Discover Partners with Exante Financial Services

Looking for a Credit Card for Christmas Shopping? Before you submit a credit card application, first review the main points which will help you choose the right credit card for your needs.

What Charges You'll Make - If you're going to use the credit card mainly for booking airline reservations and hotels, it might be best for you to get a travel credit card that offers sky miles and hotel points or cashback. If this will be an emergency credit card only, then your main concern may be for a low interest rate credit card with low fees.

When You'll Repay Charges - Will you pay off credit card charges in full every month, or will you carry a balance month to month? If you're going to carry a balance, you want the lowest possible interest rate as well as a low introductory rate. But if you'll payoff balances in full every month, then interest rate really doesn't matter so no annual fee and/or a long grace period would be a bigger concern. If you're going to carry a balance, be concerned about how the finance charge is calculated. The most common method is the Average Daily Balance, which means that the daily balances are added together and then divided by the number of days in the billing cycle. Stay away from credit cards that compute the balance using two billing cycles, as this method costs more money in financing fees.

What Amount You'll Charge - If you're going to use the credit card for all your monthly expenses, then you need a card that has a high credit limit and a high cashback percentage.

More info about Interest Rates, Credit Limits, Incentives, Fees and Penalties

Interest Rates - The interest rate (Annual Percentage Rate) APR can either be a fixed rate or a variable rate that is tied to another financial indicator, most commonly the prime rate. With a fixed rate credit card you know what the interest rate will be every month, whereas a card with a variable rate can fluctuate. Of course, even the interest of a fixed rate card can change based on certain events, such as paying your credit card bill late, exceeding your limit, or simply because the credit card issuer decides to change it after providing you ample advance notice.

Credit Limit - This is the amount of money the credit card company will let you charge to the card. This amount varies depending upon the card offer and your credit history. Be sure to get a credit card with an ample limit, because getting close to your max can hurt your credit score. Just remember that you don't have to max out your limit just because it's available.

Incentives - To compete for and to gain customers, many credit card companies offer rewards. Even if you normally use cash, why not use your credit card and then use the cash to make the payment during the grace period? You still won't pay interest and meanwhile you'll rack-up rewards. A credit card with 5% cashback will earn you $5 for every $100 charged. If your total bills come to $2,000 per month, you'll earn a free $100 every month. Look for a rewards program that you'll use and which offers flexibility, such as cashback or travel.

Fees and Penalties - Compare common charges such as late fees, overlimit fees, balance transfers, cash advances, and for making payments by telephone. Regarding balance transfers, look for credit card offers with no transaction fees and zero percent interest for at least 12 months.

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Discover Partners with Exante Financial Services

By Credit Federal | Published 12/12/2005

Discover Financial Services Partners With Exante Financial Services To Issue Financial Health Account Cards On The Discover Network

Discover Financial Services LLC announced that it has partnered with Exante Financial Services and its affiliate Exante Bank, business units of UnitedHealth Group, Inc., to issue the Exante financial health account cards on the Discover Network.

The companies are piloting a program that will provide certain Morgan Stanley employees with a debit card that can be used on the Discover Network to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses from their Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). Building on this program, which will begin in 2006, both Discover and Exante anticipate expanding card access to the Discover Network to a broader group of consumers and across multiple types of accounts.

Exante's financial health account card works like any debit or stored value card currently used on the Discover Network. Consumers enrolled in the pilot program will swipe their cards at participating merchant and provider locations that accept Discover Network cards to pay for eligible health care services, prescriptions, medical equipment and child care.

'We are pleased to partner with Exante to help deploy electronic and card-based payment solutions that will simplify the financing and payment of health care and support the growth of health care savings programs,' said Roger Hochschild, president and chief operating officer, Discover Financial Services LLC.

About Discover Financial Services LLC
Discover Financial Services LLC, a business unit of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MWD), operates the Discover Card with more than 50 million Cardmembers, the Discover Network with more than 4 million merchant and cash access locations and the PULSE ATM/debit network currently service over 4,100 banks, credit unions and savings institutions.

About Exante Financial Services
Exante Financial Services, in conjunction with its affiliate Exante Bank, Inc. (jointly referred to as 'Exante') is focused on enhancing and serving the health care financial needs of insurers, benefits administrators, consumers and health care professionals. Exante offers Health Savings Accounts, card technology and a host of electronic solutions. Exante Bank, Inc., member FDIC, is a Utah-state chartered industrial bank located in Salt Lake City, chartered in July 2003 by UnitedHealth Group. Exante provides comprehensive consumer health financial services capabilities to 16 independent health administrators in addition to UnitedHealth Group and its operating businesses. Together, these clients represent over 700,000 accounts managed by Exante.

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Discover Partners with Exante Financial Services - by <a href=http://creditfederal.com>CreditFederal.com</a> Discover Financial Services Partners With Exante Financial Services To Issue Financial Health Account Cards On The Discover Network <a href="http://creditfederal.com/discover-card.html">Discover</a> Financial Services LLC announced that it has partnered with Exante Financial Services and its affiliate Exante Bank, business units of UnitedHealth Group, Inc., to issue the Exante financial health account cards on the Discover Network. The companies are piloting a program that will provide certain Morgan Stanley employees with a debit card that can be used on the Discover Network to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses from their Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). Building on this program, which will begin in 2006, both Discover and Exante anticipate expanding card access to the Discover Network to a broader group of consumers and across multiple types of accounts. Exante's financial health account card works like any debit or stored value card currently used on the Discover Network. Consumers enrolled in the pilot program will swipe their cards at participating merchant and provider locations that accept Discover Network cards to pay for eligible health care services, prescriptions, medical equipment and child care. 'We are pleased to partner with Exante to help deploy electronic and card-based payment solutions that will simplify the financing and payment of health care and support the growth of health care savings programs,' said Roger Hochschild, president and chief operating officer, Discover Financial Services LLC. About Discover Financial Services LLC Discover Financial Services LLC, a business unit of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MWD), operates the Discover Card with more than 50 million Cardmembers, the Discover Network with more than 4 million merchant and cash access locations and the PULSE ATM/debit network currently service over 4,100 banks, credit unions and savings institutions. About Exante Financial Services Exante Financial Services, in conjunction with its affiliate Exante Bank, Inc. (jointly referred to as 'Exante') is focused on enhancing and serving the health care financial needs of insurers, benefits administrators, consumers and health care professionals. Exante offers Health Savings Accounts, card technology and a host of electronic solutions. Exante Bank, Inc., member FDIC, is a Utah-state chartered industrial bank located in Salt Lake City, chartered in July 2003 by UnitedHealth Group. Exante provides comprehensive consumer health financial services capabilities to 16 independent health administrators in addition to UnitedHealth Group and its operating businesses. Together, these clients represent over 700,000 accounts managed by Exante. This article provided courtesy of <a href=http://creditfederal.com target=_new>www.CreditFederal.com</a>, a personal credit resource of good or bad credit credit cards and loans.

Credit Tip: Need a high limit for Christmas credit card charges? If you have bad credit, consider a personal loan by refinancing your mortgage. Even if you have cash to buy Christmas presents, we recommend using a prepaid card to make purchases because it's safer than carrying cash.