Cash advances don’t come cheap. They’re often subject to a higher interest rate than purchases on your credit cards. With interest rates often nearing or exceeding 20%, you probably don’t hit an ATM all that frequently with your credit card.

The interest rate charged for the cash advance is pretty obviously a drawback. Did you know that you can find yourself stuck with more interest in another way too, just by taking out a cash advance? You can. read more..

Gift cards make quick, easy, casual gifts, and are sometimes the simplest selection for redeeming credit card rewards points online. But like everything else lately, some of them arrive with thorns hidden amongst the benefits, such as activation fees, too-close expiry dates, or bizarre rules the shops put forward seemingly just to confound customers. read more..

Do you apply for credit cards without worrying too much about the interest rates? If you always take advantage of interest free days you might — you would avoid interest payments altogether, regardless of the interest rate. But did you know that you might not always be eligible for interest free days?

Here are some situations where interest free days might not apply, or where you might receive fewer interest free days than expected: read more..

Of the major Australian banks, St. George has consistently earned the highest scores in customer satisfaction surveys. The most recent surveys, for the year just ended June 2009, have been no different, and St. George Bank even padded its lead.

For customer satisfaction, St. George scored 76.6%, a gain of 1.4% from previous years and more than four percentage points higher than the average of all the major banks. For consumer advocacy, their score jumped 3.9% and stayed 6.6% higher than the majors’ average. read more..

Your credit card interest rate can play a big role in determining your spending and repayment habits. With a low interest rate you might be willing to finance purchases and pay them off over time. Higher interest rates might drive you to want to pay off your balance in full every month to avoid paying interest completely. But what happens when you have a low interest rate and it suddenly increases? How should you deal with that? read more..