Advantages Of The Hsn Credit Card

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You love HSN, so why would you not love the HSN credit card? You usually pay for your HSN purchases with a credit card anyway, so why not use the HSN card. Besides, you get benefits from the use of you HSN card that you wouldnt otherwise get from another credit card.

One of the benefits of your HSN card is that you get to earn points that earn you free shipping on shoes, jewelry items, cosmetics, and accessory items. These shipping deals put money in your pocket as they accumulate and you get to keep money that otherwise would have gone to UPS or FedEx.

Other benefits include the MasterCard logo, meaning that you can use your HSN credit card all around the world. If you want the MasterCard logo, make sure that you apply for the HSN MasterCard: there is also a non-network version of the card that you use only with HSN.

You can apply for either of the two HSN credit cards online, so you can know right away if you are approved. In additional to the points you earn, you also qualify for special discounts from time to time. Flex pay is one more example of how you can get Extra Flex payment terms on certain items.

Ways to Apply for Instant Credit Card Approval

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If youre shopping on the Internet, chances are good that you will be using a credit card to do so. Credit cards are easier and even safer than checks are cash transactions. But if you dont already have a credit card, is there a way to get credit instantly?

1. Go to a large retailer

When youre shopping online, you will generally receive offers for credit cards if you make a purchase with a larger retailer. In some cases, this will be a card that you can use on their site or at their local shops. With a good credit rating, you can even get a percentage off your total order or free shipping as an enticement.

However, you will have to wait for the physical card to arrive in the mail.

2. Just when youre online shopping

And also at larger retailers, you can instantly apply for major credit cards (Visa and Mastercard are the largest) when you complete a purchase. Again, these can allow you to receive discounts on your purchase.

3. Through payment sites

When youre using PayPal or other merchant online payers, you can also apply for credit cards instantly. These can come with benefits like lower fees on transactions through their site as well as cash back on purchases that are made on the card.

4. At a store

And if youre shopping in person, you can also apply for a credit card instantly by merely filling out a form and waiting to be approved. This only takes minutes and can save you money on your order during that visit and usually at the visit that follows. Some stores even offer gift cards after purchases total a certain amount.

5. How to be approved instantly

But the fact of the matter is that you cant get instant credit card approval if you dont already have good credit. This means that you will need to show another major credit card as well as undergo a credit screening. This not only shows your history of paying bills but also how many other credit cards you have. It will also determine how high of a limit you will receive on that card.

Almost anyone can get instant credit card approval for almost any purchase online or in a physical store. All you have to do is apply and have a good credit report to back you up.

What is online credit card processing

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Online credit card processing can be defined as the processing of any kind of credit card payment. An Online Credit Card Payment Processing company, usually referred to as a Payment Service Provider, will offer merchants online services for accepting payment online including credit and debit cards, direct debit, bank transfer and real-time bank transfers.

The history of credit card processing:

The earliest methods of credit card processing involved submitting credit card slips to a merchant processing bank by mail or by accessing an Automated Response Unit (ARU) by telephone.

These days the majority of credit card transactions are sent electronically to merchant processing banks for authorisation, capture and deposit. In all circumstances either the entire magnetic strip is read by a swipe through a credit card terminal/reader or the credit card information is manually entered into a credit card terminal, a computer or website.

Accepting credit card online payments:

The easiest way for businesses (merchants) to begin accepting online payments through their website is to open a merchant account with a Payment Service Provider (PSP)

A merchant account is a contract between the merchant and the PSP, without such a contract one cannot directly accept payments by any of the major credit card brands.

The reason that merchants need an account with a PSP is that any company wishing to accept online credit card payments need to process the credit card transactions through a payment gateway. The payment gateway service is provided by the PSP, some of whom will have their own payment gateway but the majority of PSPs use third party payment gateways.

The gateway usually has 2 components: a) the virtual terminal that can allow for a merchant to securely login and key in credit card numbers or b) have the website’s shopping-cart connect to the gateway via an API (Application Programming Interface) to allow for real time processing from the merchant’s website.

The fees charged by a PSP are usually dictated by the volume of transactions that are processed by the merchant e.g. the higher the volume the lower the rates. As well as a fee that is charged against each transaction most PSPs will impose a holdback charge. This charge is a set fee that is held by the PSP for a certain period of time, normally 180 days as security against any chargebacks.

