All About Credit Cards

Some companies advertise that they have a credit report repair Software and also they will teach you credit repair secrets, for a fee of course. There is a lot of free information here, if you know where to look. Before you take a credit repair course or sign up for credit report repair, read the facts and the laws relating to credit repair. In this way you may avoid some disappointment and save some money.

What is credit report repair or software? The best kept "secret" is that creditors and credit reporting agencies (commonly referred to as the credit bureaus) make mistakes. What can you learn in a credit repair course? You can learn the basics of bad credit repair, without paying a penny. If you cannot achieve results on your own, then you may need to hire a credit repair lawyer to help you. If you feel that you have exhausted all of the free options, identify what information that you still need and make sure that the credit repair course or software program that you are considering includes that information.

A secret may be defined as "beyond simple understanding". Using this definition, credit report program is credit report repair that is beyond ordinary understanding. The average person does not understand how credit scores are calculated. Most people do not know what information is on their credit reports. Many people do not know their rights under the law.

Credit repair is a popular subject. It seems that almost everyone wants learn about credit repair. Books and software programs that claim to contain everything you wanted to know about credit repair are being sold on the internet and in retail locations all over the country. There are some questionable credit repair schemes and some companies suggest action which is illegal. Consumers can learn to repair their own credit, but it takes time and patience. The safest bet when hiring someone to do the work for you is to hire a credit repair attorney. In this way, you can be sure that you will achieve results; they know everything there is to know about credit repair. You can also be sure that a credit repair attorney will not advise you to do anything that is illegal. Most of the popular credit repair lawyers do not charge more than the other credit repair companies and some offer money back guarantees.

The Federal Trade Commission regulates credit repair organizations and states that "certain advertising and business practices of some companies engaged in the business of credit repair services have worked a financial hardship upon consumers, particularly those of limited economic means and who are inexperienced in credit matters." Under the laws regulating credit repair organizations, any company that advertises secret credit report repair or credit repair in general must provide the consumer with certain information. These regulations do not apply to companies that offer a credit repair course or seminar. Most of these are simply rehashing information that has been available for years. If you look in the public library, you will see that individuals have been writing books about credit report repair for years.

There was an individual who advertised his informational packages on TV. One of his reports was "how to get AAA credit" or something like that. This was not any spectacular secret credit report repair. It was not a credit repair course. He advised consumers to make a $500 deposit into a savings account at any bank. Then, using the deposit as security, apply for a loan. Repay the loan and according to him, you would have great credit. This may be information that the average person does not know. It is similar to the secured credit card programs that so many companies offer. The thing about credit is that, it is harder to get, if you really need it. If you have $500 to deposit into a savings account or a secured credit card program, if you have the money to pay off the debts that you owe, you can improve your credit score over time.

Companies that advertise quick free credit report repair are banking on the theory that you do not know how to review your credit reports for inaccurate information. If you have inaccurate, obsolete, misleading or unverifiable information on your credit reports, then the credit bureaus must delete the information. You must "dispute" the information. In other words, you must notify the credit bureaus about the negative information that needs to be deleted. This is the credit report repair that is often the subject of a credit repair course.

How To Make The Most Out Of Your Low APR Credit Cards
Enjoying The Best Reward Credit Cards
Doing Business with Business Credit Cards

Credit card companies do face a lot of competition these days - with each bank knowing that they make a lot of money from interest charges, annual fees, late payments, and the like. Because of the stiff competition, however, some of the card features that are now available on reward credit cards can really bring great benefit to you. You do not have to let the bank line their pockets with your hard-earned cash every month. Here are some of the options that will provide some of the greatest benefits.

•0% Interest

The best reward credit cards will start by offering you 0% interest on both your balance transfers and your purchases. If you look at the interest that you pay on your current credit cards, you could save that amount each month by transferring your balance to this kind of card. Before you just sign up, however, try to avoid transfer fees that might apply, some as high as 5% or higher on the transferred amount.

Another factor to consider is how long the 0% APR lasts on the particular reward credit cards in question. The 0% APR is only for a specified time, anywhere from 3 months up to 15 months. Also, you will want to check and make sure that the 0% APR is for both balance transfers and for your purchases. Many cards will give you one or the other, but there are some that will offer both.

The Rewards Being Offered

The very best reward credit card offers now offer more and more rewards - which means it is a good time to get one. Here are some of the rewards you can get.

•Air Miles

Travelers can greatly benefit by getting air miles credited to their card. Most reward credit cards give an initial amount of air miles - possibly up to 25,000. Then air miles are earned according to each dollar spent. Some give points per dollar spent, and others give miles per dollar spent - or a similar arrangement. One company even allows family members to pool their air miles together! The best kind of rebate credit cards will allow you to use your air miles with any airline. These kind of cards are issued by banks, rather than the ones offered by the airlines. Watch out for air miles that could expire after a certain amount of time - you don't want to lose them.

•Rebates

Other credit card rebates allow you to earn points for every dollar that you spend. These are often divided into two groups. The one that earns the highest benefits, anywhere from 1% up to 6%, are for your purchases of groceries, gas, and medicine. Most other purchases will fall into a lower category - usually from 1-3%. These points are often redeemable through cash, merchandise, and travel benefits such as hotels and restaurants, or gift certificates.

Some business reward credit cards enable you to get rewards for many of your business purchases, including office supplies, travel expenses, car rentals, and more. Some of these will give an initial 10,000 points after your first purchase. If you have your own business, or use credit cards often for your business, a rebate card could bring you a great way to save on expenses, as well as offer a simple way to keep track of all of your expenses – all on one monthly statement.

Reward credit cards can really be a great tool to save some money throughout the year. Avoid cards with an annual fee, which could be as high as $180.00 and beyond. A single late payment, on most cards, could also take away your benefits and set you into the regular rate of interest – or higher. The maximum benefit that can be derived from any reward credit, however, occurs when the balance is paid off IN FULL each month when the bill is due. Otherwise, finance charges will squash any benefit that you might receive from those reward points.

How To Make The Most Out Of Your Low APR Credit Cards
The Ever Popular Mileage Card
Specific vs. Generic Airline Miles Credit Cards

You have decided that you need a new credit card and you already know that you want a low APR credit card. You have made a good choice, but you probably also know that there are quite a variety of cards available with that option. Here are some tips that will help you make the choice is best for you.

Choose As Low Of An APR As You Can Get

If you have a tendency to allow a balance to remain on the credit card, then you will need to acquire as low of an APR as you can get in a card. This feature alone can save you a lot of money over the life of the card - but will not save you nearly as much if you simply paid it off each month. Low APR credit cards will usually have an introductory offer of either 0% APR for up to 15 months, or, a very low APR for the life of the card.

Look For Balance Transfes Time Limits

In addition to the low APR, try to find a card that will give you 0% interest on balance transfers as well. As you look the various cards over, though, note that the time length on this option may not be the same as for the 0% APR. Some of these credit cards may only give you the benefit of a 3 month balance transfer period at 0% interest, but may give you up to 15 months 0% APR on your purchases, or vice versa. So, if you want to take advantage of both options, read the fine print carefully.

Another thing about balance transfers is that some companies definitely will limit the time as to when you can actually make the transfers. Some will only permit you to make a transfer to your new low APR credit card at the time you apply for the card with all details of what you are planning to transfer on the application itself. Other credit card companies will allow for balance transfers to made over the introductory time period, not making such a restriction.

Consider Your Own Needs

Part of getting the best deal on a low interest credit card depends on how you normally will use it. If you regularly pay off the monthly balance, then the interest rate is not that much of a concern. You will want to focus rather on the other benefits that are available. Here are some of the options that are more commonly offered.

•Travel Benefits

If you are a frequent traveler, then there are two ways you might be able to benefit. If you normally travel by air, then you will want to be able to get air miles benefits on your low APR credit card. These often come with bonus miles, some as high as 25,000, just for signing up and making your first purchase. Some card offers will give you the choice of using those miles to go toward your hotel room, meals, or other options. Other benefits include free gas rebates, a rebate toward the purchase of another car, and rewards if you travel by car.

•Cash Back Or Rewards

Some of the low APR credit cards currently available will provide a system where you can get a refund of a percentage of your purchases. These rewards allow you to get as much as a 5% reward for various types of purchases. The highest percentage cash back is typically for your purchases at the food, gas, and pharmacy stores. Most cards will offer a 1% up to 3% reward on all other purchases.

Another thing you need to look for is whether or not there are any annual fees. These vary from card to card but could go as high as $150 or more. If you do carry a balance on your credit card, this kind of fee could render the other potential benefits almost meaningless.

Doing Business with Business Credit Cards
The Ever Popular Mileage Card
Specific vs. Generic Airline Miles Credit Cards

Putting your business onto a business credit card system is certainly a good way to do business better. This could apply whether you have one employee, or a hundred. Here are a number of reasons why your business can profit by using business credit cards.

