Some Advice Regarding Credit Cards.

I will be providing some information, some based upon experience, other gained through news articles and so on regarding an individuals protection while using these things.
Anyone else having any practical, helpful and constructive information, go ahead and provide this.

*** if you have been paying on time and have no other problems with you performance using any of your credit cards and suddenly you are advised that your interest rate is going to be increased, get on the phone and talk with them and ask them why this is the case. In the conversation, remind them that you are performing in a responsible manner using your credit.
As well, during such an occasion, you can ask for a lower interest rate, reminding them of your good performance.
If they [the Bank, which is usually the credit holder] refuses, if you so choose, you can at that time request that your account be place in abeyance [no further charging activity on your part] and that your are demanding that your account interest rate remain at the present interest rate and not the increased amount. Therefore, as long as you pay the account on time and pay the minimum amount, they are required by law to not exercise the increased interest rate on your account, all the way to when the account is finally paid in full.
This is Federal Law.
Always watch your mail very carefully and diligently for notifications of the intent of a bank to increase your interest rate. quite often, these notices arrive separately from your account statement and the stated intent to increase your interest rate is concealed in the fine print. As well, any find print material is a warning that there are other adverse measures that these banks intend to exercise against the consumer.

*** you shouldn't be paying any annual fees on any of your charge card accounts. If you are, transfer that account to another bank and cancel the account with the bank that is charging the fee.

*** always check your account for any additional charges and verify that they are charges you have made. Also, make sure that you pay the minimum amount stated for the account and that you pay it on time.
IF through the mail, allow FIVE WORKING DAYS which does not include the weekend. It is better, once you get the statement to pay it immediately, even if ten or so days earlier. Then, it is taken care of and out of the way.
If you pay late or fail to pay the minimum amount due, this results in at least a $35.00 qdditional charge to your account as well as a notation to your credit report. Then, this amount is added to your account balance and interest charged on it.

*** diligently retain ALL receipts of major purchase charges to your account/s. Have a designated place where you along with your spouse or other family member or caregiver will know where these are located. All paper work pertaining to your account/s as well. That is payments, method paid and any receipts or online banking confirmation numbers for payments.
Check you receipts against your account statement every month, when you receive a new statement. Verify the charges are correct and that no other charges have been made, obviously by others. Also, check, when you have returned merchandise for a credit that you do receive this credit. Sometimes, the credit will not show on the most recent account statement received, but perhaps on a following statement, the next month. In any event, it should show up on your statement no further in the future but two statements. Otherwise, the store has failed to indicate your merchandise return and therefore you wont get a credit to your account until they do. You will have to personally follow up on this.
Make sure that you get credit for each payment you have made.

*** I heard the other day that there are individual's personal information materials, including name, SSN, address, birthday and some credit card numbers for sale by internet hackers for $10.00/per individual. Therefore, it behooves everyone to be diligent regarding activity on your charge accounts. If you see an amount indicated as a charge on your statement and you did not make this charge, get in touch with that bank immediately and put a hold on the account. Probably, eventually, you and or the bank will decided to close the account under this number and reopen under another number.

*** especially involving Visa Card accounts, if you make, especially a major purchase on an item, then get it home and go to use it or find some defect in the quality or workmanship, or other legitimate problems, or actually, in some cases change your mind, as it is not what you really wanted. Then you take it yto where you purchased it and they refuse to take back the merchandise and refund your money [credit your account] leave the merchandise there at the store at the customer service counter; getting the FULL NAME of the customer service representative. Immediately leave the store and immediately call the credit card holder/bank and tell them to not honor the charge as the merchandise is undesirable and you returned it to the store and they refused to give you a credit, even though your are dissatisfied with the merchandise.
Many stores and some paper work in the product will direct you not to return the item to the place of purchase, but to take the matter up with the manufacturer or dealer. This isn't a good idea, because anyone's desire to give you satisfaction into the future quickly diminishes with time. Likely then, as is desired by all of those parties, in such cases, you will just have to "eat" the undesirable product!

