Showing posts with label Student Credit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Student Credit. Show all posts

Friday, August 24, 2007

How To Get A Credit Card With No Credit

When you first turn 18 it is important that you start your credit. All you need to do first is make sure you have a source of income. You don't have to make a certain amount of money or anything like that. You just need to have some way to prove that you make money. A bank isn't going to give you a credit card if you don't have a job to pay your minimum payments with. So if you are in school the ideal thing to do is get a small part time job working at least 10 hours a week. If you plan on not having a steady income you will not want to revolve your balances on your credit cards.

  • Visa Vs MasterCard – Which Is The Best?
    The two leading credit card companies in the world today are the competitors Visa and MasterCard. They both operate along very similar lines. While Visa can claim to have almost a billion cards issued, MasterCard has over twenty five thousand banks issuing its cards and it is difficult to find any...

Charge on your credit cards and pay them off at the end of every month until you are working consistently. This will help you establish a payment history. This is the main factor when you go to buy any large purchase in the future they are going to look for a solid payment history to prove you are trustworthy with borrowing money. Credit cards are a financial tool. But as most of us know they can get you in trouble real quick. Do not spend money that you don't have to spend. Only buy things when you know you can pay them back within a reasonable amount of time. Hear my words of warning because most people screw this part up within the first 2 years of establishing their credit. You don't want to be one of them. So we have established payment history is the most important.

  • How The Credit Card Companies Rip You Apart?
    Bad credit can happen to anyone. The reasons could be different but the result is the same. Credit card companies see bad credit people as a good means to fill up their coffers. Without paying attention to how the person got into this grim situation, they enforce their credit card issuing norms in such a way...

Now when you have no payment history you have a different set of options. Their are only certain credit cards that you can qualify for approval. These type of cards typically will give you between $200-$500 credit limit. This is a manageable limit that can teach you to manage money responsibility. This is good especially for people who don't make a whole lot of money. Like college students for example. College students get the most benefits for people trying to start their credit. This is because the credit card companies want you to get an education so you can afford to spend more of their money in the future.

Credit cards are a business like any other. They want to to establish a payment history now so when you graduate you can qualify for cards that will give you a credit limit of a few thousand dollars. When you prove that you can be trusted to pay back a small amount of money for at least 1 year. You credit is then experienced enough to get a card with a higher spending limit. What can really help this whole process for you is if you have a car loan.

  • How to Choose a Credit Card
    When it comes to choosing a credit card, you have many options to consider as a means of achieving your goal. Ultimately you want a credit card that is the cheapest, and that gives you the most flexible terms and conditions...
  • How to Avoid Student Credit Card Debt
    Credit card debt is very common to students. Most of the youth don't pay much attention on managing their credit cards properly. To prevent credit card debt...

The credit agencies want to see different types of credit on your report as well. An auto loan is a loan that is secured by something. They like this because a car loan isn't as risky to a bank as it is to give someone a credit card. Credit cards are not secured by anything. It is just money that a bank gave you that you can make payments on. Go to the link below and find credit card offers that say you need limited credit, no credit ok, and bad credit ok.

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Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Best Bad Credit Student Loan Options

A Bad Credit Student Loan can be sought through many different avenues. It all depends on your personal credit rating. The biggest challenge is finding one that offers the lowest interest rate.

There are various routes to explore when seeking out a bad credit student loan and I would suggest that your first port of call would be the school for which you are about to attend. You will need to fill out a FAFSA form in order to initially apply for a federal loan. Perkins loans are combined school and government funds.

A combination loan may be another alternative way of acquiring a bad credit student loan. This type of student loan enables you to consolidate any existing loans that you have whilst applying for a new tuition loan. The only drawback to this type of loan is that you may need someone to co-sign.

Another way to get a bad credit student loan is to get a co-signer. Maybe a family member with good credit would help. This way you could get loans with more attractive interest rates and terms, in spite of your bad credit.

Finally, if all else fails you will need to contact banks and financial institutions. They will more than likely be happy to lend you the money, but it will be on a higher interest rate than usual. When you have bad credit the banks will check out your personal credit score first and then offer terms based on the credit rating assessment.

