A credit card balance transfer is when you move the credit card debt on one account to another credit card account with a different company.  Essentially the new issuer pays your original credit card company for your debt, bringing the balance on that account to zero.  Unless you choose to close the original account, it may still be used.  Your debt then goes onto the second credit card account under that issuer’s interest rate.  Many people transfer their credit card balances when they find a credit card with a more attractive interest rate than the one on which they have currently accumulated debt.  Credit card issuers also use balance transfer offers as marketing tools and will sometimes extend credit card offers that feature lower interest rates on the transferred balance for a period of time.

Your debt to credit line ratio is calculated by dividing all of your credit card debt by the sum of the credit lines extended to you across your credit card accounts.  For example, if you had 2 credit cards, and each one had a credit line of $100 and a balance of $50 then your debt-to-available-credit line ratio would be ($50+$50) / ($100+$100) = 50 percent.

The debt to credit line ratio is calculated each time a billing cycle for any of the credit cards you have closes.  If you maxed out your card and paid down your balance before the billing cycle ended, then the high balance won’t be taken into account at all.  If the balance still stands at the close of the billing cycle, it will be used to calculate your new debt to credit line ratio, but it might not make much difference depending on how much available credit you have across all of your credit cards.

It is illegal for a third party to open up any kind of account in another person’s name, without authorization, so no you cannot be issued a credit card without having asked for it.  While consumers receive credit card offers in the mail for “preapproved” credit cards all the time, this doesn’t mean that the account is actually open.  A response to and an application for these kinds of offers is always required, and you will still have to disclose your social security number and level of income, provide a signature and give other information, even though you’ve been prescreened.

It depends on what your financial circumstances are.  If you are able to, pay your balance in full each month.  Doing so gives you two great benefits.  The first is avoiding paying any interest on purchases you make with your credit card.  Paying your balance in full every month also keeps your debt to credit line ratio for that particular card at the lowest level possible; this has an overall positive impact on your credit score.

If you can’t pay your balance in full each month, then you must pay at least the minimum payment to remain in good standing with your credit card company.  However, the longer you just pay the minimum payment on your credit card account, the more interest you will be charged and the longer it will take you to pay your balance in full.

If an unknown charge shows up on your credit card account, the first thing you should do is look back at your receipts and think carefully about the purchases you’ve made, to be sure the charge is actually unauthorized, and not an oversight on your part.

If you are sure that you did not actually make the purchase in question and you have a relationship with the merchant or store that processed it, give them a call.  An honest mistake might have been made, and the retailer will probably remove the charge once it is pointed out.  For example, if you were charged twice for a recent meal at a restaurant you frequent regularly, noting this mistake will likely result in it being rectified quickly.  However, if you have never been to the store from which the charge originates, then calling probably won’t be too helpful.  You will either be told to contact your credit card company or the charge will simply be removed.  While the latter might seem like a perfect resolution to the situation, it might actually be decidedly negative.  Since you have never been a customer of the retailer in question, the odds of identity theft far outweigh those that the merchant made a mistake.  Therefore, having the charge removed would only serve to cover up the more serious problem of fraud.

It’s always better for you to pay your balance in full, and for two main reasons.  First, your credit score is impacted by your overall debt to credit line ratio, which represents the amount of debt you have accumulated against the amount of credit that’s been extended to you.  Paying your balance in full each month will lower this ratio.  Secondly, by paying your balance in full each month, you will avoid being assessed finance charges which are usually only applied to outstanding balances, and can often be the most expensive part of consumer credit card accounts.

The likelihood that your credit will be checked prior to your employer issuing you a corporate credit card varies from company to company.  Your employer might have a policy in place that requires a credit check before corporate cards are issued.  This is to mitigate risk and ensure that people who have bad credit are not issued corporate credit cards, which they might abuse.  However, from the standpoint of the credit card company, corporate credit cards are linked to the credit worthiness of the business.   Credit card companies will not check the credit of each employee before releasing multiple cards.  When employees are issued corporate credit cards they are given a line of credit that represents some portion of the total amount of credit extended to the business.  This is one of the main benefits of corporate credit cards – employees can be allotted different amounts of credit based on their individual business needs and regardless of their own personal credit histories.

If you are looking for accessibility, yes.  Debit cards are as widely accepted as credit cards, and transactionally, they work the same way.  However, there are a few things that separate debit cards from credit cards.  A debit card is linked to your personal bank account, and as soon as you make a purchase with a debit card the money is immediately withdrawn from the account associated with it.  Because of this, there is no bill at the end of the month for the purchases made with a debit card – just an itemized statement.

Alternatively, when you make a purchase with a credit card, you are simply lowering your amount of available credit, and you will receive a bill at the end of the month for which you are responsible.  Also, the activity on a credit card shows up on your credit report, but the activity on debit card does not.

