Credit Card ’s Talk

So, you say you?ve got a small business and you?re looking for a credit instrument that could tailor itself to your business requirements? Well, your search ends here. Small business credit cards fit right in, helping you separate business and personal expenses.

A study by the Tower Group reports that two out of three small businesses use a small business credit card for purchasing and financing. So why are small business credit cards so prevalent? Small business credit cards offer small businesses a crucial edge allowing small business owners to expand or limit the growth of their business, as needed, providing the flexibility necessary to match their company?s growth needs.

Small Business Credit Card Edge

Help with Your Cash Flow: The best use of borrowed finances is to assist with month to month cash flow. Small business credit cards help you get the much needed credit to help your business grow while providing a margin of safety for your cash flow needs.

Maintaining Independent Accounts: Mixing your personal and business transaction accounts could lead to poor money management and potential tax problems. With a small business credit card, you?ll be able to maintain separate accounts on your personal card.

Help Balancing Your Books: This one is thrown in for free. With your card company maintaining an ongoing transaction record, you will have a convenient record of all transaction items that can be reconciled at tax time. Simply have the credit card company provide you an itemized list of all purchases made using their credit card and you?ll have some built-in transparency on all of your spending activities and financial accounts.

Build Your Credit Limit: Small businesses looking to expand need capital. You card provides your business with an opportunity to build your credit limit with consistent use and repayment over time. Access to more capital offers financial muscle to help grow the business, providing larger income opportunities for the small business owner.

Pre-Set Employee Spending Limits: For businesses wanting to keep a tight watch over their finances, these cards usually offer preset spending limits for employees, providing an excellent check and balance system for all your company expenditures.

Take Advantage of Special Offers: The competitive market has forced credit card companies to throw in special discounts and rewards programs. By examining the travel and entertainment requirements of your company, you will be able to grab offers that can help reduce your expenses through the use of reward point systems.

Tips for Selecting Small Business Credit Cards

If your existing business partners provide a small business credit card, it is probably a good idea to stick to them as you are more likely to get favorable rates and credit lines with an established credit line. Late payment and other such penalties will have to be borne by the company and not the employee. Therefore, give cards only to employees you absolutely trust and only provide credit limits that are in line with their expenditure requirements. Make sure the card you choose is widely accepted so that it helps meet everyone?s expense item needs.

Small business credit cards are quickly establishing themselves as an efficient way to increase capital and buying power for small businesses. While this calls for responsibility in its management, a small business credit card could go a long way in changing the face of your business for the better.

Robert Alan recommends that you visit CreditCardAssist.com for more information on how to use small business credit cards to take control of your business.

Julie, a 20 year old full time college student, married Bert, a 24 year old medical clerk. On the day she signed their marriage license, her credit report score began to worsen.

Julie knew Bert had been previously married, and though that marriage had lasted only two years, it was long enough to spread a bad credit virus onto her and Bert’s joint credit report score.

Bert’s ex-spouse, Camille, already had delinquent credit before she married Bert. And, she had continued being delinquent during her marriage to Bert and after the divorce. Unbeknownst to Bert, Camille’s bad credit had passed onto him when he married her, and then passed on to his new bride, Julie.

Why? Because when couples marry, assets; as well as debts, become joint. Unfortunately, divorce does not nullify financial obligations, even if a judge specifies in a divorce decree which spouse is responsible for re-paying which bills.

But this is just the beginning of Julie and Bert’s bad credit horror.

Julie had racked-up several thousand dollars in student loans. After she married Bert, she dropped out of college and that action initiated the loan repayment period. Like Bert, she also has a full time job, but it’s hard to pay the debt because of other bills.

In the divorce decree with Camille, Bert retained possession of the car which still had loan payments due. Camille received all the furniture in the divorce settlement. Bert and his new bride, Julie, had to purchase new furnishings for their apartment. Additionally, they had spent a lot of money on their wedding and honeymoon. Together they had a lot of debts to repay, and some bills were being paid late. Their credit score continued to dive.

They got an idea. They would balance transfer Julie’s credit card and Bert’s credit card to a new credit card that offered 0 interest balance transfers for the first six months. Unfortunately, since their credit score was bad due to excessive debt-to-income ratio and late payments, they were rejected by the card issuer.

