Not every credit card on the market today is out to provide consumers with great rewards, because not every card customer can make the most of those rewards. Credit cards are just tools, and depending on who is wielding them, they could have a positive or a negative effect on that person’s finances. Some people just use credit cards to habitually buy what they can’t afford. For them, a great rewards credit card might actually be counterproductive.

A good example would be someone who has made mistakes with credit cards in the past and is now looking for some way to get out of the debt hole. Rather than trying to rack up rewards with spending, this individual would be better off finding a low-interest card or a card with an excellent introductory APR on balance transfers that will allow him to save money while reducing his debt.

Issuers design some cards for people looking to save money on costly interest payments. Slate® from Chase – No Balance Transfer Fee has offers a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. This offer is for applicants with good or excellent credit; after the 15-month introductory period, the APR is 11.99% to 21.99% variable. Notably, Slate from Chase – No Balance Transfer Fee does what the offer says: It allows you to transfer a balance to the card with zero fees if you do the transfer within the first 30 days your account is open. (After the 30 days, balance transfers are assessed a fee of $5 or 3% of the balance transferred, whichever is higher.) Combined with the 0% APR period for purchases and balance transfers, this is a card that will likely save you money if you carry a balance and are committed to paying it down within 15 months. The Slate® from Chase – No Balance Transfer Fee card has no annual fee.

Slate from Chase includes a program that’s meant to help cardholders analyze and pay down their debt. The program is called “Blueprint,” and it allows cardholders to pick which purchases to pay off first. With Blueprint, customers have the option of designing their own plan:

1. Full Pay. Avoid paying interest by paying off full categories of your choice. Chase will separate all of your purchases into different categories.
2. Split. Inform Chase how much you want to pay and to what purchases you would like it applied to.
3. Finish It. Set up a goal and a timeline and Chase will calculate your monthly payment schedule for you.
4. Track It. Check out your spending trends and see where you stand with any goals you’ve set up.

It seems like a lot of work, and most people will probably prefer to just send a payment into a credit card and have it apply to the highest APR balance regardless of what the original purchase was. Psychologically, however, there is value in understanding exactly when a particular purchase has been paid off. That theory has been used to great effect by Dave Ramsey with the Debt Snowball, and this is sort of a similar application.

That’s about all there is to the Slate from Chase. For consumers looking for a great introductory rate with features to help you keep your debt in check, this card fits the bill. Remember to keep in mind that the best offer is given to excellent credit applicants only, so anyone with average or even above average credit should avoid applying. Here’s how to apply for the card.

• Visit the secure application page for Slate from Chase – No Balance Transfer Fee.
• Provide your personal information.
• Wait a short time for a response from Chase.

The original version of this article, Slate from Chase No Balance Transfer Fee Card Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Using cash back credit cards is rewarding in two specific ways. First, you’re earning money when you spend. That’s the obvious part. But when you know that you’re getting a rebate when you use your credit card, you also feel better about spending than you would otherwise. Feeling good can be dangerous, as you might make mistakes like spending more than you should while chasing that good feeling.

That’s why I’ve identified ten traps for using cash back credit cards. The issuers know that many people will fail to handle their credit cards properly, and the resulting profit from customers’ mistakes helps pay for those cash back rebates.

Credit card users are generally aware of these traps and can avoiding them, but sometimes other problem occur, beyond the spenders’ control. Consumerism Commentary reader SteveDH recent encountered a problem with his cash back credit card.

Here’s his story:

When I received my last VISA statement it showed that I had redeemed $275 in Cashback awards — I hadn’t. I got in touch with my bank and also started looking at all of the web pages and we found the someone had added a “Transfer Account” from GE Capital Retail Bank in Draper Utah to the redemption page and apparently requested the redeemtion. The information that they had to enter was the ABA number and account number. That’s how I know which bank it is even though only the last four digits of the account number were there. How they got to the redeemtion page without going through my login (which my bank says wasn’t compromised) is a mystery.

