Advanta Platinum Business Card with Rewards Options

0% APR for 15 Months on Balance Transfers, 7.99% Fixed APR thereafter
7.99% Variable APR on Purchases
Choice of 5% Cash Back or Travel Rewards
No Annual Fee and No Limit on Earnings
$0 Fraud Liability
Personalized card -- your company name on the top of the card

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for Purchases and Balance Transfers: Prime plus 7.99% ; however, for Balance Transfers only, introductory 0% for the first fifteen billing cycles from the date your account is opened.
Default: The higher of the account APR plus 3%, or Prime plus a Default Margin of 17.99%.
Grace Period for New Purchases: 25 days from statement closing date, if new balance is paid in full in the manner and by the time of day on its due date as shown on statement.
Annual Fee: None when you select any Cash Back reward program.
Minimum Finance Charge: If any finance charge is applicable: $1.
Transaction Fees: for Cash Advances and Balance Transfers Cash Advances other than Convenience Checks: 3% (minimum $5); Convenience Check Cash Advances: 3% (minimum $5; maximum $50). Balance Transfers processed during the introductory period: 3% (minimum $5; maximum $50).
Other Fees Late Payment Fee: $15 to $39 based on balance. Overlimit Fee: $15 to $39 based on balance. Returned Payment Fee: $20. Dishonored Convenience Check Fee: $20.
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DID YOU KNOW?

	Did you know that a college educated person will earn 2.5 times more over a lifetime than someone without a post secondary education? College educated people are more likely to keep their jobs when times are tough and are more likely to be working than those without a post secondary education. Now getting an education can be expensive. One year in a Canadian degree program such as an arts and science program can easily cost $5000/year. If you are an out of province student, the extraneous expenditures can easily increase your education costs by $3000/school year. To help pay for future education cost, the Government of Canada has taken great initiative to ensure that every Canadian child will have the funds necessary to get an education by providing families with free government grants. The free grant was introduced in 1998 to encourage parents to start saving for their children’s education costs. How does the program work? The most popular form of the education savings is the registered education savings plan known as an Resp. Although an Resp can be started at any time, parents are advised to start an Resp when the child is born. Qualifying families who start the plan early will receive a $500 government bond in the first year to invest towards the program. Once the plan is started, the Government of Canada will continue to contribute by matching every dollar invested anywhere from 20 up to 40%. A good strategy for investing into an resp is to invest your monthly government child tax benefit. So for example, if your family receives $50/month per child in child tax benefit and if you invest the benefit into an Resp, not only will your Resp earn interest from the investment firm but it will also be topped up with the 20-40% contribution from the government. Therefore, a $50/month investment earning 5% annually will easily gross $45,000 at maturity (18 year plan). And the best part is you will be using free money from the government (Child Tax Benefit) to earn free government grants on the investment. So take advantage of the free government grants by opening an Resp and secure your child’s future.

For many borrowers, adjustable rate mortgages are an attractive means of qualifying for a home. Fewer borrowers realize the potential negative amortization problems these loans can create.

Adjustable Rate Mortgages

Adjustable rate mortgages are very popular with home buyers. The popularity arises from the fact the initial interest rate on such loans is typically much less than one finds with fixed rate loans. As a result, home owners can squeeze into homes that they might not otherwise be able to afford with fixed rate mortgages.

The potential risk with adjustable rate mortgages is well known. A borrower runs the risk the interest rates will increase over the years, resulting in financial hardship when month mortgage payment amounts go up. If the rates and payments go up to much, the borrower can run into serious problems trying to make payments and may even lose the home.

To overcome the fear of rising rates, many lenders use caps on rate increases to entice home owners. These caps essentially limit the amount the monthly payment can increase for any fixed time period. For many loans, the period is one year and the rate increase is one percentage point. While this makes borrowers feel more secure, there is one little thing lenders fail to point out.

Negative Amortization

On many adjustable rate mortgages, the caps apply only to the monthly payments due on the loan. The caps do not apply to the actual interest rate being charged on the loan. This situation leads to a financial disaster wherein you are making the monthly payments, but actually seeing the principal of your loan increase. This situation is known as negative amortization and should be avoided at all costs.

Negative amortization is best explained using good old credit cards for an example. If you have credit card debit, and everyone does, you know that making the minimum monthly payment may not make a dent in the total balance. In fact, it may be less than the interest charged for the month. This becomes apparent when you receive the next bill and your balance has increased! Welcome to the world of negative amortization.

On an adjustable mortgage, you need to read the fine print to full understand how any caps apply to your loan. Whatever you do, try to stay away from negative amortization whenever possible.