Let’s just take a brief moment to recap:

If you’ve been following along on this journey with me, learning 5 Super-Charged secrets to Credit Card Utopia, then you now know 4 very important things:

a)You now know how to take advantage of zero to low interest credit card offers.

b)You now know that there is safety in numbers, and you know magic “Who’s Who” of major credit card companies. You know that one of them, in my opinion, stands out for consumers.

c)You now know how to take a low interest credit card with a rewards program, and convert it into a money making technology that could seriously improve your financial house.

d)You now know how to work with merchants to harness your consumer buying power, even if you have bad credit, so that you can get low interest, incentives, and discounts through buying on credit.

With me? Good. These are all essential foundations that you need to follow in order to live in Credit-Card Utopia with me.

And NOW…On to FINAL, most important, MOST significant secret that I have to reveal…

Secret # 5 revealed: Living in Credit Card Utopia:

1)I live in a world where there is no such thing as interest rates. There is zero interest, zero annual fees, membership benefits, and perks.

What world do you live in?

2)I live in a world where consumers are ones in drivers’ seat. We are powerful, powerful creatures, us buying-spending-consuming maniacs. We have power to make our own choices about how to wield this mighty sword.

Are YOU a powerful creature?

3)I live in a world where plastic is a money-making technology. I don’t live for plastic, and plastic does not own me. I am my own person, beholden to no one. But, plastic and I…We’re business partners. At end of year, plastic sends me a big fat check for thousands and thousands of dollars, and I take my family on a KILLER vacation.

Are you in business with plastic?

4)I live in a world where nothing is impossible. Life presents obstacles, and I overcome them. NO BIG DEAL…So, while you may not be able to get into pearly gates of Credit Card Utopia right now….Enjoy sitting on front porch, bartering with merchants, while you get your ducks lined up in a row.

Are you lining up your ducks?

5)I live in a world of goals, objectives, action plans, deadlines, and in Credit Card Utopia, good things don’t come to those who wait…Good things come to those who take ACTION, and move towards their goals.

Do you take action? Do you have goals? Are you working towards improving your life?

LIVING IN CREDIT CARD UTOPIA

In Credit Card Utopia, I am totally, totally satisfied. I am at peace with my credit cards, and they love me. We are elite few. We are ones that enjoy low interest rates, cash-back at end of year, and perks, perks, perks.

By understanding true costs associated with merchant account pricing, you can make an educated decision as to which merchant account is really best for your needs.

You have opened your business and realize that accepting credit cards will increase your sales dramatically. It is now time to choose merchant account that will be best for you.

You’ve received emails, postcards and have surfed Internet and have seen some great promotions. Which of these merchant account providers will give you a good deal? Before signing any merchant account agreement it is important to understand all of rates and fees that will be associated with your account.

Qualified Discount Rate – This is percentage that will be charge on all of your credit card sales.

Swiped credit cards will have a lower discount rate due to fact that cardholder is present and risk is lower.

Keyed credit cards will have a higher discount rate due to fact that there is more risk involved in accepting credit card due to fact that cardholder is not present.

Mid & Non-Qualified Surcharge – These surcharges are very important to understand, as some Visa/Mastercard transactions will have an additional surcharge applied to qualified discount rate.

Mid-Qualified Surcharge applies to swiped merchants only. When a credit card is swiped and magnetic strip cannot be read in terminal, you will key in transaction. When you have a telephone order, mail order or Internet order, you will key in transaction. A surcharge will be applied to transaction. In other words, if your qualified rate is 1.66% and your Mid-Qualified surcharge is .85%, you will pay 1.66% + .85% = 2.51% for that transaction.

Non-Qualified Surcharge applies to both swiped and keyed merchants. Whenever a corporate or foreign card is used, or you do not utilize Address Verification System when keying in a credit card, Non-Qualified Surcharge will apply. In other words, if your qualified rate is 2.39% and your Non Qualified surcharge is 1.95%, you will pay 2.39% + 1.95% = 4.34% for that transaction.

Transaction Fee – Merchant providers will also charge a per transaction fee on each of your sales. Some providers will also include a per item fee, or a watts fee in addition to transaction fee. Make sure you understand true cost of transaction fee structure.

Address Verification System (AVS) – Address Verification applies to keyed transactions. The AVS determines whether street address and zip code is actually a match for cardholder. AVS does not work for foreign transactions. The AVS fee is a separate fee charged for each transaction.