*** an ideal circumstance is to use your credit card account as a sheer personal convience in that whuile in the store/s on a particular shopping day, you find it quicker and more convenient to use your credit card, rather than pay cash or write a check. Then, wait until the very first occasion when you receive your account statement and pay your balance in full. If you want to really be on top of it, keep a reminder and receipts of what you purchased and total amounts/each credit card, pay these amounts when you get the statements, even though, sometimes, the statement shows you owe less. Meaning their system hasn't caught up with your charges.
In this manner, you can avoid paying any interest as you are using the account/s in a "revolving" fashion.
Some people say this isn't fair as you are using a public system and not paying for it. Well, rest assured, the banks make a lot of money from the merchants that allow a person to use credit cards. They charge these merchants at least four percent of the full amount of each charge transaction for allowing business to be conducted on a customer credit basis.

Welllll... there's been a rather long-running little scheme on the part of many businesses that sell merchandise and also issue their own store credit cards wherein their ploy to inflatye the user's credit card balance and therefore inflate their profits; they have these 6y months and 12 months promtions, sometimes even more. Wherein the scheme is: the customer 'buys' some high dollar appliance/s or some large batch of purchases, all at one time. Some have to be over $349.00, some over $499.00, and so on. Then, it is stated that the customer is required to pay nothing for the indicated period. Every month commencing afterward, on the first page of the statement, which most people see right away and don't bother to go to the second or succeeding pages [where all the 'damaging by-the ways are] it states you just have to pay zero. So people say: Rad!, Cool!, Sweet! and do just exactly that - pay nothing, at least for that time, during that period. But... the gig is, that all the while this merchant is amassing interest on the balance for the period of which not paying the balance [anything]. Thennnnn, they, for example, on the 7th month or 13 month, they bring forward the UNPAID PRINCIPLE BALANCE AND ACCURED INTEREST to date!. Then they commence to charge interest on these amounts. Yes, charging interest on interest is what takes place. Isn't that precious?
Welll, as of the 1st of 2012 they are sending out notices on such accounts now that advise the customer that a minimum payment must be made on the account every month.
Oh, and on the credit cards where the business doesn't issue the card, you will be getting invitations through the mail to buy crates of fruit, go on vacatin cruises, those stupid included coupons that tout all this superfluous merchandise. that one can only purchase using their credit card. There again, the ploy is to inflate the balance on the card.
By the way, it is always a good idea to check all those additional pages they include in the envelope.
There is sometimes a 'privacy statement' wherein they dictate conditions regarding release and use of your personal information and suggesting that you give your consent to allow them to do so. The catch here is that you give your consent by saying nothing, which they then take the liberty of proceeding in disseminating your personal material. The only way they do otherwise is by your responding and telling them what they can and cannot use.
Credit card companies make the bulk of their money from charging merchants anywhere from three to eight percent per customer purchase to the merchant where charges to their credit cards are made.
It is always wise to NOT pay just the minimum balance payment, but to pay two to three times more, or better, that amount.
DOn't ever feel guilty that your are 'cheating' these banks out of money by paying little or no interest. They are well paid by the merchants - typically more than they make off of most credit card customers.
Thje best practice is to find out your card closing date, which is written on your statement; it is usually a twenty day cycle [not a full month, of course!] Then pay the account on a revolving basis; pay it in full every month, including keeping notes through the ,month of amounts charged on specific cards, as you charge, then send this full amount in every month. This will forestall accumul;ating a balance, wherein you then are assessed interest. But... most of them are charging, at least fifty-cents interest to you account.
Therefore, if you allow the account to remain active and just toss the envelopes in your 'filing bin' as you get them, without opening them, in a year to 14 months, if you exercise this senseless habit long enough. One day you, out of curiosity, open the envelope and find you have now been charged large lay payment fees and amassed interst on same. As, since they are charging you fifty cents a month, it is expected to be paid by the month. If not, then the alternative outlined above...
Aren't the businesses just so honest, ethical and straightforward; such as they suggest the public be with them.
And your Mom always taught that it is good to be honest and not cheat other people... precious, isn't it?