The cost of gasoline increased by about 8 percent in the month of February this year and experts forecast that this increase could reach newer highs by summer. Paying $4 per gallon of gas is becoming increasingly difficult for people, especially for those whose households run on a tight budget. However, one silver lining is the gasoline cards that help customers get a certain amount of relief from the increasing prices.

Before signing up for gas station rewards cards, it is imperative to go through the fine print to understand the terms and conditions that govern these rewards cards to avoid feeling cheated at a later point of time. Also, look out for the fees and other charges that tend to be higher as compared to few other credit cards.

Customers can apply for two major types of credit cards that offer reduced prices at gas stations. While one set of cards are issued by the banks, the others are issued by the gas stations directly. Card holders can get gas rewards and rebates based on the number of points they accumulate by using these cards for their purchases.

Deliberating well before signing up for the credit card with gas rewards is very important to make the most of it. The credit cards issued by a particular gas station are a good idea if you tend to fill the fuel from one particular gas station near your home or workplace. However, if you do not have any specific preferences, then you can scout for the right credit cards from banks that offer good rewards at gas stations. The latter seems to be an ideal choice since you are not limited by the gas station where you fill fuel.

To get the most from these gas station rewards cards, it is imperative for customers to pay off their dues on time without any defaults. Since rates of interest on credit cards that offer gas station rewards are higher than most of the other cards, not repaying dues on time can increase the outstanding balance on your cards to a great extent.

There were 650,000 consumer complaints of fraud last year and 273,000 identity theft complaints. A total of 721,418 CSN 2009 complaints were fraud-related. Consumers reported paying over $1.7 billion in those fraud complaints. A majority of people who suffer from fraud end up paying some amount (87%) of fraudulent charges or bank or credit card company fees. The average amount paid per credit cardholder is $399. Forty percent of consumers that suffer from fraud have used a credit card either online or in a store.

Those who suffer from credit card fraud are often also victims of identity theft. Having your credit card misused is not always a result the physical credit card being stolen. Your credit card number and or pin could be obtained online, in a restaurant or another public place and misused.

Tips for protecting your credit card information

First, regularly check your credit card statements for any charges you did not make. It’s particularly helpful to keep receipts and check them against your statements. Be sure to void incorrect receipts. The more you treat your credit card bill like a checking account, by reconciling the amount you spend with your balance, the better you can track any potential frauds.

Keep your credit card information safe and secure. Online shop only on secured web sites. Carry your cards separately from your wallet and be sure to get your card back promptly during in-store transactions. Don’t lend your credit card to anyone.

Be prepared in case of fraud. Keep a record of your account numbers, their expiration dates, and the phone number and address of each company in a secure place. Cell phones, unencrypted flash drives and emails are not appropriate storage for your sensitive personal data.

How to react if you suspect your credit card was used fraudulently

Report any questionable charges promptly and in writing to the card issuer. If your card has gone missing or is stolen call your credit card company immediately. Most credit card companies have 24-hour services in order to help customers in case there are any emergencies.

Once you report the loss or theft, companies are legally responsible for any additional unauthorized charges. The maximum liability under federal law for any customer is $50 per card.

Many credit cards offer customers a credit monitoring service or additional protection. If you follow the recommendations and monitor your credit card charges, additional fee services should not be necessary. The Federal Trade Commission has released a video showing consumers how to file a fraud complaint.

Personal finance advisor, award-winning author and TV hostess Suze Orman has branded her image with a low fee prepaid debit card that has the lofty ambition of helping users build – or rebuild – their credit score.

Dubbed “The Approved” prepaid MasterCard, Orman’s card has a $3 price tag to acquire and then costs a $3 monthly fee after that as long as users load $20 onto the card each month, making it both affordable and straightforward as opposed to some of the other co-branded celebrity prepaid debit card attempts. Users only run the risk of being subjected to additional fees if they use an out-of-network ATM when making a cash withdrawal. “The Approved” card will also avail users of free services such as identity theft monitoring, free credit TransUnion credit reports and credit monitoring.

