The Confidential Credit Card Report
The Authorities Are Hiding From You!
VOLUME 1
Precautions for Credit Card Offers and Credit Card Use:
Credit cards can provide tremendous benefits. Unfortunately, many people make
mistakes when comparing credit card offers and using credit cards, and then pay the
consequences later with extra costs, excessive debt, and frustrations that could have
been avoided. Here are some errors many consumers make and tips to avoid them.
• If you get a credit card offer with no annual fee, be sure to consider whether
the interest rate (APR) is higher than what you are currently paying. You
could end up paying far more in interest charges than on annual fees.
• If you are attracted to credit card offers with free airplane tickets, bonus points
toward trips or cars, cash rebates, the logo of a favourite organization or sports
team on a card, or other "rewards, " keep in mind that you could end up paying
more in fees or interest than the value of the "freebies."
This does not include cases in which people buy items they might not
otherwise buy- just to rack up more points or miles on their credit card.
• If you expect to pay your credit card bill in full each month, your best bet is a
credit card with no annual fee and the kinds of rebates or rewards you expect
to use the most.
If you do not expect to pay your credit card balance most months, focus on
low interest credit cards (with a low APR) and the right mix of rebates or
rewards to justify any fees.
• Keep in mind that credit card offers may include a promotional interest rate
that increases after six months or so. Also, there may be a low introductory
rate that only applies to balances you transfer to your card from other loans or
credit cards you have, and not to any new purchases you put on the credit card.
Be aware that an interest rate advertised as "fixed" still can be changed with
advance notice to credit card holders. If your credit card company does raise
your interest rate (APR) for any reason, that new rate usually will apply to any
outstanding balance plus new purchases.
• If you routinely carry a balance on your credit card, pay closer attention to
how your interest is calculated.
The most common methods for consumers is the "average daily balance"
approach, where you would have a 15- to 30-day "grace period" to pay before
incurring charges on the daily average for that period.
However, a few credit cards have much costlier calculation methods, including
the "two-cycle" system. Under that method, if you pay in full one month but
only pay part of the bill the next month, you'll be charged interest for both
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