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Get the latest credit tips & advice from our hand-picked team of credit experts. Each of them has been in your shoes and can provide you with first hand knowledge on how to take control of your credit.
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If you look at the terms secured and unsecured credit, you might think that “secured” implies a better type of credit card. Actually a secured credit card is for a weaker type of credit card applicant. Secured cards are aimed at people who have had trouble getting another type of credit card due to bad credit, short credit history, or some other financial mishap, such as a bankruptcy.
A secured credit card works something like a debit card, rather than a traditional credit card. With secured credit, you deposit money into a separate account. You are not borrowing a creditor’s money, but instead borrowing off money you’ve already deposited. Why bother paying interest on money that you already have? Because paying off a secured credit card can have the same affect on your credit rating as paying off a standard credit card. A credit report registers an unsecured or secured credit card in the same way. Just using a debit card will not elevate your credit rating.
So secured credit is a good option for those people whose credit rating has tanked and even possibly unable to open up a bank account. A prepaid credit card is like a traveling bank account where you can deposit a paycheck and other checks just as you would to a bank account. When signing up for a prepaid secured credit card it’s a good idea to see if there are any fees associated with direct deposit.
Unsecured credit cards are everything else: what are typically referred to as credit cards. Instead of depositing money into account, the account starts with a zero balance. You borrow money from the creditor and then are charged interest for the privilege. The less interest you pay, the more of your monthly payments will go to your overall balance.
One drawback to an unsecured credit card is that you cannot deposit money into the account, raising your credit limit automatically. For most, this is not a problem, as the credit limit on an unsecured card is generally higher than a secured card and will go up over time.
If you’re in the market for a secured or unsecured card, Experts on Credit has plenty. Look under prepaid cards for secured credit cards, and every other category for unsecured credit cards.
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The other day I went to a frozen yogurt shop, waited on a long line, and found out that the store was cash only. I had no cash on me. Man was I surprised, and my daughter disappointed. The yogurt shop lost a sale. There’s no reason this should happen. Online it is even more important to have credit card processing because there is no other way to make payment, short of sending in a check or money order. Even if setting up a merchant account costs some money, it’ll make more money than it costs. Because so many people are using credit cards
and debit cards
online, it is absolutely imperative that any online business be credit card compatible.
Here’s a complete checklist for setting up a merchant account:
- Find a merchant account-affiliated bank. You can’t necessarily walk into any bank and hope to set up an account – you need to be well-established. If you have a longstanding, and healthy, relationship with your bank they’ll be more willing to open up a merchant account.
- If you’re turned down for a business bank account, web-owners should look towards an independent service organization (ISO). The caveat is that you will have to pay more for the service, but it is a basic pre-requisite for an online business.
- When setting up an account, you need to inform the bank or ISO of your projected monthly earnings.
- The main problem for both banks and ISO’s is fraud – protection against fraudulent purchases that will result in a chargeback. For example, a thief steals a card and then the true cardholder disputes the charges. These charges will need to be paid back, resulting in a net loss. What this means is that both banks and ISO’s will require a sizable amount in the account to make up for fraudulent purchases.
- Banking out of the way, you need to now concentrate on HTML. If you’re now looking for a web host, be sure to look for one that includes credit card transaction technology with good security measures.
- Set up payment processing software that will communicate between your website and the bank. Examples are Verisign and Authorize.
Those are the basics for setting up a merchant account. When selecting an ISO, you need to factor in the number of fees for each transaction, as these will cut into your profits. Examples are interchange fees, monthly fees, and chargeback fees. Also: it’s very important to sign up with a stable and reliable ISO, as some ISO’s have been known to be fraudulent, so keep an eye out.
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You might have seen a number of credit card offers that offer instant approval. Heck, you can see it right here, over on the right side of the page: the ad for, you guessed it, InstantApprovals.com. But what is it? Is it the same thing as being pre-approved for a credit card?
Instant approval is a magical process in which the CD burner on your harddrive automatically prints a new credit card that you can use immediately. Not really – maybe in another 100 years. Actually, instant approval is an online process in which the credit card company approves your application right away. With mail-in credit card applications, and even other online applications, you need to wait for the approval process to be completed.
Often, once this approval process is finished, you may be awarded a totally different card than the one you applied for. Suppose, for example, that you have a bottomed-out credit rating and you apply for a low-interest card only available to those with excellent credit. You may think you’ll be able to beat the system, but this isn’t the case. Instead of offering you the low-interest credit card, you’ll instead be given a totally different credit card
with higher interest. What would make a lot more sense would be to apply directly for a credit card in your credit rating and income bracket. If you leave the decision up to the card company, you may be offered a worse card than if you sought out a good deal yourself.
This is where instant approval credit cards come in. There is no lag between the application and being offered a card. You’ll know exactly the card you’re getting right away. How’s this so? The way that the application is handled. Instead of the credit card company making the decision of what credit card to issue, the instant approval process narrows down your choices based on your credit rating, income, and other factors. You can potentially get the best possible card for your credit bracket.
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I read Michael’s post
yesterday about buying his wife the Luis Vuitton credit card wallet for her birthday. Me, I carry my credit cards in a standard wallet. A very nice wallet – with calf skin, which makes me feel guilty but man is the leather inside the wallet soft – that my wife bought me for a father’s day last year. I thought I’d look into some of the other credit card accessories that are out there on the market.
At Pricegrabber, you can find credit card wallets for most every college team
around. Are you a Bruins fan with a student credit card? Check it out.
There are of course hundreds of different wallets for credit cards and cash out there, but how about a credit card carrier that has its own personal home:  The tin is a replica baseball stadium of Turner Field, so blech (Go Mets!) but the wallet is made out of the same leather that they make Rawlings baseball gloves.
Women have a lot of options in the credit card wallet department as well. Here’s one, a striped motif.
Michael mentioned yesterday that having a good home for your credit cards can actually make you spend more responsibly. Of course, you could make the opposite argument: if you’ve got a nice credit card wallet, you might be more eager to flash it around and use your cards. All told though, it’s important to have a good place for your credit cards, if only so you don’t lose them. Showing some team spirit, or making your wife happy with a nice gift, isn’t so bad either.
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