Category: Credit Card

There is no doubt about how important to people the credit card has become over recent years. Saving can be difficult to do but we are all happy to have debts and the credit card does enable us to have things when we want them and quite often when we need them.

When you think about it, there aren’t that many credit cards that are household names but the Chase credit card is one of them. As with other well know credit cards like Visa and MasterCard, it can be used wherever you are in the world making it a truly global credit card. But it doesn’t stop there as the company responsible for the Chase credit card also has other service cards to help with travel, vehicles, gas and a special one for students. So the Chase credit card has many uses and is a reliable companion for you everywhere you go. For many people that work long hours, the internet is often the only way they can do any personal shopping. Aside from making it easy for the customer to maintain their account online, Chase credit card lets you check your balance and pay your bills through a secure web site.

For some people, the ease with which they can go online to manage their account is the only excuse they need to own a Chase credit card. No membership fees, low APR’s and special deals make for an attractive credit card package.

Reward programs to thank the Chase user are quite normal with all the various Chase credit cards. I suppose it is up to you which type of card you decide upon as they are designed to suit different types of people. Once you have accumulated enough points you can cash them in as it were, for anything that is shown in the catalogue. There is bound to be a reward just for you including trips if that is what you like. Chase credit cards know that if they look after their customers they won’t lose them; a philosophy that many companies could learn from. Ok so the gifts are great but how many companies will give you excellent customer support twenty four hours a day? This service comes into its own if there is a case of a lost or believed stolen credit card, when you need a replacement, fast!

If you are thinking about transferring your balance then this is the way to do it with a guaranteed six month zero percent interest rate which also incorporates current purchase balances as well. If you pay your bill in its entirety each month then you will not have to pay any interim interest. Apart from the catalogue gifts, Chase will also give cash rewards to holders that purchase goods with the card. Many people are put off of transferring balance because there is usually a fee but Chase has waived this charge and it can even be done securely on their web site.

Even hotel reservations and plane tickets are now reserved on-line where a card is necessary in order to make the reservations successful. However, having bad score or lack of credit may give you a hard time obtaining a card. The good news is there are cards that are designed especially for people who are in tight situations such as those described previously. Card issuers have designed this card to have higher rates and some are with additional fees but they are meant to give an opportunity for people to build or improve their score.

One option when applying for a card is to take secured cards. These types of cards are not particular to history. The reason for this is that you are required a security deposit of an amount usually between $100 and $500 before you are allowed to make any purchase with your new line. This security deposit determines your limit. The best thing about this is that if you encounter problems with regards to paying your bill, the deposit will cover your obligation so that your debt is secured.

Having a secured card does not appear like a real line of credit but it does help you establish or rebuild your history because all your activities concerning credit will be reported to the three major bureaus. Some other advantages of having secured cards include: 1. up to 4.5% of the interest may be paid on the deposit; 2. merchants give high regard for cards that have MasterCard or Visa logo on them; 3. some issuers give you double the amount deposited as your limit; and 4. if youve proven your ability to handle your monthly bill, your limit may be increased minus the additional charges.

Your second option is to apply for unsecured cards. This type of card does not require a security deposit and the limit and interest rate are dependent on your history. If you have poor or no history then you will most likely not land an unsecured card. There are cards that are instantly approved through on-line application where no security deposit is required. However, higher interest rates and some additional fees will be asked from you.

Now, if you have bad credit or none at all what you can do is to try the unsecured card first. If your application gets approved, not only will you have avoided shelling out for security deposit but you will also have a “true” line of credit. If you are denied an unsecured card, most issuers will give you the option to apply for a secured line. It is best if you try for an unsecured line before agreeing to take a secured line. That is, you take the latter if there is no other option left to take.

