Ellene Bauer asked:

The time is 2:00 AM. The place is that lonely little alley leading to the nearest convenience store. The person standing in front of you is brandishing a gun in your face. “Gimme your money,” the gunman demands. You frantically search your wallet and pocket for some cash to give to the gloved man. After a few minutes, it becomes apparent to the gunman and you that you don’t have any. Your fists close in on the one thing you always bring with you: your Master Card.

With a sick feeling at the pit of your stomach, you give the gunman a weak grin and offer him your plastic. “Credit is as good as cash,” you whisper, hoping against all hope that the gunman has a sense of humor.

Yes, credit is as good, if not better, than cash. This is why in today’s world, a Master Card can be better than a sack full of money, and why filling out a Master Card credit application is worth its weight in gold.

Dollar Bills and Billing Statements

In theory, one could buy a car or house in cash or with a check. But with the cost of living increasing each year, most people have fallen short of saving up a briefcase or suitcase full of Benjamin Franklins. This is where credit comes into play. By charging certain items and then paying your credit card bill on or before the due date, you can build up enough good credit to convince creditors that you will pay off your auto loan or mortgage. So completing a Master Card credit application makes sense, since good credit is better than no credit.

Emergencies Arise

While you can plan to build good credit, you cannot always plan for emergencies. Perhaps you have never really owed any money to anyone. When you buy something, you always pay in full, by cash or check. When you borrow money, you pay it back the same day. If you were to request a credit report, it would show a clean record…of no credit. Still, regardless of how diligently you try to avoid emergencies during future purchases, things happen. When you lack cash, you have three main alternatives: checks, debit cards, and credit cards. The problem with checks is that they require time to clear. This can create headaches when you do your personal bookkeeping. Debit cards are convenient, but they are accepted in fewer businesses than credit cards. Moreover, they do not let you establish credit. So it is prudent to fill out a Master Card credit application, to prepare for those late night runs to the convenience store, or to fill up our vehicle.

Something for Everyone

The advantages of Master Card credit cards do not end with emergencies. In addition, they offer several features that can make your shopping experiences a treat. They typically have low annual percentage rates, or APR, and annual fees or even none at all! In addition, when you fill out a Master Card credit application, you can choose a card that is right for you. Some cards are ideal for travellers and businesspeople. Others are perfect for students. Still many others cater to people’s interests, such as entertainment. If you want to earn rebates or products via bonus points, then completing a Master Card credit application should be your next step. Master Card credit cards provide perks ranging from movie tickets on films’ opening weekends to personalized cards and $0 fraud liability.

People often link the idea of credit cards to images of never-ending debt. But if a credit card is used wisely after filling out a Master Card credit application, it can provide things that having no credit cannot.

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R. Forrest Young asked:

You can increase your credit score by 200 points and more by simply buying good credit. You may wonder how it’s possible and even argue that it’s unethical, but individuals and businesses have been doing it for over 30 years and it’s perfectly legal!

If you need a quick boost in your credit score for a home loan, auto loan or any other loan for that matter, it is definitely worth it to invest in purchasing seasoned primary accounts. You need to make sure they are primary accounts and not just authorized user accounts. According to the new fico ‘08 law, authorized user accounts are no longer being considered in factoring credit scores like they were previously. A seasoned primary account is one that is 2 years old or older and has excellent credit history. The great thing about this practice is that it saves someone who has bad credit hundreds of thousands of dollars in loan payments.

The concept is really quite simple. You pay to use an individual’s account that has already established excellent credit history on the account. You are put on the account as a joint account user just before the account is closed. The previous account holder is transferred off the account and you become the primary account holder and inherits all of the excellent payment history. It then shows up on your credit report, usually within 15-30days. This is legal because federal law permits adding users to your accounts and does not prohibit the rental or sale of user designations. Mortgage brokers, lawyers and real estate agents have been using this practice for years to get their clients better rates and lower payments.

The amount of trade lines you purchase will determine the approximate increase in your credit score. Usually buying one trade line will increase your score 40-45 points. If you need a bigger increase you can just purchase more accounts. There are companies that offer up to 5 accounts that you can purchase which will give you an approximate increase of 200-225 points in your fico score. This is great for someone who has a credit score that is in the 500′s and needs to quickly get to that almighty 720 to get the best interest rates.

