Shopping and credit cards

These tips will prevent a convenience from turning into a curse

By Julie Sherrier

 Shopping and credit cards: a quintessential combination that can lead to big trouble. To help you maximize your shopping and charging experience -- and avoid some common dangers -- CreditCards.com has assembled stories to help you become a savvier purchaser.

• The pros and cons of retail credit cards
• Protecting your online security and privacy
• Shopping and buying from foreign retailers

Learn the pros and cons of retail credit cards

4 reasons you should get a department store credit card -- Often (and justly) maligned, retail store cards sometimes can help you build or rebuild your credit score ... (more)

Be cautious about opening store credit card accounts -- That initial 10 percent savings may not be enough to make having a retail store's credit card a winner ... (more)

Retail rewards cards: Stores give points and more -- Department store credit cards used to offer one-time discounts. Now they offer a variety of ongoing rewards in an effort to build loyalty ... (more)

Store credit cards still offered, but approval become stricter -- While you can save money off your purchase by applying for a store card, your chances of getting approved are getting slimmer (more)

Protect your online security, privacy

Online shopping options offer credit card safety -- Learn the credit card fraud dangers of online shopping and how to avoid them ... (more)

Free trial offers can bring unwanted credit card offers -- Ever fall for the "order now and receive a free trial offer" on the latest energy booster or anti-aging cream? Avoid getting scammed ... (more)

Despite lingering online fears, virtual credit cards stall -- Although not widely adopted, virtual credit cards are still available for those who want extra assurance of safety when shopping online ... (more)

Your credit card is a tattletale: With electronic payments, little is private -- Card issuers can monitor where you shop, how much you spend and how often ... (more)

Interactive: Shop your way to a better credit score -- Your score could go up or down depending on what you buy. Buying felt pads to go under table legs: good. Marriage counseling: bad ... (more)

Tips for buying from foreign retailers

10 tips for taking a credit card on a foreign vacation -- Bringing your credit card on vacation is a smart decision, as long as you take precautions ... (more)

Credit card foreign transaction fees going up -- Traveling abroad? Find out how much your credit and debit cards will ultimately cost you in foreign exchange fees ... (more)

Even card purchases at home trigger 'foreign' fee -- In recent years, the credit card industry has redefined "foreign" to include some transactions you make at home ... more'

Top credit card issuers' foreign transaction fees -- We have compiled the foreign transaction fees charged by top American credit card issuers ... (more) 

See related: Join the 700-plus credit score club, Credit cards and your taxes, How to react to a rate-jack attack, Glossary of common credit card terms

Published: June 24, 2009

	Three most recent Shopping stories: Poll: Americans grumpy after parking their plastic over the holidays – The holiday shopping season was a grumpy affair for many Americans who were struggling to downsize their credit card debt ... Lee Eisenberg, author of 'Shoptimism' on why we shop – Cheer up, says Lee Eisenberg, author of 'Shoptimism,' a new book on why we shop. Americans are going to shop our way back to prosperity just as we have for centuries ... CreditCards.com survey: Retail credit cards boost rates, cut rewards – Even more hard-hit than regular credit cards, retail cards are reducing reward programs and raising rates to compensate for their higher charge-off rates ...

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