There are many credit card issuers out there promoting what some people refer to as ?bankruptcy credit cards? ? that is, credit cards for people who have a bankruptcy on their credit report.

Of course, these credit card issuers target individuals with poor credit in general, not just those with bankruptcies ? but for the purpose of this article, we will use the term ?bankruptcy credit card?.

Most of the bankruptcy credit cards you see advertised are secured credit cards. If you are not familiar with a secured credit card, it?s ?secured? by a special savings account you establish with the issuing bank which acts as collateral for the line of credit you receive with the bankruptcy credit card.

So how do you go about choosing a ?secured? bankruptcy credit card? The first step is to come up with a list of criteria. In After Bankruptcy Credit Solutions I cover eight criteria you can use. When I apply the eight criteria, only a handful of bankruptcy credit cards are left ? so it narrows it down to the better ones quickly.

There?s not enough space here to cover all eight of the criteria I use when selecting a bankruptcy credit card, so let?s focus on a few of them as a starting point:

1. Has Reasonable fees

What?s reasonable? Well, while researching some bankruptcy credit card issuers I came across one that charged a $120 application fee. Compare this to a number of others that charge no application fee at all! But that?s only part of the picture ?you also want to make sure the bankruptcy credit card issuer offers an interest rate that is competitive with other issuers. This where comparison shopping, and making sure you are aware of every fee the card issuer charges, is critical.

2. Reports to the major credit reporting agencies

This is very important ? if you want to rebuild your credit history, make sure the issuer of the bankruptcy credit card reports to the major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union. You also want to make sure the information is reported a certain way ? in After Bankruptcy Credit Solutions, I go into detail on this.

3. Reports credit limits

Why is this important? If the bankruptcy credit card issuer does not report your credit limit, this could lower your credit score with some credit scoring models because they may automatically assume you are at your limit ? even if you are using only 10% of the available credit line.

We?ve only touched on three of the eight criteria I cover in After Bankruptcy Credit Solutions. But, at the very least, it should give you a starting point when it comes to choosing a bankruptcy credit card.

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Copyright ? 2006 Innovative Solutions Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

The company and product/service names referenced in this article are the trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. None of the owners have sponsored or endorsed this article.

DISCLAIMER:

This information is designed to provide only a general overview of the subject matter herein.

This information is provided with the understanding that neither the publisher nor author is engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a professional should be sought.

Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss or damages, including but not limited to special, consequential, incidental or other damages, caused by the information contained herein.

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R. Lawrence Anderson is author of After Bankruptcy Credit Solutions, which shows individuals how to qualify for credit and loans after bankruptcy – including how to select a bankruptcy credit card.

Bad credit is something that haunts many of us day-to-day and can have a detrimental effect on a number of areas of our lives. For instance, if you have bad credit, it’s more difficult to get a loan (or more specifically, a loan with a low interest rate) and it can even impact how competitive you are when applying for certain jobs. For these and many other reasons, it’s vital that you take steps to erase your bad credit as quickly as possible.

The biggest issue that causes people’s credit ratings to take a downward spiral is not paying bills on time. Now we’re not talking about utilities or your Netflix payment, although not paying those can cause problems too. However, in terms of serious impact to your credit score, we’re mainly focused on credit card, loan and other payments that are a result of having borrowed money from the bank.

Repaying these bills and establishing an on-time payment history is one of the fastest ways to boost your credit score, though it still takes time. But by showing the bank or other creditors that you mean business when it comes to paying your bills on time, they’re likely to return the favor by offering you more attractive rates on loans and other business that you do with them down the road.

Since showing an on-time payment history can help boost your credit rating, another thing you can do is start fresh with a new credit card, loan or similar offer. There are banks that will still work with you even if you have bad credit and even though the rates might be higher or some of the terms might not be as attractive as would be the case if you had great credit, that really doesn’t matter all that much.

Remember, your goal is to show responsible payment history not buy a new big screen TV that you’re paying off for years down the road. So, for instance, if you were to apply for a bad credit charge card, you could use that card for smaller monthly payments, perhaps groceries, gas or a few monthly bills.

The idea is to use the new card for something that you know for sure you can pay off each month. Then, it doesn’t really matter what the rate is because you’ll never carry a balance and at the same time you’ll maintain activity on the card.

In addition to showing an on-time payment history, you’ll also want to avoid any further blemishes on your credit report. Things like bankruptcies or tax liens should certainly be avoided. Collections should also be something you avoid and that goes back to the statement above about your utilities and other bills. Paying these late won’t impact your credit immediately, but continued late payment that results in being sent to a collection agency can be a formula for credit disaster, so definitely try to avoid that too.

