Consolidating credit card debt or eliminating credit card debt isn’t an easy thing to do, especially these days when money is tight for everyone.

Combined household wealth has gone down by trillions of dollars, the value of your investments have gone down, the value of your home as gone down and the unemployment rate is nearing 10 percent.

Trying to eliminate credit card debt with all these financial pressures on you is almost impossible but doable. Credit card debt elimination is possible but you first need to start with a budget that takes into account all your spending. You will be surprised to see how much the little incidentals add up to a big chunk of change.

In the past several years, when one ran up a ton of credit card debt one refinanced their home and payed off their debt. Unfortunately a lot of people repeated the cycle of spending, piling up much debt and using their home to payoff the debt again. Then came the housing bubble bust, making it impossible for many to refinance again.

If you are one of these folks, the best way for you to consolidate credit card debt may be to take out a consolidation loan with a bank or lending institution. If you are behind on your credit card debt, some banks will allow you to pay less to eliminate the entire debt, sometime as low as 50 percent of the total debt.

A consolidation loan can be secured or unsecured, depending on how much you owe and the bank that is giving you the loan. If you decide to go down the path of a debt consolidation loan, the bank or financial institution that is giving you the loan will require you to close the credit card accounts you are using the loan to payoff.

A loan will carry a lower interested rate than your credit cards have, a lot lower if you are in default on your cards. With the lower interest rate, your consolidated payments might be lower than the monthly minimums you were paying on your cards. This might be the best way to consolidate credit card debt or have total debt elimination.

Consolidation loans are a good way of turning around your financial situation and can also improve your credit score. Make the sacrifices now and consolidate your debt, it will be hard but once you have gotten through the ruff period you will feel financially more secure and actually feel like you have control of your financial future. That is as long as you don’t repeat the cycle and pile on more credit card debt.

Going forwarded don’t open more credit card accounts, a prepaid credit card or a debit card is a good way to control your spending. We have a prepaid credit card and debit card search engine you can use to help you with your search.

Prepaid Credit Card and Debit Card Search Engine

So if you think you are in need of a consolidation loan because of credit card debt do some more research on the subject and be sure to only use reputable companies, there are many companies out there that will take your money and not actually help you at all, putting you further in debt.

Credit cards and charge cards are actually two different types of cards. Credit cards allow you to make purchases and carry a running balance on the account month to month.

You pay a steep prices for this privilege in the form of interest rates that are in the double digits for the most part.

Some credit card companies charge an interest rate of over 20 percent, these cards are usually called bad credit credit cards and are for people who have a bad credit history. 

There are low interest credit cards for people that have good credit or excellent credit. These credit cards usually come with 0% balance transfer offers and most cards carry interest rates in the low double digits or single digits.

There are many types of credit cards available today and all major credit card issuers have a variety of cards. There are rewards credit cards and cash back credit cards that allow you to earn points or cash back on each dollar amount you charge on the credit card. Some banks allow you to accumulate cash that they credit to your account either monthly or annually.

While other banks credit cards accumulate points you can use for making purchases. Banks usually have relationships with retail stores that allow you to purchase items for a certain amount of points.  Each credit card issuer and retailer have different conversion rates for points to dollars.

Other major credit cards include instant approval credit cards which allow you to sign up for a credit card online and find out immediately if you’re approved and how much your credit line will be. There are business credit cards that are issued to business of all sizes, small business credit cards are an especially popular category. Business credit cards are also available in the same credit card categories as personal credit cards are.

A charge card is a credit card but it is a specific type of credit card. The monthly balance on a charge card account is payable in full when the statement is received and cannot be rolled over from one billing to the next. the biggest benefit of charge cards is you don’t incur interest charges because you have to pay off your balance every month. Charge cards can also keep your spending habits in check.

In recent years debit cards and prepaid credit cards have become increasingly popular. A debit card is usually linked to a checking account and when a charge is made funds are withdrawn from your checking account. This form of payment also limits the possibility of getting in over your head since you can’t spend what you don’t have. 

Prepaid credit cards allow one to make a deposit before hand on an account and than use the card just as they would with a regular credit card. A prepaid credit card is usually used by one who has bad credit and wants to repair their credit. Although some people use prepaid credit cards to limit their spending.

You can start your search for credit cards, charge cards, debit cards and prepaid cards using our credit card search engine.

