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A Guide To Applying for Credit Cards over the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 12:11:00 +0000

Over the last few years the internet has become your one stop to finding credit cards, comparing APR(annual percentage rate), rewards programs and incentives. And the best part is you can apply for all of them online and with a secure connection. Just from searching google you can find millions of credit card resources.

One of the the best ways to find a credit card comparison website is to go to your favorite search engine and simply search "credit cards" and press "enter". Now before you jump on the first one you see there are a few things you should remember when looking for a credit card online.

1. Pick a website that offers comparisons.

2. Choose a website that offers all of the banks/issuers(American Express, CitiBank, Chase etc.).

3. Make sure the website offers more details on each individual credit card.

4. Find a site that is professional and updated often.

5. After you find a few cards that interest you make sure you compare the introductory APR, fixed APR, cash advances, balance transfers and fees, bonus or award programs, cash back programs, credit limit, annual fees, etc.

One website you may find helpful is creditcards.com. creditcards.com has a large database offering cards from, advanta, american express, bank of america, citibank, chase, discover, HSBC as well as visa. The site is easy to navigate and also tells you what type of credit rating you will need for each card. You can apply directly from the comparison page by clicking "apply here" under the corresponding card.

In essence when comparing credit cards online be sure you are looking for cards that are going to meet your daily needs. If you don't fly often then why apply for an airline credit card. If you are driving quite often and with how gas prices are these days pick a gas rebate card. Also be sure to pick a card that offers a low fixed rate. For instance some cards may offer a 0% intro apr, but 6 months later will jump to 14.99%. Lastly remember to have all of your personal information with you when you begin to fill out the online applications.

All of the above information is vital when searching for a credit card online. Be sure to remember this information when searching for a credit card comparison website and it will save you lots of money in the long run. You may also find a site you can use in the future for all of your credit card needs.

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Instant Approval Credit Cards: The Advantage of Applying Online

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:55:00 +0000

Getting instant approval for a credit card and sometimes getting immediate access to use it can now be done in less than 60 seconds. No muss, no fuss like the old days when getting a credit card took a month or more. If you weren't aware of how instant your approval could be, now is the time to find out.

Internet Technology and Security Behind the Scenes of Instant Approval

How did the instant approval credit card come about? The answer is that the Internet has completely changed the way card-issuing banks can research consumer information and make a decision about an applicant's credit worthiness. Nearly every major financial institution that issues credit cards including Chase, CitiBank, American Express, HSBC, and others now allows you to use the Internet to fill out their application online with complete security, submit it with the click of a button, and then count the seconds while they make their decision. And in most cases, if your credit is good to excellent, you will be approved instantly and a credit card will be on its way to you within days.

Behind the scenes, instant approval credit cards use the speed of the Internet and the sophisticated communication networks created for the banking industry. When you submit your application, banks can now easily verify your identity and check with one or more of the three national credit bureaus Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union to ensure that your FICO score meets their application criteria. (Your FICO score is a mathematical calculation performed by each of the credit bureaus that rates your credit history on a scale of 0 to 800.)

The Benefits of Instant Approval

If you're wondering why you might want to take advantage of this instant approval service to get your next credit card, there are several good reasons:

1. Many banks periodically offer special promotions on their credit cards, such as 0% APR on purchases and/or balance transfers for a specified period of time or bonus travel miles on airlines. These are offers you may not hear about if you don't browse the Internet looking for instant approval credit cards.

2. There can be a value in knowing quickly if you will be approved for a credit card if you find yourself needing additional credit for your business or personal needs. Using paper applications and the US mail will usually take 4 to 6 weeks before you know if you are approved.

3. You can sometimes get immediate access to a portion of the credit line for which a bank approves you. For example, some banks will offer you $300 to $500 that you can tap into immediately using a code they give you.

4. Applying for a credit card using a secure Internet site can actually be safer than filling out a paper application with your personal information and mailing it. Secure Internet sites use 128-bit encryption which is considered unbreakable in the computer security field. (You can tell when you are at a secure Internet site because your web browser contains a small icon that looks like a lock down at the bottom of the page.)

A Sensible Advantage

So the next time you are pondering your credit card needs and feel that you can benefit from a new credit card, consider looking into an instant approval card. In today's fast-paced world, you may agree that this new form of getting a credit card makes a great deal of sense for consumers.

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Everything You Need To Know About Cashback Credit Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:50:00 +0000

When you are considering cashback credit cards offers, remember to study all the features and fees of each card, and not just the offers that give you cash back or bonus points. Make it a point to know the interest rate during and after the introductory offer, the duration of the introductory offer, the annual fee, and other details of the fine print on every credit card application. Before you apply for this type of credit card, you should know that the majority of the best cashback credit cards require that an applicant has an excellent credit score.

