Beverly Harzog, a financial analyst, says that it is a wise move to sign up for gas rewards credit cards since you can not only save money on fuel costs, but also benefit from the sign up bonuses that are being offered by many lenders to consumers who choose this card. Customers can reduce their fuel costs by up to 5 percent by choosing the right credit card under this category. Here are a few cards that are worth signing up for.

The Chase Freedom Visa credit card will prove to be a blessing to those who drive regularly. Customers who fuel for up to $1500 in the first and the third quarter each year can enjoy up to 5 percent cash back. The cash back drops to one percent for the purchases made in the second and fourth quarters. Customers who spend up to $500 within the first 90 days of getting the credit card are entitled for a $200 bonus as well. This card does not carry any annual charges.

The American Express Blue Cash Everyday credit card is another card that can help you curb gasoline prices. Customers who have this card in their wallet can enjoy up to 2 percent cash back on all purchases at gas stations and 1 percent cash back on all other purchases except grocery which entails them to 3 percent cash back. Customers are also entitled to a bonus of $100 if they spend up to $1000 on the credit card within the first 90 days. This card also does not attract any annual fees.

Patented back in 1973, RFID microchips began becoming viable both technologically and commercially in the early 2000’s when they started being used for all sorts of different purposes – to ID chip pets, to provide quicker travel at toll booths with EZPass and to ID employees entering and leaving an office building, just to name a few. Since the beginning, people have voiced concerns about the security of this technology and what it means as a tracking device.

However, now that concactless payments seem to be the inevitable way of the future, the security of credit cards containing RFID microchips has once again become a top concern for many.

At Shmoocon, an annual hacker convention that took place this year from January 27^th through the 29^th in Washington, D.C., a security researcher employed by Recursion Ventures named Kristin Paget demonstrated in front of a large crowd of onlookers just how easy it is for hackers and ID thieves to steal people’s personal data from RFID-enabled credit cards.

With about $350 worth of equipment easily obtainable over the Internet, she wirelessly read the credit card information of a card proffered by a volunteer and then turned right around to quickly encode the stolen data onto a blank card, making a fraudulent credit card.

In real life, anyone carrying a Vivotech RFID credit card reader (which Paget purchased off eBay for the purposes of the demonstration for a mere $50) in a purse or a coat pocket could simply bump up against another individual and steal their credit card information. The data is easily transmitted through denim, leather and other common clothing and wallet materials. In fact, the only things that would thwart a similar attempt are water or metal.

There are a few RFID-blocking wallets and shields available on the market today, and the web is rife with instructions on how consumers can create their own protective wallet out of duct tape and aluminum foil.

However, Randy Vanderhoof, the executive director of the Smart Card Alliance, claims that, as of yet, there has been not a single report of the fraud ever having occurred in the real-world.

“We’ve got six years of history, a hundred million users of these cards, and we haven’t seen any documented cases of this kind of fraudulent transaction,” said Vanderhoof, as reported by Forbes.

Before applying for any offers that pop into your inbox, make sure it is not a business card. Though banks are willing to issue these cards even to people who do not run any business, you are in danger if you end up applying for it. Since it is not bound by the CARD act, the lenders have an upper hand. The interest rates on the card can be increased without prior notice just as it was on the personal cards a couple of years ago. The same holds true even in the case of annual fees and other charges on the card.

Many other terms and conditions on the card can also be changed at the bank’s discretion, putting the customer’s credit history in jeopardy. One of the surveys conducted by Pew Charitable Trusts has revealed that over 84% of the business credit cards use the payments made to clear off balances with lower APR first, thereby increasing the debt of the customers on balances that carry higher interest rates.

According to a recent survey by J.D. Power and Associates, credit card satisfaction rose 15 points, from 714 in 2010 to 731 in 2011.  J.D. Power and Associates has been conducting the survey since 2007 – consumer satisfaction is monitored on a 1,000 point scale.

The act is a double-edged sword; since its passing it has become more difficult for lenders to charge interchange fees and raise interest rates at any time. The act also made it necessary for credit card issuers to simplify their disclosure methods and simplify their contract language. The Credit Card Act was widely protested by the credit card industry as it cut into the pockets of many of the large banks like Wells-Fargo, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan and Chase. According to card consultant R.K. Hammer, U.S. card issuers lost close to $11 billion in annual revenues after the passing of 2009’s Credit Card Act. In order to counter act this, banks have began charging fees on debit cards, ATM withdrawals, and implementing minimum balances.

In 2009, when the act was passed, customer satisfaction levels were at 705. At this time, many consumers had given up hope and had stopped paying their credit card bills due to rising interest rates and the magnitude of America’s financial crisis. A lot of consumers also closed their bank accounts and cut back the amount of purchases they made on credit.

The good news is that the act is working. “The transparency created by the legislation helped,” Michael Beird, director of banking services at J.D. Power and Associates, a division of McGraw-Hill Cos. said. “We see it in fees and rates … and the [new] layout and design of people’s statements were generally well-received,” he adds.

Consumers are genuinely satisfied, and now know more about their accounts, banks, and possible fees. As a result of this, consumers feel better about their relationships with credit card issuers, according to Beird. “The issuers have to do more to educate their customers now. … This is the second year in a row they’ve improved customer satisfaction,” he said.

