How to Deal With Credit Card Mail Offers
If you are annoyed by the constant credit card junk mail that you receive, then you are not alone. People all over the country are receiving literally dozens of credit cards offers every year, most of which are misleading or not applicable to them. If you want to know how to deal with these credit card mail offers, then here are some tips.
Why get so many?
Whether or not you have a lot of credit cards, you get sent so many offers because of your specific credit rating. Whether you have a good or bad credit rating depends upon the types of offers you get, but whatever your rating you are a target for credit card companies to be sent offers. Some people will receive nearly 10 of these offers every month, many of them duplicates.
Bait and switch
Although some of the credit card offers you get might seem tempting, they usually not what they seem. Most of these offers employ the technique known as ‘bait and switch’. This is where you will be offered a great deal in the mail such as ‘ you are pre-approved for a credit card with up to £25,000 limit’, but when you fill in the paperwork and send it back you only get £1,000 at an incredibly high interest rate. This is not illegal because they only said ‘up to’ a limit and so even if they had refused you it would not be against the law. This technique may not be illegal but it is clearly immoral. This is one reason why you should avoid such offers.
Opting out
Although it isn’t the easiest thing to do, you can attempt to opt out of receiving these mail offers. There are companies that you can apply to that will help you to be removed from these mailing lists, although you are still bound to receive some offers. You can always try calling the credit companies themselves and asking them to stop sending you mail, although this usually falls on deaf ears.
Keeping your identity safe
Even if you don’t want to look at any of the offers you get through the post, it is important that you properly dispose of the offers you get. If you simply throw the offers in the bin, then someone could take them and apply to the cards you have decided not to look at. Before you know it you could get a bill in the post for thousands of pounds for a card you didn’t even apply for. Make sure you shred or tear up all credit card mail offers to protect yourself from identity theft.
Don’t dismiss them all
Although most of these offers will not be worth looking at, you shouldn’t simply throw them all in the bin. There really are some genuinely good deals to be had from credit card mail offers. This is especially true if they are from a company which you have a card with, as they might offer you preferential terms. If you are careful with credit card mail offers and can separate the good from the bad then they will be a benefit to you rather than a constant annoyance.
Peter Kenny
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/how-to-deal-with-credit-card-mail-offers-63812.html
About to turn 18 and I want to establish credit. What’s the best deal on credit cards?
I've already been getting credit card offers in the mail and I have no clue which is the better deal. I don't understand anything really about interest and APR or anything… Can anyone help?
Check the interest on each credit card before using it. It can vary alot. We found Chase is pretty good. Sears is horrible as well as alot of others.
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stay as far away from credit cards as you can. credit cards are the devil. you can establish credit by having your parents add you to their credit cards – authorizing you – if they have good payment history. you can ask to be put on as a co-signor to your parents loans, those kind of things.
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Capital One is a good one. Look into that one but be careful when i was 18 i got a few and got very irresponsible with them I had to file bankrupcy at the age of 21.
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If you want a credit card simply to establish credit, I really recommend only spending money that you already have, and always paying off your card completely, every month. You don't want to start debt at such a young age. So many people do.
Anyway, even though you are getting offers that might say you are approved, you many still get turned down if you try to apply. There aren't many options if you have no credit at all. A good way to start credit is to get a card that is specifically for a store that you shop at a lot. There are also options out there for students, if you are going to continue school after you finish high school. Most credit card sites can tell you the information about student cards. Just remember, if you always completely pay off your balance every month, your APR doesn't matter.
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The best thing you can do to establish credit at the age of 18 is get a gas credit card and pay it off monthly.
The fact that you are asking about interest rates means you are already off to a bad start. Your credit card should ALWAYS be completely paid off every month (it doesn't matter what the interest rate is or what anyone else says) or it could lead to really bad habits and kill your credit.
Also, get your parents to put your name on their credit card (authorized user) and then hide the card in a place you will never find it.