The American Express Card is considered as one of the best cashback credit cards in the credit card market. It offers five percent of cash back when you use it to buy gas. Users enjoy a zero percentage introductory APR, no annual fee, and a fixed transfer fee of 4.99 percent.

This card also enables users to set up an automatic monthly bill paying system that gives cash back on telephone and cable bills, parking fees, and even transportation expenses. However, some long distance charges with some carriers might not qualify.

This card allows users to order more than one card on the same account, in the name of any family member 18 years or older, at no additional activation charge. They can even qualify for a no-fee transfer from other higher rate credit cards.

One feature that makes this card one of the best cashback credit cards for customers is the convenience of being able to keep track of expenses and card use for tax preparation and budgeting. An online feature called Summary of Charges permits users to access their account information for the entire year. It allows them to sort the use of the card by vendor or merchant name, by date, or by the amount of the charge.

It’s easier when you can categorize the charges and review them by category. Users can assign a travel category, a business equipment category, a restaurant category, and so forth. Other available online information includes, monthly charge totals, billing information, and a history of the payments on the card balance

Cashback credit cards also make point of sale purchases easy. This credit card allows the user to hold the card up to the point of the point of sale reader. There is no more need to sign anything or to swipe the card. Other features and benefits, along with those mentioned here makes the American Express Card, one of the best cash back credit cards available today.

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Credit Cards With Bad Credit

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:45:00 +0000

If you have less than perfect credit, you may have seen ads
promising you a credit card regardless of your credit history
or job status. Most of these ads are actually for a secured
credit card, which can be a great way to rebuild your credit.
Your credit may need rebuilding if you have a history of
unpaid credit card bills, bankruptcy, repossession, or divorce.
However, you need to be aware that there are scams out there
promising a credit card for people with bad credit but not
delivering.

A Secured Credit Card

Many people do not know the difference between a secured credit
card and an unsecured card. The main difference lies in where
the money comes from when you make purchases. An unsecured
credit card is the standard card issued by most lenders. You
borrow money to pay for your products and services and then
you are allowed to pay the lender back with interest via
credit card bills. A secured credit card for people with bad
credit requires an initial deposit to set you. You deposit
anywhere from two hundred to two thousand dollars into an
account before making any purchases. What you buy is paid
for using the money in your account. So you have control of
your credit limit with how much cash you put up front.

Unfortunately, in order to open an account for a secured credit
card you must have the hundreds, or even thousands of dollars,
it takes to secure the credit. This up-front cost makes it a
prohibitive credit card for people with bad credit, who are
usually on a very strict budget as their debt takes up most
of their extra income. Along with the initial deposit, you
might have to pay application or set-up fees, and you could
be charged a fee when you make future deposits to your account
in order to raise your credit limit. These fees show up on
your credit card bills.

Credit Card Scams

There are legitimate promotions for a secured credit card out
there and you may find several on the internet if you search
reputable banking institutions for their offers. However,
some companies try to lure consumers into calling a false
number. The phone number listed in the ad is not toll- free,
but is a 900 number that you will be billed for using. The
scammers might lead you to believe that you can get the secured
credit card as soon as you call the listed number. In these
false ads, there is usually no mention of set-up fees, initial
deposit amounts, eligibility requirements, or credit card
bills, which will be larger than normal due to annual fees
and high interest.

How To Spot A Scam

If someone offers you easy credit with no qualifications to get
a credit card, this person or company is probably not telling
you the whole truth. Any reputable lender must check your
credit report before offering you a line of credit. This
precaution is especially true when providing a credit card
for people with bad credit. Also beware of calling 900 numbers.
These numbers are not set up to provide you with a service.
They are set up to make the company a profit and your phone
bill could show a charge up to $50 for a few minutes.

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Rebuiling Your Bad Credit With Secured Credit Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:41:00 +0000

Secured credit cards can rebuild your bad credit only if you show a historical improvement to your payment history. A secured credit card is one that is prepaid; as long as you maintain a positive balance then a positive history is created.

Can a credit card improve bad credit? Can something inherently bad become something good? However, the consensus of most honest financial advisors is that debt is a disease. An ongoing radio commercial announced that credit card debt is the third largest debt growth area amongst Americans. It states that the average credit card debt is $10,000. Apparently Americans have a serious disease and it is not getting better. Some advertisements promise debt consolidation, whereby a large amount of credit card debt from many credit cards are rolled into one credit card debt. The only improvement is that there is one address to send monthly payments.

