Save $$$ By Using Credit Cards Wisely
This site lists some of the best credit cards
available. Most of them are no-annual-fee cards, so you can get them
for free. It shows you ways to pay off your cards
and improve your financial picture.
You should apply for no more than one or maybe two cards. If you
apply for more than one, it will temporarily reduce your credit rating for
6 months (because the card companies will suspect that your finances may be in bad
shape.) The more cards you apply for, the less likely you are to get any
cards.
When using credit cards, remember these important tips:
- Mail your payment to the card company at least ten
days before the due date. If you make late payments, card
companies will charge you up to $30, and/or bump up your interest
rate. If you're accidentally late, call up the company to ask for
the late fee to be waived. They'll probably waive it on a one-time-only
basis.
Card companies can legally "hold" your payment for up to 5 days, just
by claiming that your handwriting is illegible. So write
very clearly and mail that check early!
- To keep your interest charges low, you can get cards with very
low introductory APRs and switch them every
six months to maintain the low rates. However, this will make it
harder to get new cards in the future.
- Cancel cards you don't use. This can improve your credit rating.
- Always use a cash-rebate card for purchases, paying off the balance
monthly (or transfer the balance to a lower-rate card.) When you transfer
balances, always read the fine print to make sure you're not getting charged
a fee for the transfer.
- When you receive notices from the credit card
company, look over the "changes of terms" carefully. It's likely that
costs such as annual fees, interest
rates, grace periods, late fees and cash-advance fees have increased.
- If you need to lower your monthly payments, look for credit
cards that require you to pay only 2% of your balance per month. Some
cards require you to pay as much as to 4% of your balance monthly.
If you carry a balance, the best thing you can do is call up
the credit card companies to get them to lower your rates. Here's how
to do this:
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Save $$$ By Using Credit Cards Wisely 
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Time to complete:
| 3 minutes per card. |
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Money you'll spend:
| $0 using toll-free numbers. |
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What you'll get:
| 1% to 15% off your APR ($50 to $150 per year, if you carry a $5000 balance.) |
Step-by-step instructions:
- Read this article: Money-Saving Credit Card Choices: How to find the best
credit card deal, and how to get rate reductions on your current cards.
- Call up your credit card company (their phone number is probably printed
on the back of the credit card or on your statement.)
- Mention that you've been offered a great promotional rate
from another company.
- Haggle with them for a minute or two, to try to get the
rate down a few percentage points.
- Repeat steps 1-3 for your other credit cards.
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Further Reading:
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