Credit cards suck: Need advise

[usregimechange]

My credit cards cost me a lot of money. I have membership fees every month, high APR, etc. I have three cards and am wondering if it would be better to put them all on one but I don't know if I can get a credit limit that high one one card. I should have decent to good credit. Any advise, resources?

[mcscajun]

1. Best advice I can give you is...

...start paying off the one charging you the highest rate of interest while paying only minimums on the other, until you've closed off the first card. Rinse, repeat.

Break free!

[bahrbearian]

3. Yes , or if you can finance the card on a loan and tear them up.

The rates will be going up!

[Nicole]

2. get rid of cards that charge a membership fee

Pay off the smallest one first, then the next smallest one. When you are down to one card, apply ALL that you were paying the first two to that card every month.

[Maestro]

4. Some credit cards

will offer you pretty good rates on transfers. Obtain one, transfer the debt from the three cards and then start paying off that card while not spending any more on that card.

Or if you have equity in a home, get an equity loan to pay them off. You'll get a much better rate.

[Floogeldy]

5. Great advice - But beware

When you transfer and get that temporary low rate, they are constantly monitoring your credit report and if you are late on a payment to anybody, the interest rate jumps back up into the usury range.

x(

[yellowdogintexas]

14. not to mention the Home Equity interest is tax deductible on

your Federal Income Tax Return

[supernova]

6. Pay off the highest APR first

then the next, and so on. I mean, don't stop paying on them monthly, just work to pay off the costliest one first.

Supernova

Debt free since 1997. And I intend to stay that way.

[samplegirl]

8. im with you!!!

When they mail my daughter credit card applications i promptly
take it upon myself to destroy them, before they destroy her.
Shes only 21 there is even more need for them to push them onto
the younger generation now more than ever.

[samplegirl]

7. Get them payed off

apply for a bank debit card that way you wont overspend what you
have in checking.

[Floogeldy]

9. File bankruptcy before shit-for-brains signs the bill

Or did he already?

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[radwriter0555]

10. Join a local credit union, take out a note to consolidate all the cards,

then cancel all but the one with no fees and the lowest interest, most likely, one offered by your new credit union.

[Senior citizen]

11. If you have a military background try USAA Savings Bank.

They're the best. No annual fees, low interest, and the same rate for cash advances as for purchases, but not everyone qualifies. It doesn't hurt to ask [phone] For various reasons it took me 5 years to get mine, but I persisted and it was worth it.

Otherwise do an online search for credit cards and see what you qualify for. I had to transfer my balance to two different cards to get rid of MBNA, but I'm now paying half the interest.

And be careful! The advice above about credit card companies raising your rates to the sky if you are late in paying ANY bill for anything (phone, electric, whatever) is true. I pay most of my bills online, and I copy down the confirmation number when I schedule a payment, just in case the computer loses it. Then I go back and check it a few days later to be sure I got it right. And I schedule payments well before they're due, so that if something happens I can still pay it without it being late. My incentive for all this is knowing that if I were ever late with any payment, my credit card interest would go from less than 5% to about 30%.

If you have decent credit, you should be able to bank at a credit union. Most credit unions offer credit cards with reasonable rates.

Sometimes when you get a credit card with a low credit limit, they will send you an offer to raise your credit limit strictly for the purpose of balance transfers, so if you find a card with no annual fee and low interest, don't turn it down just because they only offer you a low credit limit. They all check your credit records and they know how much you're paying on what, so they'd prefer you pay them instead of somebody else. I recently got a card that only gave me a $500 credit limit, but a month after I got it they sent me an offer to raise it to $3,000 for the purpose of balance transfers only.

While it might seem confusing whether to pay off card with the smallest amount or the one with the highest interest first, it really doesn't matter so long as you have a definite plan and stick to it. Some of the money programs on your computer probably have a debt reduction plan where you can just fill in amounts and see how long it will take, so you can try various options and see which is the best for you.

[Maestro]

15. I'm with USAA as well

They offer great rates. My current rate is just below 5%! It's variable though so it will be rising.

[Floogeldy]

12. When is some corporation going to get smart?

And issue credit cards that charge ten percent interest, with more lax late fee rules?

According to my projections, and based upon the concept of margin pricing, they would make a killing.

But NO. That doesn't fit into the mold of usurious corporate rape.

[freethought]

16. Would you believe that MBNA charged me 22%!

I cancelled them but quick. MBNA can rot in hell! And that card had my biggest credit line. Odd thing though, I don't miss it!

[Chicago Democrat]

13. Either find a way to get it paid off that's realistic or consider Bankrupt

cy before the law change.

Rule of thumb if your unsecured debts are approaching 100% of your likely income. Best to through off that shackle and start anew, esp if you already own a home. They are of course exempt.


If you wait, the cards can take everything and if you just pay minimums yu will never be free of them.

[freethought]

17. Why not a debt consolidation loan?

Financed at a lower interest rate. Something that isn't quite like highway robbery. Why not look into that?