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Useful Tips For Finding The Best Credit Card Rates
When searching for a credit card, a good credit card rate is possibly the most important criteria that you might look for. Getting the best credit card rate is important because the finance costs you bring upon yourself will influence how rapidly you will be able to resolve the debt that you will accumulate with your new credit card.
For most people, choosing the best credit card rates is crucial as it can result in good savings. If you devote a little time on it and compare the terms, fees, rates, offers and other aspects of various credit card companies, you are sure to chalk out a good deal.
The best credit card is more often than not the card with the best credit card rates. Before you decide on a credit card, you need to check out the annual percentage rate charged by the company. The annual percentage rate is the sum of interest you shell out on your credit card balances. The lower the annual percentage rate your credit card proffers, the less you need to pay. Thus, a low annual percentage rate can result in great savings for you.
There are some credit cards, which offer very low annual percentage rate on the transfer of balances until the complete balance is paid in total. You can save hundreds and at times even thousands of dollars in interest costs by shifting your balances from high interest rate credit cards to low annual percentage rate credit cards. In case of any kind of confusion, you can seek professional help.
More often than not, it is seen that while selecting a credit card, people usually check whether the annual percentage rate is low or not. But just a low annual percentage rate should not be the only criteria for choosing the best credit card rates.
There are many card companies that tempt customers by offering a low rate of interest but on the other hand, include various hidden charges in it. Stay away from those companies. There are some companies that offer special introductory rates for a short time. You must check out how long the offer will last and whether it will be profitable for you to carry on with the credit card once the offer expires. There are credit cards, which do not charge any annual or monthly fees, but the rate of interest is high. Such credit cards are beneficial in the long run.
You can get best credit card rates if you have a good credit score. With a good credit score, you can happily negotiate with the card companies and cut a good deal for yourself. If you feel that your paying history is not too good, then you must wait for sometime, until your credit score improves.
Do not be nervous to ask about all the details and bargaining on the rate. Remember, if you want the best credit card rates, you must be smart enough to get it out of the company. If required you can chalk out a script and practice it yourself before you call the company. If you face any unpleasant customer service rep, do not lose your cool. Ask him/her to transfer the call to his/ her supervisor.
If you feel that the conversation is not going the way you want it to go, do not get worried. There are numerous companies available all around and you can try your luck with another one. In this era of cutthroat competition, companies will be too happy to serve a competitors customer. So shop around for the best credit card rates until you get the lowest one that is most appropriate for your situation.
Senator Levin Prepares to Slap Around Abusive Credit Card Companies Who Are Ripping Off Consumers (Page 1 of 2)
Some of the Credit Card Companies offer a good product and decent service providing Americans with the convenience and back up of a credit card when not carrying a lot of cash on person. Much of the online business and other travel and such have to be conducted by some sort of plastic. Credit card possession and usage is a cornerstone of conducting business in the U.S. It creates fluidity to economic commerce. Now, however, many abusive credit card companies have ratcheted up the gouge game to a new level. Per a recent Senate Hearing on March 7, 2007, all prompted by U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the abusive credit card companies have increased fees and interest rates. So when an abusive credit card company applies the butchers thumb on the scale, they have crossed the line as far as regulators are concerned. What seems to have been lost on these abusive credit card companies is the right to do business in the U.S. economy is a privilege, not a birthright. Their ticket to do business can be pulled through Federal Law and new legislation, just for good measure.
Jaw Boning in the past has given various businesses cause to pause while considering their actions less new restrictive legislation is laid over their operations and bringing another degree of complication to what seems like an already profitable enterprise. Baring that, legislation may follow. If nothing else, it brings unwanted negative attention to their methods and abuses. The abusive credit card company names will be bandied about creating negative press that may effect their future bottom line. It gives a broad-brush swipe at the industry, which is never a good thing.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports there were about 690 million credit cards in circulation meaning credit card toting consumers have more than one card. The GAO is always measuring the past and in 2005 there was about $1.8 trillion on charge cards. Other agencies report that the average credit card debt is a little over $5,000 per household. The report shows that a little over 50% of the credit card holders pay off credit card balances every month. So on the whole, it looks like the majority of American families are not overburdened by credit card debt. Those families who are appear to be relegated to higher rates with some pretty outrageous terms. Things such as penalties and late fees range from $40 and up for making a late payment and other charges. In some cases this will trigger a higher interest rate if not paid on time. These interest rates can be more than 30% or more figured on an annual basis. Much of the government figures come from GAO and the banking industry.
A couple other hand grenades are known as the concept of universal default. If you are late on one card, the universal default provision will kick in and all the other cards will be accelerated to a higher rate. Another little time bomb is the practice upon a consumer being late there is invoked a double-cycle billing period where instead of having the 30-day grace period the interest goes back to the date of the previous bill and interest is popped on the former grace period. If this is combined with say a $40 late charge plus double cycle billing and perhaps the universal default provision suddenly a consumer is going under the gun. When the Bankruptcy Law was changed recently pushing more debtors into Chapter 13 Repayment Plan pretty much set up the stage for a quasi-indentured servant status. Working basically for the company store a consumer can not get readily ahead. Its almost like waving temptation in front of a credit-addicted consumer who looks at easy credit as being never ending. When the rubber finally hits the road and the final straw breaks the camels back and not one extra dollar is available to make even the minimum payments, then its Houston We Have A Problem. Prior legislation accelerated the payback minimum payment. Formerly, a $5,000 credit card balance might have had a $120.86/month minimum payment at 29% would be paid off in 30 years. Thats assuming no additional purchases were made. Now that the term has been reduced in the 60-month range so that minimum payment would have to be $158.71/month to give the consumer a chance to pay it off. However, if charges are added back by constant purchases there will never be a dent made in the debt.