Category: Credit Cards

The terms low or less seem so desirable when they are being used in context of money owed to others. Maybe that is why people get all excited and happy to hear mentions of low APR credit card offers. One of the greatest benefits of flaunting a good credit score is that you get approached with many low APR credit card offers on a regular basis.

How to get hold of low APR credit card offers?

Ask and You Shall Receive

Very few people know that they could get some exciting low APR credit card offers by just asking the credit card company with which they already have an account. So if you own a credit card that has high APR on it, why don’t you just try calling up the company and request for a lower rate offer?

Credit card companies are always falling over each other to compete for the attention and admiration of customers. It is very rarely that some customer calls them up directly to ask for an offer and in all probability they will NOT just end the conversation saying no.

Even if they may not offer you a very low rate offer, they definitely will come up something that will be better than the current rates applied to your credit card. Be sure to emphasize on your long term relationship with the credit card company and also give them a gentle reminder about your outstanding payment history.

Apply with a new credit card company

This step can be taken if you did not get a satisfactory offer in step 1. When you contact a new credit card company, you can mention about your current rate of interest and specify that you are looking for a better deal and wish to transfer the balance if you find suitable low APR credit card offers.

You can also browse through our selection of low APR credit card offers.

Check out low APR credit card offers in your mailbox

You might have received a lot of low APR credit card offers via snail mail. Try going through those offers and check if any of them are still valid. This is the one of the best ways to make the most of these low APR credit card offers, which have been lying around in your inbox or even sent to the spam folder, since you considered them unwanted at some point of time.

Maintain a good credit history

This is by far the best way to get swamped with low APR credit card offers. Credit card companies are overly enthusiastic about contacting consumers with good credit with such special offers. Try paying all your monthly bills on time (not only the credit card bills but the utility, medical bills, and other bills as well) because that is the best way to prove your credibility to the credit card companies.

Getting low APR credit card offers is one of the best things to happen to you, especially if you want to pay off some outstanding balances on your previous card which had high interest rates applied to it.

We are bombarded with numerous kinds of credit card promotion offers each day. The most common of these offers are the low interest or zero interest rates. These are known better as credit card promotion rates (or promotional rates to be more accurate). What are these promotional rates and how do they affect you as a credit card user? Let us find answers to all these and more in this post today.

Credit card promotion rates and facts

It is obvious that the interest rates that are on offer on with these credit card promotion offers are applied only for a short time. This can be anywhere between twelve months to eighteen months at a time. Since the main goal is to use this promo offer to entice new customers, the promotional interest rates are usually reserved for new applicants only.

But some credit card companies may choose to extend the generousness to their existing customers also. If a credit card company does this, it clearly denotes that they value their customers very much.

Credit card promotion rates and the law

Federal Law has made it mandatory for the credit card companies to extend any kind of promotional interest rates offers for a minimum period of six months. Usually the most preferred duration is eighteen months and since every credit company nowadays is offering at least this much, eighteen months has almost become the norm for credit card promotion interest rate offers.

You snooze, you lose

If you by any chance get delayed in paying your credit card bills on time, then be warned that you lose all access to these promotional interest rates. Your late payment activity will trigger the default interest rate to become active, and this is usually the highest APR rate that is applicable on your credit card.

Credit card promotion rates only for certain transactions

Most of the credit card promotion interest rates are applicable only to the balance transfers and not for new purchases. If you want to transfer your balance from a higher rate credit card to this new one with a promo offer, you can do it and earn the difference in interest rates as profit.

But sometimes people have more than one balance with different rates applied to each one. This will make the situation a bit tricky to handle, yet the decision is solely based on the credit card company. It usually applies the minimum payment on the balance with the lowest interest rates.

How to get the best of credit card promotion rates?

If you want to get the best of credit card promo rates, you should try to pay off your balances before the offer expires. Any delay in completing the payment beyond the expiry date can lead to a huge loss for you as higher rates get automatically applied after the expiry date.

Credit card promotion rates are actually a great way to manage your balance transfers and save a whole lot of money in the process. You just need to be quick with the payments to take maximum advantage of these offers.

If you are a credit card user you already are familiar with the term APR interest, because it might have popped up on numerous occasions, like when you received the offer or when the credit card executive was explaining the terms and conditions to you, or when you filled up the application form. And, of course, when you review your monthly statements, but do you know everything that you ought to know about this term? Even if your answer is no, you do not have to worry. This post will describe all the nuances about APR interest.

How is regular interest calculated?

There are two types of interests: simple and compound interest. Regular interest that banks and other lending organizations calculate is usually compound interest rates and does not include any other charges in addition to the specified interest rate.