Bert refinanced his car to lower the monthly payment. Since his credit was bad, he had to extend the term (repayment duration) of the loan an additional two years and at a higher interest rate than the original loan, but he was able to get $1,000 in equity. He and Julie used the $1,000 to catch up on their bill payments.

Six months later, now that they had caught up on their payments which also lowered their overall debt-to-income, they reapplied for the 0 intro balance transfer credit card and were accepted. They transferred their credit cards to the 0 intro card.

Three months later, they received a letter from the new card issuer that stated their 0 interest period had been terminated. Why? Because Julie and Bert had mailed an auto loan payment a few days late. The late payment was reported by the auto lender to a credit reporting agency which lowered their credit score. The new card issuer’s terms required Bert and Julie to maintain (or improve) their credit score by making all payments (not just payments on the card) on time. In addition to terminating the 0 interest period, the issuer also increased their APR rate.

Other than ordering credit reports before marriage, what could Bert and Julie have done differently to avoid the bad credit virus?

Before divorcing Camille, Bert should have made sure all debts assigned to her would be repaid, and repaid on time. Obviously, the only sure way to have done this would have been for Bert to make the payments himself. He could have refinanced his auto after divorcing Camille, used the equity to payoff her debts, and then have her repay him. He should have also ensured that all joint accounts with Camille had been closed to prevent additional charges.

Julie should have continued her full time student status; not only to improve her career opportunities, but also to delay the student loan repayment requirement.

And there are obvious things Bert and Julie could have done, such as buying used furniture whenever they had available cash instead of charging purchases for new furniture on their credit cards. Additionally, they could have spent less on their wedding and honeymoon.

Marriage and joint debts can indeed spread bad credit like a virus. Don’t rely upon a divorce decree to separate you from bad credit.

Article by Toni Phelps of Credit Federal where you can find more credit information and resources.

If your mailbox is anything like mine, it brings you a new credit card offer at least daily. The trouble is choosing the credit card that makes most financial sense for you. This article will touch on a few of the most important factors, and will hopefully help you choose the best credit card for your needs.

Interest Rates

The first factor to consider is interest rates. Ideally, you want to get the lowest interest rate you can. This is especially true if you think that you might on occasion put charges on your card that you cannot pay off right away. If you plan on paying off all charges the same month you accrue them, though, the interest rate may not be as important to you.

Rewards

Many credit cards now feature various kinds of rewards programs. The rewards programs are widely variant, so it is a good idea to do a little research and choose the best one for your uses.

There are two basic kinds of rewards programs: cash back and points. With cash back cards, you get a certain percentage of all your qualifying purchases back, usually as a credit on your account. With a points system, you get a point, usually for each qualified dollar you spend on your card. You can then redeem those points for merchandise. Sometimes the points may only be redeemed at one store, sometimes at many stores, other times for airline tickets, etc. Just be certain that the card you get allows you to redeem your points in a way the benefits you.

Credit Limit

Be sure that the credit card you get has a high enough credit limit to meet your needs.

Other factors you should take into account include annual fees, financing fees, credit requirements, online banking availability, introductory offers, etc. There are also websites that can help you find credit cards that meet your needs.

Compare Credit Cards at http://www.creditratewatchers.com

The best credit card reward available is one that suits your lifestyle and saves you time and money, is convenient, has low interest rates, and great rewards. One of the most popular credit card reward programs is included in the frequent flyer credit card.

Frequent flyer credit card

For those who make several trips a year on business or personal occasions, the frequent flyer credit card makes a lot of sense. Indeed, if you know someone, a friend or relative who travels a lot, you can even use the credit card reward as a gift and give the person you love the freedom of travel.

Most reward card companies that offer airline miles in exchange for dollars spent on the card trick you into applying for their card without first disclosing how many points you have to accumulate to actually qualify for miles. The Bank of America MilesEdge card is an example of one that does not do this. The company is up front about how many points you need to start qualifying for miles, and it is far less than most credit card reward systems. After you accumulate ten thousand points, you can begin to redeem them for airline travel. You can redeem your points for other rewards when you reach five thousand points. The company starts you off with a generous one thousand points after your first purchase regardless of how much you spend.

