Cash Back Credit Cards ? Reward Yourself

As the competition in the UK lending market has become ever more intense, lenders and credit card providers have had to go to ever more lengths to attract customers to them. While there is a limit to how low they can go on interest rates, in fact many now go as low as zero per cent for well over six months, card providers can also seek to attract customers with loyalty and reward schemes. These basically reward you for every pound you spend on your credit card.

Loyalty schemes come in all sorts of variations and can offer you air miles, discounts on petrol, points and cash. Cash is probably the best reward you can get from your credit card provider as you can spend it where and when you like and you are not limited by the card provider.

As well as the type of reward, you should also be looking at how much of a reward you are getting. Most rewards will be at around sixty pence for every one hundred pounds you spend on your credit card but some can be lower than forty pence and others as high as eighty pence per hundred pounds so its worth shopping around and finding a card with a generous reward scheme.

You should not allow a reward scheme to distract you from your main purpose in getting the card however. For most people, by far the most important things to be looking at when they take out a credit card is the interest rate and other charges.

If you frequently have a balance left over on your credit card that carries forward from one month to the next, then a low interest rate on this will save you far more than any loyalty scheme will ever give you. Likewise, if a card has a good loyalty scheme but an annual subscription fee, calculate how much you would have to spend before you earn back your subscription fee. It is likely that you would have to do an awful lot of shopping to earn back the fee, and if you shop around you could probably find a reward scheme that's just as good but without the need to pay a fee.

If you are one of those customers who always pays off their credit card balance in full each month, then you do not have to worry about interest rates, as you will not be subjected to them and you can afford to choose your credit card based on its reward scheme.

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Choosing A Credit Card That Suits Your Repayment Habits

When choosing a new credit card it's best to pick a card that suits your spending habits. However, this is not the most crucial factor. Even more important is to choose a credit card that matches your paying habits. This will ensure that you don't end up paying over the odds to repay your credit card debt. Consider these scenarios:

Big Spender, Big Payer

You put most of your spending on your credit card each month. Petrol, shopping, clothes, days out, drinks at the pub ? it all goes on there. But you're one of the lucky ones. You earn enough to be able to pay off the balance in full each month. If you're this kind of spender, you won't be worried about the interest rate, provided the card has a long interest free period. (Some cards charge interest from the day of purchase; this is not a good option for regular spenders). The best card for you will be one that has other incentives, such as cash back or reward points of some kind.

Some people spend regularly on their Credit Cards, but can't clear the whole balance each month. If this is you, you'll want a card with a low annual percentage rate. This will keep repayments on uncleared balances relatively low. Check for cards without an annual fee but with other incentives if you can get these at a low rate.

Look For Low Interest

If you put most of your spending on the credit card but pay off very little or the minimum amount, then you need a different type of credit card. A card with a very low interest rate will keep repayments manageable. It's also worth checking to see what percentage of the outstanding balance has to be repaid. This can vary widely.

Another option for those who leave large balances on their Credit Cards is to shop around for balance transfer offers. Some of these offer a low rate for however long the transferred balance stays on the new credit card. This is usually significantly lower than the bank rate and can help with managing long term debt.

Some of credit card companies offer a balance transfer rate of 0% for a fixed period of six to nine months (and occasionally 12 months). This means that anything you pay will reduce the outstanding balance on the credit card. This will help to keep finances manageable.

Rate Surfing Advantages

You could also consider becoming a rate surfer. This means applying for a new card before the expiry of the 0% offer and transferring the balance to a new 0% credit card. Do this for long enough and the outstanding debt is bound to go down.

Whichever offer you choose, remember to look at the fine print. For example, credit card cheques arrive in the post and it can be tempting to use them. However, some credit card companies charge a higher rate if you use credit card cheques than if you spend with the card.

It's also advisable to see if the rate that applies to balance transfers also applies to purchases. Sometimes new spending on the credit card is charged at the standard rate. In these cases, payments are often applied to the lower rate balance first, which means you could end up making higher repayments than you had planned.

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Get Inside Your Credit Rating

What do you know about your Credit rating? You may never even think about it until you get turned down for credit one day. However, the way you run your life may affect the way your credit profile looks years later.

Who Stores Credit Information?

There are two main agencies that store information about your credit history. They are Experian in Nottingham and Equifax in Glasgow. The credit file is opened the day you open a bank account. The longer you have had a bank account, the more trustworthy you seem, so it's best to keep one primary account for the sake of the credit report. That doesn't prevent you from having a second account that might offer other incentives, such as a better overdraft limit or interest rates.

Your credit score goes up depending on what services you have from the bank. So, if you have a cheque account, a savings account, a credit card and other products, this means the bank trusts you and is a big plus for your credit status.