Credit Card Serach Engine

Credit cards are a widely used source of payment for purchases these days. When credit cards are used properly, the convenience of having one or more can outweigh the risks associated with them. The consequences of misusing credit cards can be devastating to your financial well being.

Using a credit card that is best for your needs is an even better option. If you’re a frequent traveler, reward credit cards like an airline credit card or a hotel credit card are good options for you, especially if you use the same airline or hotel all the time. Compare Credit cards here.

Any other type of travel credit card is also a good option as long as you select one that will earn reward points that can be used for travel, including free rental cards, free airline flights and free hotel stays. Upgrades for all three travel categories is another popular option.

Cash back credit cards are another popular option if you frequently make large purchases or recurring purchases. Using cash back credit cards for day-to-day purchases like groceries or at gas stations can add up the cash back rewards. Some oil companies offer gas credit cards that allow you to earn up to 5% cash back for gas purchases at their stations.

Last year, I switched from using a debt card to a cash back credit card for day-to-day purchases and racked up a surprising amount of cash! I received the cash towards the end of the year in the form of a credit which made the holidays even better for my family.

Balance transfer credit cards can be a very effective way to minimize monthly credit card interest charges. With especially low interest rates these days, banks are flooding mailboxes with 0% interest rate credit cards or low interest rate credit card introductory offers. If you do a balance transfer on a credit card be sure to mark the date the introductory interest rate changes so you’re not surprised one month when the interest charges skyrocket.

Also be aware that balance transfer credit cards have seemingly low balance transfer fees associated with the transfer that may negate true savings.  Read the fine print and look for either a certain a set dollar amount as a limit (along the lines of a 3% fee with a $75 maximum) or if there is not a maximum, do the math to make sure the transfer will actually save you money in the long run.

The type of credit you have will greatly determine the type of credit card and credit card interest rate you are charged. Excellent credit credit cards are only offered to a select few who have credit scores high enough to warrant the low interest rates. The 0% balance transfer cards we mentioned above are offered to these folks.

On the other side of the credit spectrum are credit cards for bad credit. For whatever reason, people who have bad credit scores fall into this category. More and more people are falling into this category thanks to the economy contracting by around 5 percent on average the past couple of quarters and the unemployment rate rising to 9.4 percent.

Choosing the best credit card for your needs is half the part, the other half is managing your credit wisely. Too many people believe they are supplementing their income by using credit cards. This is a very dangerous habit that will get you into trouble when you rack up too much debt and are unable to make the minimum credit card payments, not to mention the interest rate charges you will have to pay.

You can start your credit card search right here using our credit card search engine to compare credit cards. You can search for credit cards by category including low interest credit cards, balance transfer credit cards, cash back credit cards, gas credit cards, student credit cards and more.

Is finding the best low interest credit cards possible? Sounds like an oxymoron. Is there such a thing? Yes there are low interest credit cards available today, including low interest business credit cards. Finding the lowest interest credit card is going to take some work.

Magazines like Money Magazine publish a list of banks offering lowest interest credit cards, another possible source for finding low interest credit cards is at credit unions. You should be able to find low credit card rates in the single digits. A lot also depends on your credit history and credit score which will have a direct impact on the interest rate you pay.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union is offering a low interest balance transfer credit card with a 2.99 percent rate for balance transfers for the life of the loan, usually banks offer an intro rate for 6 months to one year. The interest rate for purchases is around the average credit card interest rate of 12.50 percent to 14.00 percent.

Balance transfer credit cards for the most part all offer low interest rates for a period of time and all charge a balance transfer fee. The fee can be as high as 3.00 percent of the balance with no limit, which raises the interest rate you are paying. When you factor in the fee, that 0 percent balance transfer credit card isn’t really a 0 percent interest rate. You can search for 0 percent balance transfer credit cards right here by using MonitorBankRates.com credit card serach engine tool.

Low interest credit cards sometimes offer introductory rates that some people referr to as “teaser rates” that you should be concerned about. If you read the credit card terms and manage your credit wisely, you shouldn’t be concerned. You should take advantage of these low interest credit cards and use them as a financial tool to save money on interest payments.

Good luck with your search for the lowest interest credit card. Again, be sure to read what the balance transfer fee is and any annual fees associated with the credit card. MonitorBankRates.com also offers a low interest credit card search engine tool that you can use to start your search.

MBR’s credit card search engine allows you to search and compare credit cards by category. In addition to low interest credit cards and balance transfer credit cards, categories include instant approval credit cards, rewards credit cards, gas credit cards, cash back credit cards, bad credit cards and more.