The prepaid debit card market promises to be hot in 2012, as more and more consumer turn to prepaid cards as an effective budgeting and debt management tool. Prepaid cards have also been particularly helpful to those consumers who chose to avoid banks altogether, as they can be used to collect paychecks via enrollment in direct deposit.

However, because debit card activity, on both prepaid and traditional cards, doesn’t get reported to the big credit scoring bureaus, they do nothing to help cardholder obtain an auto loan, a mortgage or a traditional credit card. Individual credit scores are calculated based upon data that is related to borrowing.

But Orman hopes to change that. She is currently working with the credit reporting company TransUnion to develop a new way of credit scoring for “The Approved” prepaid MasterCard users that is based upon their shopping habits and how they spend. TransUnion will gather spending data for a time span of 18 to 24 months, after which it will use the information to attempt to develop a workable formula that will predict whether or not the user represents a good risk for lenders.

“Wouldn’t it be fabulous if, for the first time in history, people are literally rewarded for spending cash, versus penalized, in my opinion, for doing so?” said Orman, as reported by the Associated Press.

Right now, it is estimated that approximately 60 million Americans conduct some or all of their personal business using cash or cash alternatives such as prepaid cards. Consumers loaded roughly $70.7 billion onto prepaid cards throughout the year 2011 according to the Mercator Advisory Group.

To offset fees that many of the major banks have been charging this month in order to make up for lost revenue brought about by the Credit CARD Act of 2009, those four major banks have begun pushing their low interest rate balance transfer options, according to a Bloomberg report.

According to the report, banks have begun a massive push that targets good and excellent credit consumers, offering their best balance transfer offers. These deals are usually offering 0 percent interest for six to 24 months with no or very little fees.

Bank of America is offering zero percent interest and transaction fees through June of 2012. JPMorgan has begun offering zero percent on their balance transfers for the consumers first 15 billing cycles, according to the report. Citigroup is giving low interest rates of .99 percent for balance transfers all the way until 2013.

Don’t be fooled by the hype, while banks are advertising these low and no interest cards, there are still fees associated with a zero balance transfer credit card. Most of the balance transfer credit cards, only offer zero percent interest, but there is usually still a fee when it comes to transferring the actual balances to the new card. Balance transfer fees are usually at least three percent of the balance that you are trying to transfer. Some banks charge as much as five percent for a transfer of a balance.

These low interest rates are enough to suck the consumer in, but don’t forget to read the fine print, as always. Even with a three percent balance transfer fee, opening a balance transfer credit card might be helpful for the average consumer. The average consumer is over $7,000 in credit card debt, and the debt is usually spread out over multiple credit cards. If a consumer is looking to minimize debt, a balance transfer can be the best option, as it allows the consumer to consolidate debt into one place and pay it off within the selected introductory offer time period.

As always make sure to pay off the debt within the selected introductory time period, or else your interest rates will skyrocket. And once those interest rates soar, it can be hard keeping debt manageable.

Once the probationary period fades, consumers are now obligated to pay the highest standard APR rates in decades. This is all while banks still hold on to record-low borrowing rates.

According to most recent data from Credit-Land.com, the APR national average increased to 14.9 percent. This APR rate is the highest it has since the data began being collected in 2007.

The hike in APR rates can be attributed in part to the credit cards with the most customer appeal, such as rewards cards. “We’re seeing that the most popular credit cards are increasing their APR rates. Cards that offer APR for cash back and rewards cards are the prime culprits for APR rate increase,” a Credit-Land representative said.

For cash back cards, the APR rate has increased more than 1.5 percent in only six months. On the other hand, in the past six months, the APR rate on low-interest credit cards dropped one percentage point to 10.73 percent.

While it is true that APR rates are skyrocketing, the report omits that APRs as a whole are generally more stable than they were last year. Last year, rates were constantly teeter totting, due to frequent changes made by bankers to comply with the Credit CARD Act of 2009.

The changes that the Credit Card Act implemented cost banks nationwide approximately 12 billion dollars, but made some necessary changes and helped to regulate the credit industry. Now credit card issuers are looking to make their money back after the Credit Card Act of 2009.