There is nothing really good about debt. Americans have been convinced by retail salesmen and the banks that to have good credit one must have a solid credit history through credit cards or credit accounts. A solid history means more than the fact that you have consistently made payments on time without failure. The credit card companies and the banks evaluate your spending tends, the debt load over time, your savings history, checking deposit history and actual check spending history. This personal information is felt by these institutions to be proprietary, belonging to the institution because of their unique methods of collection, rather than belonging to the individual who creates this activity. Debt is bad because it gives total strangers control over your life. It teaches you that spending all of your cash assets is fine, there is no limit or bounds to spending, it is acceptable to owe vastly more money than you make or will ever make.

A credit card, if it is the only credit card you possess, could start improving a portion of bad debt only if you liquidate your current debt in a steady, reliable manner. This will only show a history of reliable payment. As I have already stated banks and credit card companies are not interested only in your reliability, they want the "juice" off of the advanced credit you have obtained. This means they only want you if they can get their interest in a regular and steady manner.

This is not the same as pay your debt regularly until it vanishes. They want you to remain indebted permanently but repaying them in a timely manner. If you are debt free you may not be judged to be a good credit risk. This is the state that underage children and young adults find themselves whenever they attempt to secure a credit card. Simply stated, good credit doesn't mean what it did just fourteen years ago. The protections afforded the consumer since the Depression of 1929 no longer exist.

The Financial Laws passed through Congress in 1992 allowed banks, insurance companies (especially health insurance companies) investment firms to handle banking, insurance and investment operations. Laws passed after 1929 had prevented banks from insurance and direct stock exchange trading, likewise insurance companies could not pursue banking operations or stock exchange nor could stock exchange companies pursue insurance or banking operations. This freedom was granted without the subsequent protections of the consumer included in these new laws. There currently exists no single body of consumer law. The private citizen must fight the triumvirate of bank,insurance and stock exchange through the court system for his own right to privacy. Remember a credit card is not the way to improve bad credit; it is a quick way to obtain bad credit!

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Free Credit Report

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:35:00 +0000

Most people are familiar with the term credit report but not everyone has a clear picture of exactly what a credit report it is. Your credit report can be viewed as a report card of your financial and credit activities. You are "graded" on your payment timeliness and credit activity. The fewer late payments you have made and the fewer delinquent accounts you have, the better your grade will be. Your credit score is basically a cumulative grade of your credit report. It is important to know what is on your credit report to ensure that your credit activity is being reported correctly.

But unlike a regular report card, you will not receive a copy of your credit report unless you request one. There is more than one way to go about when requesting a copy of your credit report. For a fee, you can receive a copy directly from one of the major credit bureaus. Or you can obtain a free copy from one of the many companies available on the Internet. There are many reputable companies that will provide you with a copy of your credit report completely free of charge. Visit www.credit-report-credit-score.com to learn more about credit reports and how to get a free copy of your credit report.

Some people may be a little skeptical about requesting a copy of their free credit report and may wonder if it is as good as a copy that you would pay for. But rest assured that a free credit report contains the exact same information that you would receive if you had paid for a copy directly from the credit bureaus.

You may be wondering why would companies provide you with a free copy of your credit report and is there a catch? Most companies that will grant you a free copy of your credit report require that you sign up for a credit monitoring service of some sort. But as long as you cancel the service before the free trial period ends, then you never pay a penny and still get to keep your free credit report. However, there are some really good credit services out there if you choose to keep the service. Many people have greatly improved their credit situation with these types of services. So make sure that you know all of the benefits before canceling a credit service that may accompany your free credit repor

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What is Equity Financing vs Debt Financing?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:30:00 +0000

If you are starting a business and are looking at your financing options, there are two types of financing available: equity financing and debt financing.

Debt Financing
Debt financing means taking out a loan (money that is to be paid back over a certain period of time, usually with interest). Debt financing is either short term (the loan is to be repaid in less than a year) or long term (the loan is to be repaid in more than a year). Lending parties will also look closely at the business's debt-to-equity-ratio.

When taking out a business loan, the only obligation of the business is to repay the loan according to the terms that were agreed upon. The lending party does not gain ownership in the business.

Many lending institutions require the owner(s) of smaller businesses to personally guarantee the loan. In such a case, the commercial loan becomes the same as a personal loan.

If you are starting a home based business and are looking to take out a commercial loan, then you will be definitely be asked to personally guarantee the loan.

Advantages of Debt Financing
The biggest advantage of debt financing is that the lending party does not gain any part of ownership of your business and your only obligation to lending party is to repay the debt. Also, repayment of the loan is typically a fixed expense, according the terms of the loan.

Dis-Advantages of Debt Financing
The biggest dis-advantage is that the business will not have all of its cash flow available to do business. Also, the interest that is owed can be high.

Equity Financing
Equity financing is when you (the business owner) sell an ownership interest in your business in exchange for money. The business owner and the investor(s) shares the business and the risks that come with it.

