Equity cards, offered by banks and financial institutions, are the newest way to access a home equity line of credit.

Let's say you're about to embark on a large scale home-improvement project. You want to remodel a large portionof your house and add a sun room and a patio or deck. You also don't possess the cash to finance your dream project, and would like something more convenient than setting up a home equity line of credit. You definitely don't want to put those expenses onto a high-interest credit card.

If you are a homeowner with equity in your home, you will never want to carry a traditional credit card again.

Homeowners can use the equity card just as they would a credit card, but the annual percentage rate is usually around the prime lending rate, currently hovering between 4 percent and 5 percent, and the interest is tax deductible.

Most often the cards require no points or application fees and have no prepayment penalty or closing costs, which you would get with a traditional home equity line of credit. You can usually get an equity card for 70% or more of your home's equity. A good portion of borrowers even use their home equity credit cards to get out from under high-interest debt. Some equity cards even guarantee the prime interest rate for life.

Check with your local bank or lender to get your home equity card, and start getting the most out of your home assets.

Scott is the publisher of http://www.stockmarketplus.com, a financial weblog.