Rewards credit cards can be very, well, rewarding. If you're not careful, you can easily overextend yourself chasing more rewards. Protecting your credit score and staying out of debt should always be a priority, even when you're getting fringe benefits from your credit card. So, you should use a rewards credit cards with just as much caution as you would any other credit card.

Missing credit card payments might not seem like a big deal to you, but your creditors don't feel the same way. While Mr. Visa might not call you day or even week after your payment was due, he's certainly taking action behind the scenes. How your creditors respond to late payments can continue to affect you for months, and even years, to come.

You may sift through your stack of credit cards and wonder if you have too many. Or, if you're considering opening new credit accounts, you want to be sure it won't affect your credit before doing so. The best number of credit cards is one of those questions that doesn't have a one-size-fits-all type of answer.

Whether an unexpected expense depletes your budget, you're going through a period of financial difficulty, or you're simply overspent, it happens to the best of us at one time or another.

It would be nice if you could make it through life without ever having to use a credit card. The fact is that many businesses require credit cards, even if you plan to use cash for the purchase. Hotels, car rentals, and airlines are just a few of the places that credit cards are required.

Most of us aren't born knowing how to use credit cards. Still, it's important to learn the rules of the credit card game - preferably before you start playing. These do's and don'ts of credit card usage encourage healthy spending habits for new and experienced credit card users alike.

One of the ways creditors compute is the double billing cycle method. This is one of the most costly ways your finance charge can be calculated.

Take the Quiz and Learn How to Avoid Credit Card Debt Are you a credit junkie? Millions of Americans are, including our favorite relative, Uncle Sam. We think of junkies as drug addicts or drug peddlers, but a junkie is any person who derives inordinate pleasure from or who is dependent on something.

While you are a student, the only way to make ends meet may be through the use of a credit card. However, before you indulge in the business or charging, there are three things that you should know about student credit cards.

Imagine if someone suddenly took away all of your plastic. Credit cards are so much more convenient and safer than carrying cash, it's hard to imagine life without them. As the credit card industry has evolved, new products and features make using credit cards even more appealing -- if you know how to play the game.