Credit Cards News Archive

If you travel a lot, you must be in the habit of renting a car. A rental agency may offer you an additional insurance coverage which you make haste to buy. But do you really need these extra expenses if you've taken a credit card with you? If you have a Visa/MasterCard, American Express or Discover Card, you can be assured of being covered in case you get in an accident while driving a rental.

But maybe not. Banks and card companies recommend you compare different policies before making application. Policies vary in who is insured, the level of insurance and in what vehicle, when and where it requires coverage. With inadequate credit card rental car insurance, you may incur unforeseen costs. So, do find what coverage your card offers and what is required of you to qualify for it.

Balance transfers applications are widely used among cardholders who don't pay bills in full each month. Minimum monthly payments constitute only a portion of credit you owe to the bank, the rest piling up into a fat debt. When the interest rate is high and the balance is growing, you start thinking of moving it onto a better credit card. But it might be next to impossible if you do not have the credit rating required by the issuer. Some people cope with the debt by getting into a debt management plan or filing for bankruptcy even. That's because they do not know of a rarely used trick - transferring your balances onto another person's credit card. While promising relief from debt, this trick hides lots of traps and threatens to damage both, your and that person's good credit.

Credit card nation - that's what Americans are called for their addiction to and overuse of plastic money. But with such a huge number of credit consumers, still many have not a slightest idea where to go and what to do to obtain their fist plastic and start building payment history with banks.

Major Banks do not feel comfortable about unsecured lending to people without any credit references. And if you do not get a credit line you cannot grow those references. That's' where the catch is, so you actually have to find an institution who'll agree to work with you as a beginner. A secured credit card is easily issued to beginners and is the best tool to establish positive payment references so important for your borrowing abilities in the future.

The increased delinquencies rates and stressed lending industry made banks more choosy and careful accepting new applications. The essential point for the bank's approval/denial decision is still the customer's credit score contained in his/her credit report. The three-digit expression of your creditworthiness plays a factor when you take out any loan and apply for a plastic card. The better the score, the better the card rates as usual.

You may have heard that ordering credit report, which is essential to do if plan to apply for a loan, may lower your score. That sounds as if you shouldn't have any credit report checks to preserve a good FICO score. While this is true, there are some exceptions.

Back to April, 2008, Delta Airlines and American Express launched an application for the first really elite frequent flyer credit card with a solid annual fee of $450 and exclusive travel rewards. At that time, Delta Reserve Credit Card put the value of rewards front and center, delivering big spenders great miles called as elite-qualifying miles, or EQM. Its basic rewards scheme offered miles bonuses after making the first purchase as well as after reaching a certain spending target.

The major feature distinguishing this exclusive Amex travel rewards card from other airline affinity offers is the ability to accumulate bonus miles redeemable for the elite flyer status. Typically, this feature proved to be valuable only for customers who used the card to finance Delta flights in the first place and spent $30,000 annually.