfied with your current card issuer(s)? Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently if you had to do it all over again.

Interent crimes are now at an all time high these days with folks getting tricked into all kinds of transactions by spammers and hackers. If you have been a victim of ID Theft, hacking, spam, and online theft, you are not alone. Thousands of people have their identity stolen on the Internet or have their PayPal accounts hacked and abused by criminals. While many credit card companies come with $0 fraud liability, they do not cover everything.

But there is still hope. You can always complain to IC3 (internet crime complaint center) and file a police report. You can file a report if you have been a victim of any of the below crimes:

Make sure that you have exhausted all options before going into this route. This is a serious report and you may even get a call from authorities about your issue, so don’t fill out this form if you are not serious about it. Also, make sure you communicate your situation properly to get the best result possible.

Internet crime could be devastating for the victims, but so you should always try to take precautions to protect yourself. But you should never give up hope. Working with your credit card company and authorities can give you a better chance of getting your money/Identity back.

It’s really a simple equation. It’s not rocket science. As the economy struggles to bounce back, more folks go to the dark side to either steal others’ identity or use other people’s money to keep making a living. Now, not everyone is doing that, but if you look at the trends in the past few months, you can see that the credit fraud is clearly not going away. 

Now more than ever it is essential for credit card holders to protect their identity. You should always be diligent about who you share your information with. You should also stay on top of your credit to avoid major surprises on your credit report. Here are a few simple steps you can take to avoid having your identity stolen:

• Protect your credit card information: you should protect your credit card information at all costs. If you are sharing your information with a company, you should take a note of it. Identity theft often happens when folks don’t take care of their private information. Always shred your credit card documents. Don’t forget to take out subscription information from any newspaper or magazine that you throw away. Better be safe than sorry.
• Stay on top of your credit report: there is no reason not to stay on top of you credit report these days. Annualcreditreport.com is the place to go and get your credit report. You can also try 360 free credit report. Either way, it’s better to be diligent during these tough days than sorry.
• Protect your identity with ID Theft management solutions: if you want to be too cautiuos with your credit (which doesn’t hurt), then you can purchase ID Theft management solutions such as Trust ID. What these guys do is stay on top of any developments on your credit records and identify any attacks on your identity. If someone tries to request an address change on your behalf, these guys can let you know about it. 
• Be cautious with Online Banking: everybody does it these days. Online banking is very convenient. But you should take precautionary measure to make sure your credit information does not end up in the wrong hands. You should not use a computer that does not have a firewall and anti-virus security software on it. In addition, you should not store your credit card account information in an unencrypted document. Finally, you shouldn’t open the links in e-mails that you receive from any financial institution. No exception. Always type in the companies web address yourself. 

Everybody has been hearing about it in the past couple of weeks. The nation is struggling to cope with the damage that has been done to our economy due to deregulation and the government has had to spend billions of tax payers’ money to bail out banks and financial institutions. Financial analysts are now predicting tough times ahead for consumers like you and I. But all is not lost in these tough days. By having a plan, you can not only survive these tough times but build a great financial foundation for the future.

Don’t Spend What You Don’t Have: irresponsibility is the reason we have gotten into this economic mess. But that doesn’t mean we should make the same mistake that financial institutions have made. It’s easy to go overboard with credit cards, but now is the time to keep a tab on your monthly budget and avoid going overboard.

Save Your Hard-Earned For Future: if you are working in a 9-5 job, you probably know how tough it is to earn that weekly check. But a lot of folks get carried away with their checks and spend it on things that they don’t need. It’s easy to earn the money you have earned after a lot of hard work, but having a plan for the future and putting it to action is more fulfilling.

Avoid unnecessary fees/costs: many folks pay their credit card bills late and end up paying late fees to card issuers. You should avoid credit card fees at all cost. Paying late not only hurts your credit score but your pockets too! Pay your bills on time and avoid interest fees if possible.

Live a conservative lifestyle: a lot of us like to enjoy everything that life has to offer. But going to restaurants every night and purchasing premium coffee every day puts a serious dent in your monthly budget. Paying $2-3 for a cup of coffee may not seem significant, but the costs add up. Besides, you are better off saving the money for the future.

Start a side business: if you have a talent or expertise that you can use to earn money on the side, the time is now to use it. Starting a business is not that hard, and the money earned can help you live a better life. Who knows, you may even manage to quit your 9 -5 job.

You’d be surprised how much you can save by using the above steps. If you don’t buy that big HDTV, and save $5-10 every day, you are going to have lots of money to save and invest in your future. I don’t mean that you should not live your life at all, but by toning it down a notch, you can prepare yourself for potentially challenging times ahead.

Being trustworthy is more important now more than ever. Your FiCO score is used by financial companies to determine your riskiness and can determine how high your interest rates will be. So you have been late a couple of months. How does it affect your FiCO? Simply, it’s not going to be great for your score. But a lot of companies have different policies about what and when they report to FiCO. Believe it or not there are a few small credit card companies that only report you to FiCO if you are more than 30 days late. Most credit card companies reserve the right to discuss your credit issues with the bureaus, but a lot of them only report derogatory items, and some only report serious items.

If you have paid your bill late just one time, there is a good chance that you may be forgiven by your card issuer. In addition, that will not have a long lasting effect on your score. Having said that, if you are a serial offender, you can expect your credit score to take a big plunge. If you pay your bill late by more than 60 days, you can be sure that you are going to get reported, and the effects will last for quite some time.

