Entries Tagged 'Credit Cards' ↓

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In a move claimed as “a significant first for the credit card industry”, the American Express tied up with American Home Mortgage Corp. to enable cardholders to pay their monthly mortgage dues using the American Express credit card. The new scheme, named the Express Rewards Mortgage Program will be available to American Express card holders who will have to pay a one time enrollment fee of $395 to American Home Mortgage. It is designed to reduce risks for cardholders seeking loans.

This program comes after an extensive survey was conducted by American Express. Most cardholders insisted on this facility as the missing feature of credit cards. The mortgage payment is, in most of the cases, the biggest payment of the month. If this is done with credit card American Express card members get the opportunity to secure precious credit points and avail cash back schemes or win airlines and hotel points. The new program will be offered only to customers with excellent credit history and reliability. By availing this program customers will be able to automatically charge the monthly mortgage payments to the American Express card, reducing the risk of missed payment. The customers will also have the added benefit of dedicated loan sales, processing group and many other home related offers. Customers will get $200 off on $1000 or more spent in Design Within Reach, $20 off on $100 at Linen’s Things, $15 off on $100 at Brookstone and so on. This program is available to all American Express consumers who want it for new loans or refinance of a prime loan from the American Home Mortgage.

The mortgage company will gain significant edge over their competitors as they will have access to a highly prosperous customer segment. After years of uninterrupted growth, the American Home Mortgage Corp had faced a sudden downslide, mainly due to upheavals in the subprime sector, one that deals with customers with weak credits. This led to a decrease in tax prices (down by 1.65%) and doubt among shareholders. This new venture would give provide a significant boost to the company. In fact it will be able to extend its trade amidst American Express premium high spending customers. For this reason, many other leading lending companies like IndyMac Bancorp Inc. of Pasadena, Calif have shown interest in this program.

The American Express Credit Card has been tailor made to meet the diverse requirements of common users.

Credit Card Features:
The American Express Platinum card offers remarkable cash back facilities. For the first 3 months up to 3% cash back on purchases are offered and after that cash back on purchases can go up to 1.50%. However this offer is subject to certain conditions. No cash back offer is made if the monthly minimum payment requirement is not met within the due date. No rebate is offered on interests, fees, amounts re-credited to your account due to refunds, cash withdrawals, and balance transfers or on expenditure exceeding the credit limit. An annul rebate on the aggregate of your yearly purchases is also offered and calculated according to the following rates-

• .50% for aggregate up to £3,500
• 1% for aggregate from £3,501 up to £10,000
• 1.5% for aggregate amounts more than £10,000.

The American Express Platinum Credit Card also offers a travel accident cover of £150,000 provided that scheduled air tickets are purchased with the American Platinum Express Cards,

The American Express Platinum Credit Card charges a standard APR of 14.90% on purchases and balance transfers, which is less that what is usually charged by other credit cards. For balance transfers a handling fee of 2% is charged.
The other features include:

• Card Type- American Express.
• 56 days of interest free purchasing period, as long as payments are made in full balance within due date.
• Online Access
• Credit limit- £10,000
• Zero annual fee.

The American Express Platinum Credit Card has excellent Security features.  The Online Fraud Protection service protects you from any unauthorized purchases made online. Purchase Protection service provides cover of £20,000 for stolen or accidentally damaged items over a period of 365 days, provided that the loss is reported within 90 days of purchase. The Refund Protection provides a cover of £200 up to £750 over a period of 365 days. In each case exclusions apply and for detailed information customers must refer to Summary of Benefits.

Eligibility Criteria:
Applicants must be aged 18 or over and a permanent resident of UK, have a current UK building or bank account and not facing a County Court Judgment for non-payment of debts. To see how your personal information will be used by the company, refer to Card Account Terms and Conditions.

‘Beat your bank manager cent-less’ is the latest online campaign launched by Virgin Money. The campaign, a powerful punch of viral marketing, banner advertisements and an interactive flash game, has been designed primarily to lure traffic into the Virgin Money site. It also serves as a promotional campaign for their new credit card.  For customers who have been paying huge bank and credit card charges, and getting no reasonable interests on their positive balance, this gives them an opportunity to get even, and make some money at the same time.

