How To Get An Interest Free Credit Card

As competition in the UK credit card industry has consistently increased in recent years, credit card providers have been searching for more and more ways to attract customers to their own package of products. Most have gone about this by dropping prices with credit card rates available today that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. It is now possible to find 0% credit card interest rates not only on balance transfers but also on purchases. While these rates may only be available for limited introductory periods of a few months, it is easy to see how prices have continued to drop across the market as credit card providers have been searching for new ways to attract customers.

Interest free and credit card may sound like a couple of words that really do not belong together in the same sentence. And the fact is that just a few short years ago, you would have been absolutely correct. There was a time not too long ago when there was no such thing as the 0% credit card. Now however, they are everywhere you look, literally. You cannot even open your mail any more, or answer you phone without being offered some amazing sounding deal on 0% credit cards. They are becoming more and more common and it is therefore important to realise the pros and cons of many of the most common deals that are out there so that you make sure that you get for yourself the very best deal on a 0% credit card possible.

The first thing to remember in any case is that there are two main types of 0% interest that you will be offered and these are very different deals. The first will be 0% on balance transfers and the second will be 0% on purchases. It is needless to go into the difference between a balance transfer and a purchase but suffice it to say that there is a very significant difference and there will be many cases where one of these offers will be of great value to you while the other will be practically useless. The trick is to make sure you make sure what you are being offered and only sign up to a deal that you are confident will fit your needs and benefit you as much as possible.

The best place to start looking for one of these 0% credit cards is on the internet. The fact of the matter is that in recent years the UK credit card market has really saturated itself with amazing sounding deals and the competition is so high among credit card providers now that it is really quite easy to get a 0% credit card.

The two exceptions to this and the groups that will find it more difficult to get a 0% credit card will be people with bad credit ratings and people with no income. Hopefully, in either of these two cases, the situation will not last forever and you will merely have to wait a little while until your position improves and then you will have no problem at all getting 0% credit cards. The only real thing to remember with 0% credit cards is that the free credit will only be for a couple of months and after this time you will have to pay interest. And secondly, everything you spend on that credit cad has to be paid back eventually so take care not to let that spending get out of control.

Don’t despair if you are not accepted for many of the credit cards on offer. It may be your credit rating is not what some credit card companies are looking for. If this is the case you will have to do a little more work and that starts by aiming a little lower. Try applying for a run of the mill credit card with no 0% deals, use it for a while. During this period your credit rating will be building up. Once your credit rating is up to scratch you can then apply for these mouth watering 0 per cent introductory deals.

Peter Kenny is a writer for creditcards-gb
For additional articles and an extensive resource for everything about credit cards, please visit us at 0% Balance Transfers and Compare Credit Cards.
http://www.creditcards-gb.co.uk

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How to Avoid Credit Card Late Fees

Everyone hates late fees and being late will cost you dearly these days. For some credit cards today, if you are late, you will have to shell out as much as $40 each time. This can put a nice sized hole in your pocket really quick.

Below, I will provide you with some tips and strategies on how to steer clear of those monstrous late fees. This will not only save you a lot of money in the long run, but it will also keep those money-hungry credit card companies, I won’t mention any names, from getting your hard earned money.

Just pay your bill. One of the easiest ways of avoiding a late fee is to just pay your bill each and every month by sending in a check, money order, or other type of payment to your respective credit card issuer. Just make sure you follow the numerous guidelines, which are usually outlined on the back of each credit card bill, on how to send in your payment. These guidelines must be followed precisely if you want to guarantee that your payment will go through on time.

Payment guidelines may include everything from a specific payment address to the time of day by which the payment must be received to be credited that day. Many issuers also stipulate that payments must arrive in the preprinted envelope sent to the customer.

While the Fair Credit Billing Act requires issuers to credit payments the day they are received, each issuer is allowed to set specific payment guidelines. If any of the guidelines are not met, the issuer can take as many as five days to credit the payment.

An on-time payment could easily become late during that five-day period, so follow those payment guidelines carefully.

Just skip the payment. One of the more rare types of methods you hear of are Skip-A-Payment services. You can use these services to skip mortgage, credit card, or loan payments. Usually you would need to get in contact with your bank just to see if you even qualify or not. There are also independent companies out there that will allow you to do the same thing, no matter what bank you are a member of. Depending on whose service you use, the fee’s associated with it vary. When you use these types of services make sure you know how much you will be charged then decide if it’s worth it or not.

