Checks in the mail: Why do credit card companies send you blank checks?

By Jennifer Rose Hale

Every now and again you go to the mailbox only to discover that, indeed, "the check is in the mail": blank checks, ready for your signature. If you're like many consumers, you get two types. The first, for your bank's checking account, often features kittens, patriotic images or American landmarks.

The second? Those are a mysterious "gift" from a credit card company. You may receive them from a company you already do business with, or they may arrive, unsolicited, from a new bank.

Just what are those checks, and what can you do with them?

Credit card checks: better interest rates or fast cash

Checks from credit card companies can have two primary purposes:

By Richard Barrington

In George Orwell's "1984," the totalitarian regime often confused the populace by using contradictory phrases such as "war is peace" and "freedom is slavery." The common credit card term "minimum payment" might contain a similar sort of contradiction, because by making minimum payments, you'll find yourself shelling out the maximum amount of money.

The reason is that the longer it takes you to pay down a credit card balance, the more interest you will pay on that balance. Thus, making the minimum payment each month will mean racking up more in the way of interest charges. Just how much more may surprise you.

The true cost of minimum payments

Suppose you shell out $1,500 for a home theater system. It's a big investment, so you put it on your credit card so you can pay it off over time.

For this example, let's assume your credit card charges a minimum payment equal to the larger of 3 percent of your outstanding balance, or $10. These are fairly typical minimum payment terms.

Under those terms, if you make just the minimum payment every month (and assuming you add nothing else to your balance) it will take you over ten years to pay off that $1,500 purchase. Meanwhile, interest charges, at a fairly typical 15 percent rate, would have totaled $810.41. Thus, you would have increased the total cost of that

By Joe Taylor Jr.

In college, grades are given out based on how you rank against your peers, and credit scores work the same way. So how do you stack up in terms of credit history?

Researchers working for major credit bureaus and scoring agencies, including Experian and Fair Isaac Corporation, regularly review data from their company's comprehensive collection of personal credit reports. Their statistics can shed light on whether your own credit history stacks up with that of the typical American consumer.

Ask yourself these questions to find out:

Do you use more than two credit cards? If so, you're packing more in your purse or your wallet than the typical American consumer, according to Experian. For the first time in years,

By Jim Sloan

In recent months Americans in general have been making a determined effort to pay down their credit card debts. Maybe you've been part of this, changing your spending habits, and using your paycheck to pay down your credit card debt along with your student loans. That effort will only be helped by new legislation passed last year to combat some of ham-fisted habits of credit card companies.

How do these new regulations affect you?

New financial regulations to limit customer exposure to fees and rate hikes

New restrictions on credit card companies--and credit card users, for that matter--come from a combination of the 2009 Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act and new Federal Reserve regulations mandated by the law. The Fed's rules, according to the law, must make sure that late charges and penalties--a major source of taxpayer headache and credit card company income in recent years--are "reasonable and proportional." The rules apply to many types of credit cards, from high interest credit cards to zero balance transfer cards to even the best cash back credit cards.

Just how effective the new law and regulations will be remains to be seen. But as a consumer, it's important for you to keep in mind what your rights are.

Credit cards and credit scores

Some of the new regulations are related to not only to credit cards but also to your

By Jim Sloan

For those just out of college or starting fresh, a break in the form of traveling to another state or country is usually near the top of wish lists. Finding ways to fund traveling however, can be a significant barrier to actually realizing this. If you're good with credit cards, though, a new promotion from Capitol One may be able to help you with your travel ticket.

Traveling in reach?

Capital One has rolled out a new Venture Rewards credit card promotion with a "Match My Miles" promotion that will match the number of miles you have accumulated on another airline credit card up to 100,000 miles.

You earn the additional 100,000 miles--the equivalent of $1,000--if you put at least $1,000 on the card in the first three months.

The offer is good for new Venture and Venture for Business primary account holders. Current Capital One cardholders who want to upgrade to the Venture Rewards card or swap their existing Capital One card will get the mile match if they get approved, said Sukhi Sahni, a senior communications manager with Capital One.

The company will continue the offer this until they've given away a billion miles or until May 13, 2011, whichever comes first--it's a first-come, first-served proposition.

Miles on top of miles: How does it work?

If you have airline miles on one of 13 airline credit cards currently on the market, Capital One will match

By Ryan Hurlbert

When I was starting out, a wallet full of credit cards was a sign of success--if you had five or six cards, you were obviously doing well. Like so many others, I got myself into a bit of a payment crunch; each minimum payment by itself was small, but when I lumped them all together each month, well, it was more than I had! I consolidated as many together as I could, took a second job, and paid, and paid, and paid.

Eventually, I paid everything off and now carry one general credit card and one gas card, although I have another account at a men's clothing store I use occasionally. In today's society, you can't buy anything on-line without one, can't rent a car without one, and try and find an airline that will let you write a check for a ticket!

It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of getting a credit card, and not read the terms. Luckily for you, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 makes understanding your credit card easier than ever. Now, credit card companies have to post their disclosures on-line, and they have to be written in "plain English".

Now that understanding credit cards is made easier for you, here are five terms that you should be sure to understand when evaluating credit card offers:

• Grace period. You have to have at least 21 days from the