Makes Accounting Easier

If you have ever had a problem with employees losing receipts (or maybe you have done it), or forgetting to hand in the receipts until a month or two later, then you can certainly appreciate the ease that business credit cards can give you. This system would enable you to not have to fool around with either needing to have cash on hand, or, of needing to have more than one signature on a check each time you need one. Another great element of using business credit cards is that it saves time and expense on check writing. This way you only need to write one check.

Most business credit card companies will give you the option of putting it all on one monthly statement - if you want it. This shows your accounting department every penny spent through credit card purchases, and single reports enable them to easily verify spending limits, as well as being able to accurately keep the books up to date. Online access to your business credit card account lets you know what transpires on an almost daily basis.

Give Employees A Credit Card

Once again, the purpose here is to make it easier on all concerned. If you have a number of employees that need to travel on a regular or semi-regular basis, then here is a good way to make it easier to keep track of their expenses. Or, you may have employees that are in charge of purchasing items for specific departments - this would sure make it simpler. Each key employee could be given a business credit card of their own for the company, and you could place set limits on individual cards allowing you to have a degree of protection for the company.

One thing that you may need to be aware of though is that the credit level of each person being issued a card will have a credit check made. This could have a negative effect on the interest rates of the card if one or more people that are to receive the business credit cards have low credit ratings. The way to avoid this is to only give cards to those with good ratings.

Earn Business Rewards

If you put all of your business expenses on one business credit card company, then you could earn a lot of business rewards. These rewards will usually come in several forms, including cash back, air miles, free gas, points, etc., which are redeemable at various merchants and can add up to thousands of dollars saved each year. You can even get greater savings by getting your card from a company that is near you - such as a gas station, or a particular airline in your city.

Compare the Other Options

Apart from the other things mentioned, you need to consider whether or not you can make balance transfers, and if there is a charge or not. Many of the credit cards do permit you to make transfers but find out for how long the benefit applies - some cards will allow you to enjoy 0% interest for twelve months or longer. A number of cards will also allow you to get 0% interest on all purchases for one year, too. Of course, the best way is just to pay it off with each month's billing, and then interest never becomes an issue.

One other thing that you will want to make a note of, and that is to see whether or not there is an annual fee for the card. Some business credit card companies may give you 0% interest, but then they will charge you an annual fee. If you're willing to look around, you can easily find some card products that can offer up great benefits for your company.
Getting The Most Cash Back From Cash Back Credit Cards
The Ever Popular Mileage Card
Specific vs. Generic Airline Miles Credit Cards

Many potential cardholders are confused about the differences between the variety of airline miles credit cards available today. Miles credit cards can be divided into two mostly neat categories: airline-specific cards and generic cards. Each set has its own advantages, but it's often advisable for a frequent traveler to go with a specific card, and a less-frequent traveler to go with a generic card, in order to minimize interest fees and to maximize earned mileage of the former, and in the latter case to have the flexibility to search for the least expensive flights while still earning rewards.

Anyone who's ever considered getting an airline mileage credit card has probably balked, at least once, at the massive number of options out there. Additionally confusing is the dual terminology at work in the airline industry: there are frequent-flier miles, yes, but how do those relate to miles credit cards? And where do "points" come in to the equation? It's a bewildering array of terms, few of whose definitions are readily available, and the lack of clear explanations cause many people to just give up on mileage cards altogether. Which is a shame, because mileage cards--assuming that they're properly and carefully used--can be an easy way to save money on travel expenses, up to and including free flights around the globe.

Most of the differences between the varieties of miles credit cards boil down to two basic categories: airline-specific mileage cards and generic mileage cards. The airline-specific mileage cards allow you to accrue mileage that often applies directly to a specific airline's frequent flier program mileage (for example, American Airlines' AAdvantage Cards from Citi apply miles directly to your AAdvantage account, one mile for every dollar spent), miles which can then be turned around into actual airline seats and in some cases a discount or outright free travel. The advantage of these is that occasionally flights can be cheaper through a "loyalty" miles card than without. JetBlue, in particular, offers the standard deal of about 25,000 Award Dollars (points) for one plane ticket, but offers a 3:1 point to dollars ratio when making travel arrangements exclusively with JetBlue, which is an extremely good deal in the mileage card world, assuming that you fly JetBlue on an exclusive basis.

The generic mileage cards, by contrast, allow you to redeem your miles on whatever airline you choose (assuming that they participate in that mileage card's specific rewards program.) You won't usually find loyalty deals here, but there are some additional benefits. For one, in some cases a generic mileage card can offer the cardholder a much wider array of hotels to stay at to accrue additional mileage points (another key in the miles credit card world.)

Knowing a little bit about the airline dynamics in your region is also helpful in making your decision, such as the predominate carrier in your region and the availability of domestic and international flights from your local airports. Even still, it may be a difficult choice. To help make that decision, consider the following. As a rule (and there are exceptions), airline-specific cards generally will charge cardholders a pretty hefty annual fee and tend to have a higher ongoing APR. Generic miles credit cards typically won't stick you with an annual fee but also tend to have higher ongoing APR's than traditional non-reward credit card offers.

So really, to ask which mileage card is right for you is to ask how frequently you travel, and how many travel expenses will start to show up on your budget. If you do a great deal of traveling, consider an airline-specific card. The annual fee is fixed, and as long as you pay down your balances every month, should not be much of a consideration because of the benefits that you will derive from the reward program. But if you're a more infrequent traveler, go for the generic mileage card and shop around to find the best flight from whatever airline offers it. Chances are that if you take just one or two flights a year, the generic card offer is the better bet for you. You can plan ahead to find some excellent discount flights in advance while enjoying all of the potential travel rewards that airline miles credit cards have to offer.

Getting The Most Cash Back From Cash Back Credit Cards
The Ever Popular Mileage Card
Doing The Math on Credit Card Rewards

These days many of us are feeling the financial pinch. From rising inflation to sky-rocketing gas prices, everyone has been effected. If you are looking for another way to save some money, you can do it with cash back credit cards. Here are some things you need to look for when you apply for your card.

Not All Cards Are Equal

Credit card companies have a policy to always advertise only the best features in their ads, which is typical of most people selling anything from used cars to bridges in Brooklyn. The problem is not usually in what is out in the open, but it is what is in the small print that matters. Just because you see a 0% interest on their ad does not mean that everything is good with the rest of the card offer. Look it over carefully - or you may not be getting quite the deal you think.

0% Interest

This feature contains three things that you need to look into. First, there are the balance transfers. If you are serious about saving money, and you have credit card debt, then you need to know what you can transfer and for how long can you transfer it. Some credit cards will only give you this option if you make the transfer when you apply for the card - any other transfers do not get the same 0% treatment. A good cash back credit card will enable you to receive 0% balance transfers for up to one year after you get the card. Also, check whether or not there are any balance transfer fees, since some cards can charge up to 4%.

Another thing you should look at is to determine what it is that comes under the 0% APR. For some cards it applies only to balance transfers, and for others (the better ones), it applies to both balance transfers and purchases.

Then, be sure to look at the time period that applies for the 0% interest. Some companies make this a real short teaser offer knowing that people will either not read the fine print, or not compare cards. For some cards, this period of time can be as short as 90 days. The best cash back credit cards, however, will allow you to enjoy that benefit for between 12 and 15 months.

Cash Back Rewards

Once again, there is quite a variety in what is offered in cash back rewards. The percentage of what is offered as cash back can vary between 1% on the low side to upwards of 6% on the high side. Almost no card will give you 6% on all purchases, but will differentiate between the types of purchases. Nearly all cash back credit cards will give you a better percentage for your purchases made at gas stations, grocery stores, and drugstores. Lower percentages, usually 1% to 3%, apply to all other purchases. You need to know, however, that some cards will require you to maintain a balance, or to make a certain amount of purchases before you get the benefit.

Reward Options

You have a number of ways that you get to use your cash back rewards. They can come to you either as discounts, points which can be used toward purchases at select stores (selected by the card company), or air miles. Some travel cards will also reward you with free hotel stays, discounts toward car rentals, and even credit toward buying a new car.

Interest Rate

For some, this may be the most important consideration. Your cash back credit card will give you special benefits for up to one year – after that, the regular rate kicks in. You will want to choose a card that has as low an interest rate as possible – for as long as possible. After that, you may want to get a new card.

Weigh your options carefully when comparing each particular offer. Cash back credit cards usually have a little higher interest in order to offset the freebies the company gives to you. If you are a traveler, then you certainly want either a card that gives you air miles, or rebates on your gas purchases – depending on which you use the most. Watch out for late payments, too, as this can kick your intro APR back up to the regular rate of interest – early.