Those are just a few of the steps you can take to erase your bad credit. By continuing to pay off your current bills on time and establishing a good track record with a new account, you can expect your credit score to increase more quickly than by simply waiting for the negative marks on your report to be removed over time.

FACT: It can take the average person years to rebuild their credit. Can you wait that long to qualify for a new credit card? Discover how you can quickly and easily get an unsecured credit card today regardless of your credit history…apply for top-rated offers for FREE by visiting BadCreditChargeCard.com

Going into retirement is one of the best things in your life. This is the time when you get to relax and enjoy a slower pace of life in peace. However, being able to sustain a lifestyle that is comparable to the one that you had before retirement requires some sound planning. This means that you should either own income generating assets, a large 401 (k) payout or a huge pile of cash that will let you live off interests for the rest of your days.

Another aspect of retirement involves the issue of debt. Being retired also means that you need to be more risk averse. This stems from the fact that you may no longer have the ability to generate income to cover for huge debt or losses. Similarly, high interest credit cards with rolled over balances are often sources of snowballing debt.

With this, you should try to pay off your outstanding credit card debt before you go into retirement. You could try out balance transfers and transfer some of your credit card debt into credit cards that charge lower or 0% APR for an introductory period. This way, you avoid paying for interests while you pay off your credit card balances.

Another method to convert your high interest debt into lower interest debt is through a debt consolidation loan. This way, all your credit card debt will be paid off by your debt consolidation loan. Ultimately, you will just need to repay the debt consolidation loan without having to worry about multiple credit card repayments.

The two methods shown above will only help you reduce the snowballing effect of your credit card debt. However, you will still have to pay off your debt over a period of time. Therefore, the best approach is not to have credit card debt at all. This can be accomplished easily if you set some ground rules for yourself.

First, limit yourself to just two credit cards for emergency use. Pay off any outstanding credit card debt from the other cards and cut them up. Make it a point to not use more than 40% of your credit limit. Overusing your credit card can result to high interest charges and escalating debt. It?s also wise to pay off entire credit card balances without rolling over any amount to the following month. All these good habits in managing credit card debt will definitely help you with your finances through your retirement age.

Alan Bernstein recommends Find Credit Cards to apply for a Visa credit card today.

Each year at tax time, business owners scramble to collect all their deductible expense receipts. Businesses that use cash for purchases run the risk of employees failing to return and properly file receipts.

By using a business credit card, business owners actually have two receipts to track deductible expenses (the receipt obtained from the retailer upon purchase, and the monthly credit card statement). Even if both sets are accidentally discarded, misfiled or destroyed by fire, the business owner can request duplicate statements for a small fee.

Major credit card issuers will also itemize statements and provide a break-down of how funds were spent, such as furniture purchases, office supplies, travel, etc. Business owners not only have a receipt for these purchases, but can track where most funds are spent. For highly disposable items such as office supplies, business owners can scan their statements and perform inventory to detect employee theft.

If a business owner is reluctant to issue credit cards to his employees because of the liability factor, he can obtain a pre-paid business card and deposit only the amount of funds needed prior to each purchase.

Many major business credit card issuers also offer extended warranties on purchases, which can be more cost effective than purchasing an extended warranty from a retailer.

For frequently purchased items, business credit card issuers such as Discover will award a 5% cash back rebate. Obviously this helps business owners lower their overall expenses. The key to remember at tax time is that the cash back may be taxable, but any interest charged by the issuer may be tax deductible.

Businesses that require travel can benefit with reduced airfares by cashing in frequently flyer miles. By placing the travel expenses on the card, the business; not the employee doing the actual traveling, can redeem the points.

Example small business credit card offers presented by major issuers:

Advanta Platinum Business Card: Detailed expense management reports, and a customized card with your business name.

Business Cash Rebate from American Express: Up to 10% cash back, up to 5% cash rebate on purchases.

Business Gold Card from American Express: Quarterly Management Report summarizes expenses by category and employee.

Gold Delta SkyMiles? Business Credit Card: 15,000 Bonus Miles to start and Double Miles on qualified purchases.

CitiBusiness? PremierPassSM Card: 1 point for every $1 spent on purchases and 1 point for every mile flown on any airline, and 3 points for every $1 spent on certain business purchases.

The benefits of not having to make purchases with cash, not having to worry about retaining receipts, plus the travel rewards, extended warranties, rebates and expense tracking, make a business credit card a valuable asset.

Article submitted by Toni Phelps of http://www.CreditFederal.com where you can obtain more information about business credit card offers.

