Does your business pay too much for its credit card? Too many businesses just settle for a basic credit card from their local bank. Those businesses end up paying too much interest or high annual fees. For the money you already give the bank, doesn’t your business deserve better?
A smart business compares available credit card offers to find the card that best suits them. Just because you have a bank account just down the street, it doesn’t mean
you’re stuck choosing from their credit cards. Check what the other banks have to offer.
First you should decide what is important to your business. Do you just want the lowest interest or do you want the best rewards? Analyze your credit card use to see what
saves you the most money. Look at factors such as:
- monthly credit card spending totals
- average running balance
- payment habits
- where you spend the most
Those factors and more will determine which credit card type is right for your business:
Low Interest Business Credit Cards
If you keep a running balance on your credit card, a low interest rate should be top priority. Make sure that the card doesn’t have a high annual fee that offsets the
low interest rate. Also remember to check both the intro apr and the standard rate.
Cash Back Business Credit Cards
Get cash back on all your credit card purchases with a card offering this feature. Get a percentage discount everywhere you use these cards. Does your current business
credit card give you 5 - 10% back on all your business expenses?
Airline Miles Business Credit Cards
If you need to travel you should consider a credit card that offers travel rewards. You can earn free flights or other rewards. These cards offer rewards for either
a certain airline or for most major airlines.
Balance Transfer Business Credit Cards
Do you owe money on your business credit card? You can transfer that balance to another credit card that offers a special balance transfer interest rate. For their
introductory period you can get interest as low as 0%. After that period you could even transfer the balance to your old card.
A lot of the best business credit cards will offer a few of those features. Consider your priority of these features when comparing card offers. You don’t necessarily
need a card that has all of those features. Your business may only need a card that concentrates on one reward. Compare the best offers and then apply online for fastest
approval. If you are paying too much for your current credit card, you want to start saving today.
Rosanna Yee writes for www.SmallBusinessCreditCards.net. Compare credit cards from top issuers such as American Express, MasterCard, Visa, Advanta, Chase Manhattan and CitiBusiness. Apply for a Business Credit Card Online
No matter what many credit counseling scam artists may try to tell you, no one can legally remove any information that is up-to-date and accurate from your credit report. They can’t do it, and you can’t do it yourself. However, you CAN request an investigation of anything you find in your credit file that you believe to be either incomplete or inaccurate. That is perfectly legal, and can be done at NO cost to you. In fact, anything that a credit repair company offers to do for you can be done yourself, generally free or for a nominal fee.
In fact, there’s a law that guarantees it. It’s called the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Under provisions of the FCRA, you are entitled to receive a free credit report if a company denies your application for credit, employment, or insurance. You must ask for the report within sixty days of the refusal, and the company must tell you which credit reporting company they used, and provide you with their address and phone number. (The three nationwide companies most often used are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.)
The FCRA has made it mandatory for consumer credit reporting companies to correct information that’s incorrect or inaccurate. To correct inaccuracies, you must first contact the reporting company, in writing, telling them which information is incorrect or incomplete. In your correspondence, include copies of documents that will verify your claim. (Don’t send originals!) Clearly detail why each piece of disputed information is incorrect, and then ask that the inaccurate information be either corrected or removed from your file completely. It’s generally worthwhile to include a copy of the credit report itself, with each disputed item circled.
Once you’ve put your package together, send it to the company in question by certified mail, indicating “return receipt requested.” That will allow you to be certain that the company received your package. Also keep copies of everything for yourself, of course!
The FCRA makes it mandatory that the reporting company investigate each item you have disputed, often within thirty days, unless they consider your dispute to be unworthy of researching further. By law, they must also forward everything you have provided them on to whatever company or organization initially provided the disputed information in the first place. That provider must then review and investigate the situation and report back to the reporting company. If the provider has mistakenly provided inaccurate information, they must correct it with all three major reporting companies.
Once the investigation has been completed, the FCRA mandates that the reporting company must provide you with the results, in writing, and a free copy of the report if the investigation resulted in a change in your credit report information. You may also request that a copy of the amended credit report be sent to anyone who may have received the disputed report during the previous six months. If the report was given to potential employers, you have a right to request that a corrected report be sent to any employer who may have received the inaccurate report during the past two years.
Copyright © Jeanette J. Fisher
Jeanette Fisher teaches how to get out from under credit card debt, how to use credit to make money, and six ways to build strong credit to finance your first home and multiple investment properties. For free credit advice and free ebook “Credit Tips for Mortgage Financing,” see worryfreecredit.com