There are many reasons why people get and use credit cards. Using a credit card wisely can help you improve your credit rating, allowing you to finance cars, and homes, and good credit is often an important factor for renting a home or apartment. Credit card companies report directly to these credit bureaus, whether it is good or bad. Because there are many different variables when it comes to credit, it is important that you do a lot of credit card comparison shopping before settling on one card or another.

Interest rates are an important factor when it comes to credit cards, and these rates can fluctuate greatly from one card to the next. Unfortunately, these rates are also based on your credit worthiness, and the poorer your personal rating is, the higher your interest rate is going to be. However, while these rate fluctuate, you do have somewhat of a choice, and this is one reason why credit card comparison shopping is to important. Good credit cards have a variable rate of 21% or lower, and anything above means that you are going to be charged an arm and a leg.

Annual fees are another reason you really need to credit card comparison shop.

Read more…

• 0 Comments

At this time of year many people are reliant on credit cards, and being able to use a credit card for your spending over the festive season has both its ups and downs. Having a credit card means that you can enjoy the convenience and ease of using plastic to pay for your purchases over the festive season, and you can also spread the repayments on your credit card, so you don’t have to pay for everything in one go if you do not have the money.

However, on the downside using credit cards to pay for Christmas if you plan to spread the repayment can result in getting into huge levels of debt that become very difficult to repay as time goes on. It can also mean paying a huge amount of interest if you do spread the repayments on a high interest credit card, which means that Christmas will have cost you far more than you bargained for.

It is therefore important that you are using the right card when shopping for Christmas gifts and purchases, which would involve using an interest free purchase credit card if possible. H

Read more…

• 0 Comments

Applications and preapprovals for 0% APR offers on new purchases and balance transfers are once again filling consumer’s mailboxes. And the number 0% APR credit cards being marketed on the Internet is on the rise. Hard to come by during the recent credit crisis, 0% rates for as long as 21 months are resurging for responsible consumers with credit scores of 720 and higher.

As delinquency rates continue to drop, down 26% from a year ago, credit card solicitations that feature low introductory APRs are up more than 18% to 71% of offers sent through the mail. Balance transfer offers are up, as well, to 65% compared to 54% a year ago. On the Internet, companies such as Chase, Citi and Capital One have revamped their marketing campaigns to include many new 0% APR deals.

During the recent downturn, card companies shunned many responsible consumers because their borrowing habits meant small profits. But prime borrowers are being targeted in hopes that they will carry a balance beyond the introductory period and boost profits for lenders. In add

Read more…

• 0 Comments

Q: If you don’t have the best credit history, what are the easiest credit cards to get approved for?

A: That’s an excellent question and I’ll be happy to answer it.

Ever since what is now called “The Great Recession” getting approved for credit cards isn’t quite as easy as it used to be. These days credit card companies have stricter approval requirements, making approval more challenging for those that have bad credit or a limited credit history.

Let’s take a look at the easiest credit cards to get approved for, divided by category…

Easiest credit cards to get with no credit history (or little credit history)

Lucky for you, banks view those with a blank slate (little to no credit history) more favorably than someone that has screwed up their credit. So in other words, banks are usually more willing to give newcomers a chance.

However it’s highly unlikely you will be approved for the mid to high level cards right away. Instead you will

Read more…

• 0 Comments

Although Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi survived two confidence votes, Italy’s exchange traded fund (ETF) isn’t in the clear. While the government won’t collapse, Italy’s political agony isn’t going away, either.

Berlusconi faced a no confidence motion in the lower house by a group of rebel center-right deputies, according to Money News. Despite his victory, Italy still has big problems: high youth unemployment, an uncompetitive industry, aging infrastructure and low funding on public services.

On the bright side, Italy has some of the highest levels of savers in , banks are doing fine and most of its high public debt is from Italian loaners.

Sylvia Poggioli for NPR remarks that the largest problems facing Italy are political stagnation, a slow growth economy, a strong euro and a high number of unemployed young people ages 15 to 34. For years now, Italy has been losing its traditional export market and GNP is steadily diminishing. []

Italy clearly needs to deal with its issues before they become so large that economic growth turns negative. In the th

Read more…

• 0 Comments