Although my bank killed the credit card and promised to apply the missing money to the new VISA card, I’m stilling waiting for final resolution. I download into Quicken almost everyday but I hadn’t even thought of checking rewards balances. In fact I’m amazed I noticed it on the statement this month. Yet another example of the crooks out there — some are pretty darn creative.

This is insanity. Cash back rewards should be something consumers should be able to forget about; they should be able to trust that each purchase earns the correct cash back amount (it occasionally doesn’t) and that the cash back will be there when you retrieve it. It’s a mystery how this redemption bank account was added to the cash back rewards page without SteveDH’s account being compromised. Perhaps it was an inside job.

I confess that I rarely look at my accrued rewards balances. As I primarily use airline miles rewards cards now, I generally see my rewards only when I visit Continental’s and United’s websites. The miles I earn from spending are deposited monthly, and I’ve not yet noticed any discrepancies. Cards that earn cash back, however, can be less organized.

Since cash back information is not downloaded into Quicken or reported in other software like Mint.com, it takes extra effort to verify your cash back is accruing correctly and is available according to the rules of your agreement. Don’t forget to check once in a while. You won’t be able to prevent every problem, but you’ll be able to report it to your issuer promptly, and hopefully have the problem resolved without difficulty.

Thanks for staring the story, SteveDH. If any other readers have stories to share, please contact me.

The original version of this article, Cash Back Rewards Stolen, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Cash back credit cards can help consumers practice responsible spending while earning a little extra for their efforts when used properly. It wasn’t long ago that the best cash back credit cards were offering rewards as high as 5% for all purchases, but that is unfortunately no longer the case.

Today’s cash back credit cards are all similar in nature, generally offering 1% cash back on all purchases. However, if you look hard enough, you’ll find a number of credit cards with higher cash rebates than just 1%. This article lists the best cash back credit cards you can find today, and I update the article when there is new information to share. Along with a brief description of each of these best cards, I have included the cash back percentages and any tiers or restrictions, so there are no surprises if your cash back credit card isn’t earning as much as you first thought. Keep in mind that in order to make credit card with rewards program worthwhile, you must avoid interest charges and late fees by paying your bill on time and in full every single month.

Editor’s choice

Chase Freedom® Visa – $200 Bonus Cash Back. The Chase Freedom Visa – $200 Bonus Cash Back offers a standard 1% cash back on all purchases, as well as the opportunity to earn 5% cash back on select purchases throughout the year, subject to a maximum. Every three months, the categories in which you can earn 5% cash back change, so for example January through March could be gas stations and Amazon.com, April through June might be grocery stores and movie theaters, July through September could be gas stations and restaurants while October through December could be hotels, airlines, Best Buy and Kohl’s. In order to qualify for the 5% cash back, you must have an account in good standing and follow the terms and conditions set forth by Chase. Categories will be announced to cardholders before they happen, so look out for updates from Chase.

The Chase Freedom® Visa – $200 Bonus Cash Back also offers up to an additional 10% cash back (up to 11% total cash back) on purchases made at select merchants when you shop online through the Chase website. The card also carries no annual fee. To qualify for the $200 cash back, you must spend only $500 during the first three months, making it the easy choice for best cash back credit card.

Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back + 0% Intro APR. Like the above offer, the Chase Freedom Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back + 0% Intro APR offer combines a powerful cash back program with a strong introductory offer. In order to qualify for the $100 bonus, new cardholders must spend $500 during the first three months. The bonus will be supplied in the form of 10,000 points, and these points can be redeemed for a $100 check. The card also offers a 0% APR for an introductory period of one year for balance transfers and of six months for purchases. After the introductory periods, purchases and transfers are subject to a variable APR currently between 11.99% and 22.99%.

The cash back program is identical to the program provided with the first offer listed here, and is standard among all Chase Freedom offers.

