Credit cards hold tremendous power. Your use of them, proper or otherwise, can mean having breathing room, in case of an emergency, positive impact on your credit scores and history, and the possibility of perks that enhance your lifestyle. Keep reading to learn some great ideas on how to harness the power of credit cards in your life.
You should contact your creditor, if you know that you will not be able to pay your monthly bill on time. Many people do not let their credit card company know and end up paying very large fees. Some creditors will work with you, if you let them know the situation ahead of time and they may even end up waiving any late fees.
Read every line of text! Make sure you understand what you are getting involved in, even if it is a pre-approved card or a company offering help with getting a card. Understand the interest rate you will receive, and how long it will be in effect. Make sure to find out about grace periods and fees.
Check your credit report regularly. By law, you are allowed to check your credit score once a year from the three major credit agencies. This may be often enough, if you use credit sparingly and always pay on time. You may want to spend the extra money, and check more often if you carry a lot of credit card debt.
Always read the fine print to see if there’s an annual fee before accepting an exclusive credit card. Platinum and black cars charge very high fees normally, that can range from one hundred dollars all the way up to one thousand dollars. More exclusive cards have higher fees. Unless you have some specific need for exclusive credit cards, remember this tip and save yourself some money.
The reason a credit card company will ask you to make a minimum payment is because they want you to pay this amount over time to make the most money off of you. This is why you should always pay some amount over the minimum due. This will help you to avoid high interest rates, and it will also help you take years off of the payment structure.
With any credit card debt, you need to avoid late fees and fees associated with going over your credit limit. Both fees are pretty expensive and can also affect your credit score. Pay attention and make sure you stay under your credit limit.
Take advantage of the fact that you can get a free credit report yearly from three separate agencies. Make sure to get all three of them, so that you can be sure there is nothing going on with your credit cards that you may have missed. There may be something reflected on one that was not on the others.
Make friends with your credit card issuer. Most major credit card issuers have a Facebook page. They might offer perks for those that “friend” them. They also use the forum to address customer complaints, so it is to your advantage to add your credit card company to your friend list. This applies, even if you don’t like them very much!
Don’t pay any fees upfront when you are getting a credit card. The legitimate card issuers will not ask for any money up front, unless you’re getting a secured credit card. When you are applying for a secured card, be sure to find out how the deposit is going to be used.
Instead of just blindly applying for cards, hoping for approval, and letting credit card companies decide your terms for you, know what you are in for. One way to effectively do this is, to get a free copy of your credit report. This will help you know a ballpark idea of what cards you might be approved for, and what your terms might look like.
Read emails and letters from your credit card company upon receipt. If a company has notified you that they will change a policy, they are within their rights to do so. If you don’t like the change, you may cancel your account.
If you have any credit cards that you have not used in the past six months, then it would probably be a good idea to close out those accounts. If a thief gets his hands on them, you may not notice for a while, because you are not likely to go looking at the balance to those credit cards.
Fully read the disclosure statement before you accept a credit card. This statement explains the terms of use for that card, including any associated interest rates and late fees. By reading the statement, you can understand the card you are choosing, in order to make effective decisions when it comes to paying it off.
Keep an eye on your credit score. The benchmark score which is considered good by lenders is 700 or above. Strive to maintain or reach that level by using your credit properly. This will enable you to take advantage of the very best credit offers, including low rates of interest and fantastic incentives.
Only spend what you could afford to pay for in cash. The benefit of using a card rather than cash, or a debit card, is that it establishes credit, which you will need to get a loan in the future. By only spending what you can afford to pay for in cash, you will never get into debt that you can’t get out of.
When you receive a replacement credit card in the mail, cut up your old one, and throw it away immediately. This can prevent your old card from becoming lost, or stolen, allowing someone else to get hold of your credit card number, and use it in a fraudulent way.
As was stated earlier, the credit cards in your wallet represent considerable power in your life. They can mean having a fallback cushion in case of emergency, the ability to boost your credit rating and the chance to rack up rewards that make your life easier. Apply what you have learned in this article to maximize your potential benefits.