The Ever Popular Mileage Card
Mileage Cards – Pluses and Minuses
Preparing For Life With Credit Cards For College Students

Who doesn’t like freebies anyways? Mileage cards are growing in number by each passing day. The use of these cards seems to be getting more and more attention with consumers of late. The simple fact is that consumers can derive significant benefit from mileage cards by using them judiciously with every day purchases.

The cards have some significant travel rewards and perks, offering the most obvious benefit that comes wit mileage card use. These are available through different sources and one of the best such sources are the financial institutions themselves.

More about Mileage Cards

There is no dearth of credit cards in the market these days. The only difference is in the services offered that vary from card issuer to card issuer. Not surprisingly, such cards are ideal card options for frequent flyers. People who travel a lot by air can derive superior benefits from this type of card offer.

While these miles are a definite potential perk for the owner, proper use of the card is required. The time period for redeeming the point earned from such cards is generally unlimited with continued use of the card but some companies have a point use limit of 2-3 years. Points are collected for travel purchases as well as regular card purchases and they are tallied up on an ongoing basis for the cardholder.

Personal Mileage Card

Anyone who travels often can use what is known as a personal mileage card. It is literally the same as a traditional credit card but the free travel is just considered an added benefit, not the primary benefit of the card. All that one needs to do is find the card offers from the wide variety of resources available online and narrow down your selection to those cards that offer a redeemable miles reward program. There is a huge number of these cards available in the marketplace. Virtually every airline has a corresponding credit card from which you can derive benefits, not to mention the wide variety of general rewards cards that offer miles as an additional benefit to their reward program. And for all of you international travelers, these cards are generally accepted by most of the international airlines.

The Right Mileage Credit Card

A mileage credit card should be thoroughly researched before cardholders consider applying for any card offer. You can be easily fooled by many of these offers if you do not apply due diligence to the research process. The secret is thorough research and an understanding of how these cards work.

A Mileage Card – For Your Dream Destination

The airlines industry knows the need of the travelers these days. With this is mind, mileage cards were devised and have found their distinct niche with consumers. While the mileage card has been available for years now and is growing in popularity, counter to many of the advertising and marketing campaigns that you see for this type of financial vehicle, mileage credit cards are not a good bet for everyone.

Preparing For Life With Credit Cards For College Students
Mileage Cards – Pluses and Minuses
Doing The Math on Credit Card Rewards

One of the best ways to help prepare your young college student for the realities of life concerning finances is to educate them about the perils of personal finance, in particular the use of college student credit cards. Many companies offer them and they do come with a number of benefits. As recently as about 15 years ago, it was nearly impossible to get a credit card as a college student, but now the times have changed. Here are a few things to look for when you go to apply that will help you to get the best.

0% Interest

This feature allows your student to be able to make purchases and not owe any interest for an initial period up to 6 months. This time frame is pretty standard on credit cards for college students. After that time frame, the regular interest on the card comes into effect. Of course, every young person with a credit card also needs to know that by paying the monthly balance when it is due will bring most any card to 0% interest – on a continual basis.

Balance Transfers

Most college credit card companies assume that this is the first card that students have ever owned and will not offer a balance transfer option. While there are a few card issuers that offer this card feature, a balance transfer is an undoubtedly rare feature in a college credit card. If they do allow it, then it still would only apply for the 6-month introductory offer period.

Higher Interest

The credit cards for college students do normally have a higher interest rate than your general cards – about 16.99% up to 18.99% and beyond. So if the compound interest effect is demonstrated and emphasized to your student, it may help them to realize that they need to be fiscally responsible - or they will pay a steep price. Also, you need to know that it is more than likely that the introductory offer may be forfeited by just a single late payment.

Build Their Credit Rating

Many of the advertisements for college student credit cards emphasize that this is a good way for your student to build their credit. It is a good thing for them to understand too that how they treat this card will have a definite reflection on their credit ratings for the foreseeable future. So they may need some extra instruction on this, as well as knowing the importance of paying their bills on time. Many ads for these cards also point out that their card records may be accessed online and they can make payments electronically, yet another nice feature for internet-savvy students.

Rewards

Here is one of the ways that the card starts to make it worthwhile. For each dollar spent, rewards or points are given that can be redeemed either as cash, or as a gift. The rewards on these rebate credit cards include such things as air miles, concert tickets, gift cards, studio tours, and up to 5% cash back on certain items - usually groceries, gas, and medicine, and then 1% on others. Some college student credit cards even give special rewards for keeping a good GPA!

Another Option

If you think that traditional credit cards for college students might be a little beyond your student's readiness to be responsible, then there is another way to go when they go off to college. The prepaid debit card can also give them the ease of plastic without having to carry any cash around, or in their dorm rooms. Amounts can be easily transferred to the card, and some cards even permit amounts to be transferred from one family member’s card to another family member’s card.

Getting your student off to college is a big step in their life – and yours. Getting the right college student credit cards can sure take a load off of your mind by knowing that they do not have to carry a lot of cash. They are also protected against any wrongful uses of the card, too. And best of all, your favorite student can learn to become fiscally responsible, with time, and get an even better card later on.

Apply For Credit Card - Get Instant Approval
Mileage Cards – Pluses and Minuses
Doing The Math on Credit Card Rewards

A mileage card can be both a bane and a boon. If you’re someone who pays off the balance well in time, then a mileage card can well be your friend, but if you’re not a big spender and don’t havethe resources to keep up with the cycle of card balance payments in time, a mileage card can be yourbiggest foe. The article below elaborates more on this phenomenon, so don’t throw caution to thewind while utilizing your mileage card.

A mileage credit card is an asset to any dedicated flyer if used correctly, no doubt. But the catchremains in the phrase “if used correctly.” Just because you are earning extra miles for charges on your mileage cards does not necessarily mean you have the upper hand in this game. If you don’t look closely, there just might be some loss of money involved (and then some), so be sure to review how you’re using the mileage card — you might just discover that all those miles are not worth it!

What Is So Different About A Mileage Card?

A mileage card is one amongst the bewildering array of ways to earn credit cardrewards that savvy consumers are being offered these days. A mileage card will convert milesearned for purchases into hotel stays or restaurant meals, typically enabling you to use these miles for a variety of different reward options.Pros of Mileage Cards what’s a bigger plus to the spender than earning a travel dividend for money that has to be spent on additional card purchases anyway? Did you know that business travelers get double miles with certain card offers if they charge their tickets with mileage cards? It sounds too good to overlook!

Especially when you have acknowledged the priciest part of any major trip is airfare, you simply cannot ignore the thought of your routine grocery store purchases bringing you closer to that Caribbean cruise that you’ve always dreamt of going on. Your mileage cards might just bring you a little closer to that dream. It Can’t Be All Good!

*If you can’t afford to pay off your card balances consistently, then a mileage credit card is definitely not the best choice for you, because the exorbitant rates of interest that are typically found with this type of card would do nothing less than shock you. Of all the major mileage cards, the lowest ongoing APR carries an interest rate of about 17 percent. Ouch!

*Heard of blackout dates yet? If not, then you definitely aren’t the informed mileage credit card owner that you thought you were. Blackout dates (which can happen frequently with certain rewards programs) are the ones, which fall on major holidays, making your accumulated mileage and off-limits for redemption.

*Forget about using the card for those large purchase items (for example, electronics, appliances, cars) with your mileage credit cards to earn those big points. Typically, there will be a yearly limit or "cap" on how many miles you can accumulate with these cards, limiting your ability to accumulate large point totals in a given period of time.

*Also, since there is a time limit attached, make sure that you shop the expiration times for accumulated mileage on your mileage cards. The rewards offer would really be futile if the miles expire just as you draw near to a free ticket.

*The biggest drawback for these card offers tends to be the membership fees. If them embership fees that you have paid up all this while are more than your points earned benefit, then it’s obviously not worth the effort.

And finally, even though we want to ensure that you enter into this subject with the knowledge of what to watch out for, this should not deter you from benefiting from mileage cards. As we have previously outlined, there are definitely numerous benefits associated with this type of card offer so, understanding full well what the pitfalls are and what to be wary of with mileage credit cards, we should give them the benefit of the doubt!

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It's Your Credit - What Are You Going to do to..
Doing The Math on Credit Card Rewards

With the increasing popularity of credit cards in America, it's no surprise that credit card companies and banks continue to flood the market with all manner of cards--rewards credit cards, cash back credit cards, 0% APR credit cards--all in an effort to appeal to as many potential cardholders as possible by offering a wide variety of incentives for use. The major problem with the strategy, however, is that there's often little explanation of exactly how credit card rewards work in their respective programs: what's the difference, for example, between cash back cards and rewards credit cards? And which card will, in the end, save you more? The variety and sheer number of rewards programs leaves some potential cardholders confused about the actual market value of their "points" values.