Discover® More Card – 18 Month Promotional Balance Transfer. The Discover® More® Card has a tricky cash back rewards program. For the first $3,000 in purchases, cardholders will earn 0.25% cash back then 1% on all purchases after that. Just like the Chase Freedom® Card, the Discover® More® Card offers 5% cash back on rotating categories throughout the year, but there is a cap on the amount of money you can earn with 5% cash back. If you’ve reached your limit, you will only receive 1% on all remaining purchases. If your account is inactive for 18 months or you fail to make your minimum payment for two consecutive months, all rewards will be forfeited. Finally, warehouse purchases (like Costco or Sam’s Club) will always earn 0.25% cash back, no matter what spending level you have reached.

This version of the Discover More Card comes with a 0% introductory offer on balance transfers for 18 months, one of the longest offers available, and there is no annual fee.

Discover® Open Road. After earning 0.25% on the first $3,000 in purchases in a year, cardholders begin earning 1% cash back on all purchases. Gasoline expenses and restaurant spending do even better, earning you 2% cash back for up to $250 in combined spending in those categories. If you live your life on the road, traveling from town to town and paying your credit card in full every month, this could be a beneficial offer.

Discover® Motiva Card. The Discover Motiva Card offers a cash back program similar to the Discover More Card. Earn 0.25% cash back on the first $3,000 spent using the card and 1% cash back thereafter. There is a unique twist; 5% of any interest charges are credited back to your account. For example, if you pay a $10 interest fee one month, you’ll receive $0.50 cash back. Keep in mind that cash back reward programs are most effective when you do not carry a balance from month to month, but if you’re working on paying down a large balance, this could help reduce your interest cost.

Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa® Card – $200 Cash Back. The Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa® Card is a close runner-up to the Chase Freedom Visa for best cash back credit card because it includes a $200 cash bonus after spending $500 in purchases during the first three months. The card offers something very similar, with 1% cash back on all purchases and 5% cash back on rotating categories. You may earn up to a $300 annual maximum but note the $100 cash back offer as well as cash back earned on purchases through the Citi Bonus Cash Center are not subject to your annual maximum. There is no introductory period with lower APRs on purchases or balance transfers with this version of the Citi Dividend Platinum Select Card.

Discover® More Card – $0 Balance Transfer Fee. This offer is identical to the Discover More offer listed above. Discover is offering the same rewards program. Rather than an extended introductory period for balance transfers, this card eliminates the all-too-common balance transfer fee. With most credit card offers today, a balance transfer fee prevents cardholders from using balance transfers as arbitrage, earning interest on borrowed money from card issuers. This is still a difficult game to play, but for cardholders interested in paying off significant credit card debt, transferring the balance to a 0% APR credit card could save hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest. With this offer, the 0% APR introductory period for balance transfers is only 12 months.

Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa® Card. Like the Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa Card offer described above, this card offers 1% cash back on all purchases and 5% cash back on rotating categories throughout the year. The cash back is limited to $300 annually, but this offer includes a $100 bonus after spending $500 during the first three months of owning the card, which is earned above and beyond the cash back. This is less than the $200 offered above, but this card compensates with a 0% introductory offer on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months and carries no annual fee.

Blue Cash Everyday℠ from American Express. Of all the cash back cards available, this offers the possibility of earning maximum rewards. The Blue Cash Everyday℠ from American Express Card offers $100 cash back bonus after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases in the first three months as well as 3% cash back on supermarket purchases, 2% cash back on gas and department store purchases and 1% cash back on everything else. This card is a new version of the standard Blue Cash Card and it even offers a $25 referral bonus. Blue Cash Everyday℠ from American Express also includes a 0% introductory offer on purchases for 12 months and carries no annual fee.

True Earnings® Card from Costco and American Express. The True Earnings® Card from Costco and American Express has a tiered cash back program. Cardholders can earn 3% cash back on gasoline purchases, 2% cash back on travel and restaurants, and 1% cash back on everything else, including warehouse clubs like Costco. Once you’ve spent $3,000 in annual gasoline purchases, your rebate falls back down to 1%. There are no limits to cash back received on restaurants and travel. In addition, the card comes with an introductory rate of 0% on purchases for six months. If you have a Costco membership, the True Earnings® Card from Costco and American Express carries no annual fee.

