Best Credit Card for Someone Looking to Build Credit

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Bad credit? No credit history? Before I begin to sound like a used car commercial, let me say that a variety of credit cards exist designed to help people build (or re-build) their credit.

If you are a student, cards like the Discover Student Open Road Card can help you build your credit while giving cash back bonuses and many benefits. If you are a student, we highly recommend any number of student cards to begin building your credit and start getting a firm financial footing in life. Some even reward you for good grades and good credit habits.

But, for adults who are beyond their college years, the credit cards available to build your credit, unfortunately, don’t carry as many perks and benefits. B

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Third Phase of Credit CARD Act Finally Arrives

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Has it not felt like an eternity since President Obama first signed the Credit CARD Act into law? Here we are almost 15 months after the stroke of his pen, and we’re still waiting for the final round of new credit card rules to take effect.

Fortunately, we don’t have to wait much longer. Beginning August 22nd, here are five of the final key changes you should expect to see from your credit card companies:

1. No More Inactivity Fees

That’s right—your credit issuer can no longer charge you a fee for not using your card enough!

2. $25 Max on Fees

Unless one of your payments was late during the previous six months, your credit card company cannot charge you a fee in excess of $25. If you

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Yes, You Do Need a Credit Card – and You Need to Use It

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The current state of the economy has put Americans in a new frame of mind – one that says it isn’t fun anymore to be in debt. Some folks are even trying to go “all cash” to get away from the danger of checking overdrafts and/or identity theft.

But, you never know when you might actually need to use credit, whether you want to or not. There are times when the car engine blows up, or the furnace goes out in 10 degree weather – and you don’t have enough savings to cover repairs or replacement.

Owning and using a credit card will help keep you in a position to access credit quickly in that kind of emergency.

First, it will give you instant access to funds up to your credit limit. That might

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Credit cards and gambling: The Web as both the problem and the solution

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Should you be allowed to sit in your skivvies and gamble away your time via online poker? And go into credit card debt if you lose?

We have written extensively about the issue of online gambling, since the most popular way to pay for that habit has been credit cards.

A 2006 federal law, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, placed the onus on credit card issuers to make sure their cards weren’t being used for online gambling.

Now, in a twist, California Attorney General (and gubernatorial candidate) Jerry Brown has announced that his office will start using the Web to prevent problem gamblers from going into cardrooms.

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