Credit cards can be a wonderful thing and in a capital driven economy where banks and companies are competing for consumers, the rewards can be high. Yet this is not always the case. Although the CARD act of 2009 was created to provide a tighter reign on banks by restricting their ability to scam unsuspecting card holders into contracts with high interests and fees, banks are still coming up with new ways to make big money by getting around them. Therefore in order to keep reaping the benefits of a credit card without inadvertently falling for the unadvertised fine details which entail high membership costs, unexpected fees and policies, be sure do your homework before you sign up.

Read the Fine Print
You might think you are getting a fantastic deal only to find yourself paying exorbitant fees at the end of the year that far exceed your savings. Read the fine print before you decide to go with a credit card. You might also find after reading the fine print that one bank is actually better than another when you look beyond the advertised numbers. For example, American Express Delta Gold SkyMiles Card has a $99 annual fee and comes with a $99 companion certificate, while the Platinum SkyMiles Card that is also offered by American Express has a $150 annual fee, but comes with a free certificate. Obviously the $198 card that offers its members a higher annual fee is the better deal. In addition, mileage cards and the such can advertise great benefits which in all actuality translate to false or minimal savings. Don’t lose out on the real rewards by not reading the fine print. (more…)

There have been a number of significant changes in the credit card market since the last quarter of 2008, mainly

Credit Cards

caused by the the credit crunch.

Irresponsible lending has been blamed for causing the credit crunch, after many lenders began offering out cards to any Tom Dick or Harry, advertising them as debt consolidation solutions or interest free loans through 0% deals.

This makes it understandable that  credit card providers have become stricter on who they lend to, tightening acceptance criteria making it harder for some to be approved for credit.

This caused a fall in the acceptance rate, as providers recognised that this previous lending trend needed to be broken as many believed it was this that triggering the financial crisis in the first place.

However, within the last few months the market has seen a rise in competition, which has increased the amount of choice available and in turn led to a growth in consumer appetites for credit cards.

Something else worth noting is that many providers have made these attractive deals available to existing customers only as a way of reducing the risk factor, as this allows the provider to have a pre-existing relationship with the customer, thus enabling them to make a better judgement based on customer profile history.

An existing customer is someone that already holds an account with the provider, such as a savings account or current account.

An example of this is Natwest and RBS, both of which recently increased the balance transfer duration on their Platinum credit cards from 13 months to 15 to all existing customers.

There is nothing stopping you from exposing yourself to the best credit card deals on the market by opening a number of different current accounts spread across multiple banking institutions, as these days most accounts cost you nothing to open with no maintenance costs, so you have nothing to lose in doing so.

According to the British Bankers’ Association, in April, the amount of outstanding credit fell by £412 million to £64.3 billion, £457 million less than the same month last year. The proportion of balances accumulating interest also fell by 0.9 percent to 72.9 percent.

If you have been rejected for a credit card, it is probably due to your credit history not meeting the lenders criteria. It may be worth looking into adverse credit cards, as these are designed to accommodate people that have found it hard to be accepted for a credit card due to a number of reasons.