Best credit cards

The best credit cards are those that charge you nothing for using them! However much it might seem like wishful thinking, it is still in fact possible to find a whole range of credit card providers who are prepared to do just that – charge no interest on outstanding balances or on purchases you make with the card.

Surprising as it may seem in the current climate of recession and otherwise restricted credit facilities, competition between credit card providers remains so keen that many are prepared to lure new customers with offers of what is effectively free credit. Such free credit takes one of two forms and some providers will offer both in order to attract new customers. The most common is the offer of a zero rate of interest on outstanding balances transferred to the new card from another, existing credit card account. For an introductory period – which can be any period up to about a year, depending on the new credit card chosen – no interest is charged on the outstanding debt.

The availability of free credit in this way can provide an excellent opportunity for repaying existing credit card debts, without the debt increasing each month through the addition of further interest. All good things come to an end, however, and at the end of any such introductory period, the provider’s normal rates of interest will apply. With the best credit cards, of course, this rate will still compare favourable with the rates charged by other cards.

But it is not necessary to have accumulated a debit balance elsewhere in order to secure free credit on its transfers. Many card providers have an introductory offer that provides free credit for purchases made in the first six months or so of its issue. Once again, however, it would be important not to be lulled into a false sense of ever-lasting interest-free credit. The offer will come to an end at some stage and the card-holder will then be as concerned as ever about the interest rate that applies. Once again, the best credit cards will charge a competitive rate and not a rate designed to recoup the interest “lost” during the zero-interest offer period.

If you are one of the fortunate few who manage to repay the whole of your credit card balance each month and have no outstanding balance to transfer to a new card on a zero-percent interest offer, then interest rates will, of course, have less interest. In these circumstances, the best credit cards are likely to be those that are issued free of charge, have no monthly subscription, management or administration fee and, in the best of all worlds, nevertheless offer “rewards” or cash back on the use of the card.

With no interest to worry about, you might choose to take advantage of these reward or cash-back credit cards which allocate points according to purchases made and which can be redeemed for specific goods or services or even the equivalent cash back. The best credit cards, therefore, really are those that have the capacity of offering “something for nothing”, in terms of free credit, rewards or cash back. Beware, though, that all good things are likely to come to an end at some stage.

Redundancy insurance protects your outgoings

Losing your job and income after being made redundant would be hard, struggling to pay your outgoings would be even harder. You would need to find the money to pay your mortgage. If you had credit cards or loans then you would also need to maintain these and of course there are many other outgoings which have to be maintained also. You would be able to continue meeting your bills and continue paying out if you take redundancy insurance.

You have to look around online and compare the cost of redundancy insurance as some premiums are a lot higher than others. You also have to compare the quality of the policy as this can differ too along with when and for how long the policy would payout. You can find all the information in the key facts of the particular policy and this should be available on the provider’s website. You can also find a wide variety of information with the provider by way of FAQs and articles, and you should find as much as possible about the product you are considering buying before taking it out. Policies will come with exclusions and some will have more than others and you have to check them against your personal circumstances if you want the peace of mind and security that protection gives.

Providers usually offer payout on cover for between 12 and 24 months and you are asked to wait for between 30 and 90 days before putting in a claim after becoming unemployed. Upon commencement of the policy some providers will backdate their insurance to the first day of being unemployed. You can find out the exact terms in the small print or key facts of the cover before buying and this is something that should be compared along with the cost.

The cost of redundancy insurance will depend on your age at the time of applying for your policy and how much you wish to insure each month. All lenders will only allow you to cover up to a certain amount of your outgoings each month so when comparing the cost of the premiums also compare the terms of the cover.

Unemployment insurance to protect against redundancy can be taken out to safeguard your loan and credit card repayments if you choose to take out loan payment protection. This would give you an income that is tax-free to ensure that you are able to maintain your outgoings and so not get into debt. It will protect your credit rating and also ensure that you will not get a CCJ.

Mortgage payment protection taken as unemployment insurance would allow you to maintain your mortgage each month and so you are not at risk of losing your home. You would not have to worry about the lender threatening repossession.

If you safeguard your income on the whole with income payment protection insurance taken out as redundancy insurance, you would be able to continue meeting all your outgoings in general. This would include loan and mortgage repayments along with the smaller outgoings which means you wouldn’t have to change your lifestyle drastically.

Accident sickness redundancy insurance – don’t be a statistic!

Everyone knows that these are more difficult economic times. One of the starkest and most depressing indicators of this is the number of people seeking Declarations of Bankruptcy. According to government figures, that number rose by a frightening 12% in the first three months of 2008 alone, with analysts forecasting still further increases in the year ahead. Accident sickness redundancy insurance, however, could stop you from becoming one of those statistics.

When money is already tight, the loss of income through accident, sickness or redundancy can prove the final straw. Almost everyone has borrowed some money which needs to be repaid on a regular basis, the normal household bills continue to roll in, and savings have probably already been depleted to meet rising living costs. As a result, when incapacity or unemployment strikes, there’s almost nothing for it but the piling up of debt. If it proves impossible to manage them, then bankruptcy can loom as creditors try to call in their debts.

Accident sickness redundancy insurance is an affordable way of buying protection against this risk since it ensures an alternative regular monthly income if you are unable to work through no fault of your own. The premiums are determined by just how much monthly income you want covered.

Says Simon Burgess, of one of the country’s leading independent providers of accident sickness redundancy insurance, British Insurance: “Sadly, we’re seeing a steady rise in the number of people who are having to declare themselves bankrupt. If only more of them had taken the precaution of buying the right kind of cover before misfortune struck, it might have been possible to save significant numbers of them from such dire financial straits”.

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