It is common knowledge that credit cards make it quite easy to make purchases and pay bills, especially when you don’t have sufficient balance in your bank account. Also, you must have learned from your parents that credit cards help to increase your credit score. Maybe, you also know that credit cards make it easy to get approvals for loans and mortgages. But have you ever wondered about the possibility that your parents may not have told you everything about credit cards? Don’t worry. This is the perfect guide for you. Here are some of the important credit card lessons that your parents probably forgot to teach you.
- It is called credit card for a reason
The most important thing to understand is that credit is simply a loan that a bank gives you for a specific period of time. You cannot call that money your own. You are obliged to repay it, with interest, before the due date. - Making timely payments is crucial
This is a hard-hitting truth, but the bank is not your personal property. Therefore, it will not wait for you to make the payment. The more you delay, the more you will be asked to pay in terms of late fees.
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- You can request an interest reduction
Not many know this, but you can request banks to cut you some slack on the rate of interest levied on your credit card bills. All you need is to do is send a request through an application for interest rate reduction. This way you will save a lot of money on interest. - Avoid lending your card to your friends: Although it may seem harmless to help out a friend by lending your credit card to them, you ought to be careful with matters related to your personal finance. You may trust your friends and their financial habits, but it is always advisable to keep your credit card for your own personal use only. You know you can pay back, but you cannot guarantee the same for your friends.
- Don’t be lazy with reward points: Reward points may just be figures appearing in your statement for you, but they are actually quite crucial. They can help to pay off a lot of bills that you may be struggling with. Or you use them for your holidays or to make purchases. Use them wisely instead of simply ignoring them.
- Have the payment ready before you even swipe your card: This does not actually mean that you have to keep cash ready before swiping your card while making any purchases. It simply means you should ensure that you have a source of income with which you can pay off the credit card dues.
- All frauds are caught someday: There have been several instances when customers have applied for multiple credit cards and have used one card to repay the dues of another card instead of paying back out of their own pocket. This will be caught some day, so refrain from engaging in such activities.
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