How to Maximize the Way You Use Your Visa Credit Card

Using credit cards poorly has the potential to sink you into debt and rack up enormous interest fees. But used correctly and conscientiously, you can reap the many benefits of spending on a credit card while staying debt-free. These tips will help you maximize the benefits of your Visa credit card and any other cards you have in your wallet.

Freebies

To encourage you to sign up, many credit card companies offer freebies once you’ve spent a specified amount on your card. These perks include such benefits as points toward a free flight or vouchers for online shopping. Use your card for normal spending, but to avoid the interest rates, pay it off in full every month.

Extended Warranties

Many credit card companies offer free one-year extended warranties on electronics and other major purchases. Diligent credit cards comparison will ensure you get the best warranty deals available, potentially saving you a great deal of money on product repairs and replacement.

Consumer Protection

Under the Section 75 law, if you spend a minimum of 100 on a product from a company that disappears soon after, your lender is liable for refunding your money if something goes wrong with the product and you are unable to contact the company from which you purchased the item. Use your card to make major purchases, but only if you have the cash up front to pay off the balance in full to avoid paying interest fees that will add up to much more than the product is worth.

Purchase Protection

Many credit cards offer some sort of protection against items purchased on the card that are lost or stolen within a certain amount of time after purchase. Know which of your credit cards offer this protection, and use those cards for purchasing items that are frequently stolen, such as bicycles or personal electronics.

Boost Your Credit Score

If you have less-than-stellar credit, you can use your credit card to vastly improve your credit rating. Spend only what you can afford to pay back each month, especially if you have very poor credit and an easy-to-get credit card, most of which have astronomical interest rates. Pay your balance in full and on time each month and watch your credit score increase.

Make Money with Your Card

If you are debt-free and have a good credit score, you can potentially make extra money from your credit card. Many credit card companies offer 0% interest cards to new customers for a specified period of time. By making all of your purchases on the card and keeping the cash you would have spent in a high-interest savings account, you can rack up a good amount of money while paying only the minimum amount due on the card each month. But beware: if you miss a payment, you could lose the 0 percent interest. Making money off of your credit card is called “stoozing,” and you should only do it if you’re disciplined enough to make your minimum payments on time every month.

Great Reasons To Use Allied Wallet

Looking for more information About Allied Wallet? Here are 8 Great reason to use
Allied Wallet as your credit card processing solution.

1. Free Sign Up!
Unlike most other payment processors Allied Wallet does not charge any sign up fees.

2. You Dont Need a Merchant Account
For a very nominal fee you will be able to easily and securely accept credit cards from you website through Allied Wallet.

3. Handle Both Intangible and Tangible Products
You can sell nearly any type of good or service you wish! Allied Wallet has very few limitations on the types of items you can sell with their solution.

4. Ewallet
You can accept and send fund through an ewallet. This enables your consumers to have yet another payment option.

5. Fraud Detection
Allied Wallet uses proprietary fraud scrubbing software to make sure no one is attempting to run fraudulent transactions through you web store. With other 1,000 customizable safeguards, you can find yourself saving thousands of dollars in prevented chargebacks and refunds.

6. Security
Allied Wallet is Level 1 PCI DSS Validated. This means that they abide by the highest security standards that the card brands such as Visa and MasterCard set.

7. Other Advantages
Additionally, Allied Wallet features free on-line support and 24/7 customer support. Allied Wallet also allows for multi-currency transactions which enable customers to buy in their own local currency. This is a huge plus if you are looking to sell your products around the world!

What’s The Best free Shopping Cart Solution

Oscommerce Shopping Cart is Free for the Taking !

osCommerce (available as free download from (www.oscommerce.com) is the most comprehensive and popular open source ecommerce Cart system in existence. It has a huge list of features and is probably the most versatile ecommerce cart solution and offers vast range of customization choices for the on-line storefront owners depending on their need at a very affordable price.

If you are looking for setting up an ecommerce store, you should definitely consider osCommerce. Oscommerce shopping cart is an online shop ecommerce solution that offers a wide range of out of the box features that allow online stores to be setup fairly quickly with ease, and is available for free as an Open Source based solution released under the GNU General Public License. osCommerce is a complete online store solution that contains both a catalog frontend and an administration tool backend, which can be easily configured over web. What are the Requirements : With no special requirements, osCommerce is able to run on any PHP 4.1+ enabled web server running on Linux, Solaris, BSD, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows environments.

What are the Advantages? It is a very excellent, full-featured, cart. Uses Php and MySQL. -Supports a wide range of credit-card processors and shipping services. -It uses an indexed database and can handle a large number of products (10’s of thousands). Many Hosting companies include installation as Readymade Scripts. One of the main benefits of osCommerce is that If your hosting company doesn’t install osCommerce you may still be able to install it yourself or have someone install it for you osCommerce would be hard to compete with even if it cost as much as the most expensive commercial ecommerce carts. -There are a large number of available add-on modules and many more in development A Quick look at the Bad points : Technical support is limited to the osCommerce forums, which are not that much helpful to newbies.

Customizing this store can take a bit more technical knowledge. osCommerce is one of the most full featured and configurable ecommerce carts available, but if you aren’t comfortable with modifying files you may want to hire someone to set this up for you. Installing of multiple additional modules takes your manhours.

It may be a while before an update is available to a payment module. These are done by unpaid enthusiasts. Note before you choose your Hosting for osCommerce : Any web host that includes MySql should also satisfy the requirments for osCommerce installation. So, you can easily get started with osCommerce. You will definitely get stuck with few things in the beginning. But if you browse through the forums or the knowledgebase, you have the solution.