Take heart, even if your bad credit student loan is set at a high interest rate, numerous student loans defer your payment until you have finished college. This in turn will allow you time to improve your credit rating and when you leave college you could then look into consolidating your bad credit student loan at a better interest rate. This will mean your monthly payments will be at a lower level and therefore more affordable.

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Thursday, August 9, 2007

What You Need To Know about Joint Application Credit Card

A joint application credit card is simply a credit card that allows two people to use it. It typically works as follows: An individual completes a credit card application and then requests an additional card. The other card or cards will have that second persons name on it, but will have the same account number assigned to it. Probably the most common example of this is a husband and wife.

In many cases married people have joint financial accounts for such things as savings, checking and investment portfolios. It greatly simplifies the management of finances. Another common reason for filling out a joint application credit card is a parent wanting to assist their child in establishing credit.

In a way it is similar to them cosigning an auto loan. This is often done when the child goes away to college. The advantage here is that the parent can keep an eye on all the activity generated by the student. Now here are some important points that you must understand before applying for a joint credit card.

The debt acquired by one of the cardholders is also the responsibility of the other cardholder. In other words, if your husband runs up a $3000 debt on the card and you should happen to become separated, simply stating that it is his debt and you are not liable for it isn't going to relieve you of that debt.

As long as your name is still on the card, you will be held responsible for any and all debts accrued. The way to stop this is to pay off the debt in full and cancel the card so there can be no further purchases made with it. Canceling a joint credit card can be done by a single party, as long as the account is free of outstanding debt.

The information I have given here is only a cursory look at the joint application credit card. Be sure to read the terms of service and conditions of the credit card issuer carefully and do not hesitate to directly contact the credit card company with any specific questions that you may have.

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Tuesday, August 7, 2007

When is a Right Time to Use Credit? Cash or Credit

These oft-repeated words are a cashier's stock phrase. Yet the question packs a powerful punch in demanding a response that may have a significant impact on your budget.

When should you charge a purchase? The following guidelines may help you think about the best answer to this question.

  1. Charge only when you must. If you can afford to pay cash, do so to avoid interest payments being added to the amount of the purchase. Emergencies like a flat tire, an unexpected medical bill, or a one-time expense can be paid by credit if you have no savings or cash on hand to cover it. But keep in mind you will have to pay interest charges and possible additional account fees if you do not pay the balance in full on the account statement when it arrives.
  2. Charge when other options are unavailable. For example, if you don't have cash or a debit card, you may need to charge something. But get in the habit of using your bank's debit card, which deducts a purchase amount from your checking account. This can be done without fees when you don't use your PIN, but check with your bank to clarify their specific rules and regulations.
  3. Charge against your home equity line of credit to get a tax deduction. Check with your mortgage institution for details or if you don't already have an equity credit line. Ask about the interest rate to be sure it will not exceed the benefit of a tax deduction.
  4. Charge to get cash-back value or bonus points on your credit account. Sometimes it pays to purchase gas, groceries, and routine home maintenance supplies if you can pay them off in full when the statement comes in. Some credit companies offer cash back on a percentage basis, depending on the amount of the credit purchase. Fuel card companies offer gasoline discounts. The goal is not to get hooked into overusing your card in exchange for services you may not really need.
  5. Charge for convenience. Rather than carrying cash around all day to the drugstore, grocery store, or video store, you may want to charge these and other purchases to avoid running out of cash, as long as you are able to pay the balance off each month rather than letting it accumulate. Paying at the pump for gasoline is especially handy when you're in a hurry or the weather is bad and you don't want to take those extra steps to pay inside or at the window.
  6. Charge when you travel. Tracking expenses and checking each purchase can help you monitor expenditures and the family budget as well as give you a few extra weeks after you return to pay the bill. Travel checks work well, too, although the monthly credit card statement provides a helpful spending history.

While a majority of people have at least one credit card, don't fall into the trap of relying on credit too heavily. Debt is a heavy burden to carry, especially as it continues to accrue added interest charges.

