Saturday, February 23, 2008
Accept Credit Cards Online
You will find that every successful website on the Internet knows how to accept credit cards online. They know that everyone is looking for fast service when they are shopping via the Internet, and that is what they give them. If you don’t accept credit cards online you should see about having that option available as soon as you can. If you don’t, you shouldn’t expect to make a go of it, and you are going to find that it is more hassle than it’s worth.
There are a few different ways to accept credit cards online, but it doesn’t matter which you choose as long as you choose one of them. You can have a system that takes the card numbers much like they do in retail stores, or you can use Paypal to accept credit cards online. Paypal is not as common as the first method, but it is gaining in popularity. Though some are leery of Paypal, I honestly think if you are going to use a credit card this is the way to go. A person can use their credit card in their own account with Paypal and it makes check out faster and easier, and some feel, more secure.
Make sure you provide your visitors with a secure setting if you want to accept credit cards online. This means that the transaction is encrypted so that their information is not broadcast around the Internet for those who may take those numbers for their own use. You can see an https:// beginning to any web address that has a secure setting. If you want to accept credit cards online you have to have this or your customers will most definitely think twice before they put their information in for an order. They want to be safe, so you have to make sure you do everything you can to keep them feeling secure and at ease about ordering through your site.
Discover Credit Cards - Online Offers Reviewed
Discover Platinum Card
If you’re looking for a card with cash back benefits, the Discover Platinum Card may be a perfect fit. This card offers a 5% rebate for items purchased at participating locations, including restaurants, gas stations and clothing stores. You can also earn up to 1% cash back on general purchases.
Besides the cash back rewards, the Discover Platinum Card offers a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first year. If you have a sizable balance on your current card, transferring it to the Discover Platinum Card could be a smart move. You’ll be able to pay off the balance over a few months and stay interest free. You’ll also get to choose from over 150 card designs and will not have to pay an annual fee.
Discover Gas Card
If you spend hours on the road each week, the Discover Gas Card may be the right card for you. Through its rewards plan, you can reduce your gas budget. The Discover Gas Card offers 5% cash back on gas and auto maintenance purchases. You can earn up to 1% cash back on all other purchases. The card also includes a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for twelve months and no annual fee.
Discover Miles Card
If you’re searching for a credit card with great travel benefits, the Discover Miles Card is one of the best. Every month that you make a purchase during the first year you will receive 1,000 bonus miles. This can add up to 12,000 bonus miles in a year! That’s a great reward for using your card each month.
With the Discover Miles credit card, you will earn one mile for each dollar that you spend. You can then trade in the miles for airline tickets. There are no blackout dates for plane tickets. This, plus the additional benefit of no annual fee, sets the Discover Miles Card above other travel cards. Start off with a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers and then enjoy the travel rewards.
Keep in mind that these cards are usually available for those with good to excellent credit. If you have poor credit, you will want to look into a different card option. However, if your credit history is good, you can make the most out of your Discover Card options.
Starting with the cash back program, Discover has consistently offered high bonuses for using their card. If you have good credit and want a card with excellent benefits, a Discover Card is what you need. Apply today and let the rewards come piling your way.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Beware Of Bogus Credit Repair Companies!
So-called "credit repair" companies claim they can remove negative information from credit reports. Advertising as "Credit Advisors," "Credit Rating Correction Services" or "Credit Consultants," they trumpet variations on this message: "Turned down because of bad credit? We can help!" Many of these companies charge hundreds if not thousands of dollars for the promise to "clean up" bad credit reports. But the truth is, these companies can only do what you could do yourself --at no charge.
Nobody can remove negative information that is accurate from your credit report. No company has a "secret" ability to remove all negative information.
But this doesn't stop their claims. This deceptive quote is from a credit repair company brochure: "Charged-off accounts, collection accounts, judgments, tax liens, repossessions, and even bankruptcies can be removed from your credit records in less than one year (five to seven month average)."