In days far past, when a photographer wanted to move a tripod mounted camera from landscape to portrait orientation, he or she would flip the camera to one side or another using capabilities present in most tripod heads. But flipping a camera using a tripod-mounted head can sometimes take precious time. It also means that the camera is no longer perfectly balanced on the top of the tripod causing the head to take more of the camera weight than is necessary. Also, depending on the size of the camera and the tripod being used, some photographers may find it difficult to achieve perfect 90-degree positioning. Finally, the photographer will likely need to recompose the scene after flipping the camera. Although you may think this particular problem is a trivial matter, reorienting a camera makes a big difference when taking photographs in the field under rapidly changing lighting conditions; every second counts.

With an L-bracket, photographers can change a camera’s orientation by removing camera from the tripod and remounting it on its opposite axis; no adjustments are required on the tripod head itself. This is accomplished using an L shaped Arca-Swiss style quick release plate, commonly referred to as an L-bracket.

There are many different brands of L-brackets available on the market today including products by Manfrotto and several generic import brands. However, most professional photographers agree that two of the best L-brackets are manufactured by Really Right Stuff (RRS) and Kirk Enterprises. With my recent purchase of a second Nikon D2x camera body, I felt it was a good time to compare the L-brackets provided by these two major superpowers of mounting technology.

For my last two camera bodies, the Nikon D70 and Nikon D2x, I had selected L-brackets from Kirk Enterprises. However, the Internet grapevine reported that Really Right Stuff (RRS) also manufactured excellent L-brackets. So, when I purchased a second Nikon D2x, I thought I would check the veracity of that claim. Taking this “chance” was also influenced by the fact that I had also recently purchased the Really Right Stuff B91-B flash arm. I found this product to be of very high quality and therefore assumed that I would not be disappointed with a RRS L-bracket.

This article is intended to provide you with my observations, as they relate to the Really Right Stuff BD2-L plate and the Kirk Enterprises BL-D2H L-bracket (hereafter referred to as L-brackets). These L-brackets are designed for the Nikon D2x. Both manufacturers also provide similar L-brackets designed for other camera bodies.

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Port Accessibility

The Nikon D2x has data ports located on the left vertical edge of the camera. Both L-brackets provide an opening which allows access to these ports. However, the opening in vertical mount area on the RRS L-bracket is more shallow than the opening on the Kirk L-bracket. Since some photographers find it difficult to open those rubber doors when an L-bracket is utilized, I believe that many photographers would find it easer to open those doors when using the RRS L-bracket.

Really Right Stuff wins this category.

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Mounting Options

The RRS L-bracket features lens axis marks engraved on the horizontal and vertical mounting areas, while the Kirk L-bracket does not have similar markings. Although some photographers might find this small detail trivial, I really like this feature. I find it particularly helpful when using other RRS components. My other RRS components also feature these axis marks. These marks can allow me to quickly and accurately align the RRS L-bracket to RRS tripod heads or flash arm mounts.

Both plates offer a 1/4″ hole on the L-bracket’s horizontal mounting area. For the RRS L-bracket, this hole is positioned directly over the lens axis. On the Kirk L-bracket, this hole is offset and not directly under the lens axis. This deficiency in the Kirk product could prove problematic if you sometimes mount your camera on plates that do not feature an Arca-Swiss mount. This potential problem is most relevant for panoramic photographers where having an accurate axis point is particularly critical.

Really Right Stuff wins this category.

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Mounting Area

The horizontal Arca-Swiss mount area is approximately 55mm on the Kirk L-bracket while the RRS L-bracket boasts about 70mm of horizontal area. The vertical Arca-Swiss mount area is approximately 65mm on the Kirk L-bracket while the RRS L-bracket boasts about 70mm of horizontal area. Although I’m not certain that the extra surface area provided by the RRS L-bracket will prove more useful, I personally like the idea of a longer surface contact area for my 3 inch quick release plates.

Really Right Stuff has the slight edge in this category.