The most prevalent credit card rewards plans out there today fall into two different categories -- percentage-based rewards and points-based systems. The former offers a percentage of your money back on purchases in certain targeted categories, most commonly gas, travel, and in some cases entertainment. The latter offers a series of "points" for all purchases made, which can eventually be redeemed for reimbursements on various expenses, most commonly travel. The percentage rewards plans are fairly straightforward (except for a few obscure snags, such as how your cash actually gets back to you and how much you can earn in any given year through credit card rewards), but in the case of "points", it's often difficult to determine exactly what you're getting for your purchases using a points-based rewards credit card.

But in the end, it all comes down to the numbers, specifically the math formula used to calculate the rewards. A good percentage-based rewards credit card will offer anywhere from 3-5% back on targeted purchases (again, commonly gas and travel.) If you spend $1,000 at the pump in a given year (which, with current gas prices, is a pretty low amount to spend on gas in a year), you'll earn $50 back in rewards at a 5% rate. For a year's worth of gas purchases, $50 isn't a huge amount of money, but it'll fill you up twice and it's certainly better than nothing.

Compare this to "points" systems. One points system (from Chase's Free Cash Rewards Visa) offers a rewards rate of 2,500 points for $25, with one point earned for every dollar of purchases. That's only a 1% rate of return on the money you put into the card. Certain airline credit cards offer a slightly better deal, such as American Express's Blue Sky, which allows you to redeem points (again, one dollar per point) in 7,500 increments for a $100 reimbursement on travel expenses, meaning about a 1.3% rate of return. Again, even a low rate of return can help to offset any expenses you may incur, and can make certain purchases essentially free. But 1.3% versus 5% -- you do the math.

On non-targeted purchases, points systems and percentage rewards credit cards even out, since most percentage reward cards offer a 1% rate of return on the majority of non-targeted purchases you make. And the "points" cards can offer a few incentives that a percentage rewards credit card can't, such as bonus points on sign-up, anywhere from 1,000 to 15,000 and up (depending on the value of a given points system, of course.) But, assuming that you frequently purchase the targeted items on a percentage rewards credit card (and who doesn't make frequent gas, travel, and entertainment purchases?), you've got a slight edge with percentage-based rewards programs.

Check all of the fine print and consider your specific purchasing needs, of course, but remember one of the first rules of finance: when dealing with credit card rewards, always look at the long term and make sure to do the math.

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It's Your Credit - What Are You Going to do to..
Bad Credit Credit Card- The Downside

The world of the internet is changing the way the world conducts financial business. The internet naturally lends itself to some types of businesses some types of business, And financial is a perfect fit. For the most part financial instruments are easy to compare and choose using the internet. It makes it much easier for the consumer and it brings customers in droves to institutions. With large websites dedicated solely to finding mortgages for you the mortgage market has become dependant on the internet to conduct its business.

Credit cards are no different. Over the past few years credit card companies, banks and other lending institutions have become more reliant on the world wide web as a way of doing business. In a few years the web will more than likely take over the financial industry as its sole source of business. The biggest advantages to this style of business is realized by the consumer.

With an internet connection you can quickly find the best deals for credit cards. you can find cards that are very specific to exactly what you are looking for. This can all be accomplished in a matter of minutes if you know where to look. The other great advantage is you can apply and receive instant approval in a matter of minutes from right at home. This also saves us from possibly receiving bad news in person, face to face in some cases. The ability to do all this anonymously takes a lot of pressure off of the applicant.

The market for new customers is so hot right now that you can get really great deals if you take your time and do your homework. Card companies are offering lots of reward programs and very good interest rate can be secured.

How To Obtain A Credit Card With Bad Credit Status...
It's Your Credit - What Are You Going to do to..
Bad Credit Credit Card- The Downside

Often when someone has had the bad luck and bad circumstances to find themselves in trouble with their credit, it is tempting to try to right the situation by answering one of the following familiar taglines: “Credit problems? No problem!”, “We can erase your bad credit – 100% guaranteed!”, “Create a new credit identity – legally!”, “We can remove bankruptcies, judgments, and liens and bad loans from your credit file forever!” These promises and assurances can be very seductive when one is in the throes of a credit nightmare, but not all of these promises are worth trusting, and some of those assurances could get you into bigger trouble than you were in before.

Often credit card debt comes from circumstances that, as consumers, are beyond our control. Access to credit can be a heady and sometimes dangerous perk. Before most people know it they can end up deeply and dangerously in debt. Quick fix answers will not always (or more accurately, barely ever) really help relieve the stress and damage of bad credit. Frugality, conscientious spending and careful planning are the only things that can truly reverse the terrible effects of bad credit. However, even these tactics take time, sometimes years, and can put a terrible financial strain on those trying to pull themselves out of debt.

Though many online advice sites do not suggest it, some do suggest that getting a bad credit credit card is a good idea. A bad credit credit card that is paid on time is one of the best ways to improve credit. If, however, the customer perceives that he or she will be unable to make payments on time every month, an unpaid bad credit credit card is the easiest way to cause even more damage to already dismal credit.

In order to start the process of getting a better credit score the first and most important step is to find out exactly what you have against you on your record currently. Major, nationwide consumer reporting companies such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are required to provide consumers with comprehensive credit reports detailing the judgments against them in the credit universe. Once the consumer has this document from one of the major nationwide consumer reporting companies they are better able to see and take the necessary steps to improve and alter their credit history and their credit future. For many, this is the first step to financial freedom


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It's Your Credit - What Are You Going to do to Protect it?

For anyone who has, has had and wants to avoid being had, this series of articles reflects years of continuing research. I'll discuss the worse that can ever happen to people thrown into credit situations - whether through their own doing or as victims and how they were able to come of them in one piece. These article are based on facts as I read and understood them.

A credit report is a history of your bill payments record. These can be bills such as home loans and mortgages, revolving credit and even cell phones. There are three credit-reporting agencies that are commonly referred to as credit repositories. Each uses a different type of symbol. When looking at your credit report, be aware of the very first page. This will most often contain the explanation of the symbols that are used by that company. There are various symbols that are utilized to identify payment histoy, types of accounts and whether or not the account is individual, joint or involves a cosigner.

Credit reporting agencies are NOT part of the U.S. Government. They are privately owned companies that get paid to sell information about you to your creditors. They get paid for good and bad information. You are NOT their customer. You do not purchase any goods or services from the Credit Reporting Agencies.

They do not care whether your credit is perfect or poor. They receive their money from the creditors in the form of charges and memberships. Why should a credit reporting agency care about you? You are only a consumer of goods or services.

In fact, Experian, which is one of the three large Credit Reporting Agencies is owned by a British conglomerate. Think about that. Why would a foreign company own a credit reporting agency in the United States? The answer is simply for the profit. Those are the facts.

Remember, most credit reports identify the consumer (you) by your name and your credit entries by the name, account number and the date that the account was opened. Being able to identify information that is not accurate can help you to raise your credit scores. One of the single most important parts of the following articles is your ability to identify on your credit report your legal right to know WHEN an account is first delinquent.


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How To Obtain A Credit Card With Bad Credit Status

People attempting to build credit for the first time or have an already existing bad credit history often have a hard time obtaining a credit card. There are credit cards now available for people in these situations. Obtaining a secured credit card for people with bad credit is the most helpful way to improve your credit score.

The first step to take in obtaining a secured credit card is to do your research. Inquire about fees that may apply and whether or not said fees will be refunded if you are denied credit.

The most common form of a secured bad credit card is a debit card. The cardholder deposits a fixed amount of funds into the account with the card holding company. This amount can range anywhere from $500 to $1000. When a purchase is made using the credit card, money is withdrawn from the account. Funds need to be deposited into the account periodically for continued use.

Secured bad credit cards are normally easier to obtain by people with bad credit scores because the cardholder is supplying the capital which will be charged against. Since the credit card company is not required to supply any funds for any transactions made, they are not at risk. Although the process of obtaining a secured bad credit card is simple, it may become quite costly if fees are involved. For that reason, research is imperative.

It is wise to first apply for bad credit cards at smaller retail stores rather than large institutions. It is recommended not to keep more than three credit cards for risk of over spending.

Obtaining a secured credit card is a useful way to begin to build credit or to attempt to repair a bad credit history. Be sure to make payments on time and you will be on your way to improved credit.


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Airline Cards - To Own or Not to Own?

Everyone’s needs are different depending on their various lifestyles and living patterns. Therefore choosing an airline card from the various airline cards available will depend on your choice entirely. Eventually, it's up to you as to how hard your airlines credit card will work for you. But by reading these simple tips, and asking these questions, you can definitely wedge out a few more benefits out of your airlines credit card.

What is an Airlines Credit Card Anyway?

With an airlines credit card, one can earn credits or points whenever one uses the airlines credit card. After a certain number of “points” have been accumulated from purchases made on the card, cardholders can redeem points for airline travel, just the way one might utilize frequent flyer miles.