PSPs will usually provide merchants with access to the payment gateways back office which allows merchants to view details about the transactions that have been processed including volumes, amounts etc.

Unsecured Credit Card for Poor Credit History

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Even hotel reservations and plane tickets are now reserved on-line where a card is necessary in order to make the reservations successful. However, having bad score or lack of credit may give you a hard time obtaining a card. The good news is there are cards that are designed especially for people who are in tight situations such as those described previously. Card issuers have designed this card to have higher rates and some are with additional fees but they are meant to give an opportunity for people to build or improve their score.

One option when applying for a card is to take secured cards. These types of cards are not particular to history. The reason for this is that you are required a security deposit of an amount usually between $100 and $500 before you are allowed to make any purchase with your new line. This security deposit determines your limit. The best thing about this is that if you encounter problems with regards to paying your bill, the deposit will cover your obligation so that your debt is secured.

Having a secured card does not appear like a real line of credit but it does help you establish or rebuild your history because all your activities concerning credit will be reported to the three major bureaus. Some other advantages of having secured cards include: 1. up to 4.5% of the interest may be paid on the deposit; 2. merchants give high regard for cards that have MasterCard or Visa logo on them; 3. some issuers give you double the amount deposited as your limit; and 4. if youve proven your ability to handle your monthly bill, your limit may be increased minus the additional charges.

Your second option is to apply for unsecured cards. This type of card does not require a security deposit and the limit and interest rate are dependent on your history. If you have poor or no history then you will most likely not land an unsecured card. There are cards that are instantly approved through on-line application where no security deposit is required. However, higher interest rates and some additional fees will be asked from you.

Now, if you have bad credit or none at all what you can do is to try the unsecured card first. If your application gets approved, not only will you have avoided shelling out for security deposit but you will also have a “true” line of credit. If you are denied an unsecured card, most issuers will give you the option to apply for a secured line. It is best if you try for an unsecured line before agreeing to take a secured line. That is, you take the latter if there is no other option left to take.

Choosing The Right L-bracket

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In days far past, when a photographer wanted to move a tripod mounted camera from landscape to portrait orientation, he or she would flip the camera to one side or another using capabilities present in most tripod heads. But flipping a camera using a tripod-mounted head can sometimes take precious time. It also means that the camera is no longer perfectly balanced on the top of the tripod causing the head to take more of the camera weight than is necessary. Also, depending on the size of the camera and the tripod being used, some photographers may find it difficult to achieve perfect 90-degree positioning. Finally, the photographer will likely need to recompose the scene after flipping the camera. Although you may think this particular problem is a trivial matter, reorienting a camera makes a big difference when taking photographs in the field under rapidly changing lighting conditions; every second counts.

With an L-bracket, photographers can change a camera’s orientation by removing camera from the tripod and remounting it on its opposite axis; no adjustments are required on the tripod head itself. This is accomplished using an L shaped Arca-Swiss style quick release plate, commonly referred to as an L-bracket.

There are many different brands of L-brackets available on the market today including products by Manfrotto and several generic import brands. However, most professional photographers agree that two of the best L-brackets are manufactured by Really Right Stuff (RRS) and Kirk Enterprises. With my recent purchase of a second Nikon D2x camera body, I felt it was a good time to compare the L-brackets provided by these two major superpowers of mounting technology.

For my last two camera bodies, the Nikon D70 and Nikon D2x, I had selected L-brackets from Kirk Enterprises. However, the Internet grapevine reported that Really Right Stuff (RRS) also manufactured excellent L-brackets. So, when I purchased a second Nikon D2x, I thought I would check the veracity of that claim. Taking this “chance” was also influenced by the fact that I had also recently purchased the Really Right Stuff B91-B flash arm. I found this product to be of very high quality and therefore assumed that I would not be disappointed with a RRS L-bracket.

This article is intended to provide you with my observations, as they relate to the Really Right Stuff BD2-L plate and the Kirk Enterprises BL-D2H L-bracket (hereafter referred to as L-brackets). These L-brackets are designed for the Nikon D2x. Both manufacturers also provide similar L-brackets designed for other camera bodies.

