September 21, 2010
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Common Bait Within Credit Card Offers, Pt.3
Fancy words written by high paying marketing specialists.If you have had some difficulty with keeping up with your credit card payments and other bills; for example maybe you were laid off work for a while. Or maybe you ran into some difficult times due to unexpected medical bills. The words "Helps to build your credit score" will be inviting. What you really need in a credit card offer is a lender that reports your payment history on a regular basis to the credit reporting bureaus. Most lenders report to three major credit reporting bureaus, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. If the card offer is for a secured card which means that you typically are required to deposit money upfront to cover your transactions (somewhat like a debit card), you'll want to check to ensure that the company reports monthly to these credit bureaus. If the lender does not, you'll want to look elsewhere for a credit card.
How comforting to know that the offer provides a zero liability in case of credit card fraud. Now a days, with new technology, thieves have been known to gain access to your personal information through the internet from across the globe. Although being offered zero liability is a valuable benefit, nearly every credit card offered on the market today comes with a zero liability if you report your loss within a selected time period which is usually between 30 and 90 days. Each lender is different and you should check this option with any new or existing card account.
A fabulous interest rate, pre-selected, pre-approved, top priority, credit increases, and zero liability all sound like a good reason to sign your name to that credit card application. However, remember that all these are fancy words written by high paying marketing specialists looking to make you feel very special. This is not to say that you are not important, because you are. It is the fact that you are so important that you must protect your interests by realistically reviewing each card offer to ensure you will not be harmed by it.