| |
| |
| Credit Information | |
|
|
|
Convenience Can Be Costly
You've just opened your credit card bill and attached to your statement you find a "convenience check" included. It may already be filled out with a dollar amount such as $300, $500, or even $1,000. Your mind fills with ideas of what you could buy with this "instant" money. A new summer wardrobe, a nice dinner and tickets to a concert, a weekend getaway. But before you go off on a shopping spree, you should be aware that your "convenience check" is nothing more than a cash advance on your credit card. Cash advances on credit cards carry many extra fees, often overlooked or misunderstood by consumers. Here's a quick look at the types of fees most card issuers charge for a cash advance: 1) Upfront fee of 2-4% of the amount advanced. On a $1,000 cash advance your fee will range from $20-$40 in addition to the interest charges. 2) Higher interest rate than on purchases. Many credit card companies charge 18% or more on cash advances. In addition, most companies apply only a small percentage of your monthly minimum payment toward the cash advance. Some require that you pay down the balance on your purchases first before applying payments to the higher-interest advance. In other words, you'll be paying fees and interest on your cash advance for a long time, especially if you only pay the minimum payment. 3) Cash advances normally carry no grace period. This means interest charges accrue as soon as you withdraw money or cash the convenience check. By law your credit card company must disclose any fees associated with a cash advance. The easiest way to find out what fees are charged is to carefully read your credit card statement or to call your credit issuer's toll-free customer service number and ask questions. Credit card companies charge these fees for two main reasons. One, to cover the costs to process this transaction which are often higher than a regular credit card purchase. And secondly because of the percentage of defaults among credit advance users. These costs are then passed along to you the consumer in the fees and interest rates associated with a cash advance. The next time you are tempted to cash that convenience check or withdraw money from an ATM using your credit card, be sure you understand the fees and long term effects of using a credit card cash advance. © 2004, www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Credit - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Useful Tips On Avoiding Credit and Charge Card Fraud Credit and charge card fraud costs cardholders and issuers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. While theft is the most obvious form of fraud, it can occur in other ways. Boosting Your Credit Score To Get The Best Credit Card Deal Making Your Credit Rating Work For YouOne of the basics of getting the most competitive credit card deal in the market is to ensure you have the best credit record possible. Few of us are lucky enough to be earning a six-figure salary, and many people are likely to have other financial undertakings that a potential lender will want to take into account. How To Boost Your Credit Score Years ago your credit score was a big secret, known only to a select few such as your mortgage and credit card companies. In 2000, Fair, Isaac Co. Getting Your Credit Report and Understanding Whats On It If you intend to apply for a loan, you need to obtain your credit score. Understanding what this score means will allow you to make the loan process easier and quicker. Student Credit Cards 101 Almost all students have and use student credit cards. Some of the students use them wisely and build for them an early credit history but others accumulate lots of debts that would have to be paid off once the student life is over. Credit Help for Real Estate Financing: Credit Scores When you buy real estate, lenders run all of the "big three" credit bureau reports. Each credit reporting agency lists your credit history as supplied to them by the individual lenders and includes governmental records. Credit Card Is Adding The Silver Lining To Your Pocket In the new millennium plastic money or credit cards has rendered a new zing factor to your pocket. This has not only made you economically more flexible but subsequently added glamour to your financial image as well. Credit Reports Inside and Out The Credit Report is like your scorecard in the lending world. Every time you prepare yourself to acquire or purchase something that requires financial assistance from a lending institution, your credit report will be your "presentation card". 5 Killer Steps to avoid Credit Card SCAMS! In August, 2004, the Federal Trade Commission issued their findings of a recent study, which showed that nearly 25 million adults were victims of fraud.Now, most importantly, If you are a victim of fraud, please do not feel like you did anything wrong. Compare Credit Card Offers and Reward Yourself Here's a simple system on how to pay zero interest and get tons of free stuff. Almost everyone uses credit cards. Which Citi Mastercard Is Right For You? You've decided to apply for a Citi MasterCard, but with so many different cards to choose from, how do you know which one is right for you? Here is a brief guide to the different types of MasterCard available from Citibank.A great MasterCard program is the Citi Platinum Select Card. A Cure for an Ailing Credit Credit has become a much-used word, thanks to the various connotations that it is being used in. Transactions in which the payment is deferred to the near future are termed as credit transactions. SuperCharged Secret 1 of 5 - Credit Card Utopia I AM THE CONSUMER. AND I HAVE LOW-RATE SUPER-POWERS!Note: The following is part 1 of a 5 part series. Warning: Todays Non Profit Credit Counselors Are Yesterdays Bill Collectors! Here's a dirty secret, today's "non profit credit counselors" are often just front organizations paid lucrative commissions by creditors to keep consumers from declaring bankruptcy!In the "debt collection biz", creditors will sell your outstanding debt along with the debt of hundreds of others to a collection agency for cash up front.The collection agencies will work this debt until they've made all the money they can. Shoppers Beware - Tis The Season It's the number one complaint from consumers and it only takes a moment for you to become a victim. While you search for holiday bargains, identity thieves are searching for targets - unsuspecting consumers. Guide to Credit Terms Listed below is a useful guide to credit card terms. It is a list of definitions of credit card terms that may or may not be familiar to you. Harassment of People in Debt by Creditors HarassmentHarassment of people in debt by creditors or their agents is a criminal offence under the Administration of Justice Act 1970. It is often difficult to know what to do when you feel a creditor is not dealing with your account fairly. Credit Card Debt: One Way To Avoid It One of the biggest problems people have in these modern times is Credit card debt, and worst is USA. Simply because there have always been so many laws and regulations before you could have a card in the rest of the world, you can't for instance borrow someone elses card and go shopping because you always have to show some ID before they accept cards in Europe. What Is A FICO Score? A credit score is most commonly known as a FICO score. FICO stands for Fair Isaacs Corporation. I've Heard About FACTA; What Does It mean? What FACTA means is that if you, as an individual, lose the information on anyone you have ever hired; or, for any business in the United States of America that collects any personal information on people, if the information should be lost due to not destroying the information properly, then two things can happen. First, there are federal fines of up to $2,500.
|
| home | site map |
| © myfinancialsolutiononline.com 2007 |
