Posts Tagged ‘credit Cards’

Various APR Features For Credit Cards

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

There are different card products offered by various card companies, and their features vary greatly. Hence getting the right card that is suitable for your situation is a tricky process. Each credit card has its own set of unique features. But the fact is that most of the cards have the same features but with small degree of variation. Each card has its own APR and it is crucial that you understand what it means and how it works.

APR denotes “Annual Percentage Rate”. It is the interest charged to you for making purchases using credit and not paying off the full outstanding amount. It is shown in percentage.

The crucial APR

It is vital to consider the APR while applying for the credit card. It can dramatically affect your capacity to repay your card balance. The APR of the card differs not only amongst the various cards but also from the method and the type of purchase.

The APR for the cash advance on the card is the highest, followed by the APR for purchases. So if you are taking a cash advance of even $100.00, you attract an APR that can be a steep as 23%. For purchases, the APR can hover in the vicinity of 19%. Hence it makes sense to use the credit cards in case of emergencies or for purchases that you can pay off completely by the end of the month.

APRs also depend on the balance unpaid on the card. They are known as tired APR’s as the APR varies according to the balance tier in which you fall on the specific month. E.g. the balance of $0-$2,000 can have an APR of 14% while the balance exceeding $2,000 carries an APR of 18%. Hence it makes sense to carry lower balance on these cards.

Again, there is a penalty APR, which is applied if you make late payments frequently. This will increase the APR and consequently the total balance. Ensure you make timely payments.

0% interest credit cards

The very popular marketing technique used by the card companies is the introductory APR. You can transfer your existing higher interest card debt at this reduced interest rate on the new card. The purchases you make during the introductory period will also attract this lower interest rate. This allows you to reduce your balance substantially and you can repay more of debt during the introductory period.

But be careful of the future APR/ delayed APR that is effective once the duration of the lower rate is over. This rate may be far higher than the intro rate.

Hence it is important to look carefully at the APR and find out the actual rate for the card you are considering.

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Benefits of Business Credit Cards

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Business credit cards are a necessity in today’s corporate world. These credit cards get rid of the risks associated with carrying cash and simplify buying at essential times.

These business credit cards allow the employee and the management to keep a record of their personal and business expenses. The main aim of taking a business credit card is the ability to meet any business expenses, when there is a shortage of money. This is all the more important at the time of buying business supplies that can affect the fixed business target.

Many credit card companies offer lucrative deals to their customers to attract them to invest with the financial institution. Also, most of the companies don’t charge the annual fee in the first year and give points to the companies to benefit from valuable discounts on business- related purchases.

Benefits of business credit cards:

Higher credit limits: Business credit cards provide higher credit limits of at least $50,000 to help in making the costly business purchases. This facility is normally not offered on the personal credits card or liquid money.

Increase in credit rating: The sensible and controlled usage of the business credit card and paying bills on time can lead to increase in the business credit rating. Business suppliers send the details of all monetary transactions to the credit bureaus.

Separate corporate credit: A business credit card saves you the hassles of segregating business expenses from your personal ones. This simplifies the process of paying the annual income tax, as your personal credit rating would not show up along with the business transactions.

Regulates employees’ expenses: A business credit card allows you to restrict your expenses. The management team members using the business credit card know the responsibility handed over to them. So when they go out to achieve company profits, the cards help them to monitor personal expenses.

Fringe benefits: The benefits provided on business credit cards are entirely related to the business and can consist of discounts on business travel and shopping at business suppliers.

Business growth: A business credit card helps the growth of the business by providing for timely purchases to fulfill instant business targets.

Choose the best business credit card:

Financial institutions and many credit card companies provide various benefits in order to attract more customers. Hence this makes it very important to carry out a proper research on the best available credit cards and the payment options that each offers. To help you compare between them, you can search through many dedicated websites. There are various websites where the different corporate credit cards available, along with their exclusive offers are listed. The data is listed in a simple format, letting you scan the data, read the information and ultimately select one. Using these sites can turn out to be highly beneficial, in the sense that you can access and check the information given, before investing. These credit cards not only provide convenience of carrying out business transactions, but can also assist in building the credit score of the company.

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