When you pay a lower interest rate more of your monthly payment goes towards the principal balance. This is because your finance charges are lower on your account. You may also see your payment amount decrease. However, you should continue to pay as much as possible towards your credit card debts.

Credit card companies don’t usually offer to reduce your rates. However, some card issuers have started offering their good customers temporary rate decreases in order to entice them to spend more.

Get your last credit card statement and a few of the credit card offers you have received. Set aside a time when you can sit and talk on the phone for at least thirty minutes. Make sure you have a pen to write down who you talk with and what they say.

If you are a credit card holder in good standing, all you simply need to do is call your credit card company. Simply tell them that you have received several card offers in the mail from other credit card companies that have lower APRs. Remind them that you have been a good customer and would like to see a lower interest rate on your credit card. If you don’t get a lower rate, you just might have to cancel your card and switch companies.

Be persistent. Ask to speak with a supervisor if you are initially turned down. Or you can ask to be transferred to the retention department. You can always try another day. But let them know that you will close your account if your rate is not lowered.

Keep it simple and straightforward when talking with the representative. Ask them what they can do to help you. You may even quote an interest rate offer and ask if they can do any better for you.

If your credit card company won’t work with you to lower your rate, simply start shopping for a lower-rate credit card. Follow through on your threat to close the account andd transfer your balance to a lower-rate card.

Most card holders with great account histories will have little trouble getting a lower interest rate. If you have held your account for a long time and currently have a low balance due, you will have a pretty good shot. But regardless of your situation, it never hutrs to ask. At the worst, they will tell you no. You haven’t been hurt at all. You are paying the same rate you were. But if they do happen to say yes, you will be paying hundreds of dollars a year less in interest payments.

By lowering your interest rates on your credit cards you will be able to pay your debt off quickly. Take the time to manage your accounts wisely. With a solid repayment plan and the proper management, you can control your debt, instead of it controlling you.

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There are business credit cards for both business people with an ideal credit and for business people who have a bad credit history. Many banks boast that they can issue a tailor made business credit card to suit every business man. An ideal business credit card can be created by choosing between the ones with very less introductory fees, Customizing the expense limits, discounts, business travel rewards etc.

The business credit card makes business very simple as it neatly categorizes business and personal expenses separately avoiding the necessity to secure receipts. It makes tax paying very easy. It is world wide advised fact by financial advisors and accountants to keep separate expenses of business and personal nature.

Money is saved with the usage of business credit cards which offers rewards and discounts. One can get discounts on office supplies and free travel stay, so that hard earned money is saved.

Now a young entrepreneur has an advantage of getting small business credit cards which was not available before. It gives the necessary confidence and security to deal with the financial issues. Todays business credit cards makes it possible to get cash advances, keeps track of purchases and receipts for making good business. Some of the business credit card companies help in determining if the credit card interest paid is tax deductible or not.

Some credit card companies and banks facilitate the business people to earn reward points for purchases made by them and allow deciding on how and when to spend the earned reward points. There is a possibility to get cash back, or gift certificates, products or services, or even donate to charity. To know more about the benefits the business card offers, it is to find on your own or to consult with your financial advisor.

A business credit card helps in doing business better regardless of the credit history. It helps in decreasing the interest rates over a period of time, and makes it possible to get loan for business. A business credit card is considered as a valuable gift to the entrepreneur. A business credit card can be a boon to business people if it is paid off at the end of every month. If the business man manages his transaction and ensure payment within the time limit, his business will flourish.

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We’ve all been tempted by 0% credit card interest rate offers. These offers are usually for short periods of three to 12 months and there are usually conditions attached. For example, the preferential rate may apply to balance transfers, but not to cash withdrawals. The low interest rate may not apply to credit card cheques or purchases either.

People who are carrying a large debt will want to make the most of 0% interest rate offers. Here’s how to keep your credit card interest rate at 0%.

Researching 0% Credit Card Deals

First of all, it is best to research the credit card thoroughly. Consumers need to find out:
- what period the 0% interest rate is for
- whether it is for balance transfers only
- whether it applies to other spending on the card
- what the rate is for cash withdrawals or credit card cheques
- whether there is a balance transfer fee
- what other incentives there are for using the card

Answering these questions will help consumers to decide which 0% credit card is right for them. It is especially important to pay attention to the period that the incentive offer lasts for. To keep paying 0% interest, consumers will need to apply for a new 0% credit card a month to six weeks before the old offer runs out. This leaves time to get the card, activate it and transfer the balance without incurring any additional fees from the current credit card company.

