i have a credit card which already used for 1 year, so when i apply new cc do it need to submit salary slip again or just copy of my existing cc?

salary slip

You may try to apply with your existing CC first.

If it cannot proceed, the bank officer may ask you to submit more supporting documents.

I have got my interns to produce a simple iPhone and Android app to calculate credit card repayment period and the amount of interest charged based on the repayment method (pay minimum, pay fixed amount, pay within a timeframe).

Comparison between 2 different payment plans can be made to see the difference in interest amount and repayment period.

You can find it in iTune App Store for iPhone, by searching for "Credit Card Calc", and also in Android Market by searching for "Credit Card Calculator".

Hope that it is fun and useful to you.

Good effort !

If you don't mind .... just a couple of suggestions (iphone app)
1. There's the null value in the Total Repayment @ Total Int to be Paid, maybe you want to take a good look at it.
2. Graph feature not bad but the graphs labels are not there
3. Apps assumes that you don't use your card for new purchases the next month onwards. (Which is unlikely) Maybe you want to rethink it slightly as often people mistaken this as the minimum payment due whereas the minimum payment also takes into consideration the quantum from the new purchases.

Best if you could put in both in iphone and Android apps that while this is a good tool to calculate int but there's nothing better that solid good personal financial control and to spend within your means. (Treating cc like cash vs. treating it like a bottomless/no obligations credit facility)

I will post it in my blog soon the the benefit of ohers. Can update Rev1.1 soon taking into consideration of hye's comments.

*Edited*

I downloaded the Android version to my cheap Huawei Android Mifi Phone and it did not work well. But downloaded to my Galaxy Tab and it works. Like hye said, the graph got no label. For the comparison graph, I could figure out that the nodes represent months for the individual line. However some may not understand it and as if both takes the same time frame to pay of the debt. It's a great tool anyway for those needing to know how long it takes to pay of their balance.

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Sep 24 2011, 01:34 PM

Did anybody aware of this:

That's not true.

Credit cards are not the top contributor to bankruptcy. Car loans are the biggest culprit at 24%, followed by personal loans at 12% and business loans and 11%. I read somewhere credit cards defaulters comprise of around 5% of all bankrupts.

Click the link below:
Car loan takers top bankruptcy list

Many people take car loans without realizing that the affordable monthly repayments are probably just around 33% of the total cost of owning a car.

Thanks for the above info. I was just about to post my latest article when I read your post. So added few comments to my article.


Click here to read my latest article titled Credit Cards - App iPhone & Android, Easy Cash and Bankruptcy.

In the above article I commented on ppfoong's App called Credit Card Calculator on my android tablet and RHB Easy Cash where you can get cash deposited into your RHB CASA. While writing the article, it made me realized that one may even pay less interest with cash advances with credit cards instead of going with Personal Loans And as usual, got me telling story from my sick imagination.

From today's Star, the AKPK commented on yesterday's article:

Married folk and males the main debtors, reveals agency

From the article, AKPK confirmed that those who seek their help based on credit card debts only is low, compared to those with mortgage, hire purchase plus credit card debts.

It's easy to blame credit cards for all our debt woes but statistics proved otherwise.

I think the start of all our problems is probably the car loan because it is highly unlikely that we got our first property mortgage before a car loan.

Nowadays, so many young people won't hesitate to take a 9-year car loan even though they can ill-afford it. A RM600 per month instalment may seem to be manageable for a person with RM2500 monthly salary, but the total cost of ownership may come to be around RM1800 per month when you count petrol, maintenance and repaairs, insurance, parking and toll. The credit card used in paying for all those expenses is just a financing tool, because the actual culprit is the car itself, even though the credit card interests may be quite heavy.

Does it make sense to pay RM1800 per month for the privilege of travelling alone in your own air-conditioned comfort, compared to RM40 to RM150 per month on a bus or train pass?

@FastCoder

Since this subject is fast becoming a discussion then look again. The articles mentioned those who approached AKPK help and credit card owners is only 8.8% only. Those being declared bankrupt is a from another list altogether and the actual number's / statistics are not mentioned in detail - so to use that as your basis of proof would be inconclusive because you are not working with comparable values in the first place.

The real issue here is unmanageable household debt which many people living in the big cities are unable to cope with. Many make decisions to buy something not understanding the long term impact. While car loans owners can be a factor but credit card owners I believe are the larger culprit as well as it covers a wider ranger of the population. (Using Google - it will give you 3.2 million card holders based on 2010 statistics) The seniors here have been following this thread for years (myself included) and we have seen many chasing after this easy unsecured credit facility like hell.

To me it has nothing to do with bank's easy application, huge CL, etc - it boils down to the card holder itself who does not understand financial control and treating credit limit like real cash. And like the issue you raise (thank you ... at least you have some appreciation just by virtue of raising the subject), the problem lies in the population refusing to think long term and understanding good financial management.

