As its name, prepaid credit cards are plastic money that functions just like credit cards in nearly all aspects, but you have to pay the spending limit upfront. It’s like a prepaid phone card you can use to buy anything at all. It is a new twist on the popularity of credit cards.

For some people, it is almost impossible to get by without a credit card, on the other hand, there are millions of American families that have no bank account and no credit card. They often pay their bills either in cash or by money orders. For these people, a prepaid debit card may be the answer to start with plastic money.

A prepaid debit card looks just like a regular credit card and normally carries a credit card logo such as Visa or MasterCard. Retailers accept these just like any other card. The difference is at the time you use the card, it is instantaneously deducted from your funds on deposit with your bank.

Advantages of a prepaid debit card are:

• It is safer and efficient than carrying cash;
• It is accepted throughout the world where the credit card logo is displayed;
• you can use it to pay bills, get cast at ATMs and shop online;
• You can also keep track of your funds for free on the Internet; and
• Prepaid debit card offers can include rewards programs and overdraft safety.

It is easier to get a prepaid debit card than apply for a credit card, especially with an easy online application. The approval is guaranteed as there is no credit check and no employment is required. After applying for a prepaid debit card, you can receive your card in few days. One of the recommended card companies that accept online application is Vision Premier Prepaid Visa. This company offer low cost card maintenance with its features: Free Direct Deposit to add cash and low weekly fee’s or free with Direct Deposit. You can visit the application site here – Visa Prepaid Card – for more information.

Nowadays, more people spent money using prepaid plastic cards, including gift cards and renewable debit cards. To those who don’t want to worry about owing money or paying a bill, and others who want to avoid debt and rebuild low credit score, using a prepaid debit card may be the good decision.

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Although specific terms and conditions vary between each credit card issuer, the procedure on earning the cash rewards is pretty much the same. Generally, a card holder earns a corresponding point for every dollar he spent using his credit card. Some credit card issuers give 2 points or double points for every dollar but in most cases, 1 point is given for each dollar amount charged on the card. The points are converted to cash or money points, thus their name- cash back credit cards.

You can use these cash points you earn to make new purchases or pay bills using your credit card. Some credit card companies would require the holder to spend his reward from a specific shop while others give the flexibility to use your cash rewards from any store you want. While some cash back card companies impose a maximum amount of cash points that the card holder can earn. After reaching this limit, the card holder may stop qualifying for more points.

There is also a different type of cash back credit cards that the credit card company applies cash reward earnings program with percentage of spending amount that usually deducted on the following month bills. Certain terms, conditions and limitations may apply for this type of cash back credit cards. The percentage ranges from 0.5% to 5% and usually depending on the total spending amount.

The best cash back credit cards however do not impose restrictions on the amount of rewards you can earn. As long as you are using credit card on your payments, you continuously earn points on your account. You can earn as much cash as you want as long as you are an active member of the reward program.

Cash back credit card companies are all competing for attention and in order to get more clients, these companies promise only the best. Or course, not everyone deserves your trust. For this reason, caution is advised for everyone who plans on applying for a reward credit card. You still have to consider three most important elements of credit cards when apply for a cash back credit card, as follows:

• Interest Rate

Most reward credit cards are accompanied with unreasonably high interest rates but if you do your research, you can find one that offers a good deal.

• Annual Fees

You have to find out whether your cash back cards require an annual fee. If the cash back card you choose requires an annual fee, you’ll want to make sure that the cost does not outweigh your potential to earn rewards. If you’ll be paying for an expensive annual fee each year, then can you still say that you are being rewarded? Or would you end up paying more than what you get back?

• How To Earn Rewards

Before deciding the card you will apply, it is important to read thorough all the terms and conditions for earning rewards or cash points in case of hidden limitations. Feel free to ask the customer service for unclear information.

Always bear in mind that a cash back credit card will only work if you keep up with your payments religiously. Never carry over your balance for the next billing cycle if you do not want to suffer paying for an expensive interest rate. Make it a point to pay off your balance in full each month so make sure that you will be rewarded.

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Most of the credit cards come with almost the same features and offer more or less the same rate of interest. When the rate of interest is more or less the same, one should look for incentives offered by the various card companies in order to get the best credit card. You can opt for the best credit card depending on incentives and rewards they offer. For instance you get reward points for every purchase that you make from the credit card and these points are redeemable from certain stores and outlets.