Be sure to know how many points you need to accumulate on your airlines credit card so as to qualify for free air travel. It’s also vital to know when these points will expire if not put to use within a certain amount of time. Since most of the top airlines credit card reward programs are typically quite costly for credit card companies, any airlines credit card will usually come with an annual fee and will also have higher corresponding interest rates than other credit cards.

How Do I Select the Best Airline Card?

The first step in determining which airline card to select is to know which airline you frequent the most. If you have an airline preference for most of your trips, find out if the same airline has an airline card.

Another thing to analyze would be the frequency of your flying. If you fly once every few years or so, you are least likely to benefit from an airline card. If, however, you fly often, you might want to consider owning an airline card. However, there is a catch involved in this as well. Many airline cards place restrictions on the number of points that can be earned in a year. So, if you are not able to utilize points before they expire, owning an airline card would be futile.

As we’ve already mentioned, any airline card will have an annual fees attached to it besides having higher corresponding interest rates than a non-airline card, so watch out for that as well.

Getting the Best Out of Airline Cards

To get the best out of your airline cards, use them carefully. For instance, take a little amount off your monthly budget each month towards paying the balance on the airline cards and make sure that you are only spending that amount. Otherwise, you are most likely to end up paying quite a tidy sum as finance charges can add up from the high interest rates typically associated with airline cards.

Another way to maximize the utility of your airline cards is to choose your purchases through the airline cards very cautiously. Quite a number of times, even though you will get points for every purchase made with the airline cards, there will be additional points for specific purchases. The beauty of airline cards lies in utilizing them for the purchases that count while using other credit cards for those that do not.


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Cash Back Credit Cards Offer Equal Benefits

Cash back credit cards are becoming more common as more and more merchants and retailers accept credit cards as a form of payment. Although cash back cards might seem like an altruistic move by card issuers, the reality is that these cards generate significant profits for them. But the truth is that these cards also provide the significant opportunity for cash back rewards and rebates, offering potentially equal benefits for all parties involved.

Thanks to the growing resurgence in online business (and thus the growing resurgence in online credit card transactions), the market is seeing a variety of new, individualized credit cards unprecedented in history. And, in keeping with the online retailing trend, one of the most prevalent of the new credit cards is the cash back credit card. Cash back credit cards work on a very simple principle: when you shop--using your cash back credit card--at certain targeted retailers or stores, a portion of the money you spend comes back to you, either in the form of a credit to your account or a check (or in some cases a gift certificate to a particular retailer.) Although the rewards are fairly small, the money you get at the end of the year amounts in some ways to a free gift from the credit card company: a way of saying "thanks". How generous the card issuer is, right--altruistic, even?

It's a bit more complex than that. Cash back credit cards can only function as a promotional mechanism for the card issuer and can only offer them as an incentive for increased purchase activity. You might think that the company just doles out these rewards from the money that cardholders inject into the company in the form of monthly interest, annual fees, and such, or simply from the credit card company's cash reserves. But that's not usually the case. The money that returns to you when you use a cash back credit card at a retailer wasn't originally your money, or the credit card company's money. It comes out of the retailers and merchants pocket where your transactions occur.

If you've ever had a credit card turned down at a restaurant or retailer because they don't take your particular credit card, here's why: in order to process credit card transactions, retailers pay a small percentage of the purchase amount as a fee that is payable to the credit card company. These fees are a significant profit center for the card issuers who have figured out how to co-op increased purchase activity be sharing a percentage of the merchants transaction costs with the cardholders. Ingenious, isn’t it?

If a credit card company has a cash back credit card that offers 5% of your money back on all gas purchases, you have a real incentive to buy gas from your local station more often and to buy it on credit. This means that the credit card company benefits, first because you're using their services more often (and thus accruing higher balances), and second because every time you use your card at a gas station, the station pays right along side you.

However, this is not a bad deal for the gas station, either, since more cardholders are frequenting their station and buying more gas, only a percentage of the price of which goes to the credit card companies. This means that they're more likely to deal with that particular credit card company, since doing so is now a powerful source of revenue for them (as well as a slightly more powerful source of expense.) And finally, once cardholders get their cash back, guess where they'll probably take at least a portion of it, using the freshly-added credit on their cash back cards?

It's a clever, yet symbiotic relationship. But everyone in the cash back credit card circle seems to benefit. The credit card company and the gas station generate more business, and the individual cardholder gets essentially a discount on purchases in the form of cash rebates or rewards. While the cost of these programs for card issuers will likely increase as more cardholders begin to understand and utilize these card products more effectively for their personal gain, the popularity of cash back credit cards with consumers is not likely to wane anytime soon. While not entirely altruistic, for everyone in the cash back benefit loop, cash back cards still make sense.


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Compare Credit Cards Before You Buy

If you need a new credit card, it's easy just to fill in the first application form that arrives in your mailbox.

Easy, but wrong. Nowadays there are thousands of different credit cards available, all with different combinations of terms, offers and incentives. It's important to take the time to compare credit cards carefully, therefore, before you actually apply for one.

One essential fact to grasp is that there is no single "best" credit card for everybody. Different cards suit different purposes. Your aim should be to pick a card that will meet your current financial needs and is a good match with your personal circumstances.

If you are currently paying interest on credit or store cards, for example, then you need a credit card that offers 0% interest on balance transfers for up to 12 months. You can then transfer the debts from your other cards to your interest-free card, and aim to pay off the balance before the end of the interest-free period.

If you don't have any current outstanding debts, you could choose a card that offers 0% interest on spending for an introductory period (again, cards offering up to 12 months are available). Put all your everyday spending on the card during this period, and put the money you would otherwise have spent into a high-interest savings account. At the end of the introductory period, pay off the balance on the card and pocket the interest you have earned. Remember, however, that you will still need to make the minimum repayments required by your card issuer during the introductory period.

You could also look for a card offering cashback. This is a popular incentive offered by many credit card issuers. It means that for every dollar you spend, your card company will give you back a small amount, usually in a single payment once a year. The amount returned as cashback is calculated as a percentage of your total spending, and typically ranges from 0.5% to 2%. Some card companies pay higher rates of up to 5% for purchases in certain categories or made through particular retailers. In a year you can earn hundreds of dollars in rebates, but always pay off your balance at the end of each month, or interest charges will wipe out your cashback benefits.

Cashback is a popular incentive, but there are others that may be of greater interest to people with particular lifestyles or interests. Anyone who stays regularly in hotels, for example, might benefit from a hotel credit card, which allows you to claim upgrades, free meals and merchandise at the hotel chain concerned. Sports fans, meanwhile, can get credit cards linked to popular sports such as NFL and NASCAR. Every time you use one of these cards, you get reward points that can be exchanged for sports-related goods and even tickets to see the sport concerned.

Lastly, if you need to borrow over a long period at a low interest rate, consider obtaining a lifetime balance transfer card. The interest rates on these cards are as low as the best personal loans, but with the big advantage that you can choose how long you take to repay your debt.

So if you need a new credit card, do take the time to check and compare different credit card offers and see which one will suit you best. Independent credit card comparison websites can help by listing all the best current credit card offers, and they also provide independent advice and information.

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Business Credit Cards: Three Solutions to Business Difficulties

Business credit cards can be one of the easiest ways for a new company to acquire needed financial capital, as well as an excellent way for existing companies to ease the transition into the Internet-age by simplifying the company purchasing process, making travel and expense accounting by employees all the easier. However, there are a number of other benefits to a good business credit card that companies can take advantage of in order to improve their financial stability and level of customer support still more, including rewards programs, variable credit limits, and multiple cards with fixed limits for different employees with different needs.

The most common business credit card rewards programs involve frequent flier miles, cash back rewards for gas and other travel expenses, and sometimes even office supplies or construction materials. This makes business credit cards ideal for virtually any type of business: investment firms can save a certain amount of money on the constant flights and travel necessary to attend faraway meetings. Furthermore, savings can be found as well on simple purchase items such as paper, toner, binder clips and other office supplies needed to keep any good corporate office running. But with the right kind of business credit card, even a small construction, landscaping or delivery firm can take a significant chunk out of their monthly gas or materials needs. The cash back isn't spectacular, with something like 1% - 3% cash back on purchases being the general standard. But if your business spends the entirety of a $10,000 credit limit in a month and receives a $300 rebate check over the course of that month,those savings can add up in a big way over time.

Variable credit limits are another advantage of a good business credit card. Often startup companies aren't sure, no matter how good their business plans, about exactly how much money they'll need in a given month, and in the case of certain industries (notably travel and tourism), business is tends to be a seasonal affair. At certain times, a $15,000 credit limit may be practical, but during the off season, you may find yourself with only $7,500 worth of expenses that need to be paid in credit. With a variable credit limit, you can spend however much or however little you want in a given month, as long as you're able to pay off the interest. Variable credit limits do come with a monthly fee for use, of course, but with the standard monthly fee falling somewhere in the $100 range, this should be an easily absorbable business expense, and an easy way to use business credit cards to make your accounting procedures and general operations run that much smoother.