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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Visa Vs MasterCard – Which Is The Best?

The two leading credit card companies in the world today are the competitors Visa and MasterCard. They both operate along very similar lines. While Visa can claim to have almost a billion cards issued, MasterCard has over twenty five thousand banks issuing its cards and it is difficult to find any difference in the number of locations worldwide that accept the cards, which is now estimated at over twenty million.

In fact, as far as most consumers are concerned, there is no real difference between the two. They are both very widely accepted in over one hundred and fifty countries and it is very rare to find a location that will accept one but not the other.

However, neither Visa nor MasterCard actually issue any credit cards themselves. They are both simply methods of payment. They rely on banks in various countries to issue credit cards that utilise these payment methods. Therefore, the interest rates, rewards, annual fees, and all other charges are issued by your bank and when you pay your bill you are paying it to the bank or institution that issued your card and not Visa or MasterCard.

How Visa and MasterCard make their money is by charging the retailer for using their payment method. So the truth of the matter is that a Visa issued by say the Bank of Scotland will have very little to do with a Visa issued by other banks and may in fact by more similar to the Bank of Scotland’s MasterCard.

What this means for the vast majority of customers is that you do not have to overly concern yourself with whether a credit card is MasterCard or Visa. You would be better off concentrating on the interest and other charges on the card, the balance transfer possibilities or their reward scheme. You are very unlikely to ever be effected by the fact that it is one and not the other.

If you prefer, if you are going to have two credit cards, you may decide that you want one of them to be Visa and the other MasterCard, this means that if something drastic were to happen to one company, or if you were in the unlikely position of finding a location that accepts one but not the other, then you would have the option of paying with either.

At the end of the day however, much more depends on the bank that gave you the card, than on the type of card it is.

Related Post:
How to Choose a Credit Card
How The Credit Card Companies Rip You Apart-

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Sunday, July 29, 2007

Worst Student Credit Card Mistakes that Cause Most of the Credit Card Debt

Do you find most of your friends end up their college with huge credit card debts to repay? What ails them? In this article we take a look at the 3 worst mistakes students make with their student credit cards, and pay for it heavily later on in their life.

1. Sign up the first offer you receive
A student is offered a number of credit card when he or she enters the college. A good thing would be to contact the financial aid office to get help on which card is better. Ask your friends, get their opinion, see how well they are faring with their student credit cards, compare various offers that you get on a credit card comparison website online. This will ensure that you have made an informed decision. Else, you could land in trouble.

2. Max out the credit limit
Credit card companies are quite generous in giving huge credit limits by student's standards. Student's should not take this as easy money and max out the credit card. A good thing is to keep the credit card balances to below 30% of the maximum credit limit. This will keep them in the good books of credit card company and won't invite huge penalties and high APR's.

3. Don't repay on time
Taking a loan (yes every expenditure on credit card is a loan and has to be repaid with interest) and defaulting on repayments, doesn't go well with credit card agencies. When they find that a default on repayment has taken place, they increase the APR's, take back all rewards and slap late payment fees. This also doesn't goes well with the credit rating agencies.

Credit card is there to help you in times of difficulties and it has to be used wisely to build the credit. If the credit card companies find that your credit card use is judicious, they will increase your credit limits, lower interest rates, throw in few more rewards etc. This will seriously help in building a good credit history.

Related Post:
Everyone Should Know About Student Credit Cards
Why Credit Card Companies Target College Students
How to Avoid Student Credit Card Debt

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How The Credit Card Companies Rip You Apart?

Bad credit can happen to anyone. The reasons could be different but the result is the same. Credit card companies see bad credit people as a good means to fill up their coffers. Without paying attention to how the person got into this grim situation, they enforce their credit card issuing norms in such a way that they make maximum amount. How they rip us apart? Take a look at the following article and you will find the answer for sure.

High Interest Rates
A less than perfect credit repot attracts high APR on your credit card. Credit card companies simply can't digest the fact. The feel it risky to provide credit card, so to offset the risk high interest rates come in.