Rate Surfing Benefits

Moving from card to card, or rate surfing, is a common way of keeping interest rates low and paying off as much of a debt as possible. Using a 0% card means that any money paid is reducing the outstanding debt rather than paying interest. This is good news for consumers’ long term financial stability.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that consumers will be able to get another card. This will depend on their credit profile. The best way to maintain a good credit profile is to have some credit card debt (but not too much) and to make all payments on time. This will show credit card companies that you are a good credit risk.

Watch Out For Balance Transfer Fees

Credit card companies do not like credit card tarts, another term for rate surfers, because they lose hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of income that they would normally gain from interest. As a result, many credit card companies take their money up front by charging a balance transfer fee of around 2% of the balance transferred. Even with this fee, savvy consumers should be able to shop around for the best rates and pay much less interest than they would normally have done.

In addition to the incentive of a 0% interest rate, consumers can also benefit from other rewards. These include points that can be used for travel, earning vouchers, cash back and charitable contributions. This means that consumers can reduce their outstanding debt and gain a reward as well.

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Ensuring that you credit report is accurate and up to date
Requesting better rates from your existing credit providers
Applying for better rates from new credit providers
Consider switching to secured credit or less flexible credit over a longer term
Put effort into improving your credit rating

All of these steps have a potential to get you better credit card interest rates and reduce the amounts you have to pay in monthly repayments. If you have a lot of loans and payments on credit cards and other high interest accounts, one of the best ways to reduce your monthly payments is to consolidate this debt into one loan. This loan can be secured over your home if you are a homeowner and this will give you access to far better interest rates. You should be very careful before securing any debts over your home as it may put your home at risk if you find that you are unable to meet your repayment commitments. A consolidated loan, over a period of two to five years usually, can give you access to far lower rates of interest and this alone can save you hundreds of dollars each month in bills.

Ensure your credit report is accurate

Another step you may consider is checking that your credit report is accurate. Since all credit-reporting companies have a legal obligation to ensure the accuracy of their reports, they will usually be happy to amend your report if you find that there are errors contained on it that will make it harder for you to receive credit. You may also wish to put some time into improving your report if it is bad, by paying your bills on time, reducing the amount of overall credit you have outstanding and making other alterations that get reported on your rating.

For credit card advice please visit here http://www.creditcards-gb.co.uk/creditcardadvice.html

If all else fails, just ask

One very simple way of getting better interest rates is simply to ask for them. If you have been with your credit provider for some time and have always managed to pay your bill in full and on time, you may be entitled to have your credit rate lowered. If you have other credit cards with lower rates, tell this to the company and they may be willing to match this in order to keep your business.

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The truth is you need to be extremely cautious when applying for a credit card, as it is a complex web of fees, charges, and interest rates (not to mention hidden clauses and terms which are not only illegal but also financially dangerous) which can sink you deep in debt.

Apply for a credit card only if you are sure that you will be able to make intelligent use of it in the near future. But first, you will need a layman’s crash course on credit card interest rates before you secure and swipe your card at the first opportunity.

I have found that interest rates are not the same for different applicants. But usually the means for assigning interest rates on an applicant is based on his credit history. Assuming that you have no history of bad credit, you could end up getting a loan at a relatively low interest rate. Alternatively, you would have no choice but to work hard in order to improve your credit.

This may be done the hard way, by taking the brunt of the compromised interest rate which the bank will assign to you, or to choose a plan with a lower credit limit so that the interest rate follows accordingly. There is also the option of the prepaid credit card. But this method of rebuilding credit is hard to secure and it charges even higher interest costs.

Sure enough, there are low interest credit cards or even zero percent interest plans which are available, but as expected, there is a catch: this low interest may not be valid for over a certain period of somewhere between six months and one year. After the expiration of this low interest period, higher rates of interest come into play. For a monthly or annual fee, service alerts are offered, informing the borrower as to when his low interest period is due to expire.

But most times, these are nothing more than gimmicks. They are targeted to work in the short term only.

Some credit cards can also be used in an ATM to take out funds within the credit limit, but the interest is usually charged from the date of withdrawal, and not from the monthly billing date. This means that the issuer gets a higher payback in interest rate from the transaction than usual.

Bear in mind the fact that many credit card providers offer varying rates of interest. So make sure you know what you are getting into. Some may lure you with teaser offers of low rates for a certain period, whereas the regular rates can get as high as 40 percent.

Since there are no fixed regulations concerning interest rates and penalties on late payments, some issuers forfeit the teaser rates if the borrower does not make the payment on time, and replaces it with a penalty interest rate. Some can even be so unscrupulous as to charge interest even if the balance is fully paid on the due date.

