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Credit Card Articles
 Ever heard of a rate tart? What about credit surfing? I guess you may have but there are many subjects that are covered in this section that you could learn from. From how to make money with balance transfers, utilising those 0% interest deals, comparing the best reward schemes and to calculating the best card for you, we have it.
If you feel that there is something missing, or maybe there is some information that is out of date, wrong or misleading let us know in our contact us section and we will get right on it.
Choosing Credit Cards
- Credit Card Types
Credit cards have evolved from their early days into flexible financial tools for most types of spenders – and savers. But with so many types of credit cards on offer it can be somewhat overwhelming.
- Choosing the Right Card
There are literally hundreds of credit cards on offer in the UK, and the list is growing daily. So, which is the best on offer? It very much depends on how each person plans to use their card. The answer lies in asking one simple question; “What do I want to use a credit card for?”
- Applying For Credit Cards Online
More and more people are applying for credit cards online. Along with online auctions, and shopping, signing up for credit cards, loans and insurance has been one of the fastest growing commercial activities on the net.
- Why Have A Joint Credit Card?
There are many reasons why having a joint credit card account may be a good idea for couples. If a credit card is used to manage monthly shopping and household spending, it may make sense for both people to have access to the same credit card account.
Credit Card Benefits
- Credit Card Benefits
A credit card can be a highly effective and flexible financial tool for the smart shopper – and saver. It has many obvious advantages over cash and cheques – and a few hidden ones too!
- Rate Tart - Are You One?
Rate tarts are the smart shoppers of the credit card world. They play the system to avoid paying interest on purchases, borrow money for free, and even make money on that borrowed money!
- Make Money Using Credit Cards
It may seem odd that a financial product designed to offer credit can actually make users money in the process, but it’s perfectly possible. Here is our definitive guide on how to earn extra money while using credit cards.
Balance Transfers
- Quick Balance Transfer Guide
Balance transfers allow card holders to transfer the money they owe to their existing credit card to another, usually at a special rate of interest. The new credit card company pays off the old credit card debt and transfers it to the new card. This article will tell you how to play the game.
- The True Cost of Balance Transfers
Balance transfers are a great way to consolidate credit card debts into one place, especially when there are many 0% deals available. However, there are hidden costs.
- Successful Stoozing: A Guide
The introduction of 0% balance transfer deals brought a new financial practice which allowed people to use those deals to make money. The practice is known as 'stoozing' and it is closely related to credit card jumping. The difference is that successful stoozers have to be debt free, otherwise any gains made by stoozing will be lost in paying interest on credit cards.
- Are You A Stoozer?
'Stoozing' is a term that entered the English language at the start of the 21 st century. It refers to the practice of making money moving money from credit card to credit card to take advantage of preferential interest rates. Stoozers are similar to credit card tarts and credit card jumpers.
Cash Back Credit Cards
- Cash Back Credit Card - General Guide
It seems almost too good to be true; a credit card company giving back money to the user just for spending it in the first place! However, as with all good deals, there are terms and conditions.
- Cash Back or Rewards
In the battle for new customers, credit card companies are offering to reward users for simply spending on their cards. The two most attractive systems seem to be cash back and rewards.
- Cashing In On Credit Cards
Credit cards come with a wealth of incentives to attract new borrowers. These include points, long term low interest rates and 0% balance transfer rates. The balance transfer rate is perhaps the most attractive and it has been used to advantage by many credit card users. Two good examples are credit card tarts and stoozers.
Credit Card Rewards
- The Value Of Having Branded UK Credit Card Loyalty Programs
Anyone who has taken even the briefest of looks at the UK credit card industry will immediately notice that there are well over a thousand credit card providers. However, even in this hugely competitive industry, there are still only two main types of card available – the Visa card and the MasterCard.
Cash Advance & Credit Card Cheques
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The Hidden Dangers Of Using Credit Card Cheques
Always on the lookout to find new and innovative ways to market credit card use in the UK, UK credit card issuers have sent out thousands of unsolicited credit card cheques to UK credit cardholders over the past year to entice cardholders to make use of this seemingly useful system.
Various Types Of Credit Cards
- Secured or Pre-Paid Credit Cards
So you need a credit card for emergencies, peace of mind, or for your teenage child but aren’t willing to go into debt for it? The answer might just be a secured or prepaid credit card.
