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Posts Tagged ‘Credit Card’

Applying for a prepaid gas card may have lesser hassle compared to applying for a gas credit card. However, there are a few considerations that you have to keep in mind before initiating a prepaid gas card application. The following can act as your checklist when considering whether to sign up for a gas card which is prepaid in nature.

Rewards and Prizes

Most people sign up for a prepaid gas card to get free gas. However, companies issuing the gas cards offer some other form of rewards and prizes apart from just free gas. They can be car accessories, gift certificates, household appliances and much more.

If your purpose of signing for the card is to get free gas or cheaper gas, inquire whether the card will offer rewards such as discounted gas, gift certificates for gas purchase or even free gas for your next purchase. Do keep in mind also that loyalty will be rewarded as well. Thus, by holding a prepaid gas card for a longer period, the rewards will become very significant.

Gas Purchase Rebates

Some prepaid gas cards offer on the spot gas rebates, which is equivalent to discounted gas. Different stations and different prepaid gas cards may be offering rebates at different rates. However, there might be a fine print on minimum spending before you can qualify of such rebates.

Terms and Conditions

There are some prepaid gas cards which might have terms and conditions that require your attention prior to application. Some cards have requirements such as minimum monthly spending, commitment fees, application fees and whether the card can be used by anyone else.

Not reading the terms and conditions properly might lead to overspending on gas instead of savings. Also, you risk getting your card canceled if you fail to abide their terms and conditions that you have agreed to.

Having a checking account is a necessary requirement for anyone who wants to live a normal life in this shopping-oriented society of ours. Who doesn’t think that life would be a bit easier with a checking account? After all, with an account, you have the ability to write checks and to use a debit and credit card linked to your account. You can also gain access to a nationwide network of ATM machines, giving you access to your cash no matter where you go.

One reason that some people put off opening a checking account is that they are concerned about having a check or debit card transaction bounce. And, this concern is justified. After all, overdraft fees are a big business for banks. In 2006, banks earned over $25 billion in overdraft fees in the U.S. alone.

People looking to open a new bank account often look for checking accounts with bounce protection. These accounts have overdraft protection programs in place. Here is how overdraft protection programs work:

1. The customer has a certain amount in the checking account, say $100.

2. The customer does his or her best to not make any charges against the account that are larger than this current balance amount.

3. One day, however, the customer misjudges the current balance and makes three charges against the account: one for $45, one for $60, and one for $5.

4. The first charge of $45 is fine, but the $60 charge puts the account into a negative balance, and the $5 charge also hits the account when it is “in the red.” The result: the bank covers all three of the charges, due to the fact that the overdraft protection program is in place for this customer. This is an advantage on the one hand, because it means that the vendors to whom the customer promised the payments will get paid on time.

5. However, given that the bank honored the two charges that caused the account to have a negative balance, the bank also charges the customer an overdraft fee. This fee can range, but is usually in the $25 to $35 range per charge. If the fee is $35, in the example above, the customer would have to pay ($35 x 2 =) $70 in overdraft fees!

As we can see, checking accounts with bounce protection have their pluses and minuses. Is bounce protection a good thing? Yes, they are good in that they cover outstanding charges. But, the fact that they charge such high fees makes them very expensive.

The very best checking accounts are those that offer bounce protection but do not charge a fee. Yes, surprisingly, there are banks that offer bounce (overdraft) protection without charging a fee. These banks charge a low monthly fee which is far less than what the average person pays in overdraft fees per month.

A final note: have you been rejected recently for a new checking account? Your name may have been reported by a bank to something called Chex Systems, a service that banks use to evaluate credit risk levels for prospective checking account holders. Fortunately, some banks now offer second chance checking accounts. These banks promise to never refer to Chex Systems when making decisions on a new account holder, increasing the likelihood of acceptance.

It’s true; I never thought I would let it happen, but it happened without me having any knowledge of it. While you can minimize your risk of having your number stolen, if it does happen, you need to be on top of it. Just a few weeks ago, I discovered that I needed to make some calls.

Normally, I log on to our bank account, just to double-check our recent activity, about every 2 or 3 days. As I logged on a few weeks ago, I noticed a charge to Apple iTunes for $67.33. While I initially thought I did not make a purchase with Apple, I did recently get an iPod and have not quite figured out iTunes yet. There was also a pending charge of $33 made the day prior, so I wanted to get to the bottom of this. Frankly, I did not even think about card theft because my card was in my wallet and had not been out of my sight. I was more worried that I had signed up for iTunes without knowing it, and they were charging me on a recurring basis.

My research started with a phone call to the number listed on my bank’s website next to the charge. The recorded message sent me to a page on Apple’s website and that set off the alarms. The page suggested changing my account password and calling my bank to cancel the card because of expected theft. I opened iTunes, and realized that not only did I not have an account, but I have never given my card number to them.

A phone call to my bank cleared it up and I began to realize what had happened. Most of the time when a card number is stolen, the thief begins with small purchases to see if they will clear. Once that is apparent, the real purchases begin. After just a few minutes on the phone with a bank representative, my card was canceled and I was issued a new one.

