Loans » Emergency Funds

Low Interest Credit Card Checks

admin — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 23:01:45 +0000

Are you struggling to pay your bills, and need a short term loan, but don’t want to pay the extremely high rates traditionally associated with pay day loans and credit card advances? If so, there is the potential for good news, depending on your credit card company.

Recently, credit card companies have been trying to get people to borrow money using their credit cards, rather than using lower interest rate options such as lines of credit, and have been running a variety of promotions to help advance their goal. The most common form of promotion to entice clients to use this type of financing is the Credit Card Check. A credit card check is a regular check, just like you would write from your checking account, but instead of coming out of your checking account, the funds are removed from your credit card in the form of a cash advance. The benefit for consumers doesn’t come from the fact that they’re offering this service, but rather from the rate that is being offered when using it.

Many banks are offering rates as low as 1.99% for the first 6 months to users who opt to use their credit card checks, with rates returning to the regular cash advance rate after the 6 month promotion period.

The question is, should you choose this method of financing over a line of credit?
The answer is Yes, but only if you have the financial discipline to pay back the loan before the 6 month promotional period is up.

Banks are banking on the fact that the majority of customers who use these checks will be unable to pay back the cash advance once the 6 month period is up, and will be able to begin collecting their regular 20+% per annum rate. However, clever consumers use this as an opportunity to borrow money at a rate below prime.

Before taking advantage of this opportunity, there are a few things to consider
- Will I be able to pay off the cash advance balance within the next 6 months
- Are there any hidden service fees (Some banks tack on a percentage or two as a service charge)
- Do I need the money? Theres no point in paying interest on it now if you don’t need it.
- When does the offer expire? If the offer is valid for a few months, hold off using the checks until the cash is needed.

Anyway, for those who are looking to get a low interest loan with no hassle, this is a great idea.

Obama ‘prays for envoy Holbrooke’

admin — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 06:31:38 +0000

US President Barack Obama says he is praying for the recovery of envoy Richard Holbrooke after he underwent heart surgery.

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Bill Clinton respalda el plan de impuestos de Obama

admin — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:35:12 +0000

El ex presidente estadounidense Bill Clinton ha respaldado el acuerdo alcanzado por Barack Obama con el partido Republicano para extender los recortes fiscales de la era Bush y ha ofrecido al actual presidente su asesoramiento en el asunto durante una reunión mantenida entre ambos el viernes en la Casa Blanca. Clinton, que también sufrió derrotas importantes frente a los republicanos en las elecciones al Congreso dos años después de alcanzar la Presidencia, ha señalado que el pacto de Obama era “el mejor acuerdo que podía ser alcanzado” y ha reclamado a los miembros del Partido Demócrata que …

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admin — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 04:32:55 +0000

No comment? No way. You don’t stop Bill Clinton when he’s back at the White House with something to say.

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admin — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 15:33:28 +0000

The temperature in Washington dipped into the 20s last week, and here in the capital, that seems to be the point when hell freezes over: President Obama reached an agreement on the Bush tax cuts with the Republican Senate leader who said “the single most important thing we want to achieve is for …

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admin — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 02:34:02 +0000

White House victories are rare these days, but President Obama can claim solid progress in his lonely battle to quit smoking.

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Change of leader drew Brown to back US

admin — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:34:48 +0000

THE Greens leader Bob Brown was quick to kiss and make up with the US after the election of President Barack Obama, according to a confidential diplomatic cable.

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Dueling sides meet with Salazar on Oregon logging

admin — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:35:29 +0000

The Obama administration is working on a pair of pilot logging projects in southwestern Oregon that are designed to find a new way out of decades of conflict between timber jobs and spotted owls and salmon.

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Bulgarian Interior Minister ‘Basks’ in US Full Support

admin — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:36:44 +0000

Bulgaria’s Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, held a series of high-power meetings in the US, where he received Washington’s full support, the Interior Ministry press center informs. Tsvetanov, who is on an official trip met with Eric Holder, Attorney General of the United States, with Robert Mueller Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and with Howard Schmidt, White House Cyber Security Chief and Special Advisor to President, Barack Obama. Holder gave high marks to the partnership between the law enforcement institutions of the two countries, pointing out problems with corruption and organized crime are common for Bulgaria and the US and form the basis of an even larger future collaboration. …

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Tax deal should help economy, analysts say

admin — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 22:37:41 +0000

The tax deal struck by President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans essentially gives Americans a pay raise – pumping money into the economy almost immediately and probably creating hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next two years, economists say.

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