An airline credit card is the perfect addition to the wallets of those who spend a lot of time traveling on planes. These cards allow you to build up points that you can spend in any number of different ways. Not all airline credit cards are created equal, in fact some are not any good at all and it is your job to determine which is which before you sign the contract. You do not want to get sucked into a bad credit card contract, believe me, this is something you want to avoid like the plague. So what can you do to make sure that the airline credit card you choose has all the necessities that you’ll need?
The very first thing that you need to look at when trying to choose the airline credit card for you is the interest rate. Do not get blinded by the flashy introductory rate, look at the long term rate. This will be the interest rate that kicks in after the first few months. This will be the one that you pay for years and years and years, so obviously it is the important one. You will be able to find out all about the interest rate in the airline cards contract.
If you do not read through the contract of your airline card then you deserve everything that comes you way and let me tell you, there will be a lot coming! Airline credit cards just like any other credit cards on the market can have all kinds of hidden fees and loopholes that will cost you a bundle over the years. These are what you need to be on the lookout for at all times when you have an airline credit card.
Here are some things to find out before you sign for that airline card:
What are the minimum monthly payments going to be? These are usually a percentage of the principal of the balance owed on the airline credit card.
How long is the grace period? This is the amount of time that you will have before you have to make a payment on what you have purchased with your airline credit cards. This can be anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month. If you fail to make the payment on time you could be faced with late fees and a higher interest rate.
What are the penalty fees? Most credit cards have all kinds of different fees that they can slap you with. There are late fees, annual fees ad dozens more that can pop up when you least expect them. You need to know what all of these fees are if you want to be able to avoid them each year.
What are your credit limits on the airline card? If you do not know your credit limit you will not know when you need to stop spending. If you go above your credit limit then you will be faced with charges that can cripple you. You must always stay on top of how much you have owning on your airline credit cards, always.
Your airline credit card can be a great way for you to learn points towards any trips that you want to take down the road. You can use these points to travel for business or to travel for pleasure. These airline cards are especially useful to those who spend a lot of time in the air. The best part of airline credit cards is the fact that often times you can use the money for other things besides traveling in the air. You can also use them to pay for hotel stays or even food or gadgets! If you have not yet looked into all of the many benefits that come from having your own airline credit card then now is the time.
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Airline Credit Card Necessities
0% Credit Cards
These days, credit cards in the UK are competing with each other on two very attractive offers with a headline rate of 0%. These 0% credit cards will be either balance transfers; introductory purchases offers or a combination of the two. This article looks at how to get the best out these types of card and the things to that the credit card companies want you to do and therefore the things to avoid. There is a school of thought that believes that these types of card will soon be a thing of the past as they cost the credit card companies too much profit, as consumers get wiser to the pitfalls.
A balance transfer credit card is basically an offer of either a zero interest rate or very low interest rate for a set period. The typical period is 6 months although there are variations on this and there have even been some low rates set for the lifetime of the balance. However, these are becoming rare. Once, the offer period expires then the outstanding balance reverts to the standard rate on purchases. This is very important, as at this point the credit card company will hope the consumer will not take any action and so the company can begin to earn money on the balance.
A 0% purchase offer credit card has many similarities to the balance transfer offers. The introductory rate and period are usually 0% and 6 months in the same way as the balance transfer. Also, once the period expires the outstanding balance is subject to the standard rate on purchases. It is an important point to note that the introductory rate does not apply indefinitely on purchases made in the period, but only applies for the duration of the introductory period.
It is often the case that credit card companies will offer both the balance transfer and 0% on purchases on the same card. When this is not the case it is wise to keep balance transfers and purchases separate. This is because the balance transfer portion of an outstanding balance will be paid off quicker than the standard rate purchases. Therefore an increasing portion of the balance will be subject to the standard rate and the balance transfer portion will decrease at a faster rate. There is nothing to stop a consumer obtaining a credit card with a balance transfer and a separate low interest credit card for any purchases to be made. That way the benefits of the offers are maximised.
