Bank cards give people the ability to make purchases without making instant payment. Be knowledgeable about charge cards before you start using one to avoid financial disaster. Read on for great credit card tips.
You should limit your search for new cards to those that don’t have annual fees and that offer low interest rates. Choosing a card that has an annual fee attached is a waste of your money when there are numerous bank cards available without one.
Avoid the temptation to lend your bank cards to anyone. Even if a close friend needs to use one, don’t do it. It may lead to large fees if your friend spends more than you authorized.
Immediately report any fraudulent charges on a credit card. Taking immediate action gives you the highest probability of stopping the charges and catching the culprit. Doing this also helps ensure that you will not have to pay for such charges. It is fairly simple to report erroneous charges, either with an email or phone call to the credit card company.
Never give the number of your credit card out when you receive a telephone call asking you for it. This is used by scammers all the time. Only give your card number to businesses you can trust. Never provide your numbers to people who make the call to you. Regardless of who they claim they are, you have no way of verifying it if you did not call them.
A smart move for all card users is to get free credit reports annually and check them for accuracy. Match your debts on the report to make sure that you are being charged with no mistakes.
Educate yourself on recent laws affecting consumers using credit cards. A credit card company is prevented by law from retroactively increasing rates, for example. Also, double cycle billing is prohibited. Check out the laws thoroughly. Check out the CARD Act, as well as a Billing Act called Fair Credit for more information.
For your credit to remain in good standing, you have to pay all your credit card bills on time. If you don’t do this, you could incur costly fees and harm your credit score. It can be very helpful to set up some kind of automatic payment schedule through your bank or credit card company.
Credit Card
Never give credit card numbers out, online, or over the phone without trusting or knowing the comapny asking for it. Be weary if you’re receiving unsolicited offers that require you to give out your credit card number. There are a lot of shady people out there and they often try to get credit information over the phone. Take appropriate measures to protect yourself.
Do not fax your credit card number to anyone. Faxes typically sit in baskets waiting for recipients to pick them up and could be viewable to all passersby. Anyone in their office might be a thief. You are then susceptible to fraudulent charges and a whole host of other dilemmas.
Credit card companies set minimum payments in order to make as much money from you as they can. Make payments beyond what your minimum payment is set at. This will help you to avoid high interest rates, and it will also help you take years off of the payment structure.
If used correctly by the right people, credit cards are helpful. The tips offered here have offered information that if used can help you properly use charge cards.