Thursday, May 7, 2009

Most creditors offer credit card services that they don't advertise. The ones they do advertise, such as interest rates and free gifts, are the ones that will entice you to sign up. Usually, though, that's half the battle -- once they have you, they don't have to worry so much about keeping you since most people can't be bothered to switch credit cards with any frequency.

But almost every card offers several services you could be taking advantage of, even if they haven't gone out of their way to draw your attention to them. Make sure you know about these three commonly neglected credit card services.

1. Raising limits

Virtually every credit card will happily raise your credit limit once or even twice a year (assuming you haven't had trouble making payments on time). Why would you want to do this? Because part of your credit score comes from your ratio of available credit to debt -- in other words, how much debt you could carry versus how much you are carrying. Raising your credit limit is a fast, easy way to improve your credit score.

2. Dealing with identity theft or fraud

Often, credit cards have special provisions for dealing with credit card theft. As always, the most important means of addressing this concern is prevention. For that reason, most credit card services will refuse your credit card if it's being used to make unusual charges -- for instance, if you're suddenly trying to buy $4000 worth of Viagra online when you never have before.

In practical terms, that means that if you're traveling out of the country you should always let your credit card company know. Otherwise, they may reject your payments as suspicious when they suddenly originate in Japan.

3. Negotiating repayment

Since credit cards are in the business of collecting debts, they don't want you to default on your loan. Virtually all cards are more than happy to negotiate a temporary cessation of repayment, a lower interest rate, lower monthly payments, or sometimes even a reduced principle if it means the difference between collecting some of their money and seeing you default on your loan.

Remember, most credit cards offer these services, so don't ignore them. You should always use all credit card services at your disposal.

For more tips on credit cards, saving money and avoiding getting taken, check out CreditCardWhizKid.com, a website that specializes in providing credit card tips, advice and resources.