Low Credit Limits
A very low credit limit is given if you have an unsecured bad credit credit card. On the other hand if you offer any collateral or link your credit card to a bank account, the credit limits can increase slightly. However, don't expect huge credit limits instantly, they can grow gradually if you are prompt on repayment and get the credit card companies faith.

High Annual Fees
High ownership costs are a regular feature of bad credit credit card, this includes a high annual fees which can go in hundreds of dollars if the situation is really bad on the credit history front.

Low Grace Periods
With very less tolerance for defaults, credit card companies levy heavy late payment penalties and do not allow large grace period. Considering the fact that the borrower's credit history is already tainted, credit card companies feel that they have very little choice but to enforce strict repayment schedules to recover their money.

Advance Processing Fee
Yes, don't be surprised if a credit card company demands a huge sum in advance to give you that bad credit credit card. It has become a norm with some 'shady' credit card companies.

The facts above present the stark reality which faces a person with bad credit when he approaches a credit card company. To avoid getting ripped off by the credit card companies he/she should compare various bad credit credit card offers available in the market and choose only the one which suits best. A bad credit credit card is an opportunity to remedy the credit history. This can only be done if the monthly balances are repaid promptly and the credit card is used in a responsible manner.

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Saturday, July 21, 2007

How to Avoid Student Credit Card Debt

Credit card debt is very common to students. Most of the youth don't pay much attention on managing their credit cards properly. To prevent credit card debt, the article feature some practical tips for the students to learn how to use the credit cards the right way.

Students are prone to acquiring credit card debt. Why? Because most young people do not know or are not paying attention on how to handle their credit cards correctly. Here are some practical advice on the proper use of student credit cards and how to avoid credit card debt.

It’s Just a Marketing Strategy
Be aware that credit card companies are experts when it comes to marketing their business. They spend millions of dollars in using different marketing strategies to get your attention, to grab your interest and move you to sign up with their company. Credit card companies may give away freebies, offer instant approval, and other promotional tactics which can be very hard to resist. Don’t be too naïve in applying for a credit card just so you can get a free coffee mug or t-shirt. Remember, there’s more to it than just the freebie.

Don’t Settle for High Rates
There are so many different credit card companies that are competing in the market today that students don’t have to settle for a credit card with unsatisfactory features. Some credit card companies charge high rates for students because they haven’t yet established their own credit. However, there are still other credit card issuers who offer reasonable rates even for students like you. Don’t rush in signing up that application as if there’s no tomorrow. Take your time in choosing the right student credit card with the most reasonable rates. Compare the rates and features that each credit card provides. Only then can you be sure that you’ve chosen the right one.

Control the Use of Your Credit Card
Don’t use your credit card on all your spending needs. For instance, if you’re going to eat in a restaurant or watch a movie be sure you have the budget to spend on it. Don’t use your student credit card on such expenses. If you’ll get into the habit of charging all your expenses on your credit card, it is not unlikely that you will soon be facing credit card debt. Because credit cards are so convenient to use, you won’t immediately realize that you’re already spending way out of your means. In the end, you’ll have a very hard time paying off your balances.

Educate Yourself
You can find valuable articles on the internet that are related to credit cards and credit card management. Learn about the features of a credit card, know your rights and your responsibilities as a credit card holder, know what a credit report is, how your credit report can affect you and read advises on how you can manage your finances correctly.

Budget your money
Budgeting plays an important role in avoiding credit card debt. What is your exact budget for an entire month? Whether you are self-supporting or receiving allowance from your parents, plan exactly how much you intend on spending out of that cash. Don’t forget to save even just a small portion from your monthly allowance. This savings will be your fund which you can use when emergencies arise. Make sure that you will not go beyond your intended expenses for the month. When making a purchase, think about it ten times. Do you really need that particular item? Or do you just want it? Have the determination to say no or back out from making a purchase if you know that it’s not really very important.

Pay Your Dues
Using your student credit card in purchasing doesn’t grant you the freedom from paying it back. So pay your credit card balances on time and never ever try to skip on a payment. Be aware about the scheduled deadline on your payments. Check your monthly statement of account and see to it that you’re keeping up with your credit card payments.

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