Pay minimum due immediately. One of the best ways to prevent a late fee from being charged to your account is to pay the minimum due immediately. As soon as you receive your bill, send in the minimum due. This will always insure that your credit card issuer received payment. You can always send in more money later if you decide otherwise. This is a great way to avoid missing a payment because if you forget to send extra money you can guarantee that you won’t be charged a late fee because the minimum due has been already been paid.

Move your due date. Are your credit card bills due at a time of the month when you're running low on cash? Many people have trouble saving money, so when it comes time to paying their credit card bills, they don’t have any cash to do so. One particular solution is to move your due date. Many credit card issuers will allow you to set your own due date to meet your specific needs. If you have trouble saving money, move your due date to a time when you do have money, like as soon as you get your paycheck. If you time your credit card bill to come the same day you get paid, you will always have cash to pay the bill.

Pay by phone. If you are one of those people that wait to the last minute to do everything or if you just forgot to send in your credit card payment early enough, you could always pay by phone. This guarantees that your payment will be on time. Just supply the representative on the other line with your checking account number and your bank routing number, which is printed at the bottom of each check. Usually the routing number is first and the account number is second. A lot of issuers allow you to pay by phone and some will charge you a pretty penny for doing so. Fee’s can range from $5 to $20.

Use other express methods. If your bank does not offer a “pay by phone” service and you need to get your payment to your credit card issuer as soon as possible, I recommend either sending your payment in by express mail or by Western Union. Either one of these services can get your payment to your credit card issuer immediately. These express methods are costly, but it will always most likely be cheaper than any fees associated with being late. Make sure you send your express payment to the proper address. Many issuers have separate payment addresses for express payments. The last thing you want to do is slow the processing of an express payment by sending it to the wrong address.

Daryl Flagg is the founder and CEO of Next Month Online. Next Month Online is a service that allows its visitors to skip credit card payments. They can be found at http://www.NextMonthOnline.com. Sign up for free!

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Credit Card Applications - Getting Accepted

Although they can be painful at times, life today without the ease of a credit card is no longer a reality. So, if you think you want a credit card, here are some essential factors you’ll need to consider when applying for a credit card:

Your Credit History

One of the most essential elements to applying for a credit card is what you current credit history is.

* If you have a bad credit history, then it is going to be much harder applying for a credit card.

* If you have a good credit history, then it is going to be much easier applying for a credit card.

* If you have no credit history, then you may well need to create a credit history, by having a loan or hire-purchase agreement, before you can apply for a credit card.

If you’re in any doubt what your credit history may be, then you should apply for a copy of your credit history. You can do this by applying for a copy of your credit history from a credit reference agency – who may charge you a small sum for providing this to you.

Credit Card Limit

Having discovered that you have a good enough credit history to apply for a credit card, the next thing you need to do is to decide on how much of a credit line you want to apply for. Normally, what your income is will decided this – but sometime your savings can also be important.

Depending on what your income and savings are, you can then apply for a regular credit card, gold credit card, or platinum credit card.

Submitting Your Credit Card Application Form

You now need to go through the process of choosing which credit provider meets your needs. Once you have done this, you can then submit an application to that credit card company.

Once the credit card company you have applied to has reviewed your application form, they’ll either approve your application or ask you to comply with certain conditions. The type of conditions they may ask you to comply with include asking you to have some money on a deposit account with them.

Credit Card Application Is Refused

If your application for a credit card is refused, you must ask why. If you don’t, you’ll never know whether the application has been refused because you failed the credit rating test or because you completed the application form wrong!

If you failed the credit rating test, then you know you need to apply for a credit card with another credit card provider. However, if it is because you filled in the form wrong, you can still reapplying using a correctly completed application form. So don’t be shy to ask “why?” if the credit card provider tells you that you failed in your credit card application!

Joe Kenny writes for Credit Card Guide, offering the latest information on credit cards in the UK, visit them today us to apply for a balance transfer credit card and start clearing credit card debt today.

Visit today: http://www.cardguide.co.uk/

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