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Online Shopping

I purchase almost everything online. And although I do sometimes frequent my local store for last-minute purchases, I prefer to order online if I have the time to plan my purchases. For both the Kirk and RRS sites, the ordering process isn’t very pleasant. Kirk’s site features more intuitive, utilitarian navigation while the RRS site provides visitors with a more aesthetically pleasing presentation. But in both cases, neither site evokes a strong sense of trust. And both are sadly lacking in that they do not accept American Express, my business credit card of choice. I believe that companies should not insert barriers to purchase; and the lack of support for any major credit card is a problem in my book.

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Other General Observations

The RRS L-bracket is balanced so that the majority of the weight is centered on the horizontal plate. The Kirk L-bracket’s balance point is somewhere on the curve between the horizontal and vertical plate areas. In other words, when the RRS L-bracket is not mounted, its stands on its own while the Kirk plate falls onto its curved edge. Additionally, the RRS plate horizontal surface area is solid where it mounts to the camera. The Kirk plate is bored out and provides visibility to some areas of the camera bottom.

When measured on non-digital kitchen scale, both L-brackets appear to have the same weight. When working with a professional camera body like the Nikon D2x, I haven’t found the weight or additional bulk of either L-bracket noticeable.

The build quality on the L-brackets from both manufacturers is excellent. However, I feel that the RRS L-bracket seems to be more visually elegant than the Kirk L-bracket. Please note that this assessment is purely subjective and should not be weighted very heavily. I do maintain that I find both equally comfortable when shooting my camera off-tripod.

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Conclusions

Although the differences between the Really Right Stuff BD2-L plate and the Kirk Enterprises BL-D2H L-bracket are minor, I’d have to give the slight edge to the Really Right Stuff BD2-L plate. If you’re already the happy owner of a Kirk Enterprises BL-D2H L-bracket, don’t despair. You have a great product. I plan to continue using my Kirk L-bracket on my backup D2x and mount the RRS L-bracket on my primary D2x. But if you don’t yet own an L-bracket, I’d have to point you to the folks at Really Right Stuff for an overall superior product.

As of this writing, the Really Right Stuff BD2-L plate is $183.00 with $9.15 for UPS ground shipping and the Kirk Enterprises BL-D2H L-bracket is priced at $179.95 with $7.60 for UPS ground shipping. These are steep prices for such a simple accessory, but for my style of photography, I can’t imagine taking tripod-mounted photographs using any other similarly performing product.

Sometimes a debt piles up so high because of interest rates that a person’s monthly income becomes virtually nil and he finds that just this month’s salary isn’t enough to cover the

bases on his expenses. The most immediate course of action that a person can do is to opt for credit card debt help, in this case, credit card debt relief programs or to avail of credit

card debt counseling. The question, though, is why exactly should one opt for debt counseling?

This is just one step in the effort to reduce debt…and, possibly, virtual credit card debt elimination. This method seeks the help of a professional debt counselor, or a financial shrink, if

you will. What they will do is to negotiate with the credit card company with the aim to possibly alleviate you of your plight, in other words, reduce your credit card debt drastically to

levels payable with your money at the time. There are some who might tell you to avail of a debt consolidation program after they’ve assessed that it would somehow ease your

financial burdens and at the same time, facilitate credit card debt elimination.

Typically, you’d start off with basic money management…manage your finances properly, kind of like functioning as a kind of credit repair services thing…then they’ll help you out to

map a solid budget plan. The general idea is to not only help a person rise out of their current indebted situation but also to improve the way he or she manages his or her finances to

guarantee a person’s permanent rise out of his debt situation.

A person’s choices for debt relief are quite numerous. Which is why it’s very hard to decide whether debt counseling is the best solution or not. Each credit company has his or her own

counselors that are the best in what they do, and is responsible for handling the budgeting, consumer credit and debt management aspects. Which is also why it is important to have a

reliable debt counselor to handle your financial organization.

Deciding can be quite hard, so you should ask your local debt counseling agency these questions so that you can figure out if this debt repair service is for you:

– Will the service cost you much?

