March 30, 2005 --

Ben Swann-KFOX Morning News Anchor/Reporter

For anyone strapped for cash, those blank checks credit card companies mail out can be tempting. But, our Money Adviser cautions while they may look like a good deal, they're not!

They arrive in your mailbox, blank checks from credit card companies. They look like a quick, easy way to get some money. One from Discover Card says "use these checks for cash or anything you want." Lisa Freeman, a Money Adviser at Consumer Reports, cautions these so-called "convenience checks" can cost you plenty.

Lisa Lee Freeman-Consumer Reports: "Two things you have to watch out for are transaction fees on each check, which can be substantial, as well as balances that can grow out of control at high interest rates."

For example, with Discover Card checks, there's a transaction fee of 3% on each check, and the interest rate is 21.99%. Sometimes the checks promise low promotional interest rates. We found one that advertised it has a .99% annual percentage rate. But if you already have a balance on your credit card, watch out!

Lisa Lee Freeman-Consumer Reports: "The credit card company is going to apply any future payments first to that low-interest rate debt, leaving the high-interest rate debt to pile up."

Consumer Reports says the best thing to do with these checks is shred them! They say it's important to shred credit card checks because if they're stolen, you don't have the same protection you do with a stolen credit card. With a credit card, your liability can't exceed $50. But with the checks, there's no automatic limit to your liability.

For more helpful consumer information, visit *Consumer Reports on the web.

http://www.consumerreports.org/

*Consumer Reports is a fee based website. Many of the articles require a subscription.