In summary the balance transfer and 0% purchase offers can be of great benefit to the consumer provided that the consumer understands how to use the offers to their advantage. A degree of discipline is required in managing repayments. Also, the cardholder should be aware of any penalties that may cause the offer to be cancelled. Armed with this knowledge then these cards can be made to work for the consumer, but remember that when comparing credit cards to pay close attention to the typical APR, which is, always stated where UK credit cards are promoted.
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How I Quickly Doubled My Money
I have never told this part of my story - I guess I was
a little concerned that people would feel that this strategy
was the "RIGHT" strategy - it isn't, but it can really be a
good strategy if you have the right education.
When I started trading for a living in 1997 I borrowed money
to invest in stocks. I started by getting margin loans. I had
used my home equity to buy investments in the past so it wasn't
totally new to me.
First I borrowed $50 000 and then I borrowed another $60 000.
Was this risky? YES - it was, because I was learning what to do
as I went. What I did was I looked at stocks I liked and I went
from trading the stocks to trading leveraged instruments like:
instalments, options and warrants.
At the top my portfolio was worth over $800 000 and a lot of
that was due to the re-investment of profits. I always re-invested
my profits into the next stock or play.
The other aspect which acted as a roller coaster was that I chose
speculative situations. Within three years I had made $700 000
and started to lose money big time in 2000.
Now please don't use this recipe - it is very dangerous to do
any of these things. What would make it less dangerous?
Good question - I'm glad you thought of it! Firstly, you need to
have a system. Your system tells you when to buy and when to sell.
I also suggest you get educated in the market you want to trade and
technical analysis.
To make anything less risky you must be in control. Is it possible?
Well you can try - but there are no guarantees!
1*Have a system
Your system rules are so important because they help you keep what
you make.
2*Next you need money management rules. One of the reasons I lost
a lot of money was because I was putting too much money in the
trade and not limiting my risk.
3*You can't run a trading business successfully or for very long
without training. It's like, would you want to operate on people
without the qualifications of a doctor?
There are professionals that produce trading methodology and you
MUST have this knowledge and a "system" - I nearly got cleaned
up because I didn't have it. The methodology also helps you learn
to play the market UP, DOWN or SIDEWAYS. Playing the game only
when the market is going "up" is too limiting on your profits.
Get to know your market and use a charting program to study price
movements. Metastock is a well-known charting package, but there
are others.
4*Don't borrow unless you can cover the lost money.
Please don't be foolish. If you play with borrowed money you should
have a similar amount in cash sitting in your bank account. Playing
with profits is good and easy, but when it's not your money you become
an emotional player and you will LOSE BIG TIME!
5*Following on from that point - get a grip on yourself. You must act
mechanically - not emotionally. You make decisions because your system
tells you to BUY or SELL, not because the rent is due.
Trading for a living is possible when you have no problems paying your
living expenses. I'm talking from experience. I've had to take on a job
just to help me get through my losses. It wasn't an easy time for me,
but I did learn a lot from my experience and I make that available to
anyone who is interested - check the link below in the author's bio.
If you choose to live by trading week to week you may find trading won't
work for you. There are a few things to sort out first and one of them
is peace of mind - then you can make good decisions.
6*Know when to quit a trade - before you enter and apply "stop loss" during
the trade. Quit the losing trade. Protect your profit by getting out while in
profit.
7*Decide the type of trader you wish to be, but don't try daytrading till
you are successful with your method. You can trade different time intervals:
minutes, days, weeks, months or years.
The shorter the time interval the more you have to be on the ball. You need
to get to know your market very well. Your market could be: stocks, options
or futures. If you choose a currency to trade then gewt to know the chart
of that currency very well.
Well now you know how I made money very quickly by compounding my profits.
Of course the same works in reverse - you can also lose your money very
fast!
Regards,
Joseph Sgro
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