IBERIABANK Visa® Gold Card. The IBERIABANK Visa® Gold Card made this list for a few reasons. First, the card offers a flat 1% cash back on all qualifying purchases. Second, there is no annual fee associated with this card, so it’s an inexpensive option. Lastly, this card offers a low interest rate. Customers receive an APR of 9.25%, 12.25% or 15.25%, which is about as good as you can do these days. The IBERIABANK Visa® Gold Card is a plain cash back credit card, without anything special, just a very solid offer.

PenFed Visa Platinum Cashback Rewards Card. The PenFed Visa Platinum Cashback Rewards Card offers 5% cash back on gasoline purchases paid at the pump except fuel purchases for airplanes and boats which receive 1% cash back. Certain restrictions may apply. Earn 1% cash back on all net purchases. The card also has a reasonably low interest rate with no annual fee. The catch is that you have to be a member of the Pentagon Federal Credit Union. That means you must be a United States Government employee, member of the United States Military and Uniformed Services, employee or volunteer of the American Red Cross, or a family member/housemate of a current PenFed member. Or, another option to establish your membership eligibility to Pentagon Federal Credit Union is, you may become a member of the National Military Family Association, or Voices for America’s Troop (there is a low one-time fee to join one of these two organizations).

If you’re holding on to a cash back credit card that you feel deserves to make this list, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below. If the offer is good, I’ll add it to this best cash back credit cards list.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

The original version of this article, The Best Cash Back Credit Cards, February 2012, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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As Ron Lieber reported in the New York Times, personal finance guru Suze Orman is launching her own debit card brand, the Approved Card, following in the footsteps of music mogul Russell Simmons and his Rush Cards. Suze Orman’s debit card will be a prepaid debit card, ensuring customers using the card can spend generally only what they have available.

As a benefit to customers, and in keeping with Suze Orman’s focus on helping consumers build stable credit histories, the card will offer unlimited, free credit reports. She also worked out a deal with Transunion whereby her branded debit card, unlike most other debit cards, will report consumer spending information to the bureau, theoretically helping customers build credit.

While a consumer’s ability to use debit card spending as a way to build credit, I can understand why the reporting agencies don’t normally consider debit card activity to be relevant to a credit score. With a debit card, you can pay only what you have in the bank, or in the case of a prepaid debit card, only what you have on deposit. Debit cards do not provide a consumer with the opportunity to be tested with credit, and there is no monthly bill to pay. The type of behavior required to use a debit card successfully does not equate with the behavior required when borrowing money.

Prepaid debit cards are notorious for their fees. Suze has pledged to keep the Approved Card’s fees low, but the card still features a $3 monthly fee, taken from the balance deposited on the card. Prepaid debit card fees are paid by consumers who have no interest in a traditional checking account held at a bank, or, for whatever reason, can’t qualify for a bank account. This unbanked population consists primarily of households in the lowest socioeconomic status and of minorities. This puts these products in the same category as payday loans and check cashing outfits. Services the middle class doesn’t need or can find for free are more expensive in less affluent communities.

While the fees for Suze’s product may be less than those for competing products, there could be a view that this product, just like others like it, takes advantage of consumers who have fewer options for payment options. View the fee schedule here; there are quite a few fees that most consumers who haven’t used prepaid debit cards might consider extraordinary.

Does Suze risk credibility by offering her own financial product? She has established her Suze Orman brand as a no-nonsense voice in helping people make smarter financial decisions. Her television and radio shows have attracted a wide audience, particularly through the recent recession. She has been a spokesperson for General Motors and TD Ameritrade, aiding the executives of those companies in associating their brands with wise personal finance decisions.

While the New York Times article indicates that Suze will not mention her Approved Card in her shows to avoid a conflict of interest, isn’t in reasonable to expect that every time she mentions prepaid debit cards, she could be creating or strengthening a cognitive link in the listener or reader between her advice and her own product?

On the other hand, Suze sells books, seminars, and kits, and her media appearances help to move her products and, eventually, generate some of the income she receives each year. (I would assume that most of her income comes from sponsorship, show production, and media appearances rather than from her products.) A prepaid debit card is not really much different from the other products she sells. Diversifying income streams is a great way to increase the probability of long-term success.