How is APR interest calculated?

APR interest gets a bit more complex than the regular interest rates. There are additional charges and fees added to the compound interest and that is how APR interest rates get inflated when compared to regular interest rates.

Why should you bother about APR interest rates?

Well, if there is one thing you should worry about regarding credit card usage is the APR that is applicable to it. This rate will determine how much money you will have to shell out each month if you have an outstanding balance on your credit card after purchases or after a cash advance.

Another good reason to pay heed to the APR interest applied on your credit card is to successfully manage your finances. Many credit card companies offer very low or even zero introductory APR rates to lure in new customers.

This is the time when you should be paying a lot of attention. If you can find a credit card that offers both 0% APR on an introductory offer coupled with a long interest free period (say eighteen months) then that would be a great offer.

If you think over it, you realize that eighteen months is a fairly long period. You can comfortably pay off small to moderate sized debts within this period, provided that there are no unpleasant surprises in between like loss of your job or some sudden unexpected financial crisis.

Using the 0 % APR interest offer to maximum benefit

If I were in your place with a 0% APR interest credit card that offers the interest free period for 18 months, I would use this credit card for all of my new purchases that do not cost an arm and a leg or an amount that I cannot pay back within eighteen months of time.

But do not jump into a frenzied shopping spree with such a credit card because it is only the interest that is waived off; you still have to pay the cost and unless that is affordable you will be in a sticky mess.

To sum it up, you absolutely have to know what you will be paying for as interest rates. It is no point snatching a good deal when you don’t factor in interest rates.

We all are first timers at some point of our lives. So here I am with today’s post and as you might have already guessed, it is about tips for those who are choosing a credit card for the first time in their lives.

Before applying for a credit card

Yes, the preparation starts even before you click “apply”. There are certain criteria to be fulfilled before you can go about choosing a credit card for the first time. As a starting point, you need to be a legal resident, must have an income source and bank account, offer a stable credit history, and fulfill other requirements determined by each individual credit card company.

If you do not have any of the above people (spouse/family members) could co-sign with you.

Convince your bank about your eligibility

Before choosing a credit card, you should be worrying about convincing your bank about your eligibility to apply for a credit card. The easiest way to do this is by developing a financial relationship with your bank, long before you put in your credit card application.

Make sure that you open a checking account. Make it a point to save some money each month and also to use the debit card that the bank provides along with the account in a very responsible manner. Once you have established a reputation for a few months, you can now confidently put in your credit card application and look forward to getting it accepted soon by your bank authorities.

Tips for choosing a credit card

Now that you have cleared all the obstacles, you can now safely think about choosing a credit card. You need to look out for the card that best suits your financial needs and preferences. In general choosing a credit card with low APR and low (or $0) annual fee is good way to start for first timers.

Another point to verify is the rewards or bonuses that come with your credit card. Understand the terms and conditions thoroughly before you jump at the first credit card that is marketed to you. Many first timers make the grave mistake of choosing a credit card that has the highest or the most attractive rewards.

While rewards and bonuses are a very good thing, most often they come with certain terms and conditions. Most of the attractive rewards are tied in to a certain spending level, which you have to cross in order to get the rewards. So do not jump at the first offer, use your logic while choosing a credit card for the first time.

If you have a bad credit history, then looking for a credit card might turn out to be a tough task for you. This is obviously because creditors consider you as a risk and very few creditors would like to bet their money on your bad credit history. But there is no need to get worried and all is not lost for individuals looking for a credit card with bad credit.

Some banks help people with bad credit

Even though it is just the exception and not the rule, there are certain banks that are willing to help people with bad credit who are looking for a credit card. You can easily find out about these banks by either reading consumer forum reviews or conducting a search online. These banks may even accept people with low credit scores like 550.

The interest rates applied to such credit cards are also between regular ranges. If you are wondering about the catch in the story, then here it is: Since these banks take a risk when extending credit to you, they might charge you higher annual fees, more interest rates, and also levy other charges. These charges depend a lot on the extent of your bad credit, which means that you will be charged more if your credit score and history is worse when compared to others.

Explain the reason for your bad credit

Honesty is often rewarded and though it may seem to be unbelievable, stating reasons for your bad credit can actually help you while looking for a credit card after a blemish on your credit reports. I am not sure if you have noticed it yet, but there is a provision to add a note to your credit statements. But make sure that you do not add your entire autobiography here, because you have to get your point across in just 100 words (varies from bureau to bureau).

These notes are supposed to be taken into consideration by those who are reviewing your credit applications when you are looking for a credit card. Everyone understands a genuine reason when they read about one. Whatever you do, please do not bluff about a reason here.