If gold medals were awarded for marketing consistency, the credit card industry would be the Sarah Hughes of the business world. Major players Visa and MasterCard, who have maintained their steady rates of spending and commitment to their positioning platforms for years, will stick to their established routines this year. Freshening their programs will be updated creative and the occasional push behind new products and promotions.

Discover and American Express will mix it up by introducing new taglines, but they will keep to their traditional big ad spends to bring their messages to consumers.

MasterCard, which last year spent $197 million, per CMR, will continue its successful Priceless campaign through 2002. In addition to general brand-building spots, MasterCard will use advertising to support several key promotions. One summer spot, for example, will tout its Major League Baseball sponsorship and a program called Memorable Moments. The promotion asks fans to vote for their top baseball moments, with the winners slated for recognition in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Another ad highlights the Priceless Edge internship program, a youth-focused initiative offering participants the chance to take entertainment business classes and work on MTV’s Music in High Places.

MasterCard also will feature its sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup, particularly in reaching out to Hispanic audiences.

Holiday will be an important period for the brand. Debra Coughlin, svp-global North American brandbuilding for MasterCard, said last year’s promotional-driven advertising, which focused on priceless gifts that could be won through using the card, worked particularly well.

Visa, not surprisingly, also plans to spend in the fourth quarter. That’s when there is an inordinate amount of retail spending, so it’s an important time frame for a usage message, said Liz Silver, Visa svp-advertising and brand management. Back-to-school is another key period. Visa will keep the longtime It’s everywhere you want to be positioning this year. With lots of dollars allocated to its 2002 Olympics sponsorship, much of Visa’s other advertising will focus on its key partnerships with the National Football League, NASCAR, the Triple Crown and Broadway.

Besides general branding and usage ads, Visa will support the check card (a six degrees of Kevin Bacon spot currently is running) and its Verified by Visa product, an online authentication service for card users making Internet purchases. Visa’s ad spend last year was $251 million, per CMR. American Express, which spent $154 million in 2001, recently launched an extensive brand campaign with the new tag, Make life rewarding. The initial phase includes nine TV spots, some of which highlight the overall brand while others feature specific AmEx services, such as financial planning or travel assistance. AmEx also bowed ads for its new small business network, OPEN, earlier this year.

Discover Card, meanwhile, is bringing back the It pays to discover tag, replacing For the slightly smarter consumer. This summer, Discover will communicate the convenience of its just-introduced 2G0 card, an oblong-shaped card housed in a plastic case that can be attached to a key chain. Discover also will continue its sponsorship of ESPN’s College GameDay program, with promotions and advertising related to college football. New this spring is the Discover Card Shops with Lucky platform, a 12-city tour done in conjunction with Lucky magazine. The program, which will receive local ad support, includes fashion shows, makeovers and hair consultations at retail locations including Guess?, Sephora and Nine West. Discover spent $82 million in 2001, per CMR.

Finally, the buzz around chip cards, a talked-about trend last year as Visa and American Express touted their entries in the category, has quieted. Chips cards carry technology that can store consumer data and allow particular market segments to be targeted, giving a means to retain and reward customers. But merchants must use still-rare readers in order for the cards’ benefits to activate, making their actual level of functionality in the real world low.

Marc Sylvester is expect based in Edison, NJ. He holds expertise in the banking and finance sector and is a conultant to leading business houses.

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http://www.imdollar.com

Cheap credit cards are considered to be equivalent to low interest credit cards. However, not all low interest rate credit cards are cheap. Either such cards can have a fixed rate of interest through out the tenure of your balance or they can have a fluctuating rate of interest. Which one is actually cheaper?

Types of Cheap Credit Cards

Now, most armchair financial gurus will ?know? and advice you to opt for a fixed rate card. They will argue that such low, fixed rate credit cards will prove to be very cost-effective in the long run. A variable rate card may begin with lower interest in the first few years and then gradually its rate of interest will keep increasing over the next few years. This allows you to pay off increasing interest amounts as your salary increases. However, they believe, a fixed rate card is a better option because its interest rates do not jump alarmingly like the variable rate card. In addition, fixed rate cards are also cheap credit cards because the company will have to inform you before they increase the rates.

Unfortunately, the truth is very different. Discussing the pros and cons of low interest credit cards is quite another matter than actually having one in your wallet. You see, the practical realities dictate that you must choose a card that suits your lifestyle.

Good Credit for Cheap Credit Cards

For example, do you really manage to pay off your balances every month ? all your balances, every month? If you do not clear pending dues every month, then you could land yourself in a tight financial spot, regardless of the fact that your interest rate is low or high, variable or fixed. However, if you have limited income then it might pay to use variable, low interest rate credit cards because in the initial years of your career, you need all the help you can get. Or if you have already sunk into the debt morass, you can use such variable rate and cheap credit cards to slowly lever yourself out of the debt.