Finally, business credit cards frequently allow multiple cards for use on a single account, each with an individually-defined credit limit. This allows you to allot only a certain amount of purchasing power to certain trusted employees, and is a very good way to control your company's purchasing operations and travel expenses without having to give each employee the same access to a single, high-limit credit account. Although you should always make sure that your employees can be responsible for their particular credit limit (since, in the case of startup businesses, a business credit card is most often placed in the name of an individual cardholder rather than in the business's name), business credit cards can help make your employees more autonomous, fostering a better work environment and requiring less time spent in tedious financial arrangements and year-end accounting crunches.


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TransUnion Leads Discussion of New Bankruptcy Reform at 14th Annual Credit Card Collections Conference; Online Collections and Scoring Expertise Also

CHAMPIONSGATE, Fla. -- TransUnion, a leading global information solutions company, today led a general session panel discussion entitled "Gearing up for Bankruptcy Reform - A Unique Industry Perspective" at the 14th Annual Credit Card Collections Conference in ChampionsGate, Florida.

The panel was comprised of industry leaders from Citibank; the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies; Money Management International, a credit counseling company; and a leading bankruptcy law firm. Participants discussed their respective roles in preparing for the bankruptcy reform laws that went into effect today. The panel also addressed new technologies and processes aimed at helping lenders, collection agencies and credit counseling companies more effectively work together in the post-reform environment.

Addressing a crowd of more than 200, panel moderator Mike Rosenthal, director of Debt Management Solutions at TransUnion, initiated the discussion by saying, "some innovative tools have entered the marketplace to assist credit grantors in devising treatment strategies that match an individual consumer's financial situation. Our panelists today represent industry leaders who are adapting and improving their roles based on this technology and on the needs of both consumers and businesses."

Earlier this year, TransUnion announced a debt management model, which credit counseling companies can use along with their core services to quickly assess whether consumers exhibit strong indicators for rehabilitation through temporary budget restructuring or a debt management plan. The score also assists lenders in making objective decisions to offer improved concessions, such as lower minimum payments, reduced interest rates or the removal of late penalty fees to those consumers who are most in need.

In addition to the bankruptcy reform discussion, TransUnion shared insights during the conference's "Collection Technology Showcase" on October 16. Michael Browning, president of TransUnion's direct marketing agency, Douglas-Danielle, contributed to a panel discussion on Online Collections. TransUnion offers an Online Payments solution that provides collectors with a customized Web site for collecting past-due payments that is cost-effective and less confrontational for consumers than traditional collection methods. Kevin Derbyshire, senior consultant in TransUnion's Analytic Decision Services group, shared his expertise in a panel discussion on Scoring and Strategy Management. In the scoring arena, TransUnion offers incidence-based models to help collections organizations identify which customers are most likely to pay in order to prioritize work effort and apply the most cost-effective treatment strategies.


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Global Grocer
Play your cards

Jacqueline Cubici-Gonzalez, a self-professed Interact shopping addict, visits a grocery store Web site once a week to buy meat, vegetables, canned goods and toiletries. But she doesn't have the items delivered to her home in Camberley, England. She sends them instead to her mother's home in Maracay, Venezuela, through the Web site of the Venezuelan grocery store El Plazas, ElPlazas.com.

"I used to send her money, but this way I have more control," says Cubici-Gonzalez, a Venezuelan who has lived in England for 14 years. "Knowing my mother, I had the feeling that when I sent her money, she would run out and not have everything she needed in the fridge."

Cubici-Gonzalez is part of a growing number of people outside Latin America using the Internet to send groceries to relatives in the region. It's an alternative to sending money that customers like because it lets them avoid fees charged by money-wiring services and ensures that their money is spent on food. And, at a time when many countries in the region are dealing with severe economic downturns, Latin Americans living abroad feel a great need to support family members in their home countries.

>From El Plazas in Venezuela to Peru's E. Wong, grocery stores throughout Latin America now accept Web orders paid with foreign credit cards. Argentina's Disco Virtual began offering service to foreign customers in March 2003, and Mexico's Gigante plans to begin in the first half of 2004. "I have clients from London, Spain, China, Japan," says Maria Teresa Mendez, e-commerce manager for El Plazas. The chain saw its overseas orders increase from virtually none to 6% of Web sales after Venezuela's political instability led to a recession in late 2002.

Disco Virtual, at discovirtual.com.ar, has about 1,500 foreign customers, says the Web site's director, Diego Baron. The store's marketing campaign targets Argentines living abroad by advertising in cities such as Miami, Madrid and Barcelona, where many Argentines have moved in the past three years following the country's debilitating financial crisis. The grocery store also advertises on Web sites that expatriates visit, such as Argentine newspaper sites.

Instead of just groceries, Disco Virtual also offers gift certificates for use in the grocery store. "People don't necessarily know what sort of food their relatives need, so they prefer to buy them vouchers," Baron says. "That way, they know they're not buying clothes."

Baron says he sees the overseas purchases as a niche market with significant growth potential. Web sales account for a small percentage of most grocery companies' annual revenues, and purchases by foreign customers are just a fraction of those Web sales. But companies are continuing to tap the foreign market, in part because Web sales within the region have been somewhat disappointing.

In theory, online grocery delivery businesses should fare better in Latin America than they did in the United States, where many flopped with the dot.com bust, perhaps for being overly ambitious. Many of the U.S. start-ups had no brick-and-mortar stores, counting solely on elaborate warehouses with fleets of delivery vehicles and an army of workers that proved too costly to maintain. In Latin American cities, labor is cheaper, distances are shorter than in U.S. suburbs, and the stores use existing in-store staff to fill Web orders.

Yet in Latin America there are not enough Internet users to support these businesses. And those who do use the Internet don't yet feel completely comfortable buying over the Web. "People in Mexico are afraid to give their credit card number online," says Ernesto Valdez, vice president of the Mexican Internet Association (AMIPCI). "We are working on a marketing campaign, educating people so that they understand that buying on the Internet is safe, that there is technology that protects credit card information."

Another problem for Web-based grocery stores in Latin America is demographics. The group of people using the Internet in the region is not the same segment of the population that does the grocery shopping. About 65% of Mexico's 10 million Internet users are between the ages of 18 and 34, and about 68% are men, according to a 2003 AMIPCI study.

Most grocery store shopping, meanwhile, is done by middle-aged or elderly women, says Carlos Gonzalez, e-commerce director at Gigante, whose Web grocery service has not made a profit since it started in 2001. But Gonzalez says he's willing to wait for his customers to come.

"Right now, the young Internet users are living at home with their parents," he says. "But as these new generations get married and have their own homes, Internet grocery shopping is going to Increase."

Play your cards
Password Profiler Secures and Automates Online...

PURCHASING CARD PROGRAMS are moving to a new level of value. The first wave of change, which began about twenty years ago, put buying authority in the hands of front-line employees throughout their organizations. The benefits were clear: first, purchasing necessary goods and services became fast and convenient; taking even a part of the procurement process out of the paper-based world generated considerable savings in time and money; and, suppliers received payment almost instantly. Today, a second wave of purchasing card functionality is putting strategic information on the desks of senior managers. The difference is in the data.

At the most basic level of purchasing card use, managers receive monthly statements with "level one" data: date, supplier, dollar value and, of course, the name associated with the card, whether it is assigned to an individual employee or a work unit.

"Level four" data, on the other hand, is enhanced to the customers' specifications. Wendy Hall, Public sector Relations director at BMO ePurchasing Solutions said, "We may be the only provider that can pass level four data, custom data based on unique specifications of a client. An example would be time-sheets from a temp help agency, so we would work with the supplier and the government of Canada to deliver that custom data." she said.

Across levels one to four, there is a world of useful data, including order number, item product code, description, quantity, unit of measure and price. Managers can see where products are coming from and where they are going. If the organization is using temporary services, they can look up spending by individual contractor or the types of work performed. If materials are being sent out for analysis and testing, purchasing information could include tracking numbers. In fact, any information about a purchasing card transaction that can be described in alphanumeric terms can be delivered electronically.

Five years ago, when Ken Babich joined the purchasing services department at the University of Victoria, there were only about 70 purchasing cards in use on campus, with very restricted use, manual reconciliation and a monthly spend of only about $15,000.

Shortly after he arrived, he wrote a visionary article called "Bridging The Gap" that looked at the challenge of creating a seamless merger of purchasing card programs with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to create an all-electronic process. At that time he wrote, "... purchasing cards should seriously be considered as the preferred method of purchase and payment." Since then, he has pursued that goal.

