Archive for May, 2009
Card Comparison: Charge Cards Are Credit Cards Without Revolving Debt
Many people use the terms credit card and charge card interchangeably, but there are important differences. In general, a credit card lets you make purchases for which you are billed later. Most credit card accounts allow you to carry a balance from one billing cycle to the next; however, you have to pay interest on that balance. Usually, you have to pay at least a certain amount of your balance each time you receive a bill.
A charge card is a specific kind of credit card. The balance on a charge card account is payable in full when the statement is received and cannot be rolled over from one billing to the next. Because you cannot carry a balance, a charge card doesn’t have a periodic or annual percentage rate, so there is no rate for a charge card issuer to disclose.
Here are the major charge cards on the market:
| Card Name | Benefit | Requirement | |
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American Express® Preferred Rewards Gold Card |
No pre-set spending limit ; Earn 1 point for virtually every dollar you spend on Card purchases ; Instant Approval | Credit Required: Excellent Credit; Annual fee: 1st Year None; $125 Thereafter |
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New Millennium Bank Secured Platinum Visa® |
Operates on Visa Inc. network; When you apply, you get 1. Free companion air ticket valued at hundreds of $$$, 2. Membership in The World’s Best Travel Club, 3. Cash rebate of $69.00 on your first condo booking | Credit Required: Bad Credit; Annual fee:$59; Your credit line will be equal to and secured by your New Millennium Bank Savings account |
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New Millennium Bank Secured Platinum MasterCard® |
Operates on MasterCard network; When you apply, you get 1. Free companion air ticket valued at hundreds of $$$, 2. Membership in The World’s Best Travel Club, 3. Cash rebate of $69.00 on your first condo booking | Credit Required: Bad Credit; Annual fee:$59; Your credit line will be equal to and secured by your New Millennium Bank Savings account |
Important Disclaimer: the credit cards information in this post were accurate as of the date of publishing, some or all of the card programs may be discontinued, their terms may be changed after wards.
Card Comparison: Pre-paid Cards Getting More Attractive
As its name implies, pre-paid card is associated a pre-paid bank account, usually a checking account, as you swipe the card at the counter, money is withdrawn out of your pre-paid account and transfered to seller. In this sense, pre-paid cards are actually debit cards. However, some banks are blowing more functionalities into these debit cards by attaching credit lines to them, making them “pre-paid credit cards”, or as some industry experts call it, Hybrid cards.
These pre-paid credit cards / hybrid cards could help low income consumers manage their finances and build a credit history. For example, Meta Financial Group Inc. of Storm Lake, Iowa, begain attaching iAdvance lines of credit last year to its prepaid debit cards, among them include AccountNow cards in the list below. The cards can operate on MasterCard or Visa Inc. networks.
| Card Name | Features | More | |
 |
AccountNow® Prepaid VisaCard |
Prepaid Credit Card issued by Meta Financial; Have credit line attached, help build credit history; Instant Approval; Operate on Visa Inc. network | $0 Activation Fee – when you load your card by direct deposit;New iAdvanceSM loan option – no credit check;monthly fee:$4.95 |
 |
AccountNow® Prepaid MasterCard |
Prepaid Credit Card issued by Meta Financial; Have credit line attached, help build credit history; Instant Approval; Operate on MasterCard network | $0 Activation Fee – when you load your card by direct deposit;New iAdvanceSM loan option – no credit check;monthly fee:$4.95 |
 |
Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Credit Card |
Prepaid Debit Card issued by Applied Bank; no credit line is attached. Operates on Visa Inc. network. | Regular APR: 9.99% fixed;CREDIT Bureau Reporting;Minimum $200 deposit required. |
 |
Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Gold Card |
Prepaid Debit Card issued by Applied Bank; no credit line is attached. Operates on Visa Inc. network. | Regular APR: 9.99% fixed;CREDIT Bureau Reporting;Minimum $200 deposit required. |
 |
Millennium Advantage Pre-Paid MasterCard® |
Prepaid Debit Card issued by Millennium Bank; no credit line is attached. Operates on Visa Inc. network. | Application Fee: $99 Participation Fee: $71.40 ($5.95 monthly) |
Important Disclaimer: the credit cards information in this post were accurate as of the date of publishing, some or all of the card programs may be discontinued, their terms may be changed after wards.
