What are the major credit card companies? VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.

How will I qualify for a credit card? You must be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien and have a regular income. The creditor will look at your income and Credit Report and give you a Credit Score to determine if you are a good risk for a loan. The results of both of these will determine the type of card, interest rate and credit line you are offered.

Contact the three major Credit Reporting Agencies. Contact each of them because more than one may have a file on you. Link to Equifax, Experian, or Trans Union for details.

Credit cards give you a cash advance limit to obtain cash but this comes with a fee.The checks that come attached to your monthly statement or credit card offers are also cash advances. The fee can be a per-transaction fee of a percentage of the cash advance. The cash advance fee is costly because there is no grace period and the interest as soon as the money is withdrawn. The fee is usually 2-5% of the money advanced.

Credit card used by people trying to rebuild their poor credit or beginners trying to establish their credit. The cardholder's savings deposit or other asset account guarantees payment of the outstanding balance if he defaults on payments. Credit line will represent 50-100% of the security deposit.

The interest-free period of time a lender gives between the transaction date and billing date, if there is no balance carried over from the previous billing cycle. Generally, the grace period is between 20-30 days. If your card includes a grace period, the issuer must mail your bill at least 14 days before the due date so you have enough time to pay. People who carry a balance on their cards do not receive a grace period and finance charges begin the date a purchase is made with a credit card.

Annual Percentage Rate. A yearly fixed or variable rate that measures the cost of credit. Reflects the total yearly cost of the interest on a loan, expressed as a percentage rate. The credit card company must inform you about the APR before you become obligated on the account and on your account statements. Often the introductory APR is the first thing you see on the credit card offer, either on the envelope or the very top of the first page. Read the back of the offer to be aware that the introductory APR can change. Some credit card companies offer a variable APR that is linked to an index performance. The rate change affects the finance charge on your account. A low fixed rate is usually better that a low variable rate. A fixed rate card must give you 15 days notice of a rate change. A variable rate moves regularly without notification of the rate change.

You can save as much as a thousand dollars or more in lower credit card interest each year by paying off you entire bill each month. If you can't pay off a large balance at once, pay as much as you can and switch to an account with a low APR. Eliminate multiple fees by getting rid of all but 1 or 2 cards and avoid late payment and over-the-credit limit fees.

An authorized user is someone who is added to another person's credit card account and authorized by the principal cardholder to use that account. The authorized user receives a credit card with his name on it and is able to use the credit card as if it were his own. Payment history for that credit card is now reported to both the principal cardholder's credit report as well as the authorized user's credit report, regardless of whether the history is good or bad. That means the authorized user's credit can benefit from the relationship, but it can also suffer if debt accumulates and payments are late or not made at all. Reporting of payments only flows one way, however, and the authorized user's finances outside of the credit card they have in common will not affect the principal cardholder's credit. Liability for all charges to the card, however, lies solely on the shoulders of the principal cardholder. Although damage can be done to the authorized user's credit rating, only the principal cardholder is legally obligated to paying the outstanding debt. Authorized users are most commonly children or a spouse of the principal cardholder.

An APR is the annual percentage rate (the interest rate) you'll pay on the balance you carry on a credit card. There are many different types of APRs, the most common being introductory APRs, fixed APRs, and variable APRs. To learn more about introductory APRs, click here: What is an introductory rate APR? To learn more about fixed and variable APRS, click here: What is the difference between fixed and variable APRs?