Today, there are 770 purchasing cardholders at the university and a total spend of nearly $4 million a year. And, best of all, "The entire process is electronic, from the actual commitment right to encumbering it in our budget."

Within the University of Victoria e-procurement website, an e-merchant site hosts the purchasing card solution. Employees use their purchasing cards to buy from approved vendors and each morning all the transactions for the prior period, including the day before, are reported.

"We take that information in spreadsheet format and we apply the tax tables to it, the PST and the GST, based on where the goods initiated from and so we have that all embedded in code through a product from a company called Millennium Computer Systems which is here in Victoria," Babich said. When data enters the financial software system, money immediately leaves the appropriate budgets.

As Babich said, "The end user can buy something today and within 24 hours, they can go to their financial statement, click on the transaction and see that it is a p-card transaction, what the value is and what it is for, all electronically. That was 'bridging the gap'."

Looking back, Babich said there is more to a solution than just technology. "One is the management of the program itself and the degree to which there is an entrepreneurial spirit attached to it. In other words, how willing is an organization to go ahead and engage technology, particularly p-card technology and some of the inherent risks that they think might come with it."

Once the gap is bridged, and data is flowing into an organization, the next step is to turn it into useful information. Brent Needham, the commercial solutions senior manager at Visa Canada said organizations really capture value with a fully automated procure-to-pay process.

"If you use an ERP system integrated with your electronic procurement system, and it automatically goes on a p-card, then it is much easier to take that enhanced data electronically and, if you're a compliancedriven organization, make sure people are in compliance," he said. "If you're an organization that really values strategic sourcing, you use that to figure out how much you're buying from suppliers and then try to negotiate better deals because you understand how much you're spending with each supplier over each twelve-month period."

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Password Profiler Secures and Automates Online...

Passwords are the most critical safeguard for your online identity, but you end up juggling dozens or compromising your security by using the same string for everything from your favorite news outlet to your online banking site. Or worse, faced with the fear of forgetting a critical password, you end posting the keys to your online well-being all over your monitor on sticky notes—not a secure password management strategy.

Let Password Profiler strip the little stickies off. Our latest PC Magazine premium utility will manage your passwords efficiently, easily, and securely, safely storing your log-ons, passwords, pin numbers, and other sensitive information in an encrypted file, and even letting you access and log on to your favorite Web sites with a single click. The utility can even fill in Web forms with any data you choose, including address and credit card information, if you desire.

Once you've downloaded Password Profiler from the PC Magazine Utility Library to a folder on your Windows 2000 or XP machine, unzip the file PasswordProSetup.zip and double-click on PasswordProfilerSetup.exe.

When you first launch Password Profiler, it will prompt you to create your Master Key—the password that, from this point on, will allow you access to the entire utility and all the information stored within it, including other passwords. Don't lose your Master Key! Without it, you cannot access information in the utility.

Note that we did not build in a method for you to regain your Master Key should you forget it, because such a capability would create a security hole an interloper could exploit. We strongly recommend that, when creating your Master Key, you use the helpful Hint option to enter a word or phrase to jog your memory should you forget your Master Key.

When setting up the utility, security junkies can pick which Crypto Service Provider and Encryption algorithm to use. Password Profiler lets you chose from the native cryptographic service libraries built into Windows (which you can read about in Microsoft's MSDN Library). For most users, though, staying with the utility's default selections is the best course.

Manage Passwords and Automate Log-On Sequences

Once you've set your Master Key, the Create Your Master Key window will disappear, replaced by the UserID/Password Manager window, where you can create, edit, and delete the profiles or sequences you use to log on to sites (or for other purposes). A profile can include any information—such as your user name, password and pin, the log-on URL, and more—required for a particular purpose. A profile may correspond to a specific Web site, but it doesn't have to. You can keep any personal information in Password Profiler that you wish. Examples we use in this article, however, will show how to create profiles for use with Web sites.

To add a Web site profile, click on the New button. The Add New Web Site Profile dialog will pop up. This is where you enter any information that the corresponding Web site requires for you to log on. You can also categorize the site profiles using the Category pull-down menu. To enter a new category, just type in the Category: text box. You do not need to hit enter. Completing any of the other fields and hitting OK records the new category automatically.

Filling Out a Web Site Profile

Site Name can be anything you wish; it lets you identify the site profile once you've stored it in the utility. URL should be the address of the log-on page for the Web site you're profiling. Sometimes the URL of the homepage will work, but the typical sign-in page URL is usually different. In the case of PC Magazine, for example, the log-on page URL isn't http://www.pcmag.com, but http://www.pcmag.com/sign_up/0,3017,,00.asp?success_page=/default/0,1007,,00.asp. The best strategy for obtaining the correct address is to navigate to the sign-in page of the site, copy the URL from the browser, and paste it into Password Profiler.

Enter your Web site user name in the User ID field, and of course, your password into the Password field. Reenter your password into the Repeat Password text box to insure that you haven't typed incorrectly, since the actual characters don't display. The Pin # field gives you a place to enter a personal identification number for Web sites that require one, and the Misc text box lets you add one other piece of unspecified data a site may demand. In the Comments area, you can make any notes you may wish to keep.


Online Lenders
HSBC Credit Card Lending

But you can't compare rates until after you've filled out the application.

Can the same online auction techniques that work for buying Beanie Babies and baseball cards work for the largest financial transaction most people ever make? Maybe--but for now, don't take the "name your price" pitches for online mortgages too literally.

At least two Internet sites promise to put your mortgage application on the block to get you the lowest interest rate. MortgageAuction.com guarantees the lowest rate and backs it up: If you find a better deal elsewhere, MortgageAuction.com promises to pay $250 toward your closing costs. Unfortunately, you have to complete a lengthy application to get rate quotes.

The site puts your application up for auction, along with your credit scores, for 24 hours. Currently, up to 50 lenders--depending on how many are licensed to do business in your state--can bid on your loan.

MortgageAuction.com reviews the bids and proclaims the one with the lowest annual percentage rate (APR) the winner. Borrower and lender are each notified by e-mail. You won't have any credit-application fees charged to your credit card unless you agree to proceed.

APR, however, is not as useful a gauge for mortgages as it is for other types of credit, mostly because people tend not to keep the loan for the full 30 years on which the APR, which includes points, is figured. If you plan to keep the loan only a couple of years, a low- or no-points loan (with a higher APR than a lower-rate loan with points) could be the cheaper deal.

You take more risk with Priceline.com. The site asks you to name your interest rate and terms. In practice, however, you're more likely to get a counteroffer from one of up to four lenders who review your bid (and your credit scores). You can choose whether to accept the counteroffer, but the rate is not guaranteed until you lock in later.

A lender who accepts your offer through Priceline.com may charge a $200 application fee to your credit card. You won't be told whether it's refundable until after you are charged. Typically, the tee will be credited toward closing costs if you choose the loan.

What if you bid too high? Mitchell York, president of LendingTree Inc., the company that handles mortgage auctions for Priceline.com, says that borrowers who bid too high have actually been countered with lower deals. "If they qualify for 7%, they're going to get 7%," he says.

GIVE THEM A PASS. One of the biggest drawbacks of the online-mortgage sites is that you have to take them at their word that they can find the lowest rate--at least until after you've applied and allowed them to pull your credit report. Repeated credit inquiries can damage your credit score, although inquiries for mortgages and car loans in the past 30 days don't count against your score. And inquiries clustered within a 14day period count as only one inquiry.


Do Stores Guard your Data?
HSBC Credit Card Lending

HSBC bank, one of the 10 giant financial services organizations, is well known for its wide range of personal financial services, private, commercial and mortgage banking. It is the third biggest provider of sub-prime lending but it is also abundant in good and excellent credit card applications displayed on the market.

HSBC credit card offers are generally designed for various credit consumer groups with individual social and financial backgrounds and up to very recently there has been an overall satisfaction with their services. However, there have appeared a number of complaints relating the bank's policy concerning low-income customers from ethnic minorities and, which is especially disappointing, the US military members.

HSBC has been accused of applying predatory practices towards the US military personnel who are on the watch or duty in Iraq. How is it expressed and how are soldiers affected under the new arrangement which is a serious violation of Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act?

If you have ever heard of the Act, you probably know it is a legislation providing for the ease of the economical and legal pressures on the military personnel who are on the active duty in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom).

In point of credit cards, mortgages and other loans, the Act required companies to restrict interest rates on the balances to a maximum of 6% a year, no matter what part of the military service period a soldier is carrying.

Now, HSBC is reported to be floating the rule and keeping the interest rates too high for most of the military to manage. Thus, they plan to make more revenues from the bad debt interest rates collected with servicemen and women.

Just for comparison, let's take Chase bank that has gained firm recognition among military members for the caps on the interest rates and even abolition of credit card late payment fees.