The campaign was designed primarily to promote the Virgin credit cards, highlighting its benefits. The campaign ridicules the ‘small print thinking’ that remains hidden beneath the practiced smiles of the traditional banks. Virgin Money, on the other hand, is shown to be open and straightforward, its primary concern been money management in areas that matter most to the customer.

The online game is the most interesting feature of this campaign. In it the user has to beat up a bank manager within a certain time limit and if successful, the user is awarded £100, which goes into their Virgin Credit card when they sign up for it. However, the campaigners have been careful that the campaign does not look vindictive.

On a very different vein, Virgin Credit card has been in news for levying charges to customers who had positive balance on a Virgin Credit card for full 12 months. All Virgin Credit card holders having a positive balance for more than 12 months will be charged £10. Phil, from Derbys said, “This seems wrong. I was amazed I could be made to pay for keeping my account in good order. I keep this card for emergencies. I don’t want to owe anything, so I left it in credit. It’s unfair to sting me”. In reply a Virgin spokesman said that the company has to bear the cost of sending out statements and managing the accounts. Virgin Money along with other credit card giants are facing probe launched by the Office of Fair Trading, following such increase in fees.

Virgin Cards have been in news in April for announcing the launch of a biodegradable credit card. It followed Barclaycard’s announcement that it would be the first bank to be launching a ‘green’ credit card named ‘Breathe’. The new Virgin Credit biodegradable card is likely to be green, designed by eco-designer Robert Holdway.

The Bank of Scotland One Credit card is issued by the Bank of Scotland, one of world’s financial pillars.

Features:
The Bank of Scotland One credit card offers phenomenal interest rates, both on purchases and balance transfers. It charges a 9.9% APR typical (Variable). This interest rate is variable and is determined by the information provided by the customer. For new cards a 0% interest on purchases for a period of 9 months. For balance transfer a 0% interest is charged along with 3% handling fees, provided the balance is transferred within the first ninety days.

The Bank of Scotland One credit cards come in two different colors; jet black to give a more corporate feel and a funky pink, made for a sunny shopping day. Both bear the sign of the Bank of Scotland.

The Bank of Scotland One Credit Card has excellent card protection services. The card offers cover against identity theft, stolen or lost cards and credit card payment protection schemes. For mere £6.95 per month, the Bank of Scotland will provide protection against identity theft or fraudulent activities. In case of an identity theft, the company provide for the legal assistance required to get customers out of trouble. A meager £18 per year would give precious peace of mind in form of card protection services. The credit card payment cover provides protection against any untoward occurrences. The company would pay off outstanding balance up to £25,000 in case of unemployment due to illness or any other reason. The credit card payment cover costs 78p for every £100 paid. There are other online protection features, along with pin and chip facilities.

The other features include:

• An introductory offer of 0% interest on purchases for 9 months
• Card Type- MasterCard
• 59 days of interest free purchasing period, as long as payments are made in full balance within due date.
• Online Access
• Online security facilities.
• Zero annual fee.
• Balance Transfer Limit- subject to status.
• Excellent online security facilities.

Eligibility Criteria:
The applicant must be 18 or more and an UK resident. There is no fixed minimum monthly household income figure but the applicant will need to have regular income.

Apply for Capitol One Classic credit cards »

Founded in 1988 Capitol One was the pioneer of mass marketing of credit cards. It has won the Wharton Infosys Business Transformation award in the year 2002 for its innovative measures related to credit card products. Presently, it has its headquarters at Maclean, Virginia, (USA).

Capitol One has a unique method to review its products and services from the customer’s point of view so as to maximize end-satisfaction. This is generally done by a group of senior managers from across the organization. That the method has proved extremely effective is evident from Capitol One’s immense success over the years.

Capitol One has come up with Capitol One Platinum Credit Card and Capitol One Classic credit cards, the former meant for customers with a good credit history and the latter for first-time users or defaulters. As a result, some of the facilities available with the Platinum card do not come with the Classic credit card.

If it is a Platinum card you need not pay any interest for the purchases made during the first three months, and, if this were not all, the rates for all balance transfer would be 0% until 1st July 2008. Otherwise, both the purchase rate and the balance transfer rate per annum are 15.94% for the Platinum card as against 34.94% for the Classic card.