Of course this service does not come cheap when your talking about up front costs. The going price for one primary account is around $1500. It may seem expensive but is well worth the price since boosting your score by even 40 points can make the difference of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars less in loan payments.

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Allen Richardson asked:

What Is The Stripe On the Credit Card?

Each day we use our bank issued credit card. Swiping our cards on stores card readers to buy our purchases. Now, how it is that something so small can keep all your bank information. What allows the card reader to see that information? And what is that dark strip on the back of our cards.

The stripe on the back of a credit card is a magnetic stripe, or also called “MagStripe”. The magnetic strip is made up of tiny iron-based magnetic particles in a plastic-like film. Each particle is really a tiny magnet bar about 20-millionths of an inch long.

The magnetic stripe can have data written because the tiny magnet bar can be magnetized in either a north or South Pole direction. The magnetic strip very similar to a cassette tape.

A magnetic stripe card reader can then understand the information that has been written on the three-track stripe.

If the credit card isn’t being accepted, your problem is probably either:

A dirty or scratched MagStripe An erased magnetic stripe The most common causes for erased MagStripe are exposure to magnets, like the ones that hold notes &pictures on your refrigerator, or exposure to a store’s EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) tag demagnetizer. Or you are just out of money.

These Three Tracks Stripes on the magnetic stripe each have tracks that are about 1/10th of an inch wide. The ISO/IEC standard 7811, which is used by some banks, specifies:

Track one – 210 bpi (bits per inch), and holds 79 6-bit plus parity bit read-only characters. Track two – 75 bpi, and holds 40 4-bit plus parity bit characters. Track three – 210 bpi, and holds 107 4-bit plus parity bit characters.

Credit Card typically uses only tracks-1 & 2. Track-3 is a read/write track (which includes your encrypted PIN, country codes, currency units and amount on your account); this is not standardized among all banks.

The information on track-1 is contained in two formats: A, which is reserved for proprietary use of the card issuer, and B, which includes the following:

Start sentinel – one character Format code=”B” – one character (alpha only) Primary account number – up to 19 characters Separator – one character Country code – three characters Name – two to 26 characters Separator – one character Expiration date or separator – four characters or one character Discretionary data – enough characters to fill out maximum record length (79 characters total) End sentinel – one character Longitudinal redundancy check (LRC) – one character LRC is a form of computed check character.

The format for track two, developed by the banking industry, is as follows:

Start sentinel – one character Primary account number – up to 19 characters Separator – one character Country code – three characters Expiration date or separator – four characters or one character Discretionary data – enough characters to fill out maximum record length (40 characters total) LRC – one character

There are three basic methods for determining whether your credit card will pay for what you’re charging:

Voice authentication – Small Merchants do using a touch-tone phone. Electronic data capture – (EDC) MagStripe-card swipe terminals Virtual terminals on the Internet

How all of this works:

After the credit card is swipes through a reader, the EDC software at the point-of-sale (POS) terminal dials a stored phone number (using a modem) to call an acquirer. An acquirer is an organization that collects credit card authentication requests from merchants and provides the merchants with a guarantee payment.

When the acquirer company gets the credit-card authentication request, it checks the transaction for validity and the record on the MagStripe for:

Merchant ID Valid card number Expiration date Credit-card limit Card usage

With Single dial-up transactions, they are processed at 1,200 to 2,400 bits per second (bps), while direct Internet attachment uses much higher speeds via this protocol. Using Internet protocol, the cardholder enters their personal identification number (PIN) using a pin pad.

The PIN is not on the card — it is encrypted in the database. Creation of your PIN can be interred in on the bank’s computers in an encrypted form.

Also, the communications between the ATM and the bank’s central computer are encrypted to prevent would-be thieves from tapping into the phone lines, recording the signals sent to the ATM to authorize the dispensing of cash and then feeding the same signals to the ATM to trick it into unauthorized dispensing of cash.

If all of this isn’t enough protection, there are now cards that utilize even more security measures than your conventional credit card: Smart Cards.

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Court Tuttle asked:

Getting your taxes done can be a huge hassle. But while you are doing your taxes, you try to think of every kind of thing you could get a deduction on. Of course, there are several things that are tax deductible.

But you have always wondered if your credit card interest is. Can you really get something back from you taxes by paying all that interest on your taxes?