HSBC, on the contrary, is blamed by soldiers' wives for continuing to charge unmanageable high rates. Once a soldier cannot repay the debt, his account is handed over to debt collection agencies.

The most deploring thing is that the military debts were incurred through no fault of the cardholders - when they were wounded and couldn't make payments - but they were still subject to the tough actions of the debt collectors.

Well, as long as HSBC is quite loyal to its other consumer categories, businesses and students, offering them lowest APRs, no annual fees and frequent flyer rewards, the military sector seems to be discriminated.

So, HSBC's relationship with the US military is declared to be a sham and the servicemen's credit troubles are openly ignored even though these servicemen help to invest the company in the Middle East.

If we restrain from making any undisputed conclusions, we can suggest the following. HSBC is attempting to make more profit in Iraq and Iran at the expense of the US military. But to succeed in their enterprise, the bank needs to have support from the rest of the American consumers.

So, it will continue courting its customers with irresistible credit card terms and various benefits.

Do Stores Guard your Data?
A credit card crunch coming?

Credit card companies regularly warn consumers about how to protect themselves from fraud when using plastic: scour statements for unauthorized purchases, shred paperwork that includes account numbers and don’t leave bills or cards on the kitchen counter when people are in your home.

But shoppers are pretty much left in the dark if they want to know if a store is keeping their credit card and debit-card transactions secure. There are a few things savvy consumers can do to check up on a retailer’s security practices before plunking down their plastic.

The card industry itself is cracking down on merchants who don’t follow industry guidelines known as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, or PCI. Starting this month, Visa Inc. will start levying fines of $25,000 a month for noncompliance.

Merchants who accept plastic must install firewalls and take other measures to keep computer systems safe from hackers. They aren’t allowed to store certain sensitive data that hackers can use to make phony purchases or produce fraudulent cards.

Merchants, unfortunately, have been slow to respond. Of the 327 largest merchants, just 44% of them have validated their compliance, according to Visa.

The card companies won’t tell you who’s still breaking the rules. “Disclosing the name of compliant merchants would be like drawing a road map for the thieves,” says a Visa spokeswoman. Cardholders aren’t liable for unauthorized purchases.

Merchants also tend to be tight-lipped for similar reasons. That pretty much leaves it up to the consumcredit er to figure out. It’s not easy: Shoppers can’t see inside a merchant’s computer system.

But there are a few things to watch for.

First, industry rules and federal law prohibit merchants from printing more than the last five digits of an account number on a customer receipt. So the first clue: If a merchant is printing too much data on receipts, chances are that’s not the only hole in its system.

Look at the equipment. If the cash register has one of those old-fashioned green computer screens, chances are its security is also from a bygone era. Card-swipe devices should be enclosed in tamper-proof plastic. And as silly as it sounds, if the swipe device “looks old, dusty and dirty, it probably hasn’t been retrofitted,” says one security expert.

Some online merchants have seals on their Web sites that provide security credentials. Designersreplica.com, which sells sunglasses, has a small “credit card guard” insignia on its Web site that identifies it as a “PCI Tested Website.”

“We believe that merchants enjoy more sales because they show they are PCI-compliant,” says Michael Johnson, chief executive of ComplyGuard Networks, a New York company hired by merchants to test their systems. Next month, ComplyGuard will start providing “no-fraud zone” stickers to brick-and-mortar customers who comply with the rules.

The fact is, there are still too few guarantees when it comes to card security. Except, of course, for the foolproof method: Pay with cash.

By Robin Sidel
Credit Card Scammer Must Repay $12 Million
New Weapon against I.D. Theft?
A credit card crunch coming?

The FTC wins another round! Peter J. Porcelli II was ordered to repay nearly $12 million that he had obtained through fraudulent practices. His Florida companies, Bay Area Business Council, Inc. and American Leisure Card Corp., offered low-interest, unsecured credit cards over the phone. Customers who took the bait paid between $199 and $400, which was taken from their bank accounts.

But instead of receiving their credit cards, customers received “dummy” cards bearing the MasterCard logo and the name of one of Porcelli’s businesses. The cards also had non-magnetic black strips to make them look more convincing. The FTC web site describes what happened next:

“When consumers complained or tried to activate the card they were told for the first time that, for an additional fee, they could obtain a debit card, but never a credit card. The defendants also did not tell consumers that in addition to the requirement that they deposit their own money in advance for any purchases they wished to make with the debit card, they would pay substantial fees every time they attempted to use the card.”

Porcelli’s other business interests named in the case include Bay Area Business Council Customer Service Corp.; Bay Memberships, Inc.; Bay Vacations, Inc.; Sr. Marketing Consultants, Inc.; and Special Technologies, Inc.

New Weapon against I.D. Theft?
A credit card crunch coming?

Some homeowners struggling to keep up with their adjustable-rate mortgages are choosing a short-term fix that will only compound their troubles down the road, consumer protection experts say.

“We’ve had some people who are using their credit cards to cover basic living expenses so they can actually make their mortgage payments,” Rebecca Palmer, director of education for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of New Hampshire and Vermont, told the New Hampshire Sunday News. “It’s absolutely horrifying.”

“Because the thing is, they’re digging a deeper hole instead of finding a solution to the problem,” she said.

Counselors at her organization, which provides free, confidential counseling, are increasingly hearing from homeowners that they are taking cash advances on credit cards to make their monthly mortgage payments — or even contacting their mortgage companies to see whether they can pay with a credit card, Palmer said.

“Unfortunately, they don’t realize how much worse they’re going to make it for themselves,” she said.

David Deziel, director of communication and development for CCCS NH-VT, said the agency recently counseled one such family from Alton.

“Their monthly mortgage payment right now is a little over $3,100 a month, and these are folks whose household income is under $100,000,” he said. The married couple, who are in their 40s and have two children, are also paying off a home equity loan.

When the wife became ill, Deziel said, “They started making heavy use of credit cards to make ends meet.”

And by the time they came to the credit counseling agency for help, “They had almost $23,000 in outstanding credit card debt.”

Another recent client with an adjustable-rate loan had seen his mortgage payments jump from $900 a month to $1,700 a month — with a 14 percent interest rate, Deziel said.

The trend is bad news, said David Rienzo, assistant attorney general in the Consumer Protection and Anti-Trust Bureau at the AG’s office.

“If you can’t pay your normal monthly expenses and your mortgage, the smart thing to do is go get some credit counseling right away, rather than use a credit card until you not only can’t afford the mortgage but also now are stuck in over your head on a credit card as well,” Rienzo said.

Mortgage payments typically include both principal and interest, he pointed out; putting such payments onto a credit card means you’re paying interest twice.

According to Deziel, there are several “trip wires” that can increase your interest rate on a credit card, such as exceeding your credit limit or making a payment late. “That rate can jump to 28, 29, 30 percent on all of your outstanding balances,” he said.

According to Rienzo, credit card companies are bound by the laws of the states in which they are headquartered. And some states, including New Hampshire, do not have usury laws, so there’s no cap to the interest rates the companies based in those states can charge.

Taking on credit card debt will also worsen your credit score, Rienzo noted, which could increase the cost of future borrowing.

And then there’s something called “universal constructive default,” which, Rienzo explained, means if you default on one credit card, your other card companies can raise your interest rates too.

Recent changes in bankruptcy laws have also made it more difficult to walk away from credit card debt, experts say.

Dan Hebert has 23 years of banking experience, and is now president of New Hampshire Jumpstart Coalition, an all-volunteer organization dedicated to improving financial literacy for children.

Hebert noted a recent report by Mintel International Group, a consumer research company, found that credit card companies are actually pushing subprime borrowers to open new accounts.

The report found direct-mail offers from card companies to these borrowers rose 41 percent in the first half of 2007, while offers to customers with the best credit fell by 13 percent, according to published reports.

Subprime borrowers typically pay higher interest rates on credit cards because of poorer credit scores, and are more likely to only make minimum payments, which extends their card balances, Hebert said.

Deziel’s advice: “If you’re tempted to use your credit card because your mortgage payments have become too high, just stop yourself for a moment and think about what the problem is. The problem isn’t that you’re spending too much on groceries; the problem is the mortgage.”

And that’s where homeowners need to start, by contacting their mortgage companies to try to restructure their loans and avoid foreclosure, he said.

His agency can help consumers, but they need to seek help early, Deziel stressed, before the debt load becomes insurmountable.

He noted CCCS often gets calls from people whose homes have already been advertised for foreclosure auction.

“At that point, it’s too late. There really isn’t much we can do about it.”

As bad as the subprime mortgage mess has been so far, Hebert says the worst is yet to come. “The other shoe to drop will be a spike, in another 18 months, of bankruptcy filings for folks who weren’t able to hold onto those homes,” he predicted.

By Shawne K. Wickham

Credit Card Scammer Must Repay $12 Million
New Weapon against I.D. Theft?
Revolution Online Money Transfer Service...