In order to bounce bank from such a huge financial loss, banks have targeted the consumer to account for missing revenue streams.

So if you’re in the market for a new credit card, it’s best that you cut through the smoke and introductory offers, and actually get a credit card that gives you what you need from the day you open the card. In the long run, the perks don’t make up for the extravagant interest rates that you will have to pay in a year’s time.

Of the many banks that are willing to help people with bad credit, Capital One tops the list. The Capital One Secured MasterCard is one of the best credit cards to help you improve your scores. The card has a $29 annual fee associated to it and the interest is variable at 22.9 percent. All payments and transactions on this card are reported to the three major credit bureaus regularly. You can get up to $3000 credit limit when you pay up a security deposit upfront.

The Orchard Bank Classic MasterCard is also one that can work in your favor if you have a bad credit history. The annual fee on this card is $59 and the interest rate varies between 7.9 percent and 19.9 percent based on the current credit score of the applicant. In an effort to help customers rebuild their credit scores at the earliest, all transactions and payments on this card are reported to all the major credit bureaus regularly.

Customers with an excellent score to their backing can choose from some of the best rewards credit cards in the market. Here are a few cards that you should not give a pass. The South West Airlines credit card is offering card holders a bonus of 50,000 points when they make their first purchase using this credit card. However, be prepared to pay an annual fee of $99 to sustain this card in your wallet. The Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card offers customers an option to choose between $500 cash back or airfare worth $265 when they spend up to $3000 on the card within 90 days of obtaining it.

The Green Dot Prepaid Visa credit card is one of the credit cards that customers can apply for. This card is issued without any credit check and does not carry any fees for online activation. Card holders can use this card to withdraw money from over 15000 ATMs all over the country. Apply for the direct deposit facility on this card and avail $10 bonus. Customers can also make up to 30 purchases a month using the card without incurring any monthly fee. There is minimum balance specified and there are no penalty fees as well.

The Walmart MoneyCard Visa Prepaid credit card is another card that customers with limited credit history can sign up for. This card also does not have any online activation fees and there is no credit check done before issuing this card. Qualifying direct deposits on the card are entitled for a $10 bonus. This card is accepted in almost all the retail stores around the country. Card holders using this card at gas stations can avail 1 percent cash back on the money spent. This card has a monthly fee of up to $3.

One of the credit cards for people who fall under this category is the Capital One Standard Platinum credit card(OFFER EXPIRED). This card comes with quite a few favorable terms and conditions that can help consumers rebuild a good credit score without having to burn a hole in their pocket. The card carries an annual fee of $19 which is waived off for the first year. The interest rate can go up to 24.9 percent based on the current score of the applicant. Card holders can get the card personalized by opting for any image of their choice. And there are special offers for balance transfers on this card too.

Another credit card for fair credit applicants is the No Hassle Cash Rewards card from Capital One(OFFER EXPIRED). This card offers 2 percent cash back on grocery purchase and at gas stations. Any other purchases entail the person for 1 percent cash back. The annual fee on the card is $39 and the interest rate varies between 17.9 percent and 22.9 percent.

While secured credit cards are indeed better than the unsecured ones, there are a few things that consumers tend to overlook when making their choice. There are a number of factors such as interest rate, security deposit and other fees and financial charges that vary across institutions.

As per the study by one of the firms, Mintel Comperemedia, that compares the various credit card offers in the market, the average interest rates on secured credit cards last year averaged 19.8%. In contrast, the average interest rate on the unsecured cards hovered around 15.8%. Some financial experts said that there were a few secured credit cards that charged APR in excess of 29%.

Texas bases Money Management International’s spokesperson Kim McGrigg, says that though the interest rate should be tailored in while making important decisions, it should not be the sole point of consideration while choosing credit cards. Jeff Sklar, a compliance officer with the Public Savings Bank in Huntington, Pennsylvania says that it is the fees that need to be looked into before making the choice. Ensuring all the fees are disclosed in advance is imperative, says Wayne Sanford, who owns New Start Financial, a credit counseling firm in Allen.