One tactic is to bombard credit reporting agencies with requests to verify information. If a credit reporting agency cannot verify an entry within 60 days, it will remove the information from the report. But if the information is later verified to be accurate, it will go back in the report.
Before you even consider signing a contract with a company that promises to repair your credit, remember these facts:
- You may obtain a copy of your credit report on your own.
- You have the right to dispute entries in your credit report.
Beware guaranteed credit offers!
Credit repair and other companies often claim they "guarantee" to get you a credit card, regardless of your credit history. In fact, these companies do not always honor their guarantee. Sometimes, they'll just take your money and run--you will not get any credit, regardless of what they promised.
If they get you a card at all it often will be a "secured" bank credit card, with high up-front "application" fees, that requires you to deposit and keep several hundred dollars in a savings account, or a card that only allows you to buy items in a catalogue from a business that you probably never heard of. (You can apply for a secured credit card by yourself. For a free list of banks that do not charge application fees for secured cards, see the information from Consumer Action in the "For More Information" section below.)
Credit repair companies often advertise on television, in newspapers and even on matchbooks. Sometimes they require consumers to dial a "900" telephone number to get more information. Calls to 900 numbers can cost $2 or $3 a minute, so listening to a few minutes of information about the cards can be expensive.
Some companies try to get people a credit card by having them apply using financial information of other people with good credit histories. It is a criminal act to apply for credit under someone else's name--do not do business with one of these companies.
Law enforcement agencies have shut down many credit repair outfits, but it is hard to stop a fraudulent credit repair outfit unless people complain about it. Therefore, be careful about responding to credit repair ads and be sure to complain to the agencies listed below if you think a credit repair company took advantage of you.
For more information
- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) publishes information for consumers on the subject of credit and enforces federal laws on credit. For a list of free publications, write to the FTC's Public Reference Department at the address given below. While the FTC does not handle individual cases, it can act when it sees a pattern of possible law violations develop. Complaints about credit reporting agencies and credit repair scams must be in writing. Send them to: FTC Credit Practices Division, 6th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20580.
- Contact your local consumer protection agency or your state Attorney General's office. Many Attorneys General have toll-free consumer hotlines. These numbers may be listed in the "self-help" or government sections in the front of your phone book. These agencies can offer you advice and may also be able to help resolve your complaint.
- Consumer Action's free complaint/information switchboards offering non-legal consumer advice and referrals can be reached from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays. Chinese, English and Spanish are spoken. Call either (415) 777-9635 (San Francisco office) or (213) 624-8327 (Los Angeles office). Consumer Action has a free list of secured credit card banks that do not charge application fees. To receive a free copy, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Consumer Action Secured Credit Card Survey, 717 Market St., Suite 310, San Francisco, CA 94103. (Available in English only.)
- The Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) assists consumers who have problems in paying their bills--before their good credit ratings suffer. Your local CCCS office can help you work out flexible payment plans to make debt repayment more feasible. Call (800) 388-CCCS for an interactive recording that will provide you with the phone number of the office nearest to you. Spanish-speakers can call (800) 68-AYUDA (800-682-9832) between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. central time.
- Before you sign a contract with any company, check it out with the local Better Business Bureau (BBB), a non-government service which advises consumers on fraud prevention. Call your local BBB. If you cannot find a local number listed in the phone directory, call the Council of Better Business Bureaus at (703) 276-0100 for a referral to the office nearest you.
Getting the Best Deals from Gas Credit Cards
If you put a lot of miles on your car you will find that gas credit cards can be quite beneficial. Almost all gas companies offer them to their patrons throughout the country. If you want to receive more information about them, you can hop on the Internet. Online sites will help you find offers for gas companies like Marathon, Conoco, Phillips 66, Citgo and Hess. They will also help find gas credit cards that permit you to buy any brand of gas you wish from any gas station.