Making a Decision About The Best Credit Cards

Your starting point when looking for the best cards should be an evaluation of how you best intend to use your credit cards, as the best credit cards for you will vary with personal circumstances. For instance, if you want to use your credit cards as a convenient replacement for cash / debit cards when shopping, and your best intention is to pay off your credit balance every month, then the best cards are those that offer the best / longest interest-free period on purchases, and are available without an annual fee. On the other hand, if you are making a large purchase where the best part of your credit balance is to be carried over for several months then credit cards with a high personal limit and low APR (Annual Percentage Rate) are going to be the best.

Many people choose to carry several credit cards so they can move their debt around to the best of their ability without incurring substantial interest payments. The best cards for this purpose are those that provide 0% interest on balance transfers. The best credit companies will offer this for a limited introductory period, after which they will begin charging interest on the balance. The best way to further extend interest-free credit for a card debt is to open new credit cards that offer 0% on balance transfers when the introductory offer on your best credit cards expire.

Credit Card Categories

Basically, there are three main categories of cards where you fall on the scale depends upon your credit history and types of service.

• Secured card – you need a secured card if you are in the process of trying to rebuild your credit.

• Regular card – if you use your card regularly and do not pay your balance in full every month.

• Reward or rebate card – While reward cards generally have great perks, the higher interest rates that they normally charge can be costly if you do not pay your balance in full every month.

Additional Benefits

Out of the above three main credit card categories, then there are cash back incentives. This definitely is a strong criterion for the best credit card. According to this scheme, you get a percentage of cash back at every purchase that you make. You can also convert your redeemable points into discount for various airline flights. Most of the buyers make the mistake of thinking that the reward schemes are mostly similar whereas the difference in schemes offered by different card companies is extensive. So first of all do your research about different reward schemes and then choose the best credit card.

Nowadays banks have started offering balance transfer credit cards, which are becoming increasingly popular for people deciding on the best credit card for them. Balance transfer cards allow you to consolidate you debt onto one card, thus helping you save on interest payment, hence recommended by experts as the best credit card for debtors.

Besides low interest rates, special balance transfer deals and the best personal credit limits, the best credit cards companies also provide a plethora of add-on services designed to be the best and attract us to sign up. Credit cards supporting a charity or prestige credit cards that provide discounted membership to associations such as vehicle breakdown services are popular, although they may not be the best cards for your circumstances. Many of the credit card companies also offer the low-cost payment protection cover on their cards to protect you in the event that the minimum payment cannot be met because of redundancy or ill health. Some of the best credit cards also allow you to service your credit cards account online.

Getting the best credit card would not be a difficult task when loaded with the right information. So research about the incentives and other schemes and then only go for choosing the right credit card. It might take a little time but at least you can be sure that it is the best credit card.

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• According to this scheme you get a percentage of cash back at every purchase that you make
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• Statement date – The date that the bill was printed.

• Payment due date – this is the day that the cardholder must pay any outstanding balance. Payments made after the said date will be credited, but will also be fined a lateness fee.

• Total amount due – It consist of the unpaid amount from the previous month, as well as purchases, payments and interest charges for the current month. When the cardholder pays this amount on or before the payment due date, no interest charges will be imposed.

• Minimum amount due – this is a smaller fraction of the total amount due. To maintain a good standing with the card company, pay at least this amount, if you cannot afford to pay the total amount due.

• Financial charge – the fee for the remaining unpaid balance on the next bill including the new purchases using that credit card if you do not pay the total amount due. This fee or also called interest is calculated based on the interest rate of the card and daily or monthly money balance. Most banks use the daily compounding method for calculating their finance charges.

• Late charges – Paying or not, after the payment due date, is penalized with late charges. Avoid this as much as possible as this is almost 2X the interest rate of the finance charge. Consistently missing payment may lead to cancellation of the card and a bad credit standing.

You now understand the information on your monthly bill, and are ready to settle your credit card charges smartly by following these simple tips:

• Always pay the total amount due. Paying only the minimum amount due means being charged for a high interest rate on the unpaid amount.

• If you cannot pay the total amount due, pay as much as you can above the minimum amount due. This strategy aims to reduce the finance charges that you have to pay for settling partially.

• Do partial payments as early as possible (as soon as you receive the billing). Finance charges are based on the unsettled amount and the time it remains unsettled, so the shorter it is, the lower it will be for finance charges.

• Some card companies reward loyal cardholders by accumulating points for their spending. Check if reward points can be credited back as payment.

