Credit Card Advice

Archive for the ‘Credit card advice’ Category

To someone who is not adept in the ins and outs of  banking, possessing a credit card can be a daunting concept. To those who are savvier in financial talk, however, that piece  of plastic is another medium through which they negotiate extra cash  in their life.  They have learned to use a credit card to their advantage and not to their detriment.
As with anything, having a credit card has its pros and cons. Prolific advertising of the numerous, aggressive promos of credit card most likely have taken your attention.  If you’re the type to handle your finances well and your discipline in spending even better, then the option to apply for a credit card will play to your advantage.
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MBNA is Europes largest credit card provider. Based in Chester, UK, it has a wide range of affinity and charity credit cards, along with its own competitive APR credit cards.

MBNA offers online banking so that you can have 24-hour access to all your credit card accounts, including making payments, balance transfers, loans, paying your balance, increasing your limit and much more at no extra cost. In fact they have online only credit cards too, ensuring you make the most amount of saving my remaining an MBNA valued customer.

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Being burdened with accrued unpaid dues and charges can be one of the worst things that can happen to a credit card holder. If you ever find yourself in such a situation, fear not as there is always help available. You just need to be willing and can speak to somebody who knows how to consolidate credit card debt. Transferring all your debts to the same card is perhaps the most common method adopted by people but you may also find a new card where you can transfer your balance and pay your debt before the offer ends, which is usually within 12 months.

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The main tip to reducing your Irish credit card costs is to pay them off every month. But in real life, that’s not always possible. Emergencies come up, and you need time to pay off your expenses. But if you can’t pay off your entire balance every month, the next best thing you can do to keep expenses down is to pay as much as you can, and pay on time. That way you’ll keep your average daily balance as low as possible (which is what your minimum payments are based on), and you won’t be hit with late fees. If you have a low APR credit card, then the interest will be low also, just in case you cant pay back the whole amount borrowed in one go!

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In a word – yes. You can apply for as many credit cards as you want. However, you must keep certain factors in mind if you want to avoid doing harm to your finances and credit score.

Applying for too many credit cards at once will result in numerous inquiries on your credit history. Everytime you do something with you credit card, wether it be apply or cancel one, it is recorded onto your history. Since this is one of the many factors considered in determining your credit score, you must keep this in mind before making numerous applications. A large number of inquiries by numerous credit card issuers will hit your score negatively, especially if you are diapproved.

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It’s hard to know what to do with old financial statements – which ones to keep and which to shred. But there are guidelines, and in general, if the statement could have to do with taxes, you should keep it for a long time, perhaps several years. Of course, if you do all your banking online, it is rather a moot point, because there aren’t paper records to protect. But how do you know what to do with other financial statements?

Tax returns should have the longest shelf life, as should cheques and receipts for things like charity contributions, mortgage interest, and other documents that may affect your taxes. You should keep such records for several years, if not permanently.

Documents related to pensions should be kept for at least a year, and permanently if possible. The same goes for bank statements where there might be something that relates to your taxes. For bank statements that don’t have any long term importance, you can get rid of them after a year.

You should keep your credit card statements anywhere from a couple of months to several years. Again, it depends on whether the statements contain tax related expenses. If not, keep your receipts until you get your monthly credit card statement. If they match up, go ahead and shred the receipts. Hang onto the credit card statement for another month or so, and if there are no purchases with long term importance or related to taxes, you can get rid of them then.

The term “get rid of” goes well beyond tossing your statements into the bin. At the very least, they should be run through a shredder. Cross cut shredders are more destructive than regular shredders, but even with regular shredders, if you mix up the shredded paper that collects, you’re going to put off all but the most determined (or crazy) criminals wanting your financial information.

Some people go farther than shredding their financial records. Some incinerate them, and others get very creative, using them to line the cat box or composting the bits with chicken manure (if they have chickens). These measures are probably not necessary, but it does point up the need to keep your financial information close to the chest.

If you have the option of having your statements online, it may be worthwhile. For one thing, they’ll be archived, and for another, you won’t accidentally leave them lying around in plain view where a dishonest repairman or dodgy roommate might see them.

Choosing a credit card in Ireland, like anywhere else, involves taking into account what you want the credit card for and what kind of credit you have. Obviously, if you have good or excellent credit, you’ll have more choices and better interest rates. But with so many cards out there to choose from it can be confusing to know where to begin. Three types of credit cards you can choose from are “rewards” cards, so-called 0% cards, and balance transfer credit cards.

Rewards cards allow you to earn “points” or credits toward some goal when you use your credit card to make purchases. Maybe you’ll get discounts, or points to use toward purchases. Sometimes the “reward” is cash back.

0% credit cards vary. There are the 0% balance transfer cards that let you transfer a debt from another card. There are 0% cards that allows you to make purchases on which you won’t pay any interest until the introductory rate is over. That period may be a couple of months or a whole year.

Balance transfer cards may or may not have a 0% introductory “teaser” rate. Often they do have a low introductory rate for a set period from the time you open your card. It is important to know that the clock on the introductory rate begins when you open your account, not when you transfer your balances. If you wait to transfer balances, you’ll have a much shorter period in which you’ll benefit from the low rate.

Some people simply opt for the card with the lowest interest rate they can get. “No annual fee” cards are very common now, and you shouldn’t have to trade off a low interest rate at the expense of a high annual fee. There are plenty of no annual fee cards that carry relatively low interest rates. Often, in the long term, choosing the card with the lowest interest rate – particularly if there is no annual fee – is the best strategy. Assuming you make payments on time and don’t incur fees for going over your credit limit or for other reasons, you should be able to keep that relatively low interest rate. And if they try to raise it on you for no good reason, you can probably shop around and find another card that will offer you a low interest rate. Low interest rate cards may not have the cachet that points or rewards cards do, but when it comes to keeping credit card expenses under control, it’s almost always the best way to go.

If you’re like most Americans, you have a huge cloud of debt hovering overhead; and most of that debt comes from credit cards. Credit card companies make it so easy to sign up for them. Sometimes you get a zero percent interest rate (at least at first) and sometimes you get a free hat, T-shirt or some other free gift. It’s only after the card arrives that most people go crazy with them.

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Ireland is the only country that has a credit card stamp duty. A stamp duty is a tax the government imposes on certain legal documents. The word “stamp” is a holdover from the days when an actual physical stamp was attached to a document to prove that the duty had been paid. The stamp duty on Irish credit cards and charge cards is for €30 per year per account. Charge cards are like credit cards except there is no interest because you pay it off at the end of the month.

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Feel you have far too much credit card debt?  You are far from alone.  In 2009 credit card debt was at an amazing £53 billion!  With so much debt happening, and the credit crunch still biting, no matter what experts say about recovery, it is no wonder people are starting to feel the pinch.

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