Chase PerfectCard is one of the gas credit cards that are featured on online sites. It offers a rebate of six percent for the first 90 days, which is good on any gas purchase. Once this 90 day period expires, you will enjoy a one percent rebate on whatever you procure at restaurants, grocery stores, and clothing retailers. You will also earn a three percent rebate at all gas station purchases after the introductory period. Your APR is also fixed at zero percent on any balance you transfer to the cards for as long as nine months. Depending on your credit card, you can earn a rate under 14 percent and will not be charged for any annual fee. You can waive this annual fee by making a minimum of nine purchasers for the year.
Hess gas credit cards on the other hand, offer you promotions for free gas and merchandise at all Hess, Hess Express and Wilco Hess location. You will earn a ten percent rebate during the ninety day introductory period. After which you will net a five percent rebate for every Hess purchase while purchases from other gas stations will give you a one percent rebate. If you get the Hess platinum gas credit cards, your preliminary APR is zero balance and can last up to six months. You will not be charged for any yearly fee with this credit card.
Marathon gas credit cards offer a big ten percent rebate on Marathon Midwest and Southeast gas stations the first sixty days you use your card. After that you'll realize a continuous five percent rebate. This MasterCard gas credit card will not charge you an annual fee for the first year. If you use this credit card for nine purchases for the year, you will not be required to pay the usual ninety dollar yearly fee for the succeeding year. The rate on this card can be as low as 13.99 percent depending on your credit. You will enjoy no fee and zero percent APR on any balance transfers.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Accept Credit Cards Online Without a Merchant Account
Third party payment processors who will accept credit card payments on your behalf exist in growing numbers. These third party processors will take a percentage of your sale for their troubles, then pass on the rest to you. Rates vary greatly from one payment provider to another so doing your homework is important in order to get the right fit for you. Some payment providers will accept all kinds of goods and services while others specialize in only digital products, or hard goods, or services.
General Purpose Payment Providers include:
Paypal – Owned by Ebay, Paypal offers one of the lowest rates of any third party payment processor. At the time of this writing, their standard rates were 2.9% plus $0.30 US per transaction. Paypal offers excellent support and great documentation to get you up and running in no time at all. www.paypal.com
2checkout.com – Has a $49 US one time setup fee. Their rates at the time of this writing were $0.45 US plus 5.5% transaction fee. Discount rates are middle of the pack, service is very good and through them, you can accept most major credit cards. www.2checkout.com
Digital Information Payment Providers include:
Clickbank – You pay a one time $49.95 US activation fee. They then pay you the retail price of your product minus $1 and a 7.5% fee. Clickbank also has an easy to use affiliate program so that you can make money when others sell your product. www.clickbank.com
Digibuy – An electronic commerce solution for publishers of software, shareware, electronic art, information, and data. They charge a rate of 13.9% per transaction with a $3 US minimum order. They provide you with many features including brandable order forms, invoicing and test orders. www.digibuy.com
All but Clickbank give you the ability to have brandable shopping carts. This allows you to customize your order forms so that the customer doesn't feel like they are leaving your site thereby building trust. All of the third party payment processors above provide you with help to get started.
Accepting credit cards online doesn't have to cost you a lot of money. Most times it doesn't even have to include a credit check. Most of these services will even make regular deposits directly into your bank account for ultimate convenience.
When you need to accept credit cards quickly and inexpensively, one of the payment providers mentioned above just might fit the bill.
Applying For Credit Cards Online
Applying for credit cards online can be an extremely simple process. Most credit card providers have websites that give you all of the necessary information to make your decision. If you are looking for a credit card, all you need do is visit their site and judge for yourself if the terms are acceptable. You have access to a huge number of card providers online so if you want to shop around it couldn’t be easier. There are even websites that specialise in comparing different rates and different categories of card which make your selection process even easier. For example, if you want a credit card that provides a good balance transfer rate, then you can search these specific cards. Or if you want a card that has a good reward scheme, low interest rates on purchases, or any other speciality, then it will all be there at your finger tips.
