From the Editor:  I am very pleased to share with you this guest post from Mr Credit Card of www.askmrcreditcard.com.  Mr.  Credit Card has a great, informative and extremely comprehensive website that covers a broad range of credit card topics-be sure to check it out.  Today, Mr Credit Card is going to give a few facts that many folks do not know about business credit cards.

From my experience, people get more confused about business credit cards than any other type of credit cards. So today, I would like to clarify some myths about them in this post. Let’s begin.

Only businesses can get business credit cards – This is simply not true. Yes, there are “corporate cards” that are only available for larger businesses. But typically any business or even an individual can get a “small business credit card“. When you are filling out a application, you will normally be asked your Tax ID or EIN number. You will also be asked to give your social security number. If you leave the Tax ID part blank, then you will be simply considered a sole proprietor by the credit card issuer. Continue Reading »

Following yesterday’s conference with credit card executives, Jeffrey Weber, your humble blogger, was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor.  I’d like to thank the author, Ron Scherer, for his thorough story and particularly for being among the first writers to bring the rise of balance transfer fees to a national audience. 

To read the complete article, please follow the link below.

http://features.csmonitor.com/economyrebuild/2009/04/23/obama-seeks-to-protect-credit-card-users/

While most of the mail and comments we receive are complaints about credit card companies, every one in a while we hear from visitors who have benefited from visiting our site.  A particularly nice note came in yesterday that made us feel all warm inside.

“Thank you for this site. I just had my credit limit cut in 1/2 by Bank of America and my credit is quite good. Needless to say, I was informed verbally that this was because of changes in the company and that it would not really affect my credit score. Thanks to your site, I now understand the impact their change will have on my credit score.”

We really appreciate the feedback and are glad to be of service.  (HINT:  Send us more nice emails).

Over the past year, data available to Smart Balance Transfers suggests that balance transfer approval rates have dropped an astounding 40%, with most of the decline occurring since September.   Early data from March seems to indicate further drops in approval rates are on the horizon.

Because Smart Balance Transfers does not collect personally identifiable information from our visitors, we are unable to precisely track approval rates.  However, we have developed a number of metrics to approximate approval rates, and all of these indicators are unfortunately pointing down.

One of the reasons for the large and continued decline in approval rates can obviously be attributed to the fact that credit card companies just don’t want to lend people money at a 0% rate for a full year.  Another factor is the lack of competition.  Many credit card companies have stopped advertising 0% interest rates for 1 year and replaced these deals with 0% rates for 6 months.  American Express, for example, essentially stopped offering low APRs on balance transfers for most of their consumer cards.

I’ve been warning consumers about these trends for months and, unfortunately, my predictions have been very accurate.  Thus, to repeat what has become a mantra for this site, if you carry a balance on your credit card and want to save money with a 0% APR balance transfer, act now while you can.  Otherwise, you may be faced with higher interest rates, credit limit cuts, and very few options to facilitate paying down credit card debt.

For information on current balance transfer deals, please see the 0% balance transfer offers page on Smart Balance Transfers where you can compare offers and apply online for approval.

In general, there aren’t too many differences between the credit cards issued by major banks to consumers with good credit.  Therefore, finding the worst credit card involves taking a look at subprime credit cards, many of which are issued by little known banks.  When I set out to identify the worst credit card, I realized that the task was a bit larger than one article would permit.  Consequently, I’ve decided to right a series of articles on the worst credit cards.  I’ll begin with subprime cards, as those are the most obvious offenders.  Eventually, I’ll make my way to the worst credit cards for prime consumers.  However, my early research indicates that it would be difficult to label any major banks credit card as a the worst credit card.  After my first review, you’ll see why.

Candidate #1 for worst credit card is the Continental Finance Gold MasterCard.  Targeted to subprime users, the credit card advertises rates as low as 9.75% and the “prestige” of carrying a gold card.  However, as I reviewed the terms and conditions, I quickly learned that “prestige” has a price.

The Continental Finance Gold card does offer a competitive APR-9.75% is better than many rates offered by the major credit card companies.  And at $50, the annual fee isn’t so bad.  However, the $50 annual fee is a drop in the bucket compared to the other fees that make this card a strong candidate for worst credit card.  First off, there is a one time account processing fee which, I assume, must be paid immediately.  This fee is $175.  Seriously.  ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIVE DOLLARS!  Apparently, processing accounts is expensive.

Of course, the $175 account processing fee is a one time thing.  The $180 account maintenance fee stays with you as long as you hold the credit card.  To make things easier, they do break this fee up to $15 a month, every month, as long as you have the card.

Could this be the worst credit card?  So far, we’ve got first year fees of $405 and ongoing yearly fees of $355.  This seems like a lot of money to pay just to get a credit card.  Heck, you can get an American Express Gold Card (which is actually a prestigious gold card) that allows you to earn American Express rewards and only pay an annual fee of around $100. 

Clearly, the Tribute Gold card is not the best credit card.  And, so far, it is a strong candidate to win the first ever Smart Balance Transfers worst credit card competition.

If you have experience with this card or another you feel deserves a shot at winning worst credit card, post a response below.

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A few recent articles have discussed the possibility that 0% APR balance transfers may become scarcer in the near future. One, from a UK paper, notes that 0% balance transfers have all but completely disappeared from the market.

A second, on MSN money, is more pertinent to US residents. In this article, author Liz Pulliam Weston cites Chase bank officials who have publicly stated that they will be making it harder for individuals with a history of using balance transfer offers to obtain one from Chase. On top of that, many banks have heightened requirements for credit approval, saving the best offers for those with the best credit.

As the “credit crisis” evolves, credit availability may become an issue, especially for individuals with borderline credit. If you think you fall into this category, now may be the time to transfer high rate balances to a 0% APR credit card as these offers may soon become quite elusive.

For more information on current balance transfer offers, please see the balance transfer credit card section of Smart Balance Transfers. There, you can compare current offers from major US issuers.