Ideally, you should be shopping around for credit cards that are really cheap. But it is not enough to charge low rates. The card should offer terms that would be convenient for the borrower.

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A credit card is an authority to spend the money of the company that issued it, in return for a promise that you will repay them in the future, called payment-due date. This date is written on your cards monthly billing statement together with the total cost of the items you purchased for that month (outstanding balance). Smart credit card users pay for the total outstanding balance on the payment due date. However, there maybe instances that you will not be able to. During these times, the card company lets you borrow the money longer, until the next months payment-due date, for a fee. This fee is calculated based on the credit cards interest rate.

Usually, credit card companies quote the APR (Annual Percentage Rate) as the interest rate for using their card. But, this is not entirely true. When you do not pay the total outstanding balance, interest is applied to it, called the monthly periodic rate (equals APR/12). This is added on to the unpaid amount and becomes next months outstanding balance. Every month, the periodic rate is applied to whatever outstanding balance is unpaid. This process is called compounding interest. So, the total of the compounding interest is the Effective Annual Rate (EAR), which is in-fact bigger than the APR. This is the TRUE interest rate of the credit card. Consult http://www.abcguides.com/creditcards/cci_faq.htm#interest for an illustrated example of the discussion above.

An introductory rate is an interest rate that is offered by a card company for a limited period (say 1st year of using the card). This is usually very low, sometimes 0% to attract you to apply. After the limited time, the EAR will be the on-going interest rate. Be sure to check this before signing up.

Also, ask whether your rate is fixed or variable. Fixed interest rate does not change from month to month. A variable interest rate changes monthly, based on some industry rate (for example, Fed Rate or Prime Rate) from which your rate is calculated (your rate is 5%+ Fed Rate). It may be smarter in the long run to choose a fixed-rate card.

Now that you have a better understanding on credit card interest rates, it is still wise to settle the total outstanding balance monthly. Else, pay only for what you can afford, as if you did not have the credit card.

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Einstein put it best when he said, “Compounding interest is the greatest mathematical discovery of all time”. Now the question you need to ask is, “Do I want this force working for me or against me?” If you own a credit card and you carry-over balances from month to month then you’ve got that amazing force called compounding interest working against you.

In this article, I’ll attempt to explain how this “force” works against you month after month after month, in the form of interest upon interest. And perhaps, by helping you to gain a better understanding of how this “force” works and how important even a small change in the interest rate you are being charged effects you and families financial future. And hopefully, it will also inspire and motivate you to do whatever it takes to pay off your credit cards and initiate some type of savings plan so you can put this “force” to work for you.

Credit Card Interest Rates are Compounded
The interest you pay on your credit card balances are compounded, which means that you pay interest on the interest from the month before. A simple example would be that if you were being charged an interest rate of 2% per month, you would not be paying 24% per year. In reality, you would be paying 26.82%. A neat little trick that credit card companies use to pick up an additional point or two of interest is to calculate interest on a monthly rather than on a yearly basis. You pay more but you don’t know you’re paying more.

A Brain Teaser
Here’s a little brain teaser based upon what you’ve already learned. Would you rather have $1 million in cash or $10,000 in some form of savings account earning you a compounded interest rate of 20 percent per year?

Hmm, let’s see how that $10,000 would grow after 10 years – $61,917 or 20 years – $383,375 or 30 years – $2,373,763 or 50 years – $563,475,143.

After fifty years, you would have over $500 million. Of course, you would have to take inflation into account and if we used a figure of 5% per year, then that $500 million would have the buying power that $10,732,859 does today. Not a bad return on your investment of $10,000 but on a side note it also exposes another lesson in how the compounding rate of inflation destroys wealth but that’s the subject of another article.

Clearly, that question was a bit tricky because there’s so many variables to take into account that would influence what decision you would ultimately make – but you get my point, the power of compounding interest and by the way… it’s the primary way credit card companies make their money is a powerful “force”. It’s also the way pensions work and the reason the prices of things seem to rise massively as you get older. Be afraid… or at the least very wary of compounding interest.

Compounding Interest Can Really Add Up
Now, let’s look at a more real world example. Let’s say you have an average unpaid balance of $1,000 on a credit card with an APR of 15 percent.

First year interest would be $150. However, this amount is then carried-over and added onto the balance and interest is charged on that. As a result, year two interest would be another $172.50 for a total of $1322.50 and it continues to build year after year. Year three, four and five would look like this – $1,520, $1,749 and $2,011.

As you can clearly see, after just five years at 15%, you would owe double what you borrowed and after 10 years you would owe four times. I know it’s hard to believe but once again this simple “real world” example dramatically demonstrates the power of compounding interest.

