Tag Archives: interest
How to Choose the Right College Credit Card for You
Credit cards are a huge industry. Everybody who can get one or two or 10, uses them because they are a great convenience. But there are so many credit cards being offered to students these days that it might seem nearly impossible to choose the right college credit card for you. But it is very important to investigate and to choose carefully to make sure you end up with the best deal you can find.
It’s also important not to go overboard and get a half dozen cards or more. It is very easy to get yourself into serious financial trouble before you realize it. It is so easy to use the cards when you want something – but then the bills start coming and getting bigger and bigger.
The interest rate that a college credit card charges is a critical factor in your considerations. Let’s face it, when you make a purchase on a college credit card you are actually borrowing money from the credit card issuer. They will want it back – with interest. So you must pay a monthly interest rate on this loan unless you pay your balance off in full every month.
Naturally, the best option is to pay off the credit card every month, but sometimes that just isn’t going to happen, so you want to get a college credit card with the lowest annual percentage rate and the longest 0% interest introductory period. The majority of college credit cards will be very similar in these two regards so the next point to consider is what kind of rewards you receive for using the credit card.
For many students, college credit cards are the first ‘real’ credit cards that they have gotten and they may not know what types of reward would be the best to look for. Generally, the three main reward types that will be most valuable for students are:
* Cash Back
* Frequent flyer miles
* Free gas
Cash back on a college credit card is actually a kind of points system. As you spend money these points accumulate on your college credit card account. Then they can be exchanged for cash, gift certificates or special discounts at popular outlets and stores. While the amount of ‘cash back’ that you get as a college credit card reward might seem small, remember that every little bit helps and you will soon be racking it up.
If you have cash available to pay for items like books and other necessities, you can use your card instead and then pay off the bill as soon as it comes. This does two important things for you. First, it helps build your credit history in a very positive way. Second, it accelerates your rewards. BUT, you must pay it off, don’t spend that cash on something else and end up paying interest. You have to keep your finances under strict control.
Frequent flyer miles could be the best rewards to have with a college credit card if you attend a college a long distance from your home. As you use your college credit card you accumulate frequent flyer miles that you can later exchange for flights back home – or wherever you want to go. Unlike the airline reward schemes, normally credit card frequent flyer miles can be used on any participating airline, worldwide.
Free gas when you use your college credit card could be your best option if you have your own car. Gas prices keep getting higher and some college credit cards offer rewards that can help with the rising costs of operating a car by providing rebates for gas station purchases. These free gas college credit cards may also offer discounts and points towards other motoring related items so it can be well worth your time to compare the different programs available.
With careful research, a little good sense, and careful attention to your finances, your college credit card can definitely help make your college years easier and give you a great head start on an excellent credit rating.
Bad Credit Car Loans Made Affordable
Bad credit does not mean an end to your prospects for availing a car loan. On the contrary nowadays it has become comparatively easy for getting bad credit car loans and no credit car loans. Bad credit does not mean that you not at all capable of returning the loan. In fact bad credit is just the reflection of how irregular you were at repaying the earlier loans.
When looking from the car loan lenders perspective the market is now flooded with competition and recession has broken the financial back bone of many prospective car buyers. The current recession has left to income reduction of many, increase in the basic commodity prices and increase in the applicable rate of interest on the current loans. The number of good credit car loan applicants is dwindling while that of bad credit car loan applicants is on a dramatic rise. Most of the car loan applicants nowadays have bad credit and these bad credit applicants form a large portion of the market segment of the car loan lenders market. If the car loan lender does not cater to the bad credit applicants, these applicants will approach other lenders. The car loan lender cannot afford losing any car loan applicant. Many car loan lenders have now started offering bad credit car loans and even poor credit car loans.
When availing the bad credit car loans or no credit car loans the borrower should pay special attention to the terms and conditions and especially the car loan rates. Usually the car loans for bad credit and no credit carry higher rate of interest and severe penalties for missing or being late for the monthly payments. Some of the strategies to reduce the car loan rates are hiking the advance payment, getting a good credit cosigner, submitting the proof of regular income through a stable job, or pawing the home equity or the car as the collateral and converting the car loan into a type of secured loan. Comparison and negotiations are other ways of reducing the car loan rates.
Sometimes when all the strategies fail to make the bad credit car loan or the no credit car loan affordable, the only way left for the borrower is to seek used car loans. In case of used car loan the loan amount is drastically reduced and the applicable rate of interest can be lowered by paying higher monthly payments and availing faster riddance from the car loan. In case of buying a used car the car buyer needs to take care about the condition of the engine and the formalities such as insurance and loan pending because of the first owner of the car.