Today it is very common to think of credit cards as one of the major causes of so many people getting in debt. While that certainly is true for some, it may come as a surprise to you to know that by using a credit card in a certain way, that you could actually get sizable savings. Here are some tips for getting the maximum benefits of your credit card.

Get A Card With 0% Interest

If you have had your card for some time, then you have already passed the limit of getting 0% interest on it. Of course, if you regularly pay your credit card bills in full and on time, then you already are practically getting 0% interest. When you get a new credit card, you often are given a promotional benefit of getting the 0% interest for up to 15 months. After that, you either want to make sure you pay every bill on time, or get a new card.

Balance Transfers

This is another fantastic feature of a good new card. By putting the balance from other cards that you are paying a higher interest on, onto the new card, you can save a good deal of money from the interest. Before you sign onto the new card, however, check to see if there are any balance transfer fees, and how often you can make a balance transfer. Some credit card companies take away some of your potential savings by charging you as much as 4% for any balance transfers. Other companies will only allow you to use this feature when you sign up for the credit card.

Rewards

Apart from the other items that have been mentioned, here is where you can get a lot of savings, too. The key here is to know exactly what you can get rewards for. If you are looking for a new card, then make sure that you get rewards for the things that you buy the most. For instance, if you are a businessman or businesswoman, and you have to travel a lot, then you want to get a card that gives you a good percentage of rewards for either your air miles, your gasoline, and / or for your hotel and restaurant usage.

Daily Uses

Most credit cards also give you the opportunity to get a percentage back of your daily necessities. This includes things like your groceries, your prescriptions, and your gasoline. The reward amounts range anywhere from about 1 to 3% on this type of purchase.

The Key

As with any credit card, you need to pay off the entire amount in full each month. This is where many go wrong with their cards. Remember that unless you actually do this, then it is costing you much more for the credit card than it would if you use cash. By paying off your bill each month, you not only enjoy the convenience of not having to carry cash with you, but you could also see monthly rebates or reward checks coming to you. This is where it could start getting exciting, and you might actually start looking forward to getting your credit card bill in the mail.

College student credit cards are intended specifically for students who normally would not qualify for regular credit cards, as they do not have a steady income or a credit history. As a student, it is a good idea to establish a first-rate sound credit history at an early age, which would help you get a regular credit card in the future, regardless of your employment status.

College Credit Cards Versus Generic Credit Cards

In theory, college credit cards are identical to regular credit cards. However, a college credit card is meant for college students who do not have previous credit history. Hence, these cards have more restrictions or conditions than the generic cards. The top three restrictions include:

- Co-signature from the parent or guardian at the time of application
- Lower credit limit (Example: $500 to $1000)
- Higher interest rates than traditional credit cards: Normal interest rates on these cards are 16-18%

Advantages of a College Credit Card

A college credit card has become a necessity for most students. The advantages are many provided you understand how the credit card works and use it with caution. Students, especially in United States, are prolific users of these college credit cards. This is primarily because it gives them great flexibility to manage their credit.

Students can use college student credit cards to pay their tuition fees, to rent a car, or to fill gas. In fact, there are certain college credit cards that offer low interest rates to students who maintain good grades. These cards are also packed with rewards and benefits. These cards help students to learn and manage their finance at a young age.

A college credit card can also be a pre-paid one, with a ceiling on the credit limit. This ensures that the student does not overspend and it also helps parents keep an eye on their children’s spending behavior.

Characteristic Features of College Student Credit Cards:

There are many college credit card options from Citi, Discover, and Chase. Apart from these, there are many pre-paid card options. Most of these student cards have many of similar features including:

- 0% APR for the initial period of usually 6 months on both purchases and balance transfers (typically)
- No annual fee, at least for the first year
- Online account management at no extra cost

While many of the above characteristics are also applicable to many traditional more generic credit cards, there are certain distinctive features that make the college student credit card stand apart including:

- 0% liability for any unauthorized charges on the account
- A good GPA helps earns points for the cards
- Theft and fraud alerts

It is a good thought for students to have their own college student credit card. However, it is important to understand that, at an early age, bad credit could have horrible consequences. Parents can assist their kids in choosing the best college credit card based on their child’s spending behavior and repaying capability. College credit cards promise financial freedom at a young age if they are used judiciously.

College student credit cards have replaced student loans as a freshman’s first student credit experience. At the sophomore level, out of a sample of 100 students, over 90% were found to be holders of at least one college credit card. The question is why do many students find themselves in a vicious cycle of debt with their college credit cards? Why are so many students astonished with the huge bills they receive each month? Most importantly, must it necessarily always be this way for a college credit card user or is there a simpler way?

There are plenty of statistical indicators to suggest that students run up credit bills regularly yet they do not pay their monthly dues on time. Approximately 21% of college credit card users have balances between $3,000 and $7,000. The number of credit cards in an average student’s possession keeps increasing, indicating that they might be acquiring new cards to pay off balances on old ones. However, this can lead to credit balances increasing even faster, adding more debt in this never-ending downward spiral.

Five Steps to Avoid the College Credit Card Debt Trap

The core reason of this pathetic plight is the absence of a disciplined and planned system of using credit. If you, as a student, wish to optimize the use of your college student credit cards, use the following guidelines to plan credit spending and you will not go wrong:

- Pay up on time. Late fees are the most unnecessary source of debt accumulation. Ensure that you always meet the minimum payment on your bill. Ideally, you should try to pay more than the minimum amount to reduce overall charges.