Credit Card Seach Engine

The credit card reform bill which was passed by the Senate yesterday is supposed to help protect credit card holders from unfair practices by banks and credit card issuers.

Now there is talk that the new bill  will hurt credit card holders who have good credit and payoff their credit card bills every month.

Banks and credit card issuers have been saying that they have to make up for lost revenue if those erroneous fees and practices are curtailed or restricted. They say they will have to cut back on rewards programs, start charging annual fees for all credit cards and perhaps even begin charing interest immediately after a purchase is made.

Hey, wait a minute, how can this be? Is Washington passing laws again that hurt consumers instead of protect consumers? Not likely! Credit card issuers were probably just throwing idle threats around trying to water down and limit the new regulations.

Considering that tax payers had to bailout the banking industry recently, banks and credit card issuers really don’t have much sway in Washington these days to limit the new laws, though they did succeed in blocking a 15 percent interest rate cap on credit cards.

Most of the threats are unlikely to come to fruition. Can you imagine anyone who pays off a credit card bill every month using a card that would incur interest charges the minute they make a purchase? Not me. I would close my account and shred that card right away.

At this point, most of my credit cards do not have annual fees. If issuers starting charging annual fees I would close several of those accounts. If you’re like me, you probably have more credit cards than you actually use. I prefer to stick with a card that offers the best rewards program, while the others sit unused in a drawer.  Closing several accounts at once could negatively impact your credit score, especially with cards you had the longest. If possible, I would gradually close accounts over time to limit the hit to your credit score.

As for rewards programs, that’s one of the ways credit card issuers attempt to differentiate their cards from other cards. Even with the new credit card laws in place, competition is still fierce for consumers with good or excellent credit. Banks and issuers make a ton of money charging merchants fees when consumers use cards. Fees can range between two percent and five percent, plus a charge for each transaction.

AirTran is offering their A+ Visa Signature Credit Card with a free round trip. All you have to do to earn the free airfare is use the A+ Visa Signature Credit Card once and you earn10 A+ rewards credits which you can use fora one-way ticket. To earn the return trip all you have to do is a balance transfer to the A+ credit card and you earn an additional 10 a+ Rewards points. Airtran defines a trip as one take-off and one landing.

Some other benefits of this credit cardis a 0% annual percentage yield on balance transfers for the first six months. Earn two points for every one dollar spent on AirTran Airways travel. One point for every one dollar spent elsewhere. One point for every one dollar in balances transferred. There is a $39 annual fee.

The A+ Visa Signature Credit Card is offered through Barclays Bank. Each 1000 points earned on the credit card is worth 1 credit with AirTran Airways. A+ Rewards credits expire two years after their posting date as indicated in the online account rewards summary.

Use our credit card search engine to serach for other airline credit cards.

Credit Card Search Engine

Credit Card reform has been a major topic in Washington this year and Congress is on the verge of passing legislation that will benefit consumers.

The banking industry has been fighting hard to limit the changes by watering down the legislation. In President Obama’s Weekly Address, he urged Congress to pass the legislation so he can sign the bill into law by Memorial Day.

A few facts about credit cards

Consumer Credit Card Debt has increased this past decade. Credit card debt has increased by 25 percent in the past 10 years, and reached $963B in January 2009. (Federal Reserve 2009)

78 percent of U.S. families have a credit card, and 44 percent of families carried a balance on their credit card. (Nielsen 2008, Federal Reserve 2008)

U.S. families have been carrying more and more credit card debt. The average amount of credit card debt among U.S.  families with a balance was $7,300 in 2007 . (Federal Reserve, 2008)

Delinquency rates have increased by more than a third since the end of 2006. The number of accounts more than 30 days late has increased from 3.9% in the fourth quarter of 2006, to 5.6% in the fourth quarter of 2008. (FFIEC, 2008)

Penalty fees paid by consumers on credit cards are around $15 billion annually, an estimated 10 percent of total credit card industry revenues. (Calculation based on GAO 2006 and Federal Reserve 2009)

One-fifth of credit card holders carrying credit card debt pay an interest rate above 20 percent (GAO 2006).

President Obama’s Weekly Address on credit card reform

“Nowhere is this more apparent than in our credit card industry. Americans know that they have a responsibility to live within their means and pay what they owe. But they also have a right to not get ripped off by the sudden rate hikes, unfair penalties, and hidden fees that have become all-too common in our credit card industry. You shouldn’t have to fear that any new credit card is going to come with strings attached, nor should you need a magnifying glass and a reference book to read a credit card application.  And the abuses in our credit card industry have only multiplied in the midst of this recession, when Americans can least afford to bear an extra burden.