Costly credit cards

If nothing else works, you may have to resort to costly credit when looking for a credit card. As the informal name suggests, these cards will come to you at a higher price. Subprime credit cards are also nicknamed as fee harvesting credit cards. This is because these cards will charge you a hefty upfront fee for processing the application. New regulations, however, do regulate the overall functioning of the industry.

If you are looking for a credit card with bad credit you may have to keep your eyes and ears open. While you may have very limited amount of choices, you can always compare between your available options to choose the cheapest of them.

Credit card usage is very convenient and efficient, but this convenience and usefulness comes at a price. We know this price as the interest rates applied on credit cards. You have to pay interest rates on credit cards and there is no way to escape that. This is exactly one of the topmost reasons why you should grab any introductory APR rates with low to 0% APR for a fixed period of time.  But before you do that you ought to understand what APR means.

What is introductory APR?

Introductory APR refers to the rate of interest that is being introduced along with a new credit card. This is usually a part of the promotional activities and the aim is to make the credit card seem more attractive to the consumers. Obviously it means that the introductory rates will be different from regular rates that are applied on the credit card.

Also, the introductory rates have to be much lower than the regular rates in order to appear attractive to the consumers, or why would they even bother checking it out?

Usual range of introductory APR

The most common kind of introductory APR rates that we are seeing nowadays with almost every new credit card is the 0% APR. There cannot be anything lower than this rate and that is what makes the credit card that comes with such offers seem irresistible to the masses. Others also offer 70-80% lower APR interest rates when compared to the regular rates applied on that card.

Are introductory APR rates beneficial?

Well, the answer to this question depends upon how you use the credit card that comes along with the introductory APR rates. You need to understand the limitations and terms and conditions that go along with the introductory rates that are usually written in fine print.

The first limitation is that the low / nil interest rates are applicable only for a certain time period. Just because you signed up for the low introductory rates offer does not signify that those rates will stay for as long you use the card.

No, on the contrary the introductory rates are applicable for a limited time and you will have to find when this period ends exactly, because it is usually different for different credit card companies.

How to get the best of introductory APR rates?

Introductory APR rates are best used for purchases. If these rates allow you six months to 1 year of interest free period/low interest period, then you should make use of this chance to make new purchases within this period. But take care to manage your repayment schedule in such a way that none of the balance is carried forward beyond the period where the introductory rates apply.

Because if you still have some amount of outstanding amount carried forward into the regular interest rate period, you will have to pay higher rates.

Introductory APR offers by credit card companies are a golden chance to take maximum advantage of credit cards as long as the golden interest free period reigns.

In the earlier days, credit cards were not so popular because people preferred to pay with cash. Now, with the creation of cash back feature, credit cards have become very popular as people now use cards to earn cash back rewards.

Every credit card purchase counts

Well, there may be exceptions but when you go out to grab a meal or buy groceries, you usually pay with cash as you may find it embarrassing to charge bills under $20 on your credit card. Just think about all the money you get just by simply using your card and you will never feel ashamed even if you only charge a small amount.

Credit card purchases differ on cash back rates. For your personal needs such as grocery items and medicines, cash back rates are usually high. So instead of paying with cash, whip out your credit card and earn some cash incentives. In conclusion, when wondering how can you get cash back on credit cards easily, consider going cashless while purchasing for personal needs.

Do not limit your credit card use

Sometimes, you might feel a bit afraid of using your credit card for every purchase. This is absolutely normal, as there is always the fear of getting a huge credit card bill. But when you look at it more closely, when you add all the cash you spent and the credit card charges you made, it is still equal to your overall expenses. Meaning, whether you often or seldom use your card, you still have to dole out practically the same amount of money for your expenses.

So instead of limiting your credit card use, maximize your earning potential by using your credit card more often. Just think of it this way; the more you use your credit card, the more cash back rewards you get. Therefore, when asking yourself how can you get cash back on credit cards easily, remember that the key to doing it is frequent credit card use.

Maintain a clear balance

Technically, maintaining a clear balance is not a way to get cash back but this can easily minimize the amount of money you save. After all, the main reason why you get cash back rewards is to save money and spending hundreds of dollars on interest charges works against it. So the next time you ask yourself how can you get cash back on credit cards easily, bear in mind that even if you get cash back, you cannot actually enjoy it if you still have to pay for interest charges.

There are many ways on how can you get cash back on credit cards, such as making purchases and even paying for bills. However, none of these will work if you do not pay on time or simply pay for the minimum amount due on your bill. Hence, the only way you can truly enjoy cash back rewards is by being a responsible credit card user.