Sorry, but no. Unfortunately, unlike the interest you pay on your mortgage, your credit card interest is not tax deductible.

But there is a way you can make it tax deductible. Still, there are some risks involved.

Whether or not the risk is worth it is completely up to you. For you are the one who knows your circumstances. If you really want your credit card interest to be tax deductible, here is what you do.

Refinance Your Home

Sound absurd? If you are doing it just to get a tax deduction on your credit card interest, it probably is.

Getting a tax deduction on such a thing would be a small reward with high risk. If it is that important to you though, refinancing your home can make your credit card interest tax deductible, in a way. It is possible for you to refinance your home and transfer the balance on your credit card to your home loan.

That way, you have basically paid off your credit card and do not have to pay interest on it anymore. Now, instead, you have more interest to pay on your home loan, or your mortgage. That kind of interest is in fact tax deductible.

By transferring your credit card balance to your home equity line of credit, you turn the money you owe on your credit card into money that you owe on your home. You will then pay interest only on your mortgage, and that, in fact, is tax deductible.

Warning:

You could lose your home. That sounds a little dramatic, but the chances that you could lose your home increase if you transfer your credit card balance to your home equity line of credit.

Not necessarily just because you refinanced it to get your credit card balance transferred, but because it may take longer for you to pay off your home loan. Because it would take you longer and make your balance bigger, it may be difficult to make monthly payments in full and on time.

In my opinion, refinancing your home to get a tax deduction is definitely not the wisest thing to do. Better chances of keeping your home is way more important than getting money back from the interest you paid on your credit card. To me, the risk is just too big to take.

Having a home loan is enough of a hassle and takes long enough to pay off as it is. If you extend that by refinancing, it increases the risk that you will get your house repossessed. The whole question is, “Is a tax deduction worth that kind of risk?”

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John Hartley asked:

These days we all use credit cards, and many people have several. Because the credit card companies charge very high interest rates, and once a customer joins he or she remains a customer for a long time, credit card companies can make a lot of money per customer. So it follows that there are affiliate card credit marketing programs.

Credit cards are a very competitive business

In fact, these credit card companies are fighting hard to get new customers all the time, and so you can do well as an affiliate. Some offer substantial fees for each sign-up and others will pay for leads. Leads are people who agree to sign up for information.

You can make several hundred dollars per sign up with some credit card companies, whereas you will get a much smaller fee for leads. To make it worthwhile to get paid for each sign-up, you will need to get a lot of traffic in the right market niche. This is not necessarily the credit market niche, which is highly competitive, but could be close to it, or a very small niche, like ‘credit cards poor credit risk in Ottawa’ for example.

Incidentally, most credit cards are marketed by banks, so they market only in their own countries, so you are probably better off marketing to a specific area, or several.

The advantage of getting paid per lead is that people are often happy to sign up for information even when they think they will not buy the product later.

In either case, you need to be warned that the credit card companies will pay a lot to advertise on the internet themselves, so Adwords ad prices will be very high. Also, the competition to get onto the first page of Google is very strong indeed, and the successful sites there will have spend thousands of dollars to get ranked, and used every trick in the book.

Look for a niche within the credit card business

OK then, so how do you go about marketing credit cards? One market would be wherever big ticket items like cars, motorcycles, furniture, audio/video products are marketed. You see what you want is to find people who want an extra credit card. There may be many reasons for this, but when they are looking to spend a few thousand dollars or more is a one reason.

Apart from those who juggle their debt among many cards, most have a tendency to use one card for most purchases, which means they get a big bill once a month. It is very attractive to have another card so they can arrange for that bill to be paid two weeks later, so the bills are spread out in the month.

Here then is a niche. People who want a second card and want to be able to select at what time of the month they pay the bill, and who live in certain areas. There are other niches, but you will find that the big credit card companies are out there selling in most of them. For this reason, you are probably better off sending leads to them than going for actual sales.

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Stephanie Andrews asked:

One of the most appealing aspects of a prepaid debit card is that in most cases, there is no credit check run on those who apply. If you’re having problems getting approved for a credit card, this could be a smart solution for you. Here’s the rundown on how prepaid debit cards work, and how you can use them to build a better financial future.

How they Work

A prepaid debit card works in a “pay as you go” way. Once your application gets approved, you can start loading money. To do so, you make a deposit into your account. Your limit becomes the amount that you have deposited. You can often deposit as much as $10,000. This system protects you from the dangers of overdrawing.