The Details of Low Interest Credit Cards

Take time off to read the fine print in detail. Can your fixed rate card company suddenly jack up the rate of interest without your permission, or in the very least, without informing you? Is it actually a cheap card? Speak to sales representative, and other users of the card to get the full low down on the processing charges, annual fees, etc. Cards will penalize you stiffly for late payment or for going over your balance.

Low Interest Rate Credit Cards are Time Bound

And always remember one thing – low interest rate credit cards are not low interest forever. Such cards make low interest rates offers for a time period and you must always, but always, check the time period for such great rates. Almost certainly, the low interest offered by a card will jump up after some time, yes; interest rates for fixed rate cards will also go up. Even if you have been the model credit card user and never gone over your balance or never defaulted on a payment, the sad truth of life is that interest rates always go up after, say, 6 months.

So, if you really want cheap credit cards, don?t worry about variable or fixed rate of interest. Instead, pay off your debt on time every month and read the details before you sign up for a card. Low interest credit cards will jack up interest rates even if they are fixed or variable rate cards. Use low interest credit cards wisely ? and some tips to make them work for you is to opt for a zero percent balance transfer, check if you can get air miles in exchange for points if you are a frequent traveler, or perhaps see if your local retailer partners with your card company. You need to use cheap credit cards judiciously in order to make them cost-effective for you.

For more information on a variety of cheap credit cards, Robert Alan recommends that you visit www.CreditCardAssist.com

For the student, the Universal Entertainment Student MasterCard from Chase is an ideal choice. Students that have good or better credit can take advantage of this rewarding credit card. You will benefit from a good amount of spending limits as well as an affordable interest rate. Yet, you also get to take advantage of the reward program offered by this Chase MasterCard.

The Benefits

The Universal Entertainment Student MasterCard from Chase provides for the first six months worth of purchases and balance transfers at an introductory rate of 0%. During this time, you will pay nothing for financing. After that time period, the APR on purchases is 17.99% variable. The APR on cash advances is at 23.99%. These are average or better rates offered. One downfall for those that select to carry a balance on their credit card from one month to the next is the method of calculating the finance charges as this credit card offers the two cycles average daily balance for calculation. There is no annual fee either.

As for rewards, you will gain here. You will earn one point per dollar spent using your credit line. In addition, you will earn 2 points per dollar spent on Universal Studios Theme Park ticket purchases. When it comes to redeeming your points, you can use them on a wide range of things from concert and movie tickets, to private movie screenings, home electronics, passes to Universal parks and many more choices. You have five years to use them before they expire but there is no limit to how much you can use. In addition, you will earn a free movie ticket with your first purchase which is valued at 900 points.

The Universal Entertainment Student MasterCard from Chase is a great way to fund those expenses at school and get something that you want back from it. It is an affordable choice and one that will pay off in a way that you feel you can be benefited.

For more information or to apply for the Universal Entertainment Student MasterCard from Chase, Beth Derkowitz recommends Find Credit Cards.

Nowadays, you can practically purchase or apply for anything online. This is because E-commerce has allowed companies to sell products, information, and services through their web sites. This innovation cuts across all sectors and all industries, one of which is the banking sector. This is because apart from being able to do some bank transactions through their web sites, they also allow you to apply for loans and credit cards. However, when applying for a credit card online, you should also treat it the same way you would treat your application if you were applying personally. This is because you also need to give the same information as you would if you were applying personally. Given this, there are a number of things you should consider before you fill out that application form.

Things to consider

The first thing you should assess is your credit history because it is very important for banks and credit card companies that you show them that you are a good borrower, this may involve getting your credit history report from credit bureaus.

You should also ask yourself about your plans for the credit card because if you intend to use it frequently, you should opt for a card that can give you the lowest ongoing interest rate so that you would not be burdened with high monthly payments. When getting a card, you should also consider the other benefits that these cards brings such as discounts and rebates that you can get from the stores and businesses that partner with credit card companies.

The convenience of applying online has made it very tempting for people to apply for the deals being offered by credit card companies. However, you should be very careful in applying for a credit card because getting a card that you are not ready for could have negative effects on your credit history. Given this, you need to assess your readiness to get a card so that you would be able to avoid the usual problems that credit cards bring to people who cannot handle the responsibilities of having one.

Credit Card Applications provides detailed information on Credit Card Applications, Online Credit Card Applications, Student Credit Card Applications, Instant Credit Card Applications and more. Credit Card Applications is affiliated with Free Credit Card Offers.

