The line is often delivered with a winning smile by the cashier at the till of your favorite high street clothing or accessory shop. The idea of credit cards originated with store cards - merchants extending credit to good customers who could be counted on to pay off their purchases over time. While today’s general purpose credit cards are derived and descended from that original idea, store cards today are a particular subset of credit card with some considerable differences and limitations. Confusing the issue further are cashback credit card and reward credit card offers that give you special advantages at particular merchants’ shops. They’re a peculiar hybrid that can serve you well, if you pay attention to which credit cards you hold in your wallet and which you use at various merchants.

Store Cards vs. Credit Cards

1.Credit cards are accepted at many different merchants, including shops, travel agencies, airlines and many service shops. This gives you the freedom to shop for the lowest prices you can find among many different merchants.

2.Store cards are only accepted at one particular merchant, though they’re usually welcome at any branch store run by the merchant. You’re confined to the selection of products carried by that merchant at the prices offered by that merchant.

3.Credit cards usually carry a considerably lower APR on purchases than store credit cards. Store cards typically offer starting rates as high as 29% APR - which is often the highest rate on a general use credit card, reserved for those that have built up penalties for late payments.

4.Cashback credit cards give you a percentage of your cash back each time you use them. Some cashback credit cards offer a higher percentage when you use them at the shops of ‘member merchants’, but the card can still be used at any shop that accepts the imprint on the card. Store credit cards seldom give cash back, and can’t be used in any other store.

5.Reward credit cards operate a good deal like cashback credit cards, but rather than giving you cash back on your purchases - which amounts to a discount on the price - they reward you with points that can be used to ‘buy’ other merchandise. Generally, you can’t shop regular merchants with your reward points. Instead, you redeem them from the credit card company for merchandise that’s offered by their ‘reward partners’. The credit cards themselves, though, can be used anywhere that accepts credit cards.

6.An interesting new twist on reward credit cards are those that allow you to redeem your accrued reward points for gift cards that can be spent at any merchant that accepts their credit card. It’s another step away from the limitations imposed by store credit cards and ‘membership only’ merchants.

7.Membership credit clubs may look like credit cards - but they’re much closer to store cards. Generally, you’re required to pay a membership fee in order to shop from a catalog of merchandise offered by the credit club. They’re not credit cards and can’t be used like one.

Generally speaking, credit cards, especially cashback credit cards and reward credit cards, offer far more value than store cards. Even among the credit cards, though, there are differences that will make one card a better choice for you than another. If you’re considering a cashback credit card, take the time to compare credit cards to be sure you’re getting the best credit card for all of your needs.

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.

The internet has made the credit card industry extremely competitive. The consumers who use the credit cards can retrieve offers from up to 50 companies at once on the internet. Literally, in 30 minutes you can research and find the best credit cards offers anywhere on the planet. Now that is powerful, and the credit card companies know it. Often a companies will offer it’s very best deals only to those who sign up online.

Some of the rewards programs that you may be interested in are gas purchase rewards. This is perfect for individuals or businesses that do a lot of traveling or driving around town. There are cards right now that are offering 10% rebates on all gas purchases. In some areas this would be over .30 cents per gallon. For those who do a lot of driving this could really add up. You will have to buy the gas anyway, why not put it on the card. During the month save what it would have cost in cash, pay off the card with this savings each month and you will not incur any interest.

There are plenty of other offers available. Travel points and cash back up to 5% are a couple that can also be very beneficial to you. Remember to review each offer carefully and thoroughly. I’m sure you can find some great deals out there.

You can find more information at Credit Card Facts and Fallacies

Benefits & Features

A business platinum credit card allows you to vary your spending every month and gives you the flexibility of spending without present limit, which makes it easier for you to spend the amount that you need. This credit card offers you flexible payment options, with features like paying less when the rate of investment has plummeted. Moreover services of the credit card can be extended to the employees as well. The regular payment of the due amount within due date can work towards imposition of lesser interest rates by the credit card company. This in turn enhances your credit limit and a good credit history.

Platinum credit card?s strength is security provided by it to the consumer; that is you pay only for the authorized purchases. There is an option of getting a customized credit card wherein you can pick and choose the services and the adjoining offers, discounts and bonuses. You can avail benefits, such as, collision damage waiver, coverage for vehicle rentals, emergency cash disbursements and card replacements with minimal additional amount. This business credit card can be a useful way of tracking the spending habits of your employees and yourself as well. The regular credit statements help you to prioritize your expenditure and designing the budget as well.

Frequent travelers can find it beneficial in more than one way, by using credit card for purchasing the tickets; you not only avail discounts but also accumulate flying points with every flight you take. These points then can be cashed or converted into a ticket. There are business credit cards offering cash-back as well, although the terms and conditions may vary with the company and the service on offer, but the benefits are more or less the same.

Zack Nelson recommends Find Credit Cards to find a business platinum card.