– What is the percentage of payments or are there any hidden fees?

– Will the services you offer meet my debt relief needs, and what are they?

After you’ve pinpointed a reliable debt counseling agency which would provide services that are suited to your needs and will still leave you with some money after you’ve paid for the

program, then it shouldn’t be that bad an option for debt relief.

A ddebt counselor’s advice can really make a difference. It could help pump some life into your financial management strategies while also helping you realize a greater insight into

how you can work at resolving your other debt problems. If you feel you are still undecided about choosing credit card debt counseling to provide the financial relief which you

Credit card companies offer varying benefits and promotions to entice their customers to use their credit cards not only in their everyday purchases but also for major buying decisions. One of the promotions that credit card companies have is the rewarding of points to their users for every purchase that they make.

Credit card holders are often enjoy reward points raining on them. Frequent festive seasons always induce the card holders to enjoy shopping with reward points. Todays customers are debt-shy and they spend like anything. They enjoy earning reward points while spending. Credit cards are heavily loaded with reward points give the opportunity to enjoy holidays at exotic locales, shop for jewellery, fashion accessories, apparel, electronic equipment, cosmetics, etc. Banks have a penchant for giving a reward with their left hand, and simultaneously charging for it with their right hand. Card holders must be aware of a host of complicated rules and regulations before letting themselves be swayed away by these so-called lucrative offers. To begin with, banks do not conform to a uniform set of reward point schedules. For instance, while in case of American Express Bank, card members receive one point for every Rs 40 charged on their credit card, ABN Amro Bank credits one point to the customer for every Rs 50 spent. Standard Chartered credits one point for every Rs 125, whereas Citibank rewards you one point for every Rs 100 spent. Private sector ICICI Bank awards you one reward point for every Rs 200 charged on their card. Also, ICICI Bank links the reward points to the slabs of amounts spent, i.e. upto Rs 75,000 or above Rs 4,00,000. The main hitch here is that redemption of reward points is only after accumulation of minimum required points of 500.

This apart, banks also follow a pattern wherein they credit varying amounts on every point earned, depending upon the card categories. Citibank rewards cardholders Re 1 for every point earned on the Citibank Platinum Card, while the Diners’ Club International and Citibank Gold cardholders receive only Rs 0.65 for every point gathered. The Citibank Silver cardholders on the other hand get Re 0.50 for every point they manage to accumulate. The difference in redemption structures also creep in, based on the outlets offering you redemption facilities.
Whereas to avail of vouchers, redeemable at Zodiac, Wrangler, Arrow or Titan, you should have accumulated a minimum of 500 points. Being a cardholder, it is mandatory to find out the cash transactions that curtail your eligibility to these programmes. Most banks restrict their customers from treating cash withdrawals, interest charges, card fees, demand drafts, service charge transactions, disputed transactions, purchase of foreign exchange, EMI transactions, travelers cheques and other insurance charges as opportunities to accumulate reward points. The rewards points can also be redeemed online by logging in to the concerned bank’s Web site and visit the “Reward Points” section on the credit card page. To web-enable the credit card, fill up the account linking form available on the site. Select the rewards catalogue for the card and accordingly, choose the products or vouchers for which an online order has to be placed. The product or the voucher is then delivered at doorstep.

Card-issuing banks offer cardholders the facility to seek an annual fee waiver, by adjusting the amount against the reward points. One also should check on the available timeframe within which cardholders need to redeem their points. Cardholders cannot exercise redemption rights on expired or delinquent cards. A frequent traveler credit card rewards system for example, a card user who purchases groceries, gas or technically his daily purchases, may have an equal travel reward points awarded to him for every dollar he spends on his regular purchases. On the other hand, should he ever buy plane tickets from an airline company co-sponsoring the credit card hes using, the reward points that he may earn may be higher as this is also one way to help promote the airline companys latest promotions or travel packages.