Low Interest Credit Cards

Low interest credit cards are the ones to look for when you want to transfer a credit card balance or just have more credit on hand at a better rate. Usually the offers online or that you get in the mail pre-approved offer the lowest interest rates. It is worth shopping around since credit card interest can range from 0% for 12 months to 16% or higher. LowerMyBills.com is one of the best sites to compare rates at to find a credit card at a low interest rate.

Credit Card UK

UK credit cards are available online through a number of UK credit card websites as well as through some US based companies. PayPal provides credit and debit cards that can be used internationally and I know for a fact my Mastercard, American Express and Visa work just fine in the UK.

Transfer Credit Card Balance

Now is an excellent time to transfer your credit card balances. Rates are starting to go back up, so it is imperative to transfer your balances now. Look around for the best rates and the longest periods of time available on the transferred balances. Transferring a balance is usually very easy. Usually there are credit card offers with special rates for credit card balance transfers and you may be able to find an offer that will even take your credit card balance interest rate all the way down to 0% for up to a year. Sometimes there are fees of up to $50 or 3% on the balance transfers. Look for offers with no balance transfer fees. And sometimes the transfer fees are only waived when you first apply for the credit card, so be sure to ask before you transfer your balances.

Apply for Credit Cards

Applying for Credit Cards has gotten easier than ever. There are several sites online that will give you good rates on credit card offers. Websites like LowerMyBills.com will give you a comparison of the different cards on the market and you can sort by the type of credit card offer you are looking for like:

• Low rates or 0% on new credit card purchases


• 0% or low rates on credit card balance transfers


• No annual fee credit cards

Typically you will get the very best credit card rates directly from the credit card companies like Capitol One or Citibank. Or you can look up Visa or Mastercard offers online at Google. American Express and Discover are offering more options now days. American Express has a no fee card as well as some new credit card offers that no longer require that the balance be paid off every month. Traditionally, American Express is the best card to use for traveling internationally.

Why Did My Credit Card Get Cancelled When My Spouse Died?

Let?™s say you are an authorized user of your spouse?™s credit card.  Your spouse dies and even though you are the main user of the card and the one who pays the bill, the card is cancelled once you notify the credit card company of your spouse?™s death.  You realize that that while you were an authorized user, you weren?™t the account holder.  So what do you do?  Don Taylor, Ph.D., CFA, CFP of Bankrate.com says that you are not left with nothing.  By law, the payment history on the credit card goes on your credit report.  Therefore, if you have a good credit history on that card, it will be that much easier to get a credit card in your own name.  Dr. Don does advise getting copies of your spouse?™s credit report from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.  You need to be aware of what accounts need to be closed.

You can get a free credit report annually from the three major credit reporting agencies mentioned above by going to www.annualcreditreport.com.  

For more information on what agencies to notify after a spouse?™s death, go to http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/DrDon/20060228a1.asp

Credit Cards & Savings Accounts

Credit Cards & Savings Accounts:  Deal or No Deal?

American Express is offering a new credit card called ?œOne by American Express??  Perhaps you?™ve heard of it.  One percent of each credit card purchase is deposited into a savings account.  According to americanexpress.com, these are the advantages to getting this card:

• The Savings AcceleratorSM Plan contributes 1% of eligible purchases into an FDIC-insured High-Yield Savings Account in your name1


• Earn a competitive Annual Percentage Yield (APY), currently 3.80% (variable rate effective 1/19/2006)


• Get $25 to jump-start your savings after your first purchase2


• With the Interest Protection feature, you never pay interest on new purchases, even when you carry a balance


• No annual fee the first year - that's a $35 savings3

Should you run out and get this card?  Not so fast.  According to financial columnist Laura Rowley, there are some drawbacks consumers should be aware of before they sign up.

• ?œA year after you start using the card, AmEx charges an annual fee of $35. So, you must spend at least $3,500 on the card to break even, since 1 percent of $3,500 is $35 (you'll earn a buck and change in interest on the $35.)


• Pay late just once, and you'll ring up a late fee of $29.


• The card's APR ranges from 13.24 percent to 15.24 percent. Miss the due date three times, and the APR soars to nearly 22 percent.

Now, let's say you carry a $3,400 balance for a year. That's $450 to $500 in interest.??br/>Be sure to click on the Terms and Conditions link to see these for yourself.  Whether you?™re considering getting American Express, Discover, Visa or MasterCard, look beyond a good APR (Annual Percentage Rate) to the fine print.
Laura Rowley?™s full article can be found at http://finance.yahoo.com/columnist/article/moneyhappy/2227

Should you close credit cards you don't use?

Should you close credit cards you don?™t use?

Surprisingly, often you shouldn?™t. Why not? Your FICO credit score measures the ratio of the balances on your credit accounts versus the limits on those accounts. It also looks at the length of time you have had credit. What does this mean to you?

1) Keeping an old credit account open maintains the long credit history you have developed. If you use the credit account every few months and pay off the bill in full, you?™ll have both maintained your long credit history and you?™ll have shown an account with an excellent debt-to-credit limit ratio.

2) Since your FICO credit score is partly based on your debt-to-credit limit ratio, you will want to have a credit debt that is a low percentage of the credit limit offered to you. MSN money expert Liz Pulliam Weston recommends getting your balances below 30%. It looks good if the majority of your credit accounts have a balance below 30%. Your ratio of balance-to-credit limit becomes more favorable.

3) If you feel more comfortable closing some credit accounts, choose to keep marquee accounts like Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express open and close old department store accounts instead. Also, accounts with lower credit limits would be better to close rather than those with higher credit limits. Again, this is because in order to make your debt ratio more favorable, you?™ll either have to lower your balance, or increase your credit limit. Or you can do both.

4) Money expert Liz Pulliam Weston also recommends lowering your recorded balance on an account by paying it off a week before the period closing date listed on your statement. You can do this by going to the credit issuer?™s web site. Having a lower balance at the time of the monthly closing date makes your balance-to-credit limit ratio more favorable. Some companies that don't report the credit limit on your account instead use your highest balance to stand in for your credit limit. For more information, go to http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/Yourcreditrating/P116527.asp