- Use the 20/10 rule. Be careful that you never, ever borrow more than 20% of your annual net income and never spend more than 10% of your monthly income on your monthly payments. In other words, balance your credit to avoid irregularities in monthly payments.

- Plan your credit expenses. With college credit cards at your disposal, it is easy to give in to the temptation of impulse purchases. This leads to escalating card balances and higher and higher payments over a long period. It is ALWAYS better to plan purchases on your college credit card for so you can ensure you only build up credit balances that you know you can easily pay off. - Avoid taking cash advances. The finance charges for these are generally higher than if you were to make credit purchases.

- Avoid approaching your credit limit. There may be extenuating circumstances that will require you to make unplanned expenses. So overall, if you stay clear of the credit limit by avoiding unnecessary charges, you can have the mental satisfaction of knowing that you can comfortably use the credit when it is really needed.

The Boon or Bane of College Credit Cards

If these guidelines are kept in mind, you will find you can live comfortably with college student credit cards. These tips are especially useful if you see yourself opting for that extra job in order to pay your credit card bills. Your savings are precious so don’t bring yourself to a point where you need them to bail yourself out of your credit-happy ways. A balanced budget is the best way to handle all your expenses. College credit cards are most certainly a boon, and yet they can become a bane if you are not careful.

Credit: Simply put, credit is financial responsibility and a way to pay for goods and services immediately but arranging for a deferred payment of purchase or loan.

Credit cards have changed the way we live, globally, but they've also put us into massive credit card debt. But "debt" whether through credit cards or loans doesn't necessarily have to be good or bad. It's all relative to what the debt was used to purchase.

Good debt is when you gain a financial benefit. This can mean an investment where money comes into your pocket every month (say from a rental property) or a business where the income or assets exceed the debt every month. It can even be a "no frills" credit card which can be used to buy property to give you an income.

Bad debt is when people use debt to cover depreciable luxury items, holidays or even consumables and so live beyond their means because at the end of the day they still have an outstanding balance.

Leverage is one of the most powerful words and greatest means of creating wealth. Warren Buffet, Billionaire, said "I'd rather have 100 people working for one hour, than 100 hours working on my own" - that's leverage of time, and this is basically how big business, network marketing etc work - the use of leverage.

However to make use of this tool when using other people's money (OPM) - which increases your purchasing power - you have to first have good credit relationships, prove to be trustworthy in your past credit dealings, and now more and more, a good FICO score. When you use OPM you must be certain to calculate how you're going to repay the individual or institution who loaned you the money. Remember using other people's money has been the way many honest poor men have become rich.

The main problem with credit card debt is that it can easily escalate and go out of control. Most of us make only the minimum payments but it provides a minimal relief and the debt accumulates at a rapid rate.

This increases the minimum payements and they too become unmanageable. A late or missed payment in such a scenario attracts penalty fees and even higher interest rates that lead to a debt trap. Debt consolidation can tremendously help in avoiding such a situation. Here are few facts that would create a clear picture about credit card debt consolidation.

Credit card debt consolidation is a process where a new loan is taken to pay off one or more existing loans. This process is usually resorted to when a client has trouble meeting their existing obligations and he wants to lower his or her monthly payment with another more favorable loan.

A debt consolidation loan provides good options for reorganizing your finances and take steps to reduce the debt burden.

With a debt consolidation loan you can cancel your credit card balances in full so no more exhorbitant rates of interest cutting your pockets. The new loan has easier repayment options.

Forget about paying to 10 different credit card agencies. When you consolidate your debt you only pay to one single credit card firm.

On the face of it the credit card debt consolidation might come as a welcome relief but you still have to repay the entire loan amount. A good way to start will be to reduce the number of credit cards that you have. Keep only one or two. And use them only when it is very essential.

If you don’t discipline yourself you are surely on the way to bankruptcy. So it is better to take advantage of the low interest rates and flexible repayment program to get rid of your credit card debt. That’s what credit card debt consolidations are for, and that’s how they should be used.

Many people with bad credit often find it difficult to obtain loans. Bad credit is also feared by many lending institutions. But now, you can obtain loans easily without any hassle from the lenders. Say thanks to bad credit unsecured personal loans. Such loans have been designed keeping in mind those people who have bad credit problems.

Bad credit unsecured business loans are a great privilege for people who have bad credit problems. Through this loan, you can improve your credit record. Timely repayment of the loan will automatically improve your credit report. Though bad credit problems are increasing in the UK but, it is always better to avoid such conditions.

Due to increase in the situations like debt burdens and bad credit in the UK, many people are now taking care of their spending. They are also taking expert’s advice before applying for a loan and other loan related problems. However, people who are entrapped in any of the situations like CCJ’s, arrears, bankruptcy, defaults, etc., can look for bad credit unsecured personal loans. Such loans do not require any security against the loan amount.

Though, many lenders ask for high interest rates due to bad credit situations but, you can get bad credit unsecured personal loans at competitive interest rates. A little market search can help you in obtaining one of the best loan deals. Browse different financial websites and look for the interest rates and the terms and conditions as well. You can also compare interest rates from the loan calculator that is available in almost all financial websites.

Obtain bad credit secured personal loans and meet all your financial needs and demands.

The authoress is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the finance industry. She has done her masters in Business Administration and is currently assisting UK-Direct-Loans as a finance specialist.