There are many ways to pay your card bill, from a traditional way of waiting in line to the faster way of paying electronically through your computer, cash machine or mobile phone. With all these conveniences at hand, it is quite unforgivable to miss your payment due date.

Above all, paying the total amount due on time is the smartest way to handle your credit card payment.

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You can start with an entry of your current credit card balance and interest rate, then you could find out the duration you would require repaying the credit given your month payment ability. The other hand, you can do reversely by providing your payoff goal period to calculate the monthly payment you have to pay to achieve that goal period. This way a credit card payoff calculator helps in chalking out a plan for managing your credit card balances.

You can use the credit card payoff calculator provided by Google doc for free. It is very easy and simple to use and you can save the document for future reference. This credit card payoff calculator allows you to calculate either months to payoff or monthly payment.

The followings are variables you may enter in a credit card payoff calculator:

• current balance, the monthly payment that you are making currently
• rate of interest, yearly interest rate charged by the credit card company
• monthly payment – if you want to set the money you will pay monthly and want to know how long is your payoff duration (Option A).
• payoff goal (in months), the duration within which you possibly would like your credit card balance to be repaid (Option B)

Once these data are fed in white spaces, the calculator calculates the number of months that you would require to repay the balance if continued at the current rate and total interest (Option A) and also calculates the amount that you may have to pay every month and the total interest to meet your payoff goal (Option B).

Find below the credit card payoff calculator from Google Docs that you can use for free. Open account in Google or use your existing Google account to start using the template.

Title:	Credit Card PayOff Calculator
Description:	Using this template to calculate either months to payoff or monthly payment of your credit card.

The best way to get a better deal while opting for a credit card is to figure out the cost a given card could give you. Though one has innumerable number of offers from credit card companies, with each providing better offers than the other, the credit card payoff calculator can help in calculating and analyzing the true cost and helps in comparing the credit card rate of different companies and you could choose the one that best suits your needs.

In summary, the credit card pay off calculator is a program that will help you determine the duration that you would take to repay the debts on your credit card based on the figures you supply. Thereafter, you could show the information to a professional counselor who could help you with suggestions to repay the debt in lesser time and smaller cost. Through a credit card payoff calculator, you could get your credit card interest rates reduced considerably and ultimately it could help one get out of credit card debt in a shorter time. This credit card calculator works with minimum resources with no additional software and works like windows calculator, hence we recommend you to make use of it in controlling your credit balance.

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Credit rewards are carrots dangled by credit card companies. Before you are caught by the enticement evaluate your monthly earnings, expenditure, as well as loans. Do not invite a financial hurricane if you are not in a position to pay all your bills every month.  Interest rates on reward cards can be at least 2-3% higher than other cards.

There are tips you must know when you deal with credit rewards program:-

• If you love travel then choose to treat reward points as frequent flier miles. Check out the options your credit card offers and estimate the good value for money you get by comparing annual fees you have to pay versus free ticket you may get with your flying frequency.

• Many cards offer a cash rebate. The enticement carries hidden a higher interest rate and if you are not in a position to settle your bill immediately you will spend much more than you earn on the rebate.

• Use a card that offers a large number of options. Then you have the luxury of selecting from a huge variety of merchandise.

• Be clever use the reward points quickly before the card company downgrades the points gathered by you.

• Check whether your reward points can be set off against the annual fees payable by you. If you have a no fee card then choose rewards that are of use to you like gasoline, travel assistance, retirement incentives, flier miles, or cash back. Do considerable research and choose a scheme that works for you.

• Use the card that offers you a reward steadily but be sure you can settle the bills every month otherwise, the interest you pay will negate the rewards earned.

• Use the rewards card to pay for groceries and utilities every month. It is a necessary expenditure which can earn valuable reward points.

• If you have a mortgage payment to make and the bank accepts credit cards then pay with you credit card and earn the reward points. However the outstanding must be settled immediately.

• Always be well informed check consumer reviews about the cards you hold.

The more you use your credit card by using the card to pay for utilities, groceries, prescriptions, mortgages, the more you can earn more points in a year. However, you have to bear in mind that even though you have been forced to use your credit card often to reap good value of your credit rewards program, you still have to manage your money wisely and never spend more than you can afford.