Many people fear theft of a debit card because it is linked to an account with money in it, as opposed to a credit card that you pay at the end of the month. If you have a debit card, you have the exact same protection as a credit card offers.

My bank issued a refund, which posted to my account within 24 hours. I am not liable for any charges I did not make myself, regardless of whether my card is designated as credit or debit.

The only thing that remains to be done is to complete a few pages of paperwork and return it to the bank. I already have a new debit card in my possession, and a daily eye on my bank account shows no more charges that I do not recognize.

As for how the card got stolen, I really have no idea. There are a lot of opportunities for thieves to obtain your data, but I cannot think of how it happened. If you purchase items online or anytime you give your card for someone to swipe, your information is out there for someone. Restaurants really scare me because the card is out of site when the server takes it to process a meal. That is just one more reason to pay with cash.

If this information doesn’t directly change the way you use your bank card, it will definitely make you more aware. It was suggested that we DON’T use debit cards for big purchases. They don’t offer the same protection that credit cards do. The regulations that govern the lenders allow you to reverse or dispute charges, and many have even extended the length of warranties.

When you use a credit card, your liability for unauthorized charges is capped at $50, no matter what. If your debit card is lost or stolen, it must be reported within two business days to limit liability to $50 and if it is lost or stolen and not reported between the two business days and within 60 days, the liability can go up to $500. If an unauthorized transaction is not reported within 60 days of the statement date (and the card hasn’t been reported lost or stolen), you’re on the hook for charges made after the 60th day until the report is made. DON’T use a debit card online.

Now here is the one which will scare you the most. DON’T link your debit card to an account with a lot of money, which is normally your primary account. Thieves can empty your debit-card-linked checking account, so keep just enough in the account to cover current purchases.

Here is what you can do — DO click on “credit” and sign for payments instead of giving a PIN. It appears that card companies might extend the same zero-liability protection to debit cards as they do to credit cards if the cards are processed similiar to credit, but PIN transactions might not have that protection.

So, we need to start managing our use of debit cards much smarter just like we do our credit cards.

There are no doubts that an average consumer like me and you will look at the recent oil price hike as a brutal massacre. Don’t you agree? More and more families are changing their lifestyles due to the hike. Some are even getting into financial difficulties. The best way to save money on gas purchases is to apply for a prepaid gas card.

Prepaid Gas Cards Offer Free Gas

A lot of people seem to think that you have to pay in order to use a prepaid gas card for gas purchase. This may be true for some cards but not all. There are cards that give you a discount whenever you make a gas purchase. Staying subscribed to the card longer will allow you to enjoy higher discounts.

Another way of rewarding you with free gas is the point accumulation system. When you buy a certain amount of gas you will be rewarded with points. You can make use of these points to claim free gas after it accumulates to a certain threshold.

Prepaid Gas Cards Control Your Spending

Many have this question in mind. “Should I get a gas credit card or a prepaid gas card?” The answer for you, if you want to be debt free and avoid paying high interest fees, you should opt for the latter. Unlike gas credit cards, prepaid gas cards will not allow extended spending amount. You will only be able to spend the amount available in the card.

You can always top up the amount in your card monthly and spend within the range that you have allocated for gas purchase. There is a little chance that you will be overspending on gas unless you are always tempted to walk over to the counter for a top up.

Free Prepaid Gas Cards

The best thing about using prepaid gas cards for your gas purchase is that you will be able to get them for free. These free gas cards offer comes from different companies and retailers that want you to pay attention to their products and services. The amount that comes with these cards varies from $100 to $1000 which will allow you to save months of gas expenses.

If you are looking for a gas card, you should know that there are two types to this card; credit and prepaid. Both equally offer opportunity for gas savings, but they work in different ways.

The usual question arising from these two types of gas card is which one is better. Many say that the answer depends on your gas spending habit but gas credit cards have been proven to offer more benefits than prepaid. Here are the benefits that gas credit cards offer:

1. Longer Use. The credit type of gas card has a longer card usage. Compared to prepaid, they do not expire immediately. Basically, your prepaid card usage is only until the amount on it has been expended.

2. Unlimited Amount. Prepaid cards have a limited amount on it. This type f card is usually good to use when you need help in controlling your gas expenses. However, if you max up your limit, you won’t have anything to turn to especially in times of emergency. Gas credit cards on the other hand, have no limit to the amount you can use it for.

3. No Hassles in Changing Cards. Since gas cards expire longer than prepaid cards, there will be no hassles in changing cards. You definitely have more gas purchases on credit gas cards.

4. Less Prone to Losses. The downside to using prepaid cards is the irrecoverable amount when you loose your card. With gas credit cards, you can easily call your card company to cancel or close lost cards. This way, your card can’t be used by anyone else and you don’t loose any money.

5. Improve Credit Score. Provided that you pay your bills on time, you improve your credit score with gas credit cards. This credit score is needed in loan applications and if you have plans to get a car or house loan in the near future, using gas credit cards is better than prepaid.