Another outstanding feature is that the customers are provided with the option to choose from a range of credit card designs. As many as eight card-designs are available with each category.

The company has introduced the latest technology called “chip and pin” that is aimed to maximize the protection from card crime. The company also claims to provide its customers with 100% security against Internet fraud.

The other features include:

• Card Type- Visa
• 54 days of interest free purchasing period, as long as payments are made in full balance within due date.
• Online Access
• Zero annual fee.
• Minimum payment- 5% or £5
• Credit limit- £2500
• Security Features- Chip and Pin.
• Minimum Household Income- £20000.
• 24 hour card replacement facility.

Eligibility Criteria:
To be eligible for the Capitol One credit card the applicant has to be 18 or above, a resident of United Kingdom. No minimum household income is specified.

When you have worked hard to maintain your great credit profile, you deserve the best interest rates made available from UK low interest credit card companies. Low interest credit cards are generally made available to consumers who have protected their credit ratings by making their payments on time, maintaining a low debt-to-income ratio, and have fulfilled their credit obligations to their creditors. The result is that low interest credit cards can be obtained with interest rates far lower than ever before offered to consumers. In addition to low annual percentage rates, low interest credit cards often come with increased benefits that are worth looking into as well.

Low interest UK credit cards are not only available to persons with the highest credit ratings, however. Since online credit card companies keep their operating costs low, they can pass on considerable savings in interest and incentives to their credit card holders. This means that even some card holders with a few bumps on their credit reports are able to apply for low interest UK credit cards just the same as those with impeccable credit ratings.

Compare low interest credit cards, but keep in mind that there are multiple considerations. Most credit card shoppers look for an extremely low APR, but before you look directly at the annual percentage rate, you will want to check out the introductory interest rate charged as well. Many credit cards have low introductory rates as low as 0%. These introductory rates can last from a period of 6 months to over 12 months, depending on the card and the applicant’s credit.

Additionally, you may want to look at what benefits the credit card offers such as frequent flier miles and cash back programs. Many frequent flier miles can be redeemed for free trips or other contingency awards. Cash back programs allow the card holder to be rewarded with a percentage of the amount that they charge to their credit card each month, which can equate to a tidy sum if you use your card for lots of purchases.

Applying for low interest credit cards is just as easy as applying for more traditional charges and, once accepted, you can generally expect an escalated level of customer service in exchange for your preferred business. Those with high credit ratings can expect an instant approval for their low interest credit cards and for their cards to arrive to their home in just a few short business days.

With so many credit card companies offering so many cards to UK credit card holders, this is an exciting time to reap the benefits of the increased competition. One of the most attractive incentives that many UK credit cards offer is the cash back program that actually pays the card holder a percentage of money back for each dollar used on their credit card.

The percentage of the cash back program varies with the credit card issuer, but generally ranges from .5 to 2% on all purchases. If you are a credit card holder that pays off their monthly balance on their card each month, this percentage can put lots of cash back in your pocket, particularly if you use your credit card to make all or even most of your purchases each month.

Even if you decide to carry your credit card balance over into subsequent months, UK credit card cash back programs help offset the interest rate accrued while doing so, which is perfect for those months when paying off your credit card in full is not possible or not as attractive of an option. Typically, credit cards with cash back programs are higher-tier credit card offerings that come bundled with additional services such as low introductory rates or even 0% introductory rates. Combined with the cash back program, this powerful combination of credit card benefits could have savvy credit card holders making quite a bit of money back on their purchases.

Cash back UK credit cards are not only available to persons with the highest credit ratings, however. Since online credit card companies keep their operating costs low, they can pass on considerable savings in interest and incentives to their credit card holders. This means that even some card holders with a few bumps on their credit reports are able to apply for credit cards with cash back programs just the same as those with impeccable credit ratings.

Shopping for UK credit cards cash back programs online is the preferred method as you can select from many different cards and choose the credit card cash back program that best fits your needs and lifestyle. Once accepted, you can generally expect an escalated level of customer service in exchange for your preferred business. Those with high credit ratings can expect an instant approval for their cash back credit cards and for their cards to arrive to their home in just a few short business days.