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Port Accessibility

The Nikon D2x has data ports located on the left vertical edge of the camera. Both L-brackets provide an opening which allows access to these ports. However, the opening in vertical mount area on the RRS L-bracket is more shallow than the opening on the Kirk L-bracket. Since some photographers find it difficult to open those rubber doors when an L-bracket is utilized, I believe that many photographers would find it easer to open those doors when using the RRS L-bracket.

Really Right Stuff wins this category.

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Mounting Options

The RRS L-bracket features lens axis marks engraved on the horizontal and vertical mounting areas, while the Kirk L-bracket does not have similar markings. Although some photographers might find this small detail trivial, I really like this feature. I find it particularly helpful when using other RRS components. My other RRS components also feature these axis marks. These marks can allow me to quickly and accurately align the RRS L-bracket to RRS tripod heads or flash arm mounts.

Both plates offer a 1/4″ hole on the L-bracket’s horizontal mounting area. For the RRS L-bracket, this hole is positioned directly over the lens axis. On the Kirk L-bracket, this hole is offset and not directly under the lens axis. This deficiency in the Kirk product could prove problematic if you sometimes mount your camera on plates that do not feature an Arca-Swiss mount. This potential problem is most relevant for panoramic photographers where having an accurate axis point is particularly critical.

Really Right Stuff wins this category.

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Mounting Area

The horizontal Arca-Swiss mount area is approximately 55mm on the Kirk L-bracket while the RRS L-bracket boasts about 70mm of horizontal area. The vertical Arca-Swiss mount area is approximately 65mm on the Kirk L-bracket while the RRS L-bracket boasts about 70mm of horizontal area. Although I’m not certain that the extra surface area provided by the RRS L-bracket will prove more useful, I personally like the idea of a longer surface contact area for my 3 inch quick release plates.

Really Right Stuff has the slight edge in this category.

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Online Shopping

I purchase almost everything online. And although I do sometimes frequent my local store for last-minute purchases, I prefer to order online if I have the time to plan my purchases. For both the Kirk and RRS sites, the ordering process isn’t very pleasant. Kirk’s site features more intuitive, utilitarian navigation while the RRS site provides visitors with a more aesthetically pleasing presentation. But in both cases, neither site evokes a strong sense of trust. And both are sadly lacking in that they do not accept American Express, my business credit card of choice. I believe that companies should not insert barriers to purchase; and the lack of support for any major credit card is a problem in my book.

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Other General Observations

The RRS L-bracket is balanced so that the majority of the weight is centered on the horizontal plate. The Kirk L-bracket’s balance point is somewhere on the curve between the horizontal and vertical plate areas. In other words, when the RRS L-bracket is not mounted, its stands on its own while the Kirk plate falls onto its curved edge. Additionally, the RRS plate horizontal surface area is solid where it mounts to the camera. The Kirk plate is bored out and provides visibility to some areas of the camera bottom.

When measured on non-digital kitchen scale, both L-brackets appear to have the same weight. When working with a professional camera body like the Nikon D2x, I haven’t found the weight or additional bulk of either L-bracket noticeable.

The build quality on the L-brackets from both manufacturers is excellent. However, I feel that the RRS L-bracket seems to be more visually elegant than the Kirk L-bracket. Please note that this assessment is purely subjective and should not be weighted very heavily. I do maintain that I find both equally comfortable when shooting my camera off-tripod.

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Conclusions

Although the differences between the Really Right Stuff BD2-L plate and the Kirk Enterprises BL-D2H L-bracket are minor, I’d have to give the slight edge to the Really Right Stuff BD2-L plate. If you’re already the happy owner of a Kirk Enterprises BL-D2H L-bracket, don’t despair. You have a great product. I plan to continue using my Kirk L-bracket on my backup D2x and mount the RRS L-bracket on my primary D2x. But if you don’t yet own an L-bracket, I’d have to point you to the folks at Really Right Stuff for an overall superior product.

As of this writing, the Really Right Stuff BD2-L plate is $183.00 with $9.15 for UPS ground shipping and the Kirk Enterprises BL-D2H L-bracket is priced at $179.95 with $7.60 for UPS ground shipping. These are steep prices for such a simple accessory, but for my style of photography, I can’t imagine taking tripod-mounted photographs using any other similarly performing product.