- Cash Back Credit Cards
The credit card industry has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. Today there are far more providers all competing to try and get your business. The companies have now come up with an ingenious idea..cash back credit cards.
- Gold Credit Cards
Following the initial release of standard silver credits on the mid-1950s, credit cards issues felt they needed a way in which to entice customers of a high net value who wanted to be associated with a credit card that reflect their financial standing.
- Standard Credit Cards
Not too long ago if you wanted a credit card you had a simple choice: MasterCard, Visacard, Diner’s Club or Amex – Silver or Gold. Today everyone issues a credit card and offers all sorts of promotions; so it has become a minefield trying to work out what standard credit cards are.
- Reward Credit Cards
In the UK today we spend over £trillion on our credit cards! During peak hours major credit card companies can be transacted over 20,000 payments a second! No matter how you look at it, that’s big business and there are lots of profits to be made by card issuers.
- Airmile Credit Cards
These days most major UK credit card providers offer a vast array of reward programs to try and entice potential new customers to apply for a card. Since the inception of reward packages, one of the most popular packages that applicants go for is airmile credit cards.
- Business Credit Cards
If you are either the owner or Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a business and do not have business credit cards, then the following 10 reasons might make you want to rethink your business credit card strategy.
- How To Earn Nectar Points With Reward Credit Cards
The Nectar point scheme is a scheme that allows credit card users and other shoppers to earn points through purchases. The Nectar scheme has been running since September 2002. As with other reward points schemes, the Nectar points scheme allows shoppers to earn at the rate of 2 points for every pound spent.
Store Cards
- How To Manage Your Store Card
Many major outlets offer store cards. These provide an easy way for consumers to defer payment for purchases. Store cards are promoted over public address systems in shops and by shop assistants at checkouts. So it's no surprise that there are more than 14 million store cards accounts in the UK.
Credit Card Security and Fraud Protection
- Identity Theft
Identity theft is a major issue in the UK, and with good reason. It has been estimated that it can take up to sixty hours of work to recover a stolen identity, and in the worst cases, cost up to £8000 to put right. But what can be dome to prevent this?
- ‘Vishing’ – A New Type Of Credit Card Fraud
With the full integration of Chip and PIN technology in 2005, credit card fraudsters now have to look for ever more ingenious ways to try and defraud UK credit cardholders. Topping this list is a very ingenious and sophisticated telephone scam that fraudsters are using to obtain the credit details of cardholders – ‘vishing’.
Credit Card Charges / Fees
- Credit Card Insurance
No sooner do you have a nice, shiny new credit card than the phone calls start. Would you like insurance, medical cover, extended this and extra that? The clever card holder resists the telephone sales pitches and reaches for the small print…
- Payment Protection Cover For Your Credit Card - Is It Worth The Cost?
Payment protection cover states quite clearly what it is but what are the ins and outs of the policy and is it worth considering taking out payment protection cover on your credit card.
- Credit Card Charges
Credit cards appear to have only one cost to a user – the interest charged on purchases, but there are a whole raft of hidden charges just lurking below the surface. So, some cards offer an annual payment option in return for certain benefits. What is the best option, and in what circumstance
- Making Credit Card Fees Easier To Understand
On average, UK credit card issuers make somewhere between £300 and £400 million a year in fees charged off of UK credit card users who have not fully understood how the credit card issuer has arranged the charging of their fees and who do not complain directly to the card issuer for any excessive or incorrect fee charges. In anyone’s language, this is a staggering amount of money!
- How To Avoid Paying Those Pesky Credit And Debit Card Fees
It seems that UK credit and debit card providers would like to charge us each and every time we use our plastic cards these days. While the charge for each separate individual transaction may not seem like much, add them up over a month or two and suddenly the amount has some value. So, how do we avoid having to pay pesky fees to UK credit and debit card providers?
Credit Related Articles
- Smashing The Credit Rating Myths
It used to be said that there were two certainties in life – death and taxes. Today you can add a third – credit. Today, it is almost certain that at some point during your life you are going to need to apply for credit. This credit may be either be in the form of a credit card, charge card, hire purchase, personal loan, home loan, etc.