To further convince us that we need these cards are the attractive bonuses these companies are willing to issue. These days the offering companies know that the rewards they offer is what creates consumer loyalty. To help illustrate this point, let’s look at a few of the many credit reward programs out there to entice the consumer to choose their credit cards. We will look at the three choices of credit reward program of credit cards: frequent flyer credit cards, cash back credit cards and gas credit cards.

Frequent flyer credit cards

Frequent flyer cards, also known as travel cards, offer great bonuses for people who actually are “frequent flyers”. This group of select travelers should consider signing up with the airline that they travel with the most often. Most airlines today offer such cards, both the large and small carriers. The biggest plus this kind of card offers is that the miles you earn by using your card can be incorporated into the miles you earn when you fly. However, there is a drawback to having and using an airline card, which is annual fee you have to pay. Although fees have decreased in the past few years, many cards still charge consumers anywhere from $25 to $125. It’s wise to remember that it usually takes roughly 25,000 miles to cash in on one free ticket. That might not end up to be such a bargain if it takes three years for you to accumulate enough points on a card that still charges an annual fee.

There are also some bank cards that will give a customer a mile towards travel for every dollar they charge. They usually also have a broad selection of airlines that will honor these points. Because this type of card generally does not charge an annual fee, it is an attractive option for the larger group of travelers known as the “less-frequent” flyers. This type of card also targets flyers who are dissatisfied with the limitations that airlines will put on available flying dates. One drawback of using this type of card is the inability to add the miles you receive by using this card with any other frequent flyer points you may have. Some newer card offers are changing this by giving a point for each dollar spent and also a point for a certain number of documented miles logged flying.

Cash back credit cards

Cash back cards are becoming an increasingly popular choice with reward-seeking credit card users. Many people like that there are no limits on cash back cards as to what can be chosen as a reward, as is the case with merchandise cards. Cash spends anywhere and that is always an attractive benefit for consumers. Some cash-back cards will offer a flat rate and that type is often the choice for people who don’t charge large amounts. This is in contrast to cash-back cards that will offer “tiered” rebates, i.e., ones that will offer increasing cash-back options for consumers charging higher amounts.

There are also cards which offer greater cash back if the card is used at specific retailers and a lesser amount on all other purchases. In order to receive this lesser amount of cash back, these larger spenders will get a portion of the percentage at various levels of spending. For instance, if the cash-back offer is for 1%, in order to get this, the consumer must reach an annual spending goal. On their way to meeting this goal, they will receive 0.25% for the first quarter of the total met, 0.50% when half is reached and so on.

Gas credit cards

With the recent increase of gasoline price, the gas rebate credit card is another popular choice of today’s consumer. These credit card offers are marketed in generous-sounding advertising terms, but the wise consumer will read all of the fine print before signing up to be sure that the card offers them exactly what they are looking for. Some companies will begin with a great rebate of 10%, but further reading will explain that amount is good for only the first 60 days. After that, the rebate drops to 5%. This might not be too bad if you are always buying your gas from one company only, but this is not always the practical case. To counteract this, some cards will start out offering a 5% cash back option on any gas company brand, but will also give the spender a cash rebate on other purchases at select grocery stores or drug stores with a 1% rebate for items purchased elsewhere.

There are some controls that should make a potential gas credit card holder wary before deciding to sign up. A few of these are:

• Terms and conditions of these cards can change at any time, with very little notice to the card holder.

• Not all gas stations will qualify for the full rebate. These mainly will be gas stations associated with business such as wholesale clubs or reduced-price gas stations connected with other retail companies.

• Some gas card policies do not automatically issue your rebate without a specific request from the consumer. Other issuers will have an expiration date for rebate claims.

It is always wise to read the small print before committing for whatever rewards credit card you choose, You should aware of all terms and conditions before going into these agreements, they can offer compensation for using something that is a mainstay of our modern spending culture of credit cards.

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It’s hard enough to keep track of checking account spending, but add credit cards, and spending can get out of hand. How many times have you used your credit cards to buy clothes, impulse items or even groceries, and said you’ll pay it back? But at the end of the month, you have nothing to pay it back with. It’s easy to say you will pay it back next month, or when you get that bonus at work. Before you know it, it’s added up to a mountain of debt month after month.

