Several credit card companies today are offering their customers credit card rewards for being loyal customers. This gives the cardholder the chance to earn points to gain all kinds of prizes. These incentives are great ways to keep customers loyal and using their rewards credit card to earn more points to receive their prizes faster. The more points you earn the more you can receive in the way of prizes they offer. The credit card companies understand that when their loyal customers use their cards more often they are also making more profit, so the system works for everyone involved.

There are many different types of rewards credit cards available. Some offer cash back, which gives the cardholder a certain percentage back from the amount that they spend. This is normally done either monthly or yearly. This can be a great way for person that do not wish to earn points for prizes but would enjoy the cash to spend anyway they desire.

Other credit card rewards are in either a point system or air miles. These types of credit card rewards give you a certain amount of points or air miles for every dollar or two dollars that you charge with your rewards credit card. These points or air miles can then be transferred into free airline tickets, hotel accommodations, and car rentals. However, these are more for people that fly often. The miles normally expire within one year, so if you do not fly but once or twice a year the benefit will not be profitable.

There are some other forms of prizes as well for credit card rewards such as gasoline purchases, etc…

To get the most from your credit card rewards you have to, of course, use them. Many people never redeem their points for their rewards. Credit card companies cannot believe the amount of people that never receive their prizes after accumulating enough points to reap the rewards. The important thing to remember is if you are not holding a cash back credit card you will have to contact the credit card company that issued the credit card, so you can claim your rewards. The problem is many people just do not take out the time from their busy life to redeem their points from their rewards credit card program.

However, if you pay attention and just spend a little bit of time you will soon be enjoying the prizes that you can claim with credit card rewards. All you have to do is to use your card instead of using cash, pay off your balance before you have to pay interest and you will be earning points. Now, you are very close to receiving a wonderful thank you from the credit card company.

Quit being one of those people that just forget about their credit card rewards and contact the company once you have enough points for the prize that you wish. You may have enough air miles accumulated to take the entire family on a great vacation and not have to pay for airline tickets!

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Many people have dreamed of starting their own business, and it can certainly be satisfying. But what happens when you need a loan? If you re self-employed, even if you have an excellent credit history, you may find it hard. Even though the banks are more flexible these days, and loaned out 41.2 billion to those working for themselves or with less than perfect credit scores, an amazing nine million people were turned down for a loan last year.

Supposing you ve found a job you love, but it works on a contract basis, or you ve become your own boss. The problem banks face is that it can be hard for them to assess your employability and long term income prospects using traditional criteria. So they may be wary of giving you a traditional loan.

So what can you do? Well, it can help if you can prove a history of renewed contracts with the same employer, especially if it goes back a year or even two.

In the case of a new position, the lender will examine your circumstances on an individual basis. It can be hard to get approved if this is your first job you may even be unsuccessful altogether. But don t be downhearted. What a loan company is looking for is evidence of long-term employability, so you may have to play a waiting game. For the self-employed, it can help if you can demonstrate a history in your chosen field. For example, if your new business is in special occasion cakes, don t omit your experience working in the catering sector.

To get a head start, consider going through a broker. A broker can research loans for you, and match you with companies willing to lend for your type of work. They may also be able to find specialised deals, even discounts. They can also be useful in another way: many companies use a central database to determine your credit score. Every time a company conducts a credit search on you, this fact will be recorded there. It might be that if you are not accepted for a loan by one company, others will follow suit. A broker can help you to avoid this trap.

It s not all bad news for those looking to buy a home with a history of poor credit, or working for their own company. According to market analyst Datamonitor, homebuyer loans are now easier to find. Increased competition has driven banks to relax some of their requirements in the hope of capturing a share of the niche market. So what will you need to qualify?

If you re self-employed, you will probably need to be able to show your last three years worth of earnings, or a letter from your accountant. If you ve just started your own business, then your previous employment history will be useful, especially if you can prove that you have experience working in your chosen field. If you ve taken the plunge into a completely new area, then you will probably find it hard to get a loan, at least until a reliable forecast of your earnings can be produced.

So, without a crystal ball, what can you do?

There is another option: the self-certification loan. These are offered by many high street banks and building societies. You need to provide details of the amount of income you earn, but you do not need to prove it with paperwork. Of course, such a loan comes at a higher interest rate, and the amount you can borrow is often lower. Be careful you don t fall into a common trap here. Your accountant may have been doing an excellent job - quite legally - of minimising your profits for tax, but this will also affect the amount you can borrow.

Another option you might like to explore is the flexible mortgage. This allows you to take a “payment holiday” if you encounter temporary cash flow problems, or re-arrange your payment schedule. They also allow you to overpay at no cost in better times, building up a reservoir of credit on which to draw in leaner days. Because you re not tied in to set payments, you can work to get rid if your loan more quickly.

All is not rosy however. Bad debt is on the rise, and several high street lenders warn that an increasing number of people are having problems meeting their repayments.

Despite this, loans to the self-employed or those with a weak credit score are set to reach even higher levels. Datamonitor predict that the number of credit cards issued to these categories of lender will reach 13 million by 2009, from a current level of 9.5 million.

So while it may not be as hard as it used to be for the self-employed, or people with a poor credit history to find a loan, you do need to remain aware of the risks. There are fears that creditors are lending borrowers money that they simply cannot pay back. Don t be one of these - always get good advice, and make sure that at the end of the day, you get a loan you can afford.

Loan Ranger is a website offering its clients secured loans online

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