The speed and reliability of online commerce has made shopping for and receiving a UK credit card online a more dependable and rewarding experience than ever before. Credit card companies have quickly learned that online shoppers are much savvier and more likely to shop for the greatest credit card terms and rewards than ever before so they have generally opted to offer their best credit card deals upfront.

Shopping for credit cards online doesn’t have to mean going to each online credit card site and digging through each online credit card issuer’s terms and conditions. Many websites offer customizable search and comparison web pages that allow you to see many online credit cards’ terms and conditions side-by-side so you can make the best decision at a glance.

Many online UK credit cards can offer incentives such as cash back programs, airline miles, reduced interest rates and credit cards for those who have checkered credit histories more often than more traditional credit card companies as well. Take advantage of these online credit card offers. Online credit companies generally offer almost instantaneous credit card program acceptances and personalized customer service so there is no more waiting for slow mail-in inquiries like before.

The World Wide Web has created the ultimate preferred arena for online comparison shopping for all sorts of merchandise and services and UK credit cards are no exception.  It has never been easier to sort through dozens of credit card company offers to select the best match for you needs and lifestyle than now.  Credit card companies offer an array of services and incentives to their credit card customers and picking and choosing the best credit card for you the “old way” can be a dizzying experience.

Many websites are devoted to allowing consumers to compare credit cards online.  These web sites generally allow search criteria to be given so that you can choose a number of cards to look at side-by-side.  A chart brings all of the offerings allowing you to compare the credit cards on their varying terms and conditions.  Applying for credit cards online is fast and easy.  Online credit card approval usually takes only a few seconds or minutes to complete and, once accepted, credit cards arrive in the mail in just a few short business days.

When comparing credit cards, there are many things to consider.  The first thing that most credit card shoppers look for is the APR, or annual percentage rate that the credit card has.  But before you look directly at the annual percentage rate, you may first want to check to see if the credit card has an introductory percentage rate that is meant to entice new card holders.  Many credit cards available have 0% introductory rates that can save credit card holders a good amount of money in finance charges.  These introductory rates can last from a period of 6 months to over 12 months, depending on the card and the applicant’s credit.  Additionally, you may want to look at what benefits the credit card offers such as frequent flier miles and cash back programs.  Many frequent flier miles can be redeemed for free trips or other contingency awards.  Cash back programs allow the card holder to be rewarded with a percentage of the amount that they charge to their credit card each month, which can equate to a tidy sum if you use your card for lots of purchases.

This new method that allows you to compare credit cards online can save you hours of searching for, researching, and selecting the most optimal credit card for you.

For the enterprising credit card consumer, there are many cheap UK credit cards to be applied for from the convenience and privacy of their own home online. Online UK credit card companies are able to keep their overhead low and their service level high and pass those savings in the form of reduced interest rates and attractive incentives on to their customers.

Typically, consumers with the best credit ratings are often most eligible to receive the UK’s cheapest credit cards available, but contingency programs do exist, especially for customers that apply online. Acceptance to cheap credit card programs is typically instantaneous and the cheap credit cards are mailed to your home within a few days. Cheap credit cards are typically offered by High Street banks as well as online credit card companies, as well as some grocery store credit card lenders. Each may have their own individual perks that and you can choose the cheap credit card that best suits your lifestyle.

One example of cheap credit cards is the 0% balance credit cards that have increased greatly in availability in the last few years. Credit card holders can take advantage of 0% credit cards to transfer existing credit card balances and get out from under the existing finance charges that their current credit cards are charging. These existing finance charges can reach up to 25% or even more compounded monthly, so transferring the balance can be a wise option if you are looking to pay off the total balance or simply avoid finance charges for a while. Be careful not to start “credit card jumping,” however. This is the practice of opening a cheap credit card to transfer your balance to a 0% credit card just to open another after the introductory term is up and finance charges start to accrue. Carrying over an existing balance for a long period of time can put you into deeper financial woes than you started out with. Credit cards that offer 0% introductory rates can offer that rate for a period of anywhere from 6 months to over 12 months. Shop cheap credit card with these introductory rates online to choose the card with the best introductory rate that best suits your needs.

Shopping for cheap credit cards has never been easier with the use of online comparison shopping. Cheap credit cards can come with extremely low interest rates, attractive cash back programs, and other incentives such as airline miles. Take all of these criteria into consideration when shopping online for UK cheap credit cards.