Lately it seems you can’t pick up the paper without reading another bit about how the UK is becoming a nation up to its elbows in credit card debt. The statistics as quoted do indeed look bleak: according to figures provided by the Economic and Social Research Council, UK personal debt climbed above the ?1 trillion mark in July 2004 and has been increasing at the rate of ?1 million every four minutes. Over ?56bn of that debt is on credit cards. In fact, the average household debt in the UK is ?7,463.

Horrifying numbers – and yet, averages can be deceiving. If your neighbor owes ?20,000 on credit cards and you owe nothing, your average credit card debt is ?10,000. Even more heartening is the fact that only about 7% of us are over indebted – carrying more debt than we can pay off. That means that 93% of us are not in all that bad shape at all.

The secret to staying in that 93% of people who are not over indebted is to use credit wisely. Here are some tips on how to manage your credit cards wisely, from choosing the best credit card to how to use a bad credit credit card to repair your credit and get you back on track to financial health.

1.Compare credit cards to be sure you’re getting the best credit card deal for you.

When you compare credit cards and their features with your personal spending style, you can choose the best credit cards for your situation.

For instance, if your credit is healthy and you always pay your accounts off in full the moment you get them, them a cashback credit card could put money back in your pocket every time you use it. A cashback credit card that offers a discount on certain purchases can save you money on purchases made at your favorite stores. Other versions of a cashback credit card keep a running track of the amount that you’ve charged over the course of six months or a year, and send you a cheque for that amount periodically.

2.Remember that the best credit card in one situation may not be the best in another situation.

Take that cashback credit card we were just talking about. It’s a great deal if you’re buying everyday items or small purchases that you’re going to pay off before the next accounts due date. If you decide that you want a new patio set, though, and you’ll pay it off over the course of the next six months, the interest that you pay on the purchase will wipe out any benefit from the cashback feature. Instead, the best credit card for that purchase may be one that offers no ‘rewards’ program, but has an APR several points lower than your cashback credit card.

3.If you’ve already made those mistakes and want to recover your credit, a ‘bad credit credit card’ can help.

Some lenders and finance companies offer credit cards even to those with impossibly bad credit – popularly known as ‘bad credit credit cards’. Most of these have high fees and higher interest – but they do offer the one thing that no other credit card offering may: they’ll accept even those with the worst credit.

So how can another credit card help you get your credit back in shape? When you use your credit card and make regular, on time monthly payments, the credit card company will report your payments to the credit bureaus. It won’t be an overnight miracle, but by building a current history of repaying your debts, you’ll eventually reverse your adverse credit report.

Jon Francis has been involved in various areas with the world of finance and has a keen eye for a bargin! He has an in-depth knowledge of the credit card UK market and now helps others get the best from a credit card. For more information visit http://www.moneyeverything.com.

?Yes? ?is the answer that?s comes out almost immediately. That is true at least for most businesses (especially small businesses). Before we delve deeper into how business credit cards are helpful, let?s try and understand what a business credit card is.

Put simply, a business credit card is a credit card that is owned by a business and not an individual. To understand this better, you can simply draw an analogy between the business credit cards and business bank accounts, which are in the name of the business as well. Other than that, business credit cards work in pretty much the same fashion as the personal credit cards; with a few exceptions. These exceptions are in the form of flexibility in credit limit, low APRs and some other additional benefits that are available to business credit cards only.

Even from just that, business credit cards seem a good proposition. However, business credit cards would be attractive even without those benefits because the main benefit lies elsewhere. The big-big benefit from a business credit card is realized in terms of business expense accounting. For most small businesses, business expense accounting is a big overhead. With business credit cards, this is handled very easily ? you just have to ensure that you make all your business expenses on your business credit card and let the personal expenses be on the personal credit card i.e. segregation of business and personal expenses is all you need to do. So the bill for your business credit card will have all the business expenses on it and you wouldn?t need to collate all the various bills or sort out the items from your personal credit card bill.

The key here is to make sure that you use your business credit card for all your business expenses (or as much as you can). Moreover, a lot of business credit card suppliers realize this need of small business and even organize the business credit card bills in a way that meets the accounting requirements of these businesses. So mostly, they will appropriately group the expenses on the business credit card bill so as to facilitate business expense accounting. In fact, some of the business credit card suppliers go to an extent of providing the bills in a format that can be downloaded and exported to an accounting system i.e. you don?t need to enter the data manually in your accounting system. In case the format is not suitable for your accounting system, you can hire a software professional to write a small quick program to convert it into a suitable format.

Thus just one reason – ?facilitation of business expense accounting?, is enough to support the case of small business credit cards.

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