Credit cards are the first choice and easy way that let you spend more than you make. It is hard to stop spending more than you make once you started. However, it is possible to stop if you want. Start by creating a personal finance budget as a start point. List all of your bills and all of your expenses and your paycheck, then see what you have left over. Do this every day, so you know how much your balance money as of today. Basically, you have to know exactly how much money you have and how much money you already spent for respective month if you want to avoid spending too much. Check your bank account register for three minutes every morning. Write down what you’ve spent the day before. In practice, when we know every day how much we have left, we are able to spend more frugally. But if we both just assume that we still have x amount left, we get into trouble.

If you are a shopaholic, then there are ways to cut your need to spend. The number one way is to never step foot in the store. If you know that you will buy too much other stuff at Walmart, don’t go there for groceries. If you want to go in Hobby Lobby just to look, but know that every time you look, you spend $100 at least — don’t go in.

There is another way to reduce your unnecessary shopping habits, that you need to go through what you already have. When you see how many things you already have, the need for more is decreased.

Everyone has lapses. If you have lived on a $5,000 a month spending habit on a $3,000 income for a while, you may be used to juggling things. And even when it starts falling in, you want to spend that $5,000. You may go out and spend too much every once in a while — you just have to deal with yourself when you do. Then get back on track.

There are people out there that live comfortably on $1000 a month. There are others that make $3,000 a month that can’t make ends meet. It doesn’t matter how much money you make, it’s how you spend that money matter. By keeping close daily track of your income and expenses, you can make it on almost anything.

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Ultimately keeping you credit card safe is your responsibility. Indeed, in a worst case scenario, if it can be proven you may have been negligent in keeping your credit card safe, you may find yourself liable for the cost of all transactions made fraudulent on your account should you lose the card.

Basically, you need to use some common sense and the followings are some credit card safety tips that shall help you in avoiding credit card scams:

• Always keep an eye whenever you use your credit card and get it back quickly if you have given it to some other person and try not to let your card out of your sight.

• You need to be careful while you give your credit card to someone else and never give your account number over the phone unless you are sure that the company is a reputed one.

• Never give your account number to someone you don’t know. If you are ever asked to give your credit card details to someone you don’t know, or who as initiated a discussion with you (rather than the other way round) over the phone or via email, you should always refuse. Worst come to the worst, phone the card issuer and ask them if it is okay for you to divulge the information or phone the enquirer back. If the enquirer seems reluctant to accept this, you have to ask yourself why!

• Don’t give any response to emails asking you to provide your credit card information and emails that ask you to go to a website and verify your personal and credit card information as these are known as “phishing” scams. Click here to read more about how the phising scam works.

• Don’t provide your credit card information over insecure websites. You have to check the credibility of the website and its payment processor before providing credit card information in the Internet.

• Sign your credit card at the back card as soon as you receive them and shred all the credit card applications when you receive.

• Never keep a record of your PIN with your card. You should not write your Pin number on the credit card or anywhere near your credit card.

• Don’t leave your credit cards and receipts lying all around.

• You should shield your credit card number so that others who are around you could not copy or capture it on a mobile phone or camera.

• Always keep the list of your account numbers and expiry dates and phone numbers along with addresses of each bank issuing you a credit card at safe places. You need to update this list each time you get one new credit card. You may keep photocopies of you credit cards to so that always know where to find the number should anything unfortunate happen to your card.

• Never have more cards than you need. Try to carry only those credit cards that you require and don’t carry extra credit cards that you need rarely. While it is always advisable that you have more than 1 credit card, in case it gets lost, you should never have more credit cards than you actually need to use.

• You should promptly open your credit card bills and make sure that there is no bogus charge involved. You should also treat your credit card bill in the same way as you check your accounts and reconcile it monthly. Save your receipts so that you can compare them with monthly bills.

• In case, you find any charges for which you don’t recognize you need to report these charges to the credit card issuer.

• Don’t sign a blank credit card receipt and you can carefully draw a line through the blank portions of the receipts where there is chance to add any fraudulent charges.

• Never leave your account details open to public viewing. Don’t write your credit card account number in a public place for example a postcard or from a place that it is evident to others.

• It is advisable that you carry your credit cards separately from your wallet.

• Always keep your credit cards and credit card purchase receipts separate – because likely as not if you have lost your card, or if it is stolen, then you’ll have lost or stolen the receipts as well. Now there is no way for you to vouch which transactions were yours and which where not – or, there is no way to tell which was the last genuine transaction you made.

• Never lend your credit card to others and if you move from your existing residence, do notify your card issuer about the change in address.

Although the above may sound like basic credit card safety tips you already know, you would be surprised to see how many people fail to follow few or all of them!