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Start by looking over the disclosures chart they always send with the offers. The only two I really look over is the APR and "method of computing the balance for purchases". The "APR" is your annual percentage rate…usually anywhere from 9.99% to 18.24% or more. It's kind of like when you get a loan, and the charge you interest. The APR is kind of like interest on your charges. When you get your first credit card it may be on the high end. After you have established yourself with a company, you can call in and tell them to lower it because you have a good history or you will cancel it and/or go with a better offer (and don't be afraid to switch credit card if you do get a better offer). I don't really know too much about the "variable APR"…just try to make sure that is as low as possible, too. The "method of computing balances" should be an AVERAGE daily balance. You DO NOT want a two cycle daily balance, because that is like getting charged twice for an interest rate.
You can find good ones without a membership fee. Keep your purchases small and pay them off regularly or entirely at once if at all possible. When you get your bill, and if you can't pay all of it, pay more than the minimum payment, because most likely all that minimum payment is, is interest not principle. And you want to pay off your principle (your purhases). Just keep in mind that while the money may be in your bank, you still owe that much on your card. If you are responsible with it, you can make it work.
Another way to establish good credit, is to look into financing. Go to the bank and look into taking out a VERY small loan, just to build credit. You can also finance things like furniture.
Good luck!
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A debit card that's tied into your savings account. So you can only spend what you have in your account. As interest rates are way to high on all credit accounts.{ Its like a prepaid credit card }
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Do like being a slave ? Banks/ credit cards are Pimps.
You do the work they take your money.
visit DaveRamsey.com to learn before you get shafted.
Learn cash is king, Debt is for slaves.
You could become a millionaire as long as you stay away from Ccards. Why do banks have Big Buildings
same Reason Pimps have bling.
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ex credit junkie / slave
Sometimes when you first start out you dont get the best deals on interest. But you dont have to worry about that if you use the card and pay it within the 30 days. Now I know some credit reports dont count the credit unless you actually use it and pay on the balance. I know one person, used the card only to the amount they knew they could pay by the end of the month, then she paid all of it but 10.00 to leave a balance, there was little to no interest yet it clicks in creating credit. Try store charge cards they are easier but BECAREFUL credit can be the worst thing that could ever happen to you,no one thinks while they use it that is has to be paid back and it piles up fast.
APR is annual percent rate… each state has a maxium of APR on charge cards such as Indiana could be 19.5 percent while Ohio could be 23% this is the highest they could charge you. But if you become good with your credit companies will offer you better deals. Never take a card that has an annual fee. there are SO many companies trying to dump charge cards on you that i would be patient and wait for the one that has NO fees.. what an annual fee is they will charge you a fixed amount (could be 50.00 could be 100) each year just to have the card even if you dont use it.
now back to APR. lets say you get a 20.%APR. you get your first statement and you have 100.00 in charges..Now if you pay it all off there is no interest. But lets say you paid only 50.00 …now you have a balance that will be left of 50.00 that you did not pay. So what they do is multiply 20% to the 50.00 which is $10.00 then they divide by 12 (that is where the annual comes in annual means 12 months) 10..00/ 12 = .83 .. your interest on that 50.00 will be 83 cents…
another way is if you buy a car, you might need a co-signer but it is good credit..even if you have all the money in cash. by getting the loan making so many payments will create credit.. yes you end up with paying some interest and would be cheaper not to but you are building credit
good luck and never finance more you can repay.. that is the KEY
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I have Capital One and I think they are good… I'm 19..
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If you can be really be financially responsible and pay it in full every month you don't have to worry about APR or interest and you can actually make money from the credit card companies. Paying in full every month will give you good credit. The way to make money is use cash back credit cards. I have a Chase card that gives me a straight 5% cash back on grocercies, gas, and drug stores and 1% on everything else. I don't think there is anything that good available to new applicants but there are many reward cash back cards out there. Look around.
Another thing you can do if you want the best 'deal' to make money from credit card companies is get as many as possible with 0% APR introduction perdiod on purchases. Buy everything with these cards. Then only pay the minimum but have the money to pay off the balance when the 0% APR runs out in a high yield savings or money market account. I would recommend HSBC's online savings account, currently at 5%. This way you make interest on the money you owe them. You just have to make sure you don't spend it on something else before the introductry period runs out, else you're screwed. You could also do a balance transfer into your savings account, but they will charge you 3% transfer fee which is not worth it IMO. Also, this will hurt your credit at least temporarily.
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