It is past time for rules that are fair and transparent. That is why I have called for a set of new principles to reform our credit card industry. Instead of an “anything goes” approach, we need strong and reliable protections for consumers. Instead of fine print that hides the truth, we need credit card forms and statements that have plain language in plain sight, and we need to give people the tools they need to find a credit card that meets their needs. And instead of abuse that goes unpunished, we need to strengthen monitoring, enforcement, and penalties for credit card companies that take advantage of ordinary Americans.

The House has taken important steps toward putting these principles into law, and the Senate is poised to do the same next week. Now, I’m calling on Congress to take final action to pass a credit card reform bill that protects American consumers so that I can sign it into law by Memorial Day. There is no time for delay. We need a durable and successful flow of credit in our economy, but we can’t tolerate profits that depend upon misleading working families. Those days are over.

This economic crisis has reminded us that we are all in this together. We can’t prosper by putting off hard choices, or by protecting the profits of the few at the expense of the middle class. We are making steady progress toward recovery, but we must ensure that the legacy of this recession is an American economy that rewards work and innovation; that is guided by fairness and responsibility; and that grows steadily into the future.”

Choosing the best credit card for your needs can be a daunting task. There are tons of credit cards available these days so finding the the best card that fits your needs takes some work.

The best way to search search for a credit card online is by using a  credit card comparison tool. Credit cards are group into categories with a comparison tool, you can find a low interest credit card, balance transfer credit card, student credit cards, etc.  

Once you have found a category to choose a credit card from, you can compare cards from several different banks side by side. If you expect to always pay your monthly bill in full your best choice may be a card that has no annual fee and offers a longer grace period. Possibly even a cash back credit card will work well for you.
 
If you do carry over a balance from month to month, you may be more interested in a card that carries a lower interest rate or a credit card with a zero percent introductory offer. If you have a good or excellent credit history you can find cards at offer zero percent for a year.
 
If you expect to use your card to get cash advances, you’ll want to look for a card that carries a lower APR and lower fees on cash advances. Most, if not all credit cards charge a higher APR for cash advances than for purchases. Finding a credit card that caps the fee you pay when you take out a cash advance might be the best option for you.

Before you sign up for a credit card do some research and compare fees, annual percentage yields, grace periods, features and benefits to decide which credit card is best for you.

BP and JP Morgan Chase are offering a Visa cash back credit card. The gas-cash back credit card earns 10 percent cash back on all purchases at BP locations for 60 days. The gasonline credit card also earns 4 percent rebates on all travel and dinning for the first 60 days and a 2 percent rebate on all other purchases.

After the first 60 day period has ended the cash back credit card earns 5 percent cash back on all purchases at BP locations, 2 percent on travel/dinning and 1 percent on all other purchases.

You can earn up to $50 cash back each billing cycle for the first 60 days. After the initial 60 day period you can earn up to $25 cash back each billing cycle.

You can elect to receive your cash back in $25 BP gift cards, checks made out to you or you can donate the rebates to The Conservation Fund.

There are several restictions on the gas cash back credit card, :

• Purchases made at locations where competitive gasonline is sold
• Fast food restaurants
• Specialty stores
• Superstores
• Warehouse clubs
• discount stores

Online and catalog purchases are not eligible to receive the 2% base or bonus rebate unless the merchants have correctly identified and billed the transactions.

BP/JP Morgan Chase Bank Visa

The credit card reform bill is being voted on by the House of Representatives today. The Bill which was written to help protect credit hard holders from unscrupulous credit card practices will probably be passed by both the Houses and signed by President Obama.

Here are some of the new changes.

The credit card bill will  prohibit a creditor from increasing any annual percentage rate of interest (APR) applicable to the existing balance on an open end consumer credit card account unless specified conditions are met.

Allows a creditor to increase an APR on the existing credit card balance only if the increase is due solely to:

• A change in the index rate, most credit cards are tied to the prime rate 
• A promotional credit card interest rate expires
• A payment was not received during the 30-day grace period after the due date
• Failure to comply with a workout plan.

Prohibits any such APR increase from exceeding the APR applicable to the particular category of transactions on the day before the effective date of the workout plan.