Benefits of Gas Cards:

Gas cards come with various features attached to it. The best gas card is the one that have more benefits for you and is more affordable. The discounts on offer can be in the form of discount on gasoline, gas bonus, discounts on the car accessories/equipments or discounts on car service/repairs. The sponsors of the cards can provide discounts on their own line of products/services or on the products/services of their associate partner companies. The only major drawback of a gas card is that you can avail the benefits of it only on the particular gas retail outlets or particular brand of gas.

Choosing the Best Gas Card

While selecting a Gas Card you need to focus on a few things. First you need to be thoroughly aware of the terms and conditions of the card. Gas Card features, such as, rates, discounts and surcharge (if any) should be properly scrutinized and compared with competitors? products. To avoid bad credit you need to look closely into the payment options and consequent charges if a delay in payment occurs. Also the spectrum of services on offer should be described in detail by the gas card issuer.

Gas Cards, thus provide us with an opportunity to shop indirectly for other services/merchandises while filling our car with the particular brand of gas. With the option of paying it later and no immediate payment, gas card makes it more convenient for you and keeps you away from carrying cash around. With many gas cards come at no annual fees, you may fell less strain on your wallet.

Zack Nelson recommends Find Credit Cards to find the best gas card.

Ask around for companies with good customer friendly service. Some will let you off late payments time after time while others will come down like a ton of bricks. You need them to be flexible as you never know when you may run into problems

Make sure you don?t go with one because of a low introductory offer. You want a long term one as you may not have time every six months to be jumping from one to another. Before signing up for one read the small print, remember it could save your business.

Look out for special bonuses companies offer. Some times companies such as Visa or American Express join with other companies to save you money on anything from shipping or office supplies

Here are two small business credit card options but look around for more and weigh up the benefits for each one

American Express Business Gold Card

?No annual fee for the first year

?No pre-set spending limit

?Save at known brands, such as Staples, FedEx and Hertz

?When you enroll in the Membership Rewards program, you earn points virtually every time you use your eligible, enrolled Business Card.

?Online Account Management

?Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance

CitiBusiness? Platinum Select? Card

The CitiBusiness? Platinum Select? Card is the card built for small businesses and includes:

?A generous credit line
?Low rate on purchases
?Additional cards for employees
?Free quarterly and annual account summaries
?Free ‘Ask the Experts’ service

There are several different credit card companies that send out pre-approved credit card offers disguised as legitimate Visa or MasterCards, when really they are credit cards for store clubs or catalog clubs. The offer tells you that you are pre-approved for a credit line of up to $5,000 with no security deposit. They make you believe you’ll be rebuilding your credit and enjoying the convenience of having a credit card in your wallet.

It sounds so good doesn’t it? Your desperate for a credit card and this wonderful offer comes in the mail. I get these myself, but let’s take a closer look at the fine print and what this is really about. Here is a typical headline in the letter you get. Congratulations! You have been pre-approved for a Visa card with a $5,000 credit limit! It goes on to say that all you need to do to activate your card is to verify your personal information, sign it and send back the pre-approved application. Your new card will be sent immediately.

If you continue reading the entire document you will find that this isn’t a regular Visa credit card. It will only allow you to make purchases with the credit card in their special store or online catalog. You can’t use it anywhere else. The products usually consist of non name brand items like electronics and house ware products.

A little further down the letter it states that in order to activate your new credit card you’ll need to send in a check or money order for $299.00 to cover the activation or new account fee. Of course you’ll immediately get a discount on your first purchase. Some companies will also charge an annual fee of another $100-$200 on top of the activation fee. It’s not beginning to sound like such a great offer now is it?

This is just one example of many that are sent out to unsuspecting consumers in the mail every day. Here are just a few things to watch for with any credit card offer:

? You can only use the new credit card to make purchases through the company’s online catalog or store. The items are priced much higher than you can purchase them elsewhere. You’re trapped into using the card for these purchases only.

? The credit card has ridiculously high fees, such as hundreds of dollars of an activation fee, joining fee, annual fee, or monthly account fees. These fees are how the credit card company makes its money off the backs of consumers who are desperately trying to rebuild their credit.

? High interest rates. Credit cards from companies like this can often have APR’s of anywhere from 25% all the way up to 45% or more. You have to read the fine print and keep this in mind.

The best thing you can do with an offer like this is to take it and throw it in the trash. Take the $250 you would spend to open an account with one of these credit cards and spend it on a secured credit card instead. You can easily get a Visa or MasterCard with a security deposit. These companies report your payments to all the major credit bureaus each month and before you know it you’ll be on your way to rebuilding your credit. Keep this in mind the next time you receive one of these fantastic new credit card offers in your mailbox.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Credit Cards

With the different offers you are going to be looking at there are a few things that you may to want to make sure that you do check out. You are going to want to see what the rewards are for gas purchases. Some out there are going to offer you a certain percent off when you pay at the pump or in the gas station. Some of the rewards you are not going to see until you receive the statement at the end of the month. Some of the credit cards that you are looking at may have a set limit to what you are going to be able to receive for the year, yet there are many different ones that will not limit you to what you are going to be allowed to receive your rewards on.