Bank of America credit card features

?The Bank of America credit card has no annual fee. This can save you money and interest that you would otherwise pay on the annual fee after it is added to your outstanding balance. This occurs because the annual fee is taken out of the line of credit and applied to the balance that you owe. If you do not pay your bill in full each month then you are behind on your balance, and this annual fee will accrue interest along with the rest of your purchases. With the Bank of America credit card you don?t have to worry about this loophole that so many other companies use to earn your money.

?You get reliable basic features with all the credit cards from Bank of America. These include banking online, where you can manage your credit card account over the internet. Any credit card offer you get online should include this type of service.

?Convenience checks come with your Bank of America credit card. These checks can be used like regular checks you get from your bank. You simply write the check at the store, restaurant, or with your utility bill as you would one from your checking account. The money comes out of the line of credit that you opened with your Bank of America MilesEdge card.

?Also notice the twenty four hour customer service available with your MilesEdge card. A customer service representative is on call any time of day or night no matter where your credit card reward miles have taken you in the world.

Remember, knowledge is power. Gain the power by comparing benefits, rates and services. You can find this information in a good credit card directory. I hope this information has been valuable to you and that you take a couple of more minutes to find the best credit card benefits for you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Diana Huntress is a financial consultant and senior staff writer for http://www.creditcarddirectoryhome.com She began writing articles about consumer credit issues in 2001.

Borrowing money has become easier in recent years, and credit cards have become abundant and more and more competitive. It seems to be so much easier to get hold of credit nowadays so it?s no surprise that there is more debt in the developed countries than ever before.

Credit card companies, banks and other lenders all make their money on the interest they charge you for borrowing money from them.

Obviously we can never predict in life when something is going to go pear shaped, we may lose our job for one reason or another, we may have ill health and be unable to work, we may have other financial commitments and find that the money we have doesn?t seem to stretch very far. This is unfortunate but quite often things can be resolved quite soon with the least upset.

People on lower incomes or poorer credit ratings are generally offered higher interest rates, and this is where many people come unstuck. Each month you have to make a payment, and quite often people on low incomes will pay just the minimum balance from their credit card statement, now this seems great for a while, until one day you realise that all you seem to be paying is interest! Your balance is just not going down! So what do you do? Well some people starting weaving a very tangled web by transferring their balance to another card with a great introductory offer (if they are in the lucky position to be accepted for another card).

Again this seems fine for a while until the introductory offer expires and you have to pay full whack interest!

Meeting the monthly demands becomes quite difficult, and in the end people are borrowing from one lender to pay another.

This is where debt consolidation comes in. Basically, a lender will pay off all of your debts, and then you will pay just one bill, to them, they claim that they could even reduce some of your debt. Research is the best tool here, before you go off and sign up with any old debt management company, read all of the terms and conditions and make sure you are aware of what is going on. Approached correctly debt management could avoid getting to the nasty stage of Bankruptcy!

Pearl Deloria is a proud contributing author, read more here. Find more information about consolidation or Loans.

When you go online and apply for a credit card, how can you get your results in a matter of seconds? The answer is your credit score. This little number packs a big punch and can make the difference between getting approved for a car loan, a great rate on your mortgage, or getting turned down for everything credit related that you apply for in life.

The credit score ranges from 300 to 800. Your specific score is result of a special formula, called an algorithm, which compares your credit information to the credit information of tens of millions of other people. The number that they get as a result is a very accurate prediction of how likely you are to pay your debts.

This may seem unfair, but your credit score is based on a number of factors. They look at your payment history for every listing on your credit report, the total amount of outstanding debt you have, and the length of your credit history. They also check to see if you have had any derogatory credit information, such as bankruptcies, charge-offs, and collections. And finally, they calculate how much credit you have used in comparison to how much credit you have available.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act has made it possible for you to get a free copy of your credit report every twelve months from all three major credit bureaus. Unfortunately, your credit score is not usually included in this free information. But for additional five or ten dollars, you can get your credit score included.

Knowing your credit score can help you get a better picture of what the information on your credit report means. For example, a credit score of 720 or higher will get you the best rates on home loans. And a credit score of below 500 will cost you hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars in high interest rates, if you can qualify for a loan at all.

If your credit score is very low and you do not have any significant derogatory entries on your credit report, it?s time to take a good look at that report and find any inaccuracies. Be sure that all the debt you have paid off shows up as a zero balance, and double-check your available lines of credit.

Rebecca Spitzer recommends Find Credit Cards for finding a credit card with 0 APR.