Once you have decided on a card, click the link to the card providers website or application form and fill in your details. You will be asked for all your personal details, and usually that is all. The rest of the information, the card providers can access themselves through your credit report. They will take your application and review it and do a credit check. If they are satisfied that you are a good risk, they will accept your application. While this is all done in the same way as any other form of credit application, because it is online it is secure, and also a lot faster. You do not have to wait for the application to get to them in the post and it is a lot more difficult for would be fraudsters to intercept the information.
Once the card provider has accepted your application, they will mail out the necessary documents which you should read, sign and return. Within a week, they can have sent you your card, and your pin in two separate letters and the process is complete; you have just been accepted for a new credit card.
There are some rules to credit card use that you should also be aware of, determined by the type of card that you have. Normally 0% balance transfer credit cards when you are transferring balances have the basic rule of not spending on the card – anything that you spend will accumulate interest, while you continue to pay the transferred balance. In effect, negating the point of the 0% transfer.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Credit Cards - Applying Online For A Credit Card
How Is Your Credit?
If you know that your credit is good then you'll have no issues in getting approved for an online credit card. The credit cards with the best terms and rates will always go to the consumers with the best credit. So, it is always a good idea to know what your credit report says about you. Be sure to check your credit report at least twice a year. Another benefit of doing that is to be sure there are no errors on it.
If you haven't reviewed your credit report in some time, then it would be a good idea to do so before applying for a new credit card. Check it out for accuracy and fix anything that needs attention. Keep in mind that by applying for credit cards and getting turned down, will affect your FICO score. This can play a key role in getting future credit offers.
Applying Online
After you know whether or not your credit is good enough to be approved for a new credit card, you're ready to apply online for an immediate approval card. All credit card companies will ask you for the same basic information: name, address, phone, social security number, date of birth, employer, length of employment, gross income, etc.
Before you apply online for your new credit card, read the terms and conditions carefully. Check to make sure there are no surprise fees. All credit card companies will require you to submit your social security number. They do this so they can pull your credit report and determine whether or not you are creditworthy enough to approve you for a new card. One important note to check for; make sure that you are using a secure server when transmitting the information online. It should say SSL 128-bit encryption. This is standard procedure over the Internet today. It will make it virtually impossible for someone to steal your information.
When you enter in all your information and press "send", you will have an approval/disapproval decision in minutes. It will either show up right on computer screen, or be sent to your email address.
After you receive the news of your approval, you can expect your new credit card to arrive in the mail usually within 2 weeks. If you have been turned down for the credit card you applied for, you'll be sent a letter in the mail stating the reasons for your denial. Check over the reason for your denial. It may simply be a mistake, in which you can speak to someone at the credit card company and they can help you get it corrected.
Credit Card Application Instant Approval Online
Upon approval, it will take a week or so to get your new credit card in the mail. In many cases, if you are exercising a balance transfer option, you will submit all of the relevant information necessary right on the application. The credit card company will then facilitate the transfer on your behalf. There is no need to contact your current card issuer. It will all be taken care of for you.
In many cases, to meet the requirements for credit card application instant approval, you must have a solid credit history. The competition amongst banks and credit card issuers such as Bank of America, Chase and Discover Card has become quite fierce in recent years. That is good news for the consumer. The issuers will do whatever is necessary to make it not only attractive, but easy to obtain.
There are also many different deals that allow for flexibility in choosing offers. Perhaps a rewards program is enticing for you. Or, if you travel often, an airline miles credit card will benefit you. In recent times, with gasoline prices rising, the gas rebate credit cards have become very popular. Many of these services offer instant online credit card approval.
There is absolutely no question that the Internet makes life a great deal easier for all of us. I especially appreciate the aspect that we are now able to easily and conveniently compare the various credit card offers using a single resource. I can't even imagine sorting through all of the applications sent through the mail to compare the terms, conditions and benefits of the many offers.