Paying your bill is not an all or nothing cause

So you didn’t get a chance to pay your bill on time for this month. Should you buy as much time as you can before making the payment? Wrong! The more you wait the worse it gets for you and your score. You should pay your bill as soon as you humanly can. In my book, there is no excuse for not paying your bill on time. But unexpected things happen. But if you are late, that doesn’t mean you should not pay your bill anymore. The more you put off your credit card payments, the worse off you will be.

You should avoid late payments and fees at all costs, but if you can’t, that’s not the end of the world. Pay your bill as soon as possible and get on the right track before long.

A credit card is a powerful if it is used the right way. Many credit card arbitrage masters know exactly how to get best out of each and every credit card they own. But you don’t have to be an expert to know what it takes to find the right credit card for your situation.

Many consumers apply for credit cards that come with a lot of cost savings features but do not tap into their cards’ potential. A good credit card is like a good car. If you don’t use it the right way, it is not going to benefit you the way it should.

Consumer credit card and business credit cards are very much different, and the thought process that goes behind choosing them is different as well. But, most consumer and business credit card holders choose one credit card over the other due to the following factors:

Annual Fee: a credit card with an annual fee is simply looked down upon by most consumers. Consumers simply do not like to have to pay a fee on an annual basis to have the right to own a credit card. What many consumers do not consider is the fact that credit cards with annual fees often come with more features and cost saving benefits. Business credit card holders are more open to the idea of paying an annual fee to business credit card issuers. So there is no wonder credit cards such as the Plum card are the most popular business credit cards on the market.

Balance Transfer: balance transfer features matter to both consumers and business owners. Credit cards that come with low balance transfer APR are almost as popular as cards that come with higher APR but no transfer fees. The standard balance transfer in the credit card industry is 3%. But there are minimum and maximum amounts that you could be charged, and those amounts differ among various credit card offers. At the end of the day, lower transfer rates are useful to people who are planning to transfer very high balances to their credit cards.

Introductory offers: credit card offers are very powerful in attracting and retaining card holders for quite a while. Chase, Advanta, American Express, and Discover all offer credit cards that come with introductory 0% APR for 6-15 months. Some cards only focus on purchase APR, while others focus on both balance transfer and purchase APRs. It is given that credit card companies may limit their introductory offers with the economy struggling badly, but introductory offers are still one of the most popular reasons people choose one credit card over another.

Life-Time benefits: there are a few brave men and women among us who stick with one or two credit cards for more than a couple of years. These folks choose their credit cards based on its life-time cost saving value. Credit cards that come with life-time balance transfer or purchase rates are very popular to this group.

At the end of the day, you need to know exactly what you want to accomplish with a card before applying for it. If you want to transfer large balances to your card, then you should go for one that comes with a low balance transfer APR rate. So there is no one credit card offer fits all on the market. But by doing your due diligence, you can make sure you find the credit card that is right for you.

With the state of economy these days, you never know which company is going to bite the dust. You have probably heard about Wamu’s and Wachovia’s struggles. These companies are not alone as a lot of companies are hurting in the credit industry. But what really happens if your credit card company goes down under? Should you cut your credit cards?

The answer is really simple. You need to follow the developments in the news, but your credit card company will essentially inform you about their state if they indeed go down and nobody buys them. In case of Wamu, Chase will be taking over the new accounts, and you can expect them to issue new cards in the upcoming months. But the possibility of credit card accounts getting closed by Chase is very slim. But you won’t have to worry about going to a store and not being able to use your credit cards. Not yet anyway.

Balance transfer credit cards are one of the more popular categories of credit cards in the financial industry. These cards allow consumers to transfer their high interest debts and consolidate it in return for a nominal fee (usually 3%). It is also possible to transfer balances without a fee, but cards that come with that feature have slightly higher APR.

Not every balance transfer card is created equal. On the one hand, we have balance transfer credit cards that end up costing you thousands more when you are done with them. On the other hand, there are a few balance transfer credit cards that save you a lot of (interest) money and headaches. In essence, top balance transfer credit cards come with:

• Low Transfer Fees: the industry norm seems to be 3% when it comes to balance transfer fees. But there is always a minimum, and you need to take a look at terms and conditions for each card before applying for a balance transfer credit card. The minimum is usually $5 but it could be different depending on your issuer. Capital One Prestige is one of the few cards that comes with low APR and no balance transfer fee but it is designed for people with excellent credit so not everyone qualifies for it.
• Amazing Introductory Offers: if you take a look at top balance transfer cards, they all come with either long introductory offers or fixed transfer rates for the life of your balance (e.g. Discover More Card).
• Annual Fee: most top balance transfer credit cards do not come with an annual fee. Unless you are getting a card that is heavy with rewards or is made for big businesses, you should consider cards that do not have annual fees.
• Application Bonus: a few credit cards allow you the opportunity to lock in a very low APR for your balance transfers if you do them at the time of submitting your online credit card application. I strongly encourage you to keep an eye out for these bonuses as they can’t be used once you are a card-holder.
• Other rewards: a few credit cards come with low APRs for balance transfers and purchases alike. These cards often offer 1-5% cash back on your purchases with limit on the money that you can earn. The goal here should be to not only get the best balance transfer deal but try to lock in decent cash-back rate or rewards if possible.

The best balance transfer credit cards come with low introductory APRs and low (or no) balance transfer fee. Not every card is perfect and some very attractive cards come with nasty hidden fees. But if you read the terms and conditions for your card thoroughly, you can avoid these surprises and get the best “BT” deal for you.