This post has been edited by hye: Sep 26 2011, 02:11 PM

Car loan takers top bankruptcy list
Married folk and males the main debtors, reveals agency

Well, what can we get from the 2 artitles? Those were official statements, not an opinion, unlike the yesterday's Star article.

1. Top bankruptcy cause - car loans NOT CREDIT CARD DEBT
2. Top reason to seek help from AKPK - mortgage and car loans NOT CREDIT CARD DEBT

So, isn't that proof enough that the biggest cause of bankruptcy is NOT CREDIT CARD DEBT?

I used to believed that credit cards were the biggest culprits, but now I don't because my finances are in much better shape now that I don't drive that often and no more car loans. I can afford to go on holidays and buy the latest consumer gadgets and don't have any credit card debt. Compare to the days when I have a new car, my credit card debts were terribly high and I couldn't afford to go on holidays or buy the latest consumer gadgets. Even though I have settled my car loans many, many years ago, I have decided not to buy a new car as well as not to use the car that often and chose to travel by bus and lrt instead.

From my own calculations, I think I can afford to go on a Bali, Bangkok or Singapore holiday or buy a smart phone or laptop every month with cash, if I don't buy a new car.

Guys, IF unable to conduct payment on the credit card bill consistently every month will result to what sort of consequences besides the card being frozen.

You'll have a very "colorful" financial history and like to result in difficulty for you to obtain any additional credit (and I'm not just referring to credit card credit) from any banks.

Even its just 1 or 2 months of miss payment will result to such cases ?
Thanks for the quick reply.

@fastcoder

Perhaps you misunderstood me ... I mentioned the main problem is the population itself / people. I believe the root cause is actually poor financial planning.
What you highlighted is a cause but addressing it will not solve the larger (and real) problem itself. You have to look at the root cause of the problem.

Let's end the debate ya (once and for all) ... this is a thread focusing on credit card after all.

---

Added on September 26, 2011, 4:55 pmWhatever you decide to do, it will be reflected in your financial history and viewable across all banks. (I'm sure you and everyone knows this)

Different banks have their own risk management policies when evaluating customers. I'm not here to judge what you intend to do but you know on your own how many cards and quantum of amount are to be effected by your decision. And you also have to take into consideration your total exposure and practically your financial history for at least a span of 12-24 months.

Some may choose to yellow flag or even red flag you based on the "information" which you choose to display to the banks.

I'm saying this because some may respond that I'm being too conservative ... but only you alone understand the severity of the decision you are about to do.

This post has been edited by hye: Sep 26 2011, 04:55 PM

Thanks for sharing your point of view. Really appreciate it alot.
I do understand what you are trying to tell me in this post.

make sure you pay at least the minimum amount on or before the due date
else

Today i went to OCBC branch and wanted to apply for credit card. OCBC nowadays is very advance, the customer service say that application for credit card at branch is very easy. Just need my original IC and insert to a machine, verify my thumbnail, key in my details and finally sign on it (use a stylus & sign at the machine) and then submitted it online to HQ. Within 3 minutes, you will receive a sms and inform you the result whether approved / under review / rejected. No more forms, photocopy IC and others type of supporting document needed. Of course the basic requirement is you must have one credit card more than a year and they don't ask the card for verify or photocopy it as they say they will know the record. I guess they review it with CCRIS online.

I ask the customer service and she say that they already started using this machine for almost 2 months at all OCBC branch.

I think the root cause is poor financial literacy, not poor financial planning, although they both sounds similar. Low financial literacy leads to poor or no financial planning.

Many people think that their 3% to 4% hire-purchase interest rate is low. That's financial illiteracy because the real effective interest rate is very high. That wrong perception is why so many people fell for the personal loan traps too.

Many people think that buying a nice big house that is located far away from the city center at a very attractive price to be a very good investment. To me that's penny-wise, pound-foolish because just a few years' cost of commuting is more than enough to offset the "cheaper" price of the house, on top wasting valuable years of one's life commuting long distances. Unfortunately, many still make this kind of mistake which doomed many to long-term debt servitude.

Choosing the place to stay is as important as choosing the place to work. For example, a fresh graduate may be able to save 1 to 2 thousand ringgit per month by renting a room in an apartment near a LRT station and commute to work with the LRT to a work place near another LRT station. Choosing to work with lousy public transportation service for extra RM300 to RM500 per month is not a good idea because you need to spend up to RM2000 on your own car transportation. Again, this kind of bad decision is surprisingly widespread.

The original aim of my posting was to dispel the myth that credit cards are the biggest culprits. I think I have said enough, and yes, we should end this debate.