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February 17, 2010

Pre-Approved Credit Cards

Filed under: Finance — Tags: , — admin @ 1:26 am
Blake C. Hendrickson asked:




Nearly every time you go to your mail box, there it is another letter saying you are pre-approved. Should you take it? Are you really pre-approved? Or is it just nothing more than the standard junk mail? Well, it could be any of the above. Before most companies send you a pre-approved letter through the postal service, they have a pretty good idea of your credit history.

Generally, you have filled out some form in the past, was denied perhaps, or even approved, and the company has knowledge of this. Thus, the offer for pre-approved credit cards start arriving. Even if you have less than perfect credit, you could still qualify for these pre-approved credit cards. The pre-approved credit cards offer you get will depend on your credit. These offers may be secured or unsecured.

If you have bad credit, it is likely your pre-approved credit cards will be secured. This will mean you have to pay a deposit in order to have any sort of credit line. Furthermore, your credit line will never be more than your deposit amount. The amounts you can deposit will be stated on your pre-approved credit cards offer, typically between $250 and $1,500. These pre-approved credit cards will have high rates of interest and little to no benefits to speak of.

If you have good to perfect credit, your pre-approved credit card offers will be unsecured, which means no deposit is typically required and you could benefit from a wide variety of benefits, great interest rats, and rewards.

Either way you go, rather you have good or bad credit; you can still obtain offers for pre-approved credit cards from lenders. For those with bad credit, you have the opportunity to work on rebuilding your credit and improving your credit rating with the secured pre-approved credit cards.

Make sure before you accept any pre-approved offers, you check out the company, its reputation, and make sure it a valid offer, from a valid company. Never offer up your personal information without first checking out the credentials of the company, otherwise you could walk right into a fraudulent offer.

February 9, 2010

Look For Pre-Approved Student Loans to Complete Your Financial Package

Filed under: Finance — Tags: , — admin @ 3:10 pm
Gerd Cornelius Pacher asked:




Once the acceptance letter from a post-secondary school arrives, the real work of determining how to meet the financial obligations to the school and the financial needs of the student begins. Many students look to student aid for that help. Before looking at private lending institutions, each student should complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

Despite generous federal grants and loans combined with scholarships and work-study, many students still need additional help to meet their college expenses. Federal and institutional student aid programs often provide for tuition, books, and fees but only provide a percentage of room and board and other living expenses.

Even students that are well served by their financial aid package can incur unexpected emergencies, such as unexpected travel expenses, field trip opportunities, or day-to day expenses.

Both groups can benefit by a pre-approved student loan. The beauty of the pre-approved student loan is that you may never have to use it. Yet, if you do, it is instantly available.
Pre-approved loans allow the borrower to tailor the amount borrowed to their immediate need. In addition pre-approved student loans usually allow you to fix an interest rate, which can be handy in today’s volatile credit market.

Sources for pre-approved student loans are as close as your bank or credit union. Most banks that offer private student loans also offer pre-approval. In addition, a number of reputable lenders offering pre-approval can be found on the Internet.

In this year’s worldwide credit crunch, it makes sense to get a pre-approval now, for a need that may occur later. The number of private institutions that are offering student loans of any kind is diminishing due to new federal laws tightening the restrictions o student loans.

January 6, 2010

Pre-approved Unsecured Credit Cards

Filed under: Finance — Tags: , — admin @ 7:54 pm
Blake C. Hendrickson asked:




If you’re like everyone else, you’ve received a letter in the mail saying you’re ‘pre-approved for a credit card’ from the specified company. If you choose to open the sent envelope, the numbers of how much money you’ll be granted are large, but the rules and what you’re actually getting are small enough to miss. What does this mean to you?

An unsecured card is essentially for someone with good credit, who the credit card company trusts enough to pay off their debt on a monthly basis. Unsecured credit cards are held by a majority of people, and tend to be the most desired option. It allows for the user to make purchases and pay it back in monthly increments set by the credit card company.

Secured credit cards, on the other hand, are for those with unsteady, erratic and unsatisfactory credit, who have a history of late or not forthcoming payments. With a secured card, the credit card company requires the amount desired to be deposited before the card is issued. Upon receiving the deposit, your credit line is established for that amount. The deposit acts as a safety net, and if payments are not made, the company will take payment from your original deposit.

Unsecured cards do not require a deposit, and the consumer is allowed more freedom with spending and repayment. If the payments are on time, the limit allowed will be increased if desired. If, however, payments are not paid on time, credit card companies will continue to add additional late charges, as well as a certain amount of interest that also must be repaid. The interest varies, but can be as low as single digits and as high as 20% on your outstanding debt.

Pre-approved is another term used to lure in new credit card customers. Credit cards must always be applied for, and involved with this is a listing of the applicant’s occupation, income, other debt and similar factors. Once the application is submitted, the credit card supplier will examine the numbers and decide if you will be able and likely to repay your credit card purchases.

Pre-approved means the credit card company has obtained your credit score from a credit bureau such as Equifax and Transunion and already is aware of your good credit. You do still have to go through an application process, and the credit line advertised is not necessarily what you will get, but there is a better chance of being approved in this method than simply applying blindly for a credit card, in general.

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