3 Resources For Understanding And Managing Credit Cards
Credit cards can be an incredibly useful tool for improving your overall credit score and giving you access to the free travel available through rewards programs. However, if you're not careful, you can get into a lot of trouble, especially on the Internet, where identity theft is rampant. These three resources help consumers to better understand how credit cards work and how to get the most out of them. This video was made with Ezvid Wikimaker.
3 Helpful Tools For Dealing With Credit Cards
| Name | Function |
|---|---|
| Tally | App that helps users pay off credit card debt more quickly by offering a low-APR line of credit, late fee protection, and other services |
| Rewards Canada | Site geared toward Canadian consumers offering information on rewards programs and travel from points & miles |
| Abine | Privacy company helping users keep their information off the web by limiting the number of sites to which their credit card numbers and other personal details are exposed |
How Tally Works
Other Well-Known Privacy Tools
- The National Do-Not-Call Registry
- No-Track Search Engines
- Landline Call Blockers
- Nomorobo
- DuckDuckGo
- PrivacyStar
- VPN Services
- RoboKiller
- Laptop Privacy Screens
- Hidden Camera Detectors
- Spam Call Blockers
- RFID-Blocking Wallets
- Faraday Bags For Phones
- Keypad Door Locks
- Mobile Phone Robocall Protection Services
A Quick Overview of Blur
5 Groups Taking Action On Privacy And Online Security
| Organization | Headquarters | Description |
|---|---|---|
| New Media Rights | San Diego, CA | Program of the California Western School of Law that offers legal services to those who require specialized help in Internet and media law |
| Online Trust Alliance | Reston, VA | Initiative of the Internet Society that promotes best practices to build consumer confidence and protect user data |
| Electronic Privacy Information Center | Washington, D.C. | Public interest research center focused on civil liberties issues related to technology |
| Ponemon Institute | Traverse City, MI | Think tank that aims to advance privacy and data protection |
| Center for Internet Security | East Greenbush, NY | Offers security tools and an information sharing system to safeguard against cyber threats |
Strategies For Eliminating Debt
Ways To Protect Yourself And Your Kids Online
- Use a different password for every website
- Download a password manager
- Pick complex passwords that are hard to crack
- Install antivirus software
- Use security software like ESET
- Avoid giving out credit card or social security info over email
- Employ a hardware firewall
- Install a browser extension that can stop ads from tracking you
- Don't download email attachments from unknown senders
- Use a web proxy server or a VPN
- Delete your search history
- Invest in a fingerprint reader
- Don't put personal details (like when you're going to be away from home) on social media sites
- Get pornography blocking software
- Use a search engine that doesn't track your activity
- Run a search to see what information is online about you already
In Depth
With so many competing offers touting all kinds of different benefits, it can be difficult to figure out which credit cards to choose. And even once you've got a card, managing your credit and protecting your data can be minefields. This list, presented in no particular order, looks at three online resources that can help with all these decisions.
At #1, it's Tally, the world's first automated debt manager, making it easy to save money, manage your debts, and pay down balances faster. It's a consolidation app that makes it more straightforward to stay on top of one's credit cards. Users scan their cards, and the service gives them a line of credit and helps to manage payments.
Another feature, Tally Advisor, is a robo-consultant for credit card debt. It monitors a user's balances, interest rates, and payment due dates, then provides them with a monthly personalized plan to pay off cards quickly and steadily. The app also offers late fee protections, monitoring minimum payments and due dates and covering them with a low-interest line of credit when need be.
The app also offers late fee protections, monitoring minimum payments and due dates and covering them with a low-interest line of credit when need be.
#2 on the list is Rewards Canada. The site was founded in 2001, responding to the lack of a specific Canadian site providing information on travel reward programs. It teaches Canadians how to maximize their miles and points, how to find the best travel reward currencies, and how to develop card portfolios that will most effectively serve their interests.
In addition to suggesting which travel rewards credit card might best fit a user's situation, the site's articles, guides, reviews, and podcast examine different ways to maximize value in all aspects of travel. RC's team of experts offer guidance on the top business class lounges, hotel promotions, and loyalty programs, for example.
Wrapping things up at #3, Abine is a Boston-based privacy company. Led by consumer protection and identity theft experts, it is passionate about creating easy-to-use privacy solutions for everyday people. One of their headline products, Delete Me, helps users remove personal information from online data broker websites.
One of their headline products, Delete Me, helps users remove personal information from online data broker websites.
Blur, the company's other major application, works to more directly secure credit card data online. The masking feature allows users to generate burner card numbers for one-time use at point of purchase, limiting the number of institutions to which your financial information is exposed. The same app also protects other conduits to credit info, like passwords and email addresses.
