Now, you are comfortable with having enough knowledge on the advantages and disadvantages of credit cards. You may now decided to have some personal rules to use your credit cards wisely to prevent it from turning as a worst enemy or finance destroyer. To have more advanced knowledge in each points to take care as a card holder, you can now read 21 best practices given below. These highly effective best practices would certainly save you from errors and protect you from various problems.
Go carefully through each points below and practice it to enjoy your credit card facility as a wise spender or intelligent shopper.
1. If you lot your card, report it immediately to the credit card company and block the card as early as possible
2. Never loan your card to others
3. Check the authenticity of sites and companies where you are going to give your credit card information. Only give your card information to trusted sites and companies
4. Keep track of all your purchases using credit card, separately
5. Check your statements carefully at the end of each months against the record made on purchases, to confirm everything is correct.
5. Pay off all the balances as soon as the bill received, at the end of each months
6. Always prefer to subscribe a no-fee credit card to prevent lose of money in each year as credit card fee.
7. Never use credit cards if you are not sure you are able to pay in full as soon as the bill is reached.
8. Know that the interest rates for taking cash advance start accumulating immediately and not in the base of monthly due date.
9. Minimum monthly payment is a trap. It is only helpful to increase your help and pay more interest. If you are not able to pay the bills in full at the end of each month, it is best to not use the card.
10. Always remember credit cards are for emergency purposes. It is best to use debit cards instead of credit card to get aware of your money spending and control on your own money.
11. Credit card users should practice patience and control temptations. Both would helpful only to put you in debt trap.
12. Be aware of mails and other hoaxes asking your credit card information. Upon receiving such, do not respond to such, but delete it immediately.
13. Ensure you have signed the back side of the card upon receiving the card first time. If not do so, someone else can sign on it and can use the card as their own and you may need to pay for that.
14. Never respond to any unsolicited application forms reached to you from credit card companies or anyone else. Destroy such forms immediately.
15. Before signing up any application to subscribe a credit card, read carefully especially the terms and conditions. It is a best practice to take a print or copy of the available information in the card for later use.
16. Never write your PIN or such important information on the card or anywhere in the wallet where people can have access in case any of these stolen.
17. Any caller asking credit card information over the phone, never give that. Check the authenticity first before making any move.
18. Store your statement separately for future possible references. If you not need them, shred it immediately than throwing somewhere.
19. Change of addresses must be informed to the company immediately. However, if possible use the feature of having statements in e-mail than physical format.
20. Never carry with a credit card library. You may required only and the only one properly selected card to meet all your requirements.
21. If you have found any discrepancies with the statements like over charges, extra charges, notice the same to your card company within a prescribed time to do so.
Sherin Dev+ is a professional blogger and management post graduate who owns and manages this blog Investinternals.com