Careful What You Charge On Your Credit Cards

Nowadays, credit card companies are busy upping interest rates, raising and introducing fees and cutting down available credit. If any of these has not happened to you yet, then you ought to know that they are looking intently for any reason to apply these to you so you had better be careful on your credit card purchases.

Credit card companies are always fully aware of what you are charging to your credit card. You might feel like that is stepping into the boundaries of privacy invasion but that is the hard truth. So, whenever you use your credit cards, be very careful of what you are charging to them.

In the book “Credit Card Nation”, the author, Robert Manning, suggests that you should never put on your credit card certain purchases such as cash advances, lottery tickets, liquor purchases, adult entertainment purchases and payment for traffic tickets. These items can be interpreted by your credit company as a sign of instability which could lead them to adjust your interest rate and available credit to reflect their beliefs.

Using your credit card for frequent cash advances is a bad move because your credit company may see this as a sign that you are having financial problems. Aside from that, you will be getting hit with large fees as well. Your credit company might see lowering your available credit as a necessary move. For them, your risk as a borrower has increased and they will be apt to protect themselves from that risk. Purchasing lottery tickets with your credit cards will also have a similar effect.

Repeated liquor purchases are seen by credit companies as a sign of a credit card holder making irresponsible choices or a credit card holder who is not able to deal with their problems in a constructive manner. Purchasing adult entertainment with your credit cards might also indicate to your credit company that you are having troubles at home which is usually caused by financial problems, another red flag that credit card companies keep an eye on.

One other thing that may ring alarm bells in credit card companies is when you’ve habitually shopped from high end stars and have recently moved to buying from mid level to low end stores. This is an obvious indicator of financial problems for credit card companies and will most probably lead you to losing available credit and getting your interest rates increased.

With the current standing of the economy, even a slight increase in your interest rate or a small drop from your available credit could mean financial disaster. So be very careful of what you are charging on your credit cards.