Advertiser Disclosure
The credit card, banking, and other financial offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us – for example, when you click a link, are approved for a product, or open an account. This compensation may influence how and where offers appear on the site, including the order in which they appear on category pages. It does not influence our evaluations, ratings, or opinions, which are ours alone. We do not include every bank, credit card company, or offer available in the marketplace.
Rewards, sign-up bonuses, balance transfers, fees, protections, and card reviews. Pick the right card and collect more from it than it costs you.
A card issuer’s rate hike applies only to purchases made more than 14 days after its notice, and it can’t touch the balance you already owe unless you fall more than 60 days behind. If you carry a balance, shift new spending to a lower-rate card. If you pay in full monthly, keep using the card.
A 3% credit card surcharge outweighs 2% cash back, leaving you about 1% behind. Before you pay, look for the surcharge notice at the register or a fee line on your bill. If you find one, pay with debit, which card networks bar merchants from surcharging. Save the card for big jobs paid up front, where its dispute rights matter.
A charge card has no preset spending limit, but unlike a credit card, it expects the full balance every month instead of a minimum payment. No preset limit doesn’t mean unlimited, so confirm a big purchase first and set autopay to pay your full statement balance.
On a joint credit card, each of you owes the entire balance, not half, and a breakup or divorce doesn’t change that. Open one only with someone whose spending you’d be willing to pay off alone. Otherwise, keep each card in one person’s name, so only its owner owes the bill.
A credit card refund doesn’t lower what you owe until it posts, and it doesn’t count as a payment. Until the credit appears on your account, pay as if you never made the return. Skipping or shorting the payment while you wait can cost you a late fee, interest, and a late mark on your credit report.
If your credit card statement shows a negative balance, that’s your own money, and it earns nothing while the card issuer holds it. Ask the issuer to send it to your bank account or mail you a check. Put the request in writing, and federal rules give the issuer seven business days to pay.
Most big card issuers will show you which cards you’re likely to get before you apply, and their check is a soft inquiry that doesn’t affect your credit score. Check the issuer’s pre-approval page first, and apply only for a card it offers you, because the application itself is a hard inquiry that can lower your score.
When your credit card gets declined at checkout, check your phone and your card issuer’s app before calling or trying another card. A fraud alert waiting on your reply, a lock left on, or too little available credit usually shows up there. Fix what you find, run the card again, and call only if nothing looks wrong.
A credit card denial isn’t always final. The letter the issuer must send gives the reasons or tells you how to ask for them, so read it first. Then call the issuer’s reconsideration line within a few days and answer those reasons directly, because a second look by an analyst can reverse the decision.
An annual fee card pays off only when the rewards and credits you’d use anyway, minus the fee, beat what a no-fee card would earn on the same spending. Before you apply or renew, value each credit at what you’d pay for it in cash, then run that comparison.
End of content
End of content
