It is important that you are well informed regarding your credit cards and the policies of the issuing bank or company.  Consider these tips when using your card:

Be certain that you have kept track of all the changes in rates and rules.  The best way to do this is to read all of the fine print on every notice received from the issuing bank.

Make every possible effort to pay your balance monthly.  Even taking out a personal loan is better than running a credit card balance.  This, of course, is only successful if you cut up your cards after refinancing.

Consider applying for a credit card with a credit union as they are less likely to charge as many fees as your local bank.

Conversion fees for foreign currency are extremely high when you are traveling abroad.  Use an ATM to access your bank account instead and save the cost of these fees.

If you are currently using credit cards and plan to continue to do so, here are some practices which should cause you concern:

You do not receive any notice when your rates are raised.  There are various reasons why your credit card rates can be increased and you need to investigate why the changes took place and whether or not they were justified by today’s rules.  Congress is currently introducing several different bills to put more controls on banks and their ability to change rates.  To date, though, nothing has been signed into law.

You suddenly become aware of the fact that your due date has changed.  We all form habits of paying certain bills at specific times of the month.  Do not allow yourself to assume this will keep you safely paying your credit card bill on time.  Many banks have narrowed their payment window from 31 days to 20 days so be sure to check on this each month.

Banks and card companies often charge sizeable fees for a variety of services such as cash advances, balance transfers and making payments by phone.  The highest penalty of all, however, is generally triggered when you go over your credit limit.  Be cautious and do not let this happen to you.

75% of credit card contracts have clauses that state you are willing to take all disputes to arbitration.  This negates your right to go to court and most of these arbitration cases are won by the credit card company.  As a matter of fact, a California study showed that consumers lost these arbitration decisions to credit card companies 96% to 99% of the time.