Once you’ve loaded the card, you can use it just as you would other debit and credit cards. It works in stores, on the Internet, and in any place that accepts credit and debit transactions. Instead of making payments to the account, you simply reload money onto your card.

Prepaid debit cards usually come with a number of fees. This may include a fee for registering and monthly charges. Since the amounts vary from card to card, you’ll want to check carefully before sending in an application.

The Advantages

There are a number of advantages that come with a prepaid debit card. One of these is that you do not have to worry about spending more than you have. This gives you the chance to have a line of credit and not run into debt problems.

Another advantage is that prepaid debit cards are available to nearly everyone, regardless of credit score. If you have a low credit score or no credit history, you can still apply for the card. You can then use it as you would a regular card.

Building Credit

Some prepaid debit cards now offer a service in which they report your transactions to major credit bureaus. This gives others a chance to see that you are managing your account well. Over time, you’ll see your credit score go up.

Even if your card does not offer this option, you can still use it toward building your credit. Start by loading reasonable amounts on to the card. Then use it on a regular basis. You’ll soon learn what your limits are.

As you do this, you’ll learn about the importance of carefully considering each purchase. You’ll see how buying big items can affect your account. And you’ll begin to evaluate your purchases before swiping the card. All of these will help you better manage your finances.

Numerous companies, including big names like Visa and MasterCard, offer prepaid debit cards. They can be a solid option if you want to have a credit or debit card. Once you start using it, you can make sure that you are paying attention to your money management. Over time, you’ll be ready to take the next step when it comes to credit. And the skills you learn from using it can last a lifetime.

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Emily Onedge asked:

When it comes to credit card debt help you have got to be very careful. Because credit cards are so convenient and so widely accepted, getting yourself into trouble and over your head can quickly become a problem. In no time you can easily find yourself in need of credit card debt help. If that is your situation there are a number of things you can do. We can take a few moments to get an idea of exactly what kind of credit card debt help will be the right way for you to go.

1.) Credit Card Balance Transfers

You may find that a credit card company offers you a credit card at a lower annual percentage rate than other cards you already have with existing balances. For example, you may have two cards with interest rates of 17.5 percent and 19 percent, and each may have a balance of $1,200. A new card offer might give you the considerably lower rate of 12 percent, so transferring your $2,400 in balances to the new, lower-rate card would make sense. But, you should make sure that the new rate is not only a short-term promotional rate. In many cases, these low rates have an expiration date at which time the rate will increase. If you seek credit card debt help through the balance transfer option, make certain you know when the promotional rate expires and what the subsequent long term rate will be.

2.) Debt Consolidation Loans

Many people think that a debt consolidation loan is the best way to get long term credit card debt help, but that isn’t necessarily the case. There are a number of issues to be concerned about when considering a debt consolidation loan. In many cases a loan might significantly reduce your overall monthly payment, perhaps even to as little as half of what you’re currently paying, but this reduction in monthly payment can come at a big price. A higher overall annual interest rate. How can a loan at a higher rate reduce your monthly payment? By stretching out the payments over a much longer period of time. In the end, you actually pay much more in total payments than if you had simply stuck with your credit cards.

3.) Credit Counseling Agencies

If you seek credit card debt help through a credit counseling company, they will work directly with your creditors to reduce your interest rates and, in some cases, your actual principal balance. Rather than pay off your credit card companies completely, the agency will collect your payment and distribute the funds to the lenders under an agreement that they negotiate. For their service, the agency will receive a fee, either from the consumer or from the creditors. Either way, using credit counseling for credit card debt can keep your accounts in good standing with your credit card companies while reducing the total amount you have to pay each month.

If you’re in need of credit card debt help, consider the advantages of disadvantages of three common ways: credit card balance transfers, debt consolidation loans, or credit counseling agencies. You can do it, just take action and before you know it you will be on your way to a debt free life.

 

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Christie Foxvog asked:

Have you ever heard of the phrase “read before you sign that little dotted line”? I am sure you have. This phrase almost seems to be true for almost everything these days. Especially for credit cards. You can hardly find a credit card that is worth even getting; until now. We have searched and search to find credit cards that can meet almost anybodies needs. Whether it be good credit, bad credit or no credit, we have them available to you. First, read some of the following important facts about credit cards that will help you decide on the one that will fit your lifestyle.