Equity financing is a form of financing your business without incurring debt. With equity financing you don't have to take out a loan since the funding is already coming from an investor in exchange for a piece of ownership in the business.

Many small and growth-stage businesses use equity financing as a source of funding. There are many sources of equity financing including non-professional investors such as family and friends, employees, etc. The most common source, however, are professional investors known as venture capitalists.

Venture capitalists are looking for businesses with the potential to grow, thereby increasing the value of their investment. They do not expect to see an immediate return on their investment.

Most venture capitalists focus on certain types of businesses such as, start-ups, specific industries (health, technology, service) or technologies.

Advantages of Equity Financing
The major advantage of equity financing is that the cash flow that would have been used to repay the loan, can be used to grow the business.

Dis-Advantages of Equity Financing
The major dis-advantage of equity financing is the loss of interest of ownership of your business and also the possible loss of complete control that can accompany a sharing of business ownership with investors.

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Residential Mortgage - Finding The Best Home Mortgage Lender

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:25:00 +0000

Most people approach the act of getting a home mortgage purchase or refinance loan the wrong way. They timidly approach lenders and cross their fingers that they will quality for that all-important loan. But that's just the opposite of what most people should be doing!

There are a lot of lenders out there some great and others that can be difficult to work with. And here's the good news they all want your business! Before agreeing to a contract with just any lender, you should make an appointment with (in person or by telephone) and ask them some important questions. Doing so could make the difference in a wonderful experience and one that you'd rather forget.

If you are in the process of applying for a mortgage loan either online or off then you should ask the following questions to every lender that you are considering.

1. What are my loan options? Some lenders specialize in only fixed-rate mortgages and you couldn't get an ARM if you begged. It's important to know your options up-front.

2. What is the interest rate? You can easily go online and find the competitive interest rate on any given day, and you should ensure that your chosen mortgage lender is offering you one in line with the market.

3. How many points will I have to pay to guarantee that rate? Just because someone offers you a great interest rate, that doesn't mean there won't be strings attached. Be sure and ask if the interest rate they quoted you is contingent on your buying points.

4. Will you charge an application fee? This can vary drastically from lender to lender, and in some cases the fees are negotiable.

5. What happens if I pay off my loan early? Some lenders will include a pre-payment penalty in their contract, actually penalizing you for paying off your loan early. If one is included in yours, try to negotiate around it, or look for another lender.

6. Can I lock in my rate? Be sure to ask specifics about this. Will it be possible to lock in a rate at the application stage, or will you have to wait until you've been approved? After you've locked it in, how long is it good for?

7. Will I be assigned a person that I should call with questions? It is vital that one person is familiar with your application and loan documents so you don't have to explain yourself every time you call with a question.

8. How long will it take you to approve a loan? With the Internet and other modern advances, there should no reason that a lender can't process your loan in a jiffy. If a lender appears to be slow, you should take it as a red flag.

The best way to find a good lender is to use a home mortgage loan company online that will give you multiple offers from different lenders. You want to let lenders compete over your business.

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Understanding your ACS Student Loan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:15:00 +0000

An ACS student loan is one that is serviced by Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., a company that is known for outsourcing technology and business solutions. Many universities use the ACS student loan because of the company's reputation for using technology to smooth over some of the more difficult aspects of loan services. With an ACS student loan, students can make payments online, instantly see the status of an account, change personal details like name and address, and receive email notification when payments have been processed.

A number of different financial aid programs fall under the heading of an ACS student loan. One of the major ACS student loan groups is the Campus Based Student Loan Program (CBSL), which includes Federal Perkins Loans, Nursing Student Loans (NSL), and Institutional Loan Programs, among others. Another major group of educational loans handled by ACS is the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL), which includes the Stafford (GSL) Loans, PLUS loans to parents of students, and loan consolidation services . ACS also handles a group of educational loans donated by a variety of private companies.

For those who do not already have an ACS student loan, applications and guidelines for different financial aid options are available online. The ACS website gives a clear example of how to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, and demonstrates what the results mean
in terms of your eligibility for financial aid. Furthermore, applications for both Stafford and PLUS loans for parents can be found on the ACS website, and can be completed and sent in online.

If you have an ACS student loan already, you might be interested in learning about the benefits of student loan consolidation. The ACS website provides information and application forms that could help you lock in a lower rate and reduce your monthly payment amount.

Other tools that might help you with your ACS student loan include a repayment calculator, IRS guidelines about how to use your student loans for tax relief, and a glossary of important student loan-related terms.

All in all, an ACS student loan is one that will give the borrower the most ease and flexibility when it comes to loan servicing from application to repayment and consolidation. ACS works with a number of universities across the United States, including the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Vermont. Even if your specific university does not offer student loans handled by ACS, their website is a treasure trove of helpful tools and information, and well worth a look.

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