It's tough living nowadays with no credit. Sure, it's possible, but it's a pain. Just about everything is tied to your credit. Want to buy a car? They're going to check your credit. Want to get a housing loan? They're going to check your credit. Looking for a job? Some employers even check the credit history of possible hires. So how does one with no credit go about getting it?
It seems like a pretty obvious way to prevent mistakes, fraud and other false charges, but the truth is that many of us really don't take the time to go over our statements every month. With stories such as this becoming more and more frequent (thanks, in part, to the internet) it pays to spend five minutes to double-check each charge.
To go along with my previous post about our new 0% APR Offers section I have compiled the following list of the best of the best offerings. Included are: the best balance transfer credit card, the best 0% APR for purchases credit card, and the best credit card that has both 0% APR for purchases and balance transfers. For those of you stuck on deciding which card on the 0% APR list is right for you read on to make the choice a lot simpler.
You know those 'deals' that stores such as Express, Best Buy, and Victoria's Secret have where you can get whatever amount off of your first purchase, or special financing if you sign up for and are approved for their brand of credit card? Don't fall for it.
In much the same vein as the Credit Card Signup Bonus section I have finally completed work on the 0% Purchase/Balance Transfer APR section! Here I have listed the most up-to-date 0% APR signup offers, organized by card issuer. I will try and keep the list as current as possible. If you find any mistakes, broken links, etc., please fill out the contact form and let me know, thanks.
If you haven't heard about it yet, there is a new application about to debut that keeps track of all of your credit card balances and APR information. RateSurfer.com will be going live in a few weeks, but it is already available to download as a demo now (sorry Mac users, you'll have to wait a bit longer for the MacOS version to arrive).
I finally managed to get the credit card signup bonus offers section up. It only took a year of procrastination, but better late than never! I'm sure that everyone will be pleased with my hard work, I compiled quite a thorough list. As always though, please let me know if anything is broken, missing, or incorrect by mailing me through the contact form, thanks.
Here's a list of a few things that you can do to make sure that you take full advantage of your credit cards and to prevent them from taking advantage of you.
In an earlier post I listed the top credit cards for every type of spending (The Best Cash Back Credit Cards). In the past it wasn't difficult to find a credit card that gave you 5% back (in either points or cash) on gas and/or groceries. But ever since the last card to provide these rewards stopped accepting new applications (the Chase Rewards Visa card),there hasn't been much else out there, if anything. That's where the little known Associated Bank Rewards Visa card come in.
Yet another article (BusinessWeek) on how credit card users are angry at unfair and misleading tactics used by credit card corporations (also see "Consumers Blast Credit Card Companies"). Companies raising interest rates on a whim and rising penalty rates are just a couple of the things that are leading to a consumer backlash. The climate is so bad (with the general state of America's economy only serving to make things worse) that the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) is looking into regulating the credit card industry and banning certain practices for the first time in over twenty years.