Credit card application instant approval online are also available to people with poor credit. The simple fact is that there are nowhere near as many options available than there are for consumers with good credit records. Finding a card that benefits your specific financial needs is a matter of doing your homework. The choices are many, but it is not one size fits all... do your homework.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Credit Cards - Applying Online For A Credit Card
Everyone is familiar with the credit card applications we get in the mail every week. While many of these cards say you are pre-approved, you can still wait for several weeks before hearing of a decision on the acceptance of your application. The Internet has changed all that. Applying for a credit card online can mean getting approved in a matter of minutes. What are some things to look for in applying for any new credit card online?
How Is Your Credit?
If you know that your credit is good then you'll have no issues in getting approved for an online credit card. The credit cards with the best terms and rates will always go to the consumers with the best credit. So, it is always a good idea to know what your credit report says about you. Be sure to check your credit report at least twice a year. Another benefit of doing that is to be sure there are no errors on it.
If you haven't reviewed your credit report in some time, then it would be a good idea to do so before applying for a new credit card. Check it out for accuracy and fix anything that needs attention. Keep in mind that by applying for credit cards and getting turned down, will affect your FICO score. This can play a key role in getting future credit offers.
Applying Online
After you know whether or not your credit is good enough to be approved for a new credit card, you're ready to apply online for an immediate approval card. All credit card companies will ask you for the same basic information: name, address, phone, social security number, date of birth, employer, length of employment, gross income, etc.
Before you apply online for your new credit card, read the terms and conditions carefully. Check to make sure there are no surprise fees. All credit card companies will require you to submit your social security number. They do this so they can pull your credit report and determine whether or not you are creditworthy enough to approve you for a new card. One important note to check for; make sure that you are using a secure server when transmitting the information online. It should say SSL 128-bit encryption. This is standard procedure over the Internet today. It will make it virtually impossible for someone to steal your information.
When you enter in all your information and press "send", you will have an approval/disapproval decision in minutes. It will either show up right on computer screen, or be sent to your email address.
After you receive the news of your approval, you can expect your new credit card to arrive in the mail usually within 2 weeks. If you have been turned down for the credit card you applied for, you'll be sent a letter in the mail stating the reasons for your denial. Check over the reason for your denial. It may simply be a mistake, in which you can speak to someone at the credit card company and they can help you get it corrected.
Credit Card Application Instant Approval Online
You can get credit card application instant approval online from a high quality, secure web site such as BestCreditQuote.com. In many cases you will know in minutes if you have been approved. It will take maybe two minutes to complete the application and another minute or so for the credit card company to process your information to see if you qualify for their offer.
Upon approval, it will take a week or so to get your new credit card in the mail. In many cases, if you are exercising a balance transfer option, you will submit all of the relevant information necessary right on the application. The credit card company will then facilitate the transfer on your behalf. There is no need to contact your current card issuer. It will all be taken care of for you.
In many cases, to meet the requirements for credit card application instant approval, you must have a solid credit history. The competition amongst banks and credit card issuers such as Bank of America, Chase and Discover Card has become quite fierce in recent years. That is good news for the consumer. The issuers will do whatever is necessary to make it not only attractive, but easy to obtain.
There are also many different deals that allow for flexibility in choosing offers. Perhaps a rewards program is enticing for you. Or, if you travel often, an airline miles credit card will benefit you. In recent times, with gasoline prices rising, the gas rebate credit cards have become very popular. Many of these services offer instant online credit card approval.
There is absolutely no question that the Internet makes life a great deal easier for all of us. I especially appreciate the aspect that we are now able to easily and conveniently compare the various credit card offers using a single resource. I can't even imagine sorting through all of the applications sent through the mail to compare the terms, conditions and benefits of the many offers.
Credit card application instant approval online are also available to people with poor credit. The simple fact is that there are nowhere near as many options available than there are for consumers with good credit records. Finding a card that benefits your specific financial needs is a matter of doing your homework. The choices are many, but it is not one size fits all... do your homework.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
