CREDIT CARDS » Credit Card Rates

It's no secret that credit cards can cause grief with pesky finance charges and penalties; however, there are instances in which credit cards can improve your live. Consider these five ways to take advantage of your credit card in a great way.

1. Larger Purchases or Buying Online
   When purchasing larger items or buying online, a credit card can benefit you greatly, especially if you want to make a return. The paper trail inherent in the process shows just how much you spent, and leaves little room for dispute when you ask for your money back.
2. Using While Traveling
   When traveling, credit cards can come in very handy. While cash is often impossible to retrieve, if a credit card is stolen, it can be controlled from the company office to stop purchases or return money spent maliciously.
3. Relying Upon During Emergencies
   There are times when pulling out plastic in the midst of an emergency is necessary, especially if you have no cash. For instance, if someone has to go to the hospital, or you find yourself in a car accident, making charges on your credit card can save a life.
4. Helping You Stick to a Budget
   Going through those old credit card statements can help you budget well for the future. By looking through all of your purchases, you can make more informed decisions on how to spend moving forward.
5. Taking Advantage of Rewards Systems
   If you want your credit card to provide you with a financial benefit, it's good to take advantage of reward points that you can redeem for travel, merchandise, or cash.

Credit cards definitely can cause a great headache when people don't think twice about their credit card purchases. However, if they are managed wisely, they can very easily help you to help your credit history and help you to secure big loans.

Is there an instance where you find credit cards especially helpful?

Technology has improved since the time when credit card companies would manually check their books for fraud - now there are a number of ways they can monitor for fraud.

Credit card fraud is the act of someone using another person's credit card to make unauthorized purchases. This can happen by someone stealing your physical credit card, memorizing your credit card number and making either online purchases or purchases over the phone, issuing duplicate counterfeit with the information they get from you magnetically. With the different ways people can still credit card account information, credit card companies have different ways of protecting their customers.

Different ways credit car companies protect cardholders:

• The basic design of the card. There is a sequence of numbers on the front and on the back near the signature strip. Many secure websites and phone customer service representatives will not validate the credit card charge if all the information cannot be provided.
• Credit cards come with an expiration date. That date is also required for orders as well as ensuring the card will not be valid forever.
• Most credit card companies monitor for fraud by carefully watching the behavior of the card holder. They will watch the shopping activity and if they notice any behavior that is out of the ordinary they will freeze the account. Only when the card holder calls back and verifies some personal information, will the credit card company activate the card again. Some behavior that may trigger off a call or a freeze from your charge company is excessive shopping, buying large quantities of electronics or even purchases from another state or country.

If, however, you are a victim of fraudulent charges, there are additional safety nets in place to protect you. Victims of credit card fraud are only legally responsible to pay $50 worth of the charges, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

The vast majority of credit card transactions are purchases. With credit cards consumers can go to the mall, buy some new clothes, and hand the clerk the credit card when it comes time to pay. You may or may not have to show identification, and then that's it. However, credit cards also offer...

People with credit cards are legally bound to it by their card holder agreement . The card holder agreement is your contract with the issuer of your credit card. Card holder agreements carry a lot of obvious information, rules and regulations, as well as a lot of not-so-obvious details that can...

Just about everyone knows what a credit card is, but many people are unaware of what a charge card is , and what the difference is between the two. To add to the confusion, many businesses can use the terms interchangeably, because the "charging" part is the point of both types of card. The...

Charge cards , those seemingly old-fashioned predecessors to the ubiquitous credit card , make a lot of financial sense. They also offer much of the convenience that a credit card offers, without a credit card's potential for fiscal mayhem. The basics of charge cards are pretty simple to grasp.

...

Credit cards have become a part of our daily life. Millions of Americans have credit cards , and to an extent getting your first credit card almost feels like a right of passage into adulthood. However, as convenient as these credit cards are, they can lead to major debt problems if you decide to...

The current economic crisis may have a silver lining for those hardest hit . Credit card companies, which normally charge numerous types of fees and penalties to delinquent consumers, are actually responding to their customers' needs by working with people in exceptionally difficult circumstances...

Some important credit card legislation is currently working its way through both chambers of Congress . Two competing and similar bills, one in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate, are being negotiated and could eventually make their way to President Obama to sign. Additionally,...

If you need to get a hold of some money, you're probably putting out feelers for information on getting some from your bank or other lending institution. Many people need help with buying a home, for example, and so they need mortgage loans. As you go along you may encounter offers for credit...