Credit Cards Plus

Consumers keen to avoid the hustle and bustle of last-minute Christmas shopping on the high street but concerned that they have left it too late to use their credit cards and buy online have been offered reassurance by swiftcover.com.

According to the insurance provider, there is a way out of the conundrum as many online gifts do not require postal delivery.

These include iTunes vouchers, which can be bought online and then downloaded, printed or emailed, and eBooks, which can be downloaded from the likes of WHSmith to be read on phones or computers .

Other examples of ideal last-minute gifts are magazine subscriptions, Amazon vouchers, Spotify gift cards and charity gifts .

Swiftcover.com research shows that two in five people have shouted at someone or become verbally abusive while on a Christmas shopping expedition, highlighting the importance of a more stress-free approach to gift-buying.

Consumer Choices revealed recently that more people are planning to watch TV online this Christmas, putting them at risk of breaching download limits. Read article…

You’ll have to watch your credit card inserts closely at the beginning of 2010. Your credit card issuer will warn you about upcoming changes to your credit card terms as required by Federal law. You might even get a notice of an increased interest rate or switch to a variable interest rate.

Think carefully about opting-out of higher interest rates because your issuer could close your credit card if you reject the new credit card terms.

As you’re making plans for the new year, here are 10 credit moves you should make.

No one wants to be contacted by a debt collectors, especially not on your cell phone while you’re caught in evening traffic. But, debt collectors can legally contact you on your cell phone if your credit application lists your cell phone number as a contact number for you. Though cell phone contact is enforced by the Federal Communications Commission, rules of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission) still apply. For example, debt collectors can’t call before 8am or after 9pm your time.

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If you’ve ever purchased all three of your credit scores in the same day, you probably noticed that they’re all different. There could be as much as a 100 point difference between your highest and lowest credit score. It makes shopping for a new loan or credit card difficult because you don’t know which score your bank is going to use. Find out why you have different credits scores and which credit score you should trust: Why Your Credit Scores Are Different.

Customers looking for a credit card they can manage over the internet may be interested in a new product from Barclaycard .

Potential owners of a mybarclaycard account can watch a demonstration of the service on the firm’s website, which shows how they will be able to make balance transfers and manage their credit limit online.

Barclaycard said it aims to give credit card holders more control over their finances by allowing access to key services 24 hours a day and the website was designed with customer input taken into account.

Amer Sajed, chief executive of Barclaycard UK, said: “mybarclaycard is set to be the UK’s leading online account servicing website. Read article…