On A Roll

Whether you decide to vote or not, it is a good idea to appear on the electoral roll. This makes it easy to track and confirm your address details. Lenders will be concerned about whether you own or rent your home, or whether you are living with parents. Owning your own home is a sign of responsibility, and the fact that you have been approved for a mortgage looks good too. It's best to have a telephone at home. If it is working, it means that you are up to date with your bill.

Stability And Responsibility

Responsibility is also the key factor when it comes to marriage and children. Being married with children means, in theory, that you are responsible. It also means that you are less likely to run off, leaving bad debt behind you. And the older you get, the more responsible you look in lenders' eyes, so there are some advantages to ageing.

Having a job is an indication that you will be able to repay any credit that you get. Again, staying in the same job for a while indicates responsibility. Lenders like to see some history of earning an income before they approve a loan.

Managing Credit

Finally, having credit really helps your Credit rating, as long as you have managed it well. Having credit agreements is good, as far as lenders are concerned. Making the necessary repayments on time is even better. Missing payments or defaults will lower your credit score, so they are best avoided.

If you do end up with a debt problem, arrears or County Court Judgements (CCJs), you may still be able to get credit. There are options such as payday loans for short term credit and secured loans for long term credit. There are even Credit Cards that cater for people with a poor Credit rating. However, the interest rates will not be as good as those offered to people with a good credit report.

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Are You Worried About Credit Card Debt

Properly every one of us has some sort of credit card debt, but when do we know that it's spiralling out of control? Well one way is if you're pay more than 15% of your monthly salary to your credit card bills then start to worry, but a worse way of dealing with this is borrowing cash from one credit card to pay another, this will only put you into more debt.
If a light comes on in your head after reading the start of this article then it's time to sit up and take some action, don?t think for a minute you are the only one dealing with credit card debt, almost 40% of credit card holders are in this position why! I will tell you minimum payments.

Yep-minimum payments if you only pay the minimum payment on your monthly balance, what once was a small credit card bill will turn into a very costly one you'll end up paying back thousands, and will take years to clear.

How can I help myself sort out this problem!

Well if you have more than one credit card and you pay the minimum payment on them all, then this is what to do get the credit card with the highest APR and pay the most to this card, keep paying the minimum payment to the rest of your cards once the credit card with the highest APR is cleared go on to the next highest APR and so on until all the Credit Cards are paid off.

Another way to help is balance transfer deals try switching your card with one that has this on offer, they also offer 0% interest free period for 6-9 months great way to save some money.

People with only one credit card try not to use your card if that's not possible monitor what you spend you'll be amazed at the silly things you put on your credit card, including groceries, petrol, and night's-out you'll be amazed at how much interest is added on. People tend to forget about money I agree that Credit Cards are handy but they don?t have to be used all the time, I guarantee if you monitor what you spend for a few months you will see the difference.

I know these things sound easy but it's amazing how many people just use their plastic friend to pay for everything, and really when you sit down and think it really is just common sense, hopefully following these simple steps will get you back on track.

Read More

Are You Worried About Credit Card Debt

Properly every one of us has some sort of credit card debt, but when do we know that it?s spiralling out of control? Well one way is if you?re pay more than 15% of your monthly salary to your credit card bills then start to worry, but a worse way of dealing with this is borrowing cash from one credit card to pay another, this will only put you into more debt.
If a light comes on in your head after reading the start of this article then it?s time to sit up and take some action, don?t think for a minute you are the only one dealing with credit card debt, almost 40% of credit card holders are in this position why! I will tell you minimum payments.

Yep-minimum payments if you only pay the minimum payment on your monthly balance, what once was a small credit card bill will turn into a very costly one you?ll end up paying back thousands, and will take years to clear.



How can I help myself sort out this problem!

Well if you have more than one credit card and you pay the minimum payment on them all, then this is what to do get the credit card with the highest APR and pay the most to this card, keep paying the minimum payment to the rest of your cards once the credit card with the highest APR is cleared go on to the next highest APR and so on until all the credit cards are paid off.

Another way to help is balance transfer deals try switching your card with one that has this on offer, they also offer 0% interest free period for 6-9 months great way to save some money.

People with only one credit card try not to use your card if that?s not possible monitor what you spend you?ll be amazed at the silly things you put on your credit card, including groceries, petrol, and night?s-out you?ll be amazed at how much interest is added on. People tend to forget about money I agree that credit cards are handy but they don?t have to be used all the time, I guarantee if you monitor what you spend for a few months you will see the difference.

I know these things sound easy but it?s amazing how many people just use their plastic friend to pay for everything, and really when you sit down and think it really is just common sense, hopefully following these simple steps will get you back on track.

Read More