- Credit Building Tactics
Much is written about credit ratings, the score against an individual’s name, that rates their eligibility for credit. This article discusses different methods that you can use to try and build a new, better credit rating.
- Credit Reports
Every time a customer applies for a financial product such as a credit card, the credit company will consult that customer’s credit file. This file records all their financial activity in terms of credit applications and banking activity.
- Applying For Credit Cards When You Have Bad Credit
For those with a poor credit score, getting a credit card is harder. However, there are solutions and we will discuss and offer these in the article.
- Using Your Credit Card To Build Credit History
Let’s say you want to buy a house, but you need to get a mortgage to help pay for the house. However, you have no credit history to speak of, so how can you apply for the mortgage to get your dream home?
- What Is An Affordability Rating?
For years in the UK, whenever you have applied for credit, such as a loan, home loan, credit card, etc., the credit provider has always undertaken a credit rating test to determine whether or not they consider you a safe or unsafe credit risk.
- Credit Card Options For People With Bad Credit
There are many items that you can only pay for with a credit card. If you want to book a holiday on the Internet, a credit card is a secure way to pay. And if you want to hire a car when you get to your destination, a credit card is your only option.
Articles On Credit Card Use
- Tips For A Freeloader Credit Card User
Before you panic, there was a time when a ‘freeloader’ UK credit card user was considered the perfect customer. Freeloader card users always pay their outstanding credit card debt in full on the statement payment date, never carrying a balance.
- Do You Need To Have More Than One Credit Card?
Deciding whether or not to have more than 1 UK credit card can be a difficult decision to make. On the one hand, you want to keep a careful control on your personal finances and having numerous creditors makes this difficult. On the other hand, it can be convenient to have more than one credit card, for example in an emergency. So, should you have more than 1 credit card?
Credit Card Debt Issues
Credit Card Drawbacks
- Credit Card Disadvantages
Credit cards are everywhere; figures show that the average card user has over 4 credit cards in their wallet, and there are more cards in circulation that UK adults!
- Common Credit Card Mistakes
With credit cards now outnumbering people in the UK you would be right to assume that not everyone in this country uses their credit cards either correctly or wisely. But what are the most common mistakes that credit card holders make when using their credit cards?
Credit Card FAQ's and Misc Articles
- Are Pre-Approved UK Credit Cards A Scam?
Appropriately know as junk mail, every now and then you may find a nice glossy letter on your doormat informing you that you have just been ‘pre-approved’ a UK credit card. With your pulse racing, you start to believe then hype of what a wonderful customer you are and how much your custom is valued. Hold on tiger – you may well be falling for one of the biggest credit card scams going!
- Useful Tips On How To Increase Your Credit Card Spending Limit
Many of us in the UK would love to have a higher credit card limit than we currently do. However, short of an immediate pay rise, few of us give any thought as to how we can go about increasing the spending limit that our UK credit card provider have set.
- The Future Credit Cards
When the Franklin National Bank in New York started giving their loan customers cards to buy goods from retailers in 1951, little did they know they had started a revolution in spending. When American Express, a traveller’s cheque company, followed suit with their charge card in 1958, card holders began to enjoy the freedom such cards gave them.
- Top Tips On How Not To Succumb To Plastic Fever
With the UK having the most competitive credit card market in the world after the US it is understandable that over 30m Britons have one or more credit cards. With almost 1,500 different credit cards to choose from the UK now has more credit cards then residents.
- Ten Reasons to Hate Prestige Credit Cards
For those of you who like to display your wealth through various status symbols, the prestige credit card is one symbol that you can do without. Whilst privilege cards are aimed at those leading extravagant lifestyles, their benefits can be overpriced and of little value in the end.
- Secured Credit Cards Vs. Unsecured Credit Cards
During the course of an evening it is possible to hear variations of all three of the sub-captioned claims. The truth, however, is a little more moot. So what is the debate between secured credit cards and unsecured credit cards?
- Visa or Mastercard?
The two main credit card types have battled it out since the mid 1960s, but the credit card revolution was started in earnest by American Express, in 1958. Soon, their card was the choice to pay at hotels, airlines and restaurants.
- Credit Card Terminology – How Much Do You Know?
We all have credit cards but how much do we actually know about how they work. Does your mind go blank when different phrases are used when we are talking credit cards?
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