That’s great news for the consumer, and, maybe more importantly, their money.

Finance analysts expected consumer delinquencies to drop due to better consumer money management and better spending habits, but an improvement of this magnitude is far better than analysts’ predictions.

“Not only do we have consumers that are using their debt more responsible and taking out less debt, they’ve also cut back on the number of the cards they carry,” said Chet Wiermanski, global chief scientist for TransUnion’s financial services business said.

Ironically, TransUnion’s report found that more consumers were choosing to use their credit cards. But in spite of increased credit cards usage, delinquency payments still decreased. According to the report, the average combined total debt for all major credit cards increased approximately $20 from the first three months of the year to $4,699 per consumer.

Surprisingly, that number is about five percent lower than it was in the second quarter of 2010, which clocked in at a debt level of $4,951, and 16 percent lower than the average debt in the first quarter of 2009, where the debt reached $5,575.

Several other factors have contributed to the declining delinquency rate. Banks have become stricter when approving credit card applications. Consumers with low credit scores are getting denied more so now than ever.

Banks have also reduced credit limits on existing cards, which makes it harder for consumers to run up large balances which they can not afford to pay off. Also the increased use of debit cards shows that consumers are more concerned with spending the money they do have, rather than borrowing.

Based on the data, analysts predict that consumers will continue to monitor their money and the delinquency rate will continue to decline for the remainder of the year. “It’s hard to forecast where this is going when you’ve reached a historical low,” Wiermanski said. “Because you’re in uncharted waters.”

T-shirts, Frisbees, and other freebies were distributed freely in order to get students to sign up for the cards. Very often, students used their parents’ income to obtain the cards. When the cards were handed out to students, they actually had credit limits that would match up to the income and credit scores of their parents. However, the students were actually liable for the credit card debts.

The premium credit cards were handed out to students like as if they were grown-up adults with years of credit history and a stable income as well. Hence, the credit card Act had to be brought in to curb this menace and put an end to this practice. Since the credit cards were distributed freely, students were getting into huge debts and were unable to come out of it.

After the card Act came into existence, students could no longer show their parents’ income as proof and instead of the family income, they had to show their individual income in order to obtain the card. Following the Card Act, parents had to co-sign for the loan that students availed. The Card Act also brought in a lot of reforms in the way these cards were marketed on campuses.

Customers are being flooded with solicitation mails with every passing day by almost all leading credit card lenders, thereby making it tough for them to make their choice. However, choosing just based on the rewards without reading through the fine print can actually be very disastrous. Most of the cards that offer rewards have various hidden factors that make up for the cost of the rewards.

The interest rates on rewards credit cards are much higher than the ones that do not offer rewards. The chief executive of a leading financial website, Bill Hardekoph, says that if you are not among those individuals who repay their balances in full each month, the money you are saving by redeeming the rewards is actually flowing towards the high interest rate on the card. The only way in which credit cards can work in favor of the customers is when they repay their outstanding dues on time each month in full.

Allison Berlin, a New York financial advisor, in one of her latest interviews said that people seeking a job need to spend at least $500 on choosing the right outfit for interviews. While men need a good classic wool suit, women must have a good pair of shoes and an elegant sheath dress for this purpose.  The cost of the attire you wear for the interview does not matter as much as the fit does. Virginia Tech Career Services Center’s experts feel that by spending $50 for alterations to ensure a perfect fit, candidates can look good even in the simplest suit. Banks are now coming up with credit cards for this segment of customers who need to spend a significant amount of money just to find a job.

Of the cards that serves this purpose American Express’ Blue Cash Everyday Card that offers special discounts for shopping at various stores, thereby saving a significant amount of money. There’s a two percent cashback on all purchases made at these stores in addition to interest free offer for the first year. The card does not have any annual fees at all.

The Chase Freedom Visa credit card is another good one for job seekers. The card has attractive cash back rewards and also offers $200 to consumers who use it regularly for six months.

The gas station credit cards are the most useful cards if you plan to take a road trip. These cards offer either cash back or points for every purchase made at gas stations which can be redeemed for free fuel at a later date. Ensure you check the expiry date for the points and the number of points you have before you set out on the trip, especially if you are on a shoestring budget.

If you prefer flying to far off places than driving down to the ones closer home, then you can benefit from credit cards that offer air miles for every purchase made using the card. Credit cards that offer frequent flier miles are available in abundance today. However, it is imperative to choose the right ones since some of them can be very expensive, despite the perks offered. The air miles cards that are offered by banks are much more useful than the cards that are offered by private airlines since the choice in the case of latter is pretty limited.

The rate of delinquencies and defaults fell to a low that was last seen three years ago. One of the studies conducted by Fitch Ratings clearly indicates that customers are trying hard to manage their finances better. This in turn has led to increased profits for banks as compared to the time during recession when most of the credit card accounts had to be written off. For the fourth month this year and third consecutive, the charge offs dropped significantly and stood at 7.29 percent.

The accounts that were delinquent for the last two months dropped to just 2.57 percent and the one month delinquent accounts fell to 3.33 percent which is the lowest noticed since 2007. The rate of highly delinquent accounts is 36 percent lesser than what it was during the same period last year.

The gradually improving economic situation has helped many customers take charge of their finances better and pay off their debts on time and stay current to build a good credit history.