If you don’t pay your credit card bill for a particular month, you become delinquent on your account, and will be assessed a late fee, even if you are just one day late.  If you miss a second payment (which will put you at 30 days delinquent), you be assessed another late fee.  Additionally, at this point your credit card issuer will report you as being late to the three major credit bureaus, which will begin to negatively impact your credit score and affect your ability to get approved for other credit cards and/or loans.  After your late status is initially reported, your credit card issuer will continue to report your delinquency to the credit bureaus, once a month, until you bring your account back to current.   This will further damage your credit.

If you reach the point where you haven’t paid your credit card bill for two to three consecutive months, your credit card issuer will begin the internal collections process.  They will call you repeatedly and send you letters, demanding that you bring your account back to current.   If for whatever reason you are unable to do this, and reach a point where you have been delinquent for 180 days, by law, your credit card issuer will charge off your account.  A charged off credit card account will ruin your credit score and will remain on your credit report for up to seven years.  Once this has occurred, there is no more damage that can be done to your credit from this particular credit card account.

No.  The component of the Credit CARD Act that affects consumers who are under 21 years of age will not be retroactive once it goes into effect, meaning that if you already have a credit card and are under 21, nothing will change for you.  Additionally, this component does not prohibit people who under 21 years of age from obtaining a credit card.  Instead, the new law will require proof of sufficient income or a cosigner for credit card applicants who are under 21.  Another option for consumers in this age group is to apply for a secured credit card. 

No.  Your mom will be violating the terms and conditions of her credit card account by allowing you to use her card.  Even though people do this all the time, these are dangerous waters to cross.  If you present your mom’s card to a merchant and you get asked for identification, you will not be able to provide it.  This will prevent you from making your purchase, and may cause your mom’s credit card account to be flagged for fraudulent activity.  If you absolutely need access to a credit card, have your mom add you as an authorized user on her account.  This will get you a card with your name on it but linked to your mom’s account.

No. Prepaid cards work like debit cards, and are not reported to the three major credit bureaus. Instead, some prepaid credit cards that claim to help you build your credit, report to a bureau called PRBC (Payment Reporting Builds Credit), which calculates an alternative credit score used by some lenders for customers who don’t have enough of a credit history to calculate a regular credit score. However, most major lenders don’t use this score.

If you are looking for a card option that will help you improve your credit rating, apply for a secured credit card. Secured cards offer a 100 percent guarantee that you will be approved as long as you place at least a $200 security deposit, and work just like regular credit cards. They are also reported to the three major credit bureaus.

Yes you can.  You should be able to use your debit or credit card internationally with any merchant that accepts the network of the card you have.  It’s a must for you to call your credit card issuer, and let them know when and where you are travelling.  If you don’t, all of the purchases you try to make while your abroad will likely be declined. 

Beware that most credit cards and some debit cards charge transaction fees for purchases made outside of the United States.  There are only a few credit cards that don’t charge foreign transaction fees, most of them are issued by Capital One.  If you don’t have a Capital One card and want to avoid fees or ensure that you get the most accurate exchange rate, use cash or travelers checks when travelling outside of the country.

Credit card accounts do not allow co-applicants, so if the account is in your husband’s name, you are not responsible for the debt in any way.  However, if you have authorized him as a user on an account that is in your name, you are 100 percent responsible for the debt he incurs on this account.   If this is the case, call your credit card company and have your husband’s name taken off of the list of authorized users.  Also, ask that your husband cut up the credit card he has.

No.  You will need to have her name removed from the list of authorized users on your account, and the card that is in her name (if there is one) cancelled.  Your ex-girl friend can apply for a new credit card under her name and personal information.  There is no way to transfer ownership on credit cards because the rates and terms associated with the account are based on your credit history and yours alone.

No.  Banks are not allowed to lower your credit limit without informing you.  However, there is no time frame during which they are required to inform you.  In fact, in many cases the customer is not notified until the change has already taken place.  This prevents cardholders from running up their pre-existing lines of credit before the lower limit becomes effective.  What you can do is contact your credit card company to find out what their particular policies are, as far as notification is concerned.  You may also want to ask why your credit limit was lowered, although in this economy this is happening to consumers across the board.

No.  If you buy something with a credit card and return it, the refund is returned directly to the credit card account.  It’s also important to keep in mind that in most cases the refund is not immediate and that it may take several days for your available credit to reflect the level it was at before you bought the item that you are returning.  If cash returns were available for credit card purchases, fraud would be come more prevalent: i.e. people buying items on credit with the sole purpose of returning them for cash.

The rule of thumb is that you need pay your bill on time and in full for two moths in a row before you will see a statement with zero finance charges. For example let’s say you had a balance of $400 dollars on a bill due May 24th and you paid $50 of that balance.  Even though you paid your bill in full in June, you are still assessed a finance charge between May 24th and the day you sent your June payment.  However, you won’t see this finance charge until the next statement, in this case the statement that prints on June 24th and is due in July.  If you pay your balance on time, and in full again this month, you will not see any finance charges on your August bill.