With a few of the credit cards out you are not going to have to pay an annual fee if you continue to use the card throughout the year for at least some gas purchases. When you start to look at all the different companies that are out there you are more than likely notice that some of them are going to give you a great introductory amount that you will receive from all of you gas purchases. If you were to read the smaller, print you may see that the amount that you are going to receive after the introductory period is going to be lowered after a certain amount of time.

The other thing to look at with the gas reward credit cards is where you are going to be able to use the credit card to receive the rewards. This is because there are some credit cards that you are only going to receive the rewards from them if they are used at a certain kind of gas station. If you are not someone that will only get one brand of gas then you are going to want to check out the credit cards that you are going to receive the reward no matter what gas station you use it.

Rachel Nava recommends Find Credit Cards for comparing different gas reward credit cards.

Extended Introductory Rate

In the credit card business, all the top cards are still offering 0% APR for an introductory period. Six months is the standard length of time, with some offering a twelve month introductory rate period. Chase, on the other hand, recently served notice that they are extending this introductory rate out for a full fifteen months to qualified customers! If your credit history is good and your application is in order, you may be eligible for this extended introductory rate offer.

Balance Transfer Offer

When applying for the Chase Platinum Visa card you’re eligible to transfer balances from high interest rate credit cards to your new card. You could potentially save yourself hundreds of dollars in interest costs by transferring your balances to your new card.

No Annual Fee

Many platinum or premium credit cards charge annual fees, but with the Chase Platinum Visa card no fee is assessed.

Free Travel Accident Insurance

Chase Platinum Visa cards offer up to $500,000 in travel accident insurance, an amount much higher than what most credit cards are offering today. Save money on insurance premiums as the Chase Platinum Visa card plan includes this type of insurance for free!

Free Car Rental Insurance

Use your Chase Platinum Visa card when renting a car and your rental insurance is completely covered too. For a one week rental, this type of insurance could easily tack on an additional $100 to your bill. With the Chase Platinum Visa card you are completely covered.

Chase?s offer is all the more remarkable in the face of constantly climbing interest rates. As you probably already know, most credit card rates continue to rise along with the upward swing in all consumer rates. Thus, the Chase Platinum Visa card is truly a unique opportunity for the savvy consumer.

So, if you have a good credit rating and are in need of a new credit card, the Chase Platinum Visa card may be just right for you. With credit card rates surging, taking advantage of a card offering 0% APR for 15 months is a surefire way toward saving yourself plenty of money.

Copyright 2006 Ed Vegliante.

Click here for more details on the Chase Platinum Credit Card.

Ed Vegliante runs the website http://www.Credit-Card-Surplus.com, a well organized credit card directory enabling the consumer to compare and apply for a variety of credit card offers. View more Credit Card Articles.

The Chase Platinum Credit Card

Chase bank has been in the credit card business for a long time, and this card is their standard offer. It has 0% APR on all purchases and balance transfers, provides free online account access, and does not charge an annual fee. The only question about this card is how long does the 0% APR last; and the answer depends on your credit. If you have excellent credit, Chase will give you 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for a full year. If your credit is good enough to qualify for the card, but not quite good enough to meet the higher standards, that period of 0% APR drops. Still, the opportunity to transfer balances and make purchases at 0% APR makes Chase a good choice.

The Miles Card from Discover

Another industry heavyweight, Discover, has 0% APR credit cards available for purchases and balance transfers. The Miles Card, however, adds the benefit of accumulating airline miles to help consumers choose Discover over everyone else. The company touts their 0% APR credit card for its twelve month duration and the ability to include balance transfers at no interest. The real inducement, however, is the 12,000 mile sign-up bonus and one-mile-for-one-dollar point award. Just to make the deal a little sweeter; there are no blackout dates for these miles and you can fly any airline at any time. You have to have good credit to get one, but the Miles Card from Discover may be a good way to save interest on purchases and balance transfers while building up miles for the next vacation.

Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards Card

This 0% APR credit card from Citi not only gives you 12 months of interest-free funds and no balance transfer charges, it also has a points reward system that gives you redeemable points based on purchases. The program works by offering five reward points for every dollar spent on purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations; all other purchases get one point per dollar. You get 5,000 bonus points when you get your card, which can be redeemed for a $ 50.00 gift card after your first purchase. Like the Discover card, you will need good credit to get this 0% APR card, but the initial bonus points and rapid accumulation of reward points for purchases of the basic necessities of life could make this just the card for you.

These days, the question is no longer about finding a 0% APR credit card or a 0% Balance Transfer card; the issue is how would you like that card?with extra months of interest-free money, airline miles, or other rewards such as incentive point programs? Any person who is currently carrying balances on high-interest credit cards should shop online and take a look at the 0% APR and 0% Balance Transfer credit cards from Chase, Discover, Citi and other companies. You may just find the right card for you.

Copyright Ed Vegliante. Free online reprints of this article are allowed provided the resource box remains intact with a live link back to http://www.credit-card-surplus.com .

Please click here to find 0% APR Balance Transfer Credit Cards.

Ed Vegliante runs the website http://www.Credit-Card-Surplus.com , a well organized credit card directory enabling the consumer to compare and apply for a variety of credit card offers. View more Credit Card Articles.

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