The best thing about using oScommerce is that you own it once you install it. This means that you can move if to another web host at any time
which will save you many hours setting up your store all over again.

Paying For College-How To Manage A Students First Credit Card

Most students receive their first credit card offers when they are in college. Having a credit card opens up a whole new world. It brings new meaning to paying for college. Suddenly shopping, eating and traveling get easier and seem more affordable. Credit cards can be very helpful for college students. They can also get out of control quickly. When students follow these 5 basic tips for managing a college credit card, they will be able to stay out of financial trouble and establish solid, long-lasting credit.

Cash or Credit
If it can be paid for in cash, do it. When possible, college students should avoid charging small items that are affordable without the plastic. The interest makes them more expensive. Beware of stores that enforce a minimum credit in an effort to get the buyer to spend more.

Payment Plans
The most important thing to remember is that all of the money needs to be paid back at some point. Spend it now, pay for it later only works as long as the bills are being paid promptly. Students should learn early to pay off the balance as often as possible. When its not possible, more than the minimum payment should be made. Late payments can cause a raise in the interest rate plus late fees and other penalties.

Willpower
A credit limit is not an invitation to spend it all. Paying for college is expensive, but it is not meant to be experienced completely on plastic. The savvy student will buy only what is necessary and affordable. The occasional splurge or emergency is acceptable. The urge to spend should be ignored whenever possible. Avoid the urge to pay for college with the credit card. Instead, secure a school loan for this purpose and avoid maxing out the limit right away.

Deals
Special offers are made through different companies. Some are active throughout the life of the card; others are only good as long as the person is enrolled in a specific program. For example, one may offer a 1 percent or 2 percent cash back bonus on eligible purchases made with the credit card. Others may offer special online discounts or ecoupons when using their cards.

Interest
Look for one that offers a low interest rate. The less interest charged, the more things the student can actually purchase. Some credit card companies offer lower interest rates for special offers for a limited time. Be aware of when those special interest rates end. Most do not charge interest when the balance is paid off at the end of every month.

While credit cards are helpful for college students, they are not for everyone. When handled responsibly, they make paying for college easier and more affordable.

Credit Card Basics How and When to Use Them

The specter of insurmountable credit card debt keeps many people from using credit. While it is good to be aware of the dangers of misusing credit cards, one should remember that with proper forethought credit cards can greatly improve ones resource pool. Here are a few tips on using credit cards to maximum advantage.

1. Monthly Budget. A useful purpose for credit cards is to allow multiple, small repeating purchases to be consolidated into one lump bill. Most cards have a grace period where no interest is charged, typically within the first month. If the balance is paid by this date then the loan is free. Taking advantage of this can roll many monthly expenses, such as gas, food, and bills, into one bill.
The nice thing here is that monthly budgeting can be done wholly from one balance statement. Purchases can be tracked, trends noted, and adjustments made for the next month. Additionally, many cards offer cash back, points, or some reward system to encourage this use. If the balance is paid each month one can gain the benefits without the interest charged. But be careful only to charge what you can pay off in a month!

2. Watch out for Impulse buys. Impulse buying is a serious way to overcharge your card. The credit cards most appealing quality is the ease of use. You can buy anything with a simple swipe and signature. For many people, paying later is almost the same as never paying. This is not true!
To limit the impact of impulse buying, keep cash alongside the plastic, and try to only use cash when making purchases outside the monthly budget allowance. If you dont have a monthly budget, then that is a good place to start managing credit card debt.

3. Take advantage of deals. When credit cards offer 0% introductory rates it can mean a welcome relief from existing debt and interest. Shift balances to these new cards and enjoy a year or more of interest free debt. This method is great if you will be able to pay off a balance before the 0% deal is over, or if you have debt in multiple places. Just remember to update your filing cabinet with the new account numbers and card names, and cancel the old, empty accounts!!

4. Dont hold more cards than you can manage! When you get a new card or transfer balances, make sure that your total card count has not overwhelmed your ability to organize the bills and pay them on their due dates. Missing payments can result in hefty late fees. Also, balance transfers take up to 6 weeks, so dont forget to pay the “empty” card by the date due. If you are unsure whether you owe a payment, call the 1-800 number on the back of the card itself.
Another good strategy is to avoid carrying more than one card. Keep the others in a filing cabinet, safely away from cash registers.

5. Be Realistic. It can be easy to fall into the trap of believing you will be able to pay off a debt quickly and easily. Holiday purchases can lead to this mentality. The urge to put all of the presents on a credit card and then pay it off over the course of the year may be tempting, but be realistic about your income. A good rule of thumb is never put more money on a credit card than you earn in a month. This will keep the debt to a manageable level, even if you hit unexpected expenses or hardship.

6. Build your Credit. Besides the obvious advantage of purchasing things you could not otherwise afford, credit cards also build your credit rating. Using the tips herein to responsibly use cards will result in an overall increase in credit worthiness. The benefit? Lower rates, higher limits, and access to private bank loans otherwise unavailable to low credit consumers. Without established credit history (hopefully positive) it is almost impossible to get a good mortgage rate or car loan.

7. Know When to Ask for Help. Finally, if you get in too deep, dont be timid about contacting professional help. Do it sooner than later! Credit debt is a rolling snowball, so be sure to get in front of it before it gets out of hand. Credit repair services can help you organize you bills, consolidate them into single payments, and eliminate invalid debt from your balance. Miamis own Credit Repair Systems Inc is one such service, with decades of experience in credit use and guidance.