Requires a 45-day advance notice of credit card account rate increases, except one resulting from a change in index

States that, with certain exceptions, written notice of an increase in any annual percentage rate of interest shall be effective at the end of the one-year period beginning when the account is opened.

Prohibits any significant contract change from taking effect unless the creditor provides a written notice fully describing the change at least 45 days before the change takes effect.

Prohibits the imposition of a fee on an outstanding credit card balance, at the end of a billing period, that is attributable only to interest accrued during the preceding billing period on an outstanding balance fully repaid during that preceding billing period.

Requires each periodic statement of account to provide the toll-free telephone number, Internet address, and website at which the payoff balance may be requested, including statements of account issued by a small issuer (of fewer than 50,000 credit cards).

Grants a consumer the right to reject a new credit card before the creditor notifies a consumer reporting agency of its corresponding account.

Sets forth special rules for accounts with promotional rate balances or deferred interest balances.

Prescribes payment allocations to be used if two or more different APRs apply to different portions of an outstanding balance on a credit card account.

Prohibits a creditor from denying a cardholder a specified payment grace period if the cardholder takes advantage of a promotional rate balance or deferred interest rate balance.

Requires creditors to send a periodic credit card statement of account to the consumer at least 21 calendar days before the due date for the next payment on the outstanding balance.

Prohibits a creditor from treating as a late payment the receipt of a periodic payment by mail as of the creditor’s next business day if the date established by the creditor as the payment due date is a day on which mail is either not delivered or is not accepted by the creditor for processing.

Using a rewards credit card is a great way to earn points or cash when making purchases. There are tons of rewards credit cards available these days, many offer a 0% introductory rate for 6 months, some rewards credit cards have a 12 months 0% introductory rate. Some of the more popular reward credit cards include airline rewards credit cards and hotel rewards credit cards.

When you accumulate a certain number of points or cash on your rewards credit card you can use your credit towards free airline tickets, free hotel rooms or you can purchase retail gift cards to use for purchases.

Some of the more popular rewards credit cards include Discover Bank’s Miles credit card. With the Miles credit card you can earn 1 mile with every $1.00 purchase. You also earn double miles for your first $3,000 in restaurant and travel purchases every year. You earn 1000 bonus miles each month for up to 12 months as long as you make at least one purchase with your miles credit card every month. Your earned airline miles never expire. You can cash in your miles, use our miles for travel or towards retail gift cards. There is no annual fee for this credit card.

Your miles will be forfeited if you close your account, don’t make a purchase for 18 consecutive months or fail to make the minimum payment due by the due date for two consecutive billing periods.

The American Express Gold Rewards Credit Card is another popular card. You earn 2 points for every dollar spent on gas and groceries for the first year (valid on up to $1,000 of eligible gas and grocery purchases each month. If you make $500 in purchase the first three months you earn 10,000 bonus points. You can redeem your points with over 21 different airlines. No annual fee the first year then $125 annual fee each year after.

If you are late on a payment your points can be forfeited. Once you’re good on your account your points can be reinstated for a $29 fee. Your points will be forfeited if your account is closed for any reason. There is a “Points Advance” program where you can get up to 15,000 points in advance. You can also purchase points in 1,000-point increments for $25.

Interest rates are so low these days getting a balance transfer credit card with a 0 percent interest rate for a year is common. Another common offer these days is a 0 percent balance transfer for a credit card you already have.

A third common theme for balance transfer offers these days is the fee a bank will charge for the transfer. There used to be a maximum fee charge for the transfer in the range of $75, depending on the bank issuing the credit card. Then the average fee was raised to 3 percent of total dollar amount for balance transfer with no maximum dollar amount for the fee. Now some banks have raised the fee to 4 percent without a maximum dollar amount.

When you factor in the fee you are paying for the balance transfer your interest rate isn’t 0 percent anymore. If you pay a 4 percent fee on a $10,000 balance transfer the first year’s annual percentage rate is actually 4 percent. Some banks offer a 0 percent rate for only 6 months, this will make the actual rate you are paying even higher. 

If you decide to take advantage of 0 percent balance transfer offers from  credit card issuers make sure to read the fine print on the balance transfer fee, do the math and make sure the transaction is worth it. Since most credit card rates are higher than 4 percent doing the transfer will probably still make financial sense, but don’t be fooled into thinking you are receiving a 0 percent interest rate.

Best Practice: For a better credit score be sure to keep your debt to credit available ratio to around 25% on your credit cards, this is the ratio experts recommend.