Everything About Credit Cards

Then choose the card most favorable to you and make application. This will give you a A few credit card companies are still sending offers in the mail – and those offers sound too good to resist. Some offer introductory rates as low as Zero percent for a limited time, others offer low rates for the life of a transferred balance – and no balance transfer fee. Others are offering rewards incentives with no annual fee.

If you have a card with a high balance, or if you use your card a lot and the rewards are attractive, you’ll naturally be tempted to take them up on the offer.

There’s just one catch. That fantastic offer has fine print – and the fine print says you’ll get the offer only if you meet their requirements. Your credit score is the strongest determining factor.

They’ll also look at your annual income compared to current outstanding debt. Be careful here – because reporting a lower annual income could affect not only this application, but could trigger a reduction in credit lines with affiliated credit cards.

Chase Bank, for instance, offers numerous cards to individual card holders, but they do share information.

So… you might fill out the application and send it off expecting to receive a card carrying exactly the benefits outlined in the advertisement. And that might not happen.

Instead, you could be sent a card with a lower credit line or a higher interest rate. If you’ve entered a balance transfer, it may have been denied, which is why those offers advise you to continue making payments on the old card until you receive notice of the transfer.

What can you do? You’ve read that canceling accounts is not a good thing to do, but this card does offer terms that fit your needs. In short – you don’t want it!

Credit expert Emily Peters recommends calling to cancel within 30 days, and better yet, calling immediately. Because credit card companies generally report to the credit bureaus only once per month, your new card and its cancellation will probably not be reported. Thus, it won’t help your credit score, but neither will the cancellation harm you.

A better plan:

If you need or want a new card, a better alternative is to do your research and apply for the card you want, rather than respond to the offers in the mail. Explore the offers on this site and see what is available for a person with your credit score.
better assurance of getting exactly what you’ve asked for.

BestRateforCreditCards.com your resource for credit cards, business credit cards, student credit cards, secured credit cards, and prepaid credit cards. We also provide a weatlth of information about the importance of having credit cards and how they will benefit you.