If you let something like that carry on long enough, you end up paying on that same amount of debt for years and years and end up paying back many times what you originally borrowed and in some instances you still may not have completely satisfied the original debt. Unfortunately, most people simply don’t take the time to think through this out and they feel that the high and never ending payments are simply their fault for spending too much money to begin with.

The Three Percent Difference
You may feel that there’s not that much difference between a credit card that charges an APR of 15% versus one that charges an APR of 12% but then again after reading this article I’m sure you’ve realized that there is and so – that’s exactly what I’m going to show you. Remember the previous example that showed you would owe over $2,000 after only five years at 15% after borrowing an initial amount of $1,000.

That same example at 12% reveals the following: Year one – $1120, year two – $1254 and years three through five – $1404, $1573 and $1762 respectively. After the same five year period you would have saved nearly $250 or almost 25% in interest from a mere 3% difference in APR. Quite dramatic and hopefully it will help you convince you to make the necessary decisions to pay-off your credit cards and start saving so that you can put, “the greatest mathematical discovery of all time” to work for you… rather than against you.

This article may be reproduced only in its entirety.

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I have a wonderful strategy for those of you who have credit card debt on more than one card.

Take out your credit card statements and write down the interest rate and the balance of each. For example, lets say you have three credit cards that have interest/balance as listed.

Card#1 13.9% with a balance of $555.00
Card#2 17.9% with a balance of $486.00
Card#3 19.9% with a balance of $322.00

Note that card #3 carries a higher interest rate than #1 or #2. In fact, Card #3 would cost you more than 40% more in interest dollars over a period of a year if they had the same balance! Do you understand what I am saying here?

The plan to eliminate is easy. Pay the minimum balance due on the lower rate cards (in this case Card#1 and #2) and pay as much as you can afford to pay on Card#3. (For example, you are paying minimum payments of $15.00 on Card#1 and #2 and you can pay $100, $150, $200 whatever you can afford to pay. Make it hurt a little.

Continue paying this way until Card#3 is paid off. Cut it up and throw it away. You dont want a higher interest card do you?

Now, apply the same strategy to Cards#1 and #2. Card#2 is the next highest rate (actually 25% higher in interest than Card#!). Pay the minimum payment on #1 and pay the same payment you were making for Card#3 plus the minimum payment you were making on Card#2. You have already seen you can get by without the minimum payment. Do it!

Continue until Card#2 is paid off. Now, follow the same routine until Card#1 is paid off.

I promise you will feel good about yourself. You will save money that you didnt even realize you were spending before.

If you have followed this far, realize you can do the same thing with your hoousehold loans such as your mortgage and car loans. Many car loans have higher interest rates and can be paid down much quicker in this manner.

Remember, start with the highest interest rates and when your way down. Good luck!

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The annual percentage rate (APR) is the interest rate you will pay if you carry over your balance from month to month, take out a cash advance, or transfer balances from another credit card. If your like most who sometimes may carry over a balance each month, you should be more interested in a credit card that carries a lower interest rate, but the lower interest rate means you need a good credit score. Credit card companies may charge a yearly fee in addition to the interest rate. Many card issuers, including most of the largest credit card issuers, have started lowering interest rates to below the 18 to 19 percent levels that were common through most of the 1980s and early 1990s.

If you have unpaid balances from previous months, there may not be a grace period for your new purchases. The grace period can help you avoid finance charges by paying your balance in-full before the due-date. There is usually one annual percentage rate (APR) for purchases and another for cash advances (usually the highest), and yet another for balance transfers.

The Federal Reserve System surveys credit card companies every six months andhas a easy to understand explanation of commonly used credit card terminology, and a survey of major credit card companies which is updated twice a year. The Federal Reserve plans to require credit card companies to give consumers at least a 45 day notice before they can raise interest rates and to provide clearer info on the fees. The Federal Trade Commissionalso explains credit card terminology but also has information on where and how to file a complaint.

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Therefore if you feel that you are being cheated or there is something afoul with the credit card interest rates you are being offered, you may wish to get into contact with the Federal Trade Commission to see what exactly your rights are in this regard. You should always make a point of understanding and being up to date with these rights whenever you are negotiating for new credit, or an improvement in the terms of your existing credit, since such knowledge and information will improve your bargaining position and will help ensure that you are not taken advantage of by the big credit providers and banks that you will be dealing with.

With regard to your credit report, there is a free disclosure rule in the Accurate Credit Transactions Act that gives you a right to view your credit report for free. This right applies to the credit reports compiled by each of the three nation wide consumer credit reporting companies that operate on a national basis. There is a web site and phone number that you can use to get access to all three reports at the same time.