Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Credit Card Use and Reviews

Credit cards can be a gateway to debt but can also be a powerful personal finance tool. See articles that will teach you about credit cards,keep you up to date on credit card rules, show you the best credit cards, as well as show you reviews.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Makes Consumer Complaints Publicly Available

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Do you know about Yelp?  Maybe Tripadvisor?

If you’re looking for a new restaurant or you’re traveling and find yourself in an unknown place, Yelp and Tripadvisor take some of the guesswork out finding a quality restaurant by publishing customer reviews.  You can search for restaurants by the amount of positive reviews and companies can respond to the review in an attempt to rectify a negative customer experience.

Websites like these have caused some local businesses to clean up their act since they know that savvy consumers reference these sites en masse.  They know that bad reviews can affect their bottom line just as positive reviews can increase traffic.

Not all businesses have such a low tech yet effective system of oversight.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know how a certain bank in your community treats its customers?  When trying to choose from the sea of credit card offers, wouldn’t it be nice if you could see what other card holders around the country think of the card?

Credit Card Complaints Made Public

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Visa® Black Card™ Review – A Luxury Card That’s Expensive But Full of Benefits

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For years, American Express has had the luxury/executive card market to itself with its wildly successful Platinum Card®.  Visa® has entered the upscale luxury card market with its Black Card (the card is backed by Barclays Bank Delaware).

The Visa Black Card is working to differentiate itself from other credit cards with its appearance and exclusivity.

The Visa Black Card is made with carbon (no, you shouldn’t concern yourself with how a card looks but it is kind of neat that’s it’s carbon – maybe it could come in handy in a MacGuyver situation?).  Also, membership is limited in order to ensure top-quality service for members.  That’s a big distinction from most of the plastic credit cards on the market today.

Let’s take a look at the features and benefits that the Visa Black Card offers, shall we?

Visa Black Card Benefits

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Four Places Not to Use Your Credit Card

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Americans are in love with credit cards.

Many of us have replaced the cash in our wallets with our cards, charging everything from a cup of coffee to large purchases like automobiles.

Although credit cards are convenient, they aren’t right for all purchases even if you can get rewards points or cash back.

In what cases are credit cards a bad idea?  Here are some places NOT to use your credit card: [Read more…] about Four Places Not to Use Your Credit Card

Stay on Top of Credit Card Payments – How to Make Sure You Pay Your Credit Card on Time

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If you’ve ever owned a credit card, and most people have at one point or another in their lives, they can be both a blessing and a curse.

If you are like me, you can probably recall that awful sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you receive your statement in the mail.  You frantically try to remember all of the purchases you made in the last month, and at the same time you scramble to remember if you made a payment and how much you put down towards the outstanding balance.

Oops, you didn’t.

Or how about that time you did some cleaning and found the credit card bill you swore you paid, but clearly you didn’t because, well, it’s sitting right there in you hand?

I’ve been there!

Missing payments on your credit card is a quick way to rack up late fee charges, hike up your interest rate, and possibly send your credit score into the dump.

I’m not even talking about whether you can afford what’s on your card or not.  That’s a whole other issue.  I’m talking about missing the due date on your credit card payments.
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What Are Virtual Credit Card Numbers and How Can They Protect You?

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There’s no shortage of hackers in today’s cyberworld and this has many people concerned about security when shopping online. Are you looking for an option that may help alleviate the fear of giving out credit card numbers?

Then having a virtual credit card number may just be what you’re looking for.

What is a Virtual Credit Card Number?

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