When looking for a credit card, there is something everybody needs to do; READ! I know it seems like a waste of time and pointless, but trust me; it can save you a lot of money or give you great awards. When you read the terms, there are several types of information that is made available to you. First and most importantly; Annual Percentage Rate or APR. The is how they measure the cost of your credit. Obviously, you want to find the lowest APR you can. That will save you A LOT of money. Next, there are Annual Fees; if there are any. If a card does have an annual fee, they usually start at $25. There is one very good thing about credit cards that everybody seems to like, rewards! Some give you cash back rewards, others give you gas (which with gas prices around the country as they are right now, we all enjoy that), groceries or the best and hottest thing right now and has been for a while are frequent flier miles!

Always make sure that you read the fine lines and you can very easily find the right credit card for you. At http://www.easycreditcardapproval.net, we have searched hundreds of cards and have listed some very good cards that can meet anybodies needs. We have found credit cards for good credit, bad credit and even for those who have no credit at all. Take a look at the website listed above and I am sure you will be able to find the credit that meets your needs. We want to help people get the second chance that they need and here at easy credit card approval, we are taking they first step at helping those that need credit.

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Tod Martin asked:

Nowadays prepaid credit cards have become the most important part of human lives. When we talk about UAE, then here maximum number of people use credit card. More than half of the population hold credit card in UAE. Different financial institution offer different types of credit card to the customers. A large number of banks provide gold credit card, prepaid credit card and platinum credit card to a wide range of customers with different needs and suitability.

Those who want to have an ideal credit card in UAE, then you can get in touch with several institutions. Some of the institutions which can help you in this respect are:

Companion point’s card: this card is accessible in a joint venture by the emirates group am well as Danta. With the help of this card you will be able to gain rewards points which you can redeem by shopping, dining and travelling.

The diners club UAE: this company of credit card work as an associate of the emirates bank group. To buy things you can use this credit card. By using this credit card you will be able to get club reward.

Approximately all the credit card provided here by the financial institution are globally accepted. These cards have all the features which are needed for optimizing the elasticity in finances of any individual. The companies which offer these credit cards also provide impeccable customer service.

Although there are lots of bank that offer credit card in the Arab but it is always advisable to just go through the rules and regulations before you plan to buy any credit card. You should know each and everything about the selected credit card.

It is easy and simple to get credit cards now. So those who people who are always busy with work can take the help of internet in order to get the best credit card for themselves.

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Gian Brett asked:

Leading bank of private sector ICICI lost more than Rs 11 crore due to credit card frauds last year. There are more than 8,000 cases about the fraud. ICICI had reported about 8,280 cases to the Reserve Bank of India about the credit card frauds and in the frauds lost about Rs 11.47 crore has been estimated.

It was the report of 2008 year which had been introduced by Shakeel Ahmad in Lok Sabha who is the Minister of State for Home. In the series of frauds 703 cases from American Express Bank and 2,484 cases from HSBC Bank had been received. In the frauds American Express lost Rs 6.04 crore and HSBC Rs 4.90 crore.

Total number of cases about credit card frauds have been reported from various banks about 12,959 and lost has been reported about Rs 36.54 crore.

In the series IDBI, Canara and Overseas Bank have no cases in this context. Another major banks – Citibank (Rs 4.73 crore), Standard Chartered Bank (Rs 2.39 crore) and Deutsche Bank (Rs 2.09 crore) are in major loses in the frauds.

In the other hand different banks from private and public sector have reported loss of Rs 36.54 crore to credit card frauds. From the different states loss has been reported in Lok Sabha. Only Maharashtra has reported about Rs 55.54 lakh lost.

In the series Rajasthan has reported Rs 89.93 lakh lost. Andhra Pradesh has reported Rs 64.29 lakh lost and West Bengal has reported Rs 35.72 lakh. Kerla and Delhi have reported Rs 17.60 and Rs 10.90 lakh lost, respectively. However, in Bihar, Goa and Jharkhand have not reported a single Rs. loss.

In these cases from 2007 maximum number of people – 355 has been arrested till date. In these arrested people a maximum number of people were from Madhya Pradesh – 156. To prevent credit card frauds there is no strong step by banks and RBI. However, consumers have suggested by their opinions that banks can stop this to make a customer aware about each transactions.

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