Credit Card Now

Get ready to see Alec Baldwin’s cheesy grin plastered all over your TV screen once again! This time, however, Mr. Baldwin has a brand new deal to promote for the Capital One® Venture Rewards Credit Card.

It’s called the “Venture Double Miles Challenge”, and I think travel rewards credit card users everywhere are going to love it. Like Capital One’s hugely popular “Match My Miles” promotion, which was launched around the same time in 2011, this new promotion is yet another really great deal for consumers wanting to switch to a better rewards credit card.

Here’s 5 reasons you should check it out:

1. Capital One will give new cardholders 2 miles for every dollar spent (Up to 100,000 miles) on another travel credit card in 2011. Say you spent $2

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Tags: Venture, Venture Double

We’re well into the New Year now, and hopefully you’re making progress on all of your new year’s resolutions — especially the financial ones. But what if you’re not? Sometimes it’s easy to forget about our goals for the year almost as quickly as we set them. And sometimes a minor setback can cause us to give up hope of accomplishing something.

When it comes to your financial goals and resolutions, don’t let an early stumble cause you to give up. Here are three financial goals you might be working on, and what you can do to get back on track if you’re not making the progress you’d like to be.

Budgeting

Didn’t stick to your budget for January or February as planned? That’s okay. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Guess what. We have ten more months to come this year, and every one of them is a new opportunity to set and stick to a budget.

Maybe your initial goal was too aggressive for you. Now you know you need to

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Tags: Get, Get Back

With the holiday season nearing, many people will be planning trips overseas – however, working out the best and most cost effective way to spend while abroad can be confusing, and using the wrong type of card could significantly increase the cost of a holiday.

Independent financial research company Defaqto sets out the charges involved in using debit and credit cards overseas and highlights the cards that do not currently impose additional costs when used abroad.

Defaqto data indicates that the typical cost of using a credit or debit card abroad is as follows:   Average charge for a £100 purchase overseas * Credit card: £2.87 Debit card: £3.06

Average charge for a £100 cash withdrawal from an overseas ATM * Credit card: £5.60 Debit card: £3.96

* Excludes interest charges

David Black, Defaqtos Insight Analyst for Banking, said: “For most of us, when on holiday our tendency will be to spend a bit more and live life to the full.  However, it is important for people to think about how they will manage their money while abroad to avoid a nasty additional financial shock when they return home.  Cards can be an effective way to spend overseas, but each type of card has its costs and benefits which people need to consider.  In addition, within each card type there is significant variation so it really does pay for people to shop around to get the best option for their needs.”

Defaqto offers the following tips to help people manage their spending while abroad:

If paying for something abroad with a debit or credit card it is generally best to get billed in the local currency (rather than sterling) because the exchange rate that your card provider uses will almost always be favourable compared to the exchange rate used by the retailer

When spending a significant amount of money people may prefer to use a credit card due to the additional protection provided by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 – if someone spends £100 to £30,000 on goods or services that are faulty or not delivered the credit card company will be jointly liable with the seller

Use a credit or debit card that does not charge a foreign exchange fee on overseas transactions or a fee for cash withdrawals

As always, holidaymakers should make sure they are aware of all the costs and charges they will incur when using a card before they start using it abroad

Before going abroad people should tell their card provider where and when they are going as this will make it much less likely that their card will be blocked by the provider

Some may prefer to use a prepaid card – which only allows them to spend up to the amount they have put on the card – as a way of controlling their outgoings.  The Euro or Dollar denominated cards offered by FairFx and CaxtonFx have the lowest overseas usage charges

Credit cards

The following credit cards do not currently levy a foreign exchange fee on overseas purchases:

Halifax Clarity Credit Card

Metro Bank Credit Card

Nationwide Building Society Gold Card (no foreign exchange fee charged until 31st July 2011)

Post Office Credit Card

Saga Platinum Credit Card (only available to those aged 50+)

Sainsburys Gold Credit Card (it charges £5 per month but provides incentives which include free multi-trip family travel insurance)

Santander Zero Credit Card (only available to Santander current account customers)

The following credit cards do not currently charge a fee on cash withdrawals or a foreign exchange fee on overseas transactions:

Halifax Clarity Credit Card (typical 12.9% APR charged on cash advances from the date debited to the cardholders account)

Metro Bank Personal Credit Card (typical 13% APR charged on cash advances from the date of withdrawal)

Sainsburys Gold Credit Card (interest free credit on purchases and cash advances if the cardholder repays the entire balance on time every month. It charges £5

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Tags: Overseas

We always see increased activity in our Credit Talk Forum as the new year begins.  It makes complete sense since the start of a new year often brings a renewed sense of urgency to get your financial house in order.

And for a lot of people these days, the number one thing on their mind is cleaning up their credit reports and getting their credit scores back to an acceptable level so they can purchase a new home, car, or get their foot in the door for a new job.  So how do most people start the process?

They typically begin researching online, joining forums, pulling free credit reports, and wondering “when will these old debts I’ve been trying to ignore for all these years actually go away?”  This is a question I’ve seen and answered in our forum at least a dozen times this month, so I thought it would be a good idea to quickly address it here on the blog as well.

The truth is old debts never really go away until you pay them off or reach a settlement with the debt collector, but that doesn’t mean they can’t disappear from your credit reports before a settlement occurs.  According to

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Not all balance transfer credit card offers are created equal.

But before you leap straight for the 0% interest rate card, it’s worth comparing a zero rate balance transfer offer with a low rate offers to see whether they really are a better deal.

St George Vertigo MasterCard

This card is currently offering balance transfers of $200 or more at an introductory rate of 0.99% APR per annum for the first 12 months, available until April 2012.

This reverts to the standard variable rate for purchases which is currently an attractive 13.24% APR per annum. C

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Tags: Balance Transfer, Balance Transfer Credit, Credit, Transfer Credit