What do you think about Suze Orman’s new Approved Card and the potential conflict of interest arising from her public appearances and media presence?

Update: As news spread of the Approved Card throughout the blogosphere, the card’s terms and likely ineffectiveness in improving users’ credit scores led to outrage. Suze Orman responded to critics via Twitter by calling them idiots and ignorant. Critics of the card were mostly fair — at least they were level-headed and, for the most part, they avoided personal attacks on Suze — but it’s easy for privileged bloggers like us to misunderstand the needs of those in low socio-economic communities, where the banking industry is mistrusted more than middle class “Main Street” communities mistrust Wall Street.

Yes, as I’ve mentioned above, there is something about fee-ridden prepaid debit cards that enables investors and the wealthy to take advantage of people who either don’t or believe they don’t have better financial options. There is also a cost to businesses who take on risks by offering services to a segment of society that may have financial trouble, and fees help defray that risk. Compared to other prepaid debit cards, the Approved Card isn’t horrible. It certainly isn’t the worst. If Suze’s name weren’t attached to the product, bloggers might put the card towards the top of the list of best prepaid debit cards. But her public identity and crusade for positive financial education makes the product antithetical.

At the same time, it’s not much different than the seminars that most of the top financial gurus run, charging tons of money with promises to help people earn more money, get rich through real estate, or sell a multi-level marketing scheme. The business is in the selling, and convincing the most vulnerable people that you are there to help them (for a price). Not that that’s good, at all — it’s just expected.

Photo: david_shankbone
New York Times

The original version of this article, Suze Orman’s New Prepaid Debit Card: The Approved Card, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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This is an article by Gerri Detweiler. For the past twenty years, Gerri has been an advocate helping consumers find reliable answers to their credit questions.

Just as student loans can be “good debt” or “bad debt” depending on how they are used, they can be good or bad for your credit scores, depending on how you handle them. Obviously, they can help your credit scores when you’re able to pay them on time, and hurt them when you can’t. But there are important nuances that can make the difference between earning a great score and a mediocre one.

When student loans = good credit

A student loan can provide a student’s first credit reference. That’s especially true now that the Credit CARD Act makes it more difficult to load up on credit cards before you turn 21. Student loans differ from credit cards in an important way, though; they are installment loans, not revolving loans like credit cards. That’s a plus when it comes to building a well-rounded credit file. “Our research has shown that (all things being equal) consumers with a wider range of credit experiences tend to be better credit risks than those with only limited credit experience,” says Anthony Sprauve, public relations director for FICO.

What about the fact that many students graduate with not one, but many, student loans? Unlike maxing out a bunch of credit cards, the fact that your report lists multiple student loans is not necessarily harmful. That’s true even if the balances are high. “While having many revolving type accounts with high balances can hurt your score — even when paid on time — the FICO scoring formula doesn’t place nearly as much importance on the debt amount and the number of loans when considering installment loans,” says Sprauve.

But, of course, it can be hard to keep track of due dates on multiple loans, so the greater the number of loans, the greater your risk that you’ll miss a payment. If you consolidate some or all of your loans it will be easier to keep track of your due dates, but don’t expect a boost to your credit scores. “Typically (consolidation) wouldn’t have a major impact on the score because it’s installment credit and the amount you owe is still the same,” says credit scoring expert Tom Quinn.

When student loans = bad credit

Missing payments on your student loans hurts your credit scores. If you pay a few days late, say on the 5th of the month when the loan is due on the 1st, it’s unlikely the loan will be reported as late. But once a payment is thirty days late, it will likely be reported to the credit reporting agencies, and your scores will suffer as a result.

If you can’t make your payments, check out flexible repayment options, such as the Income Based Repayment Program (now dubbed “Pay As You Earn” by President Obama), graduated repayment, or income-contingent repayment. Or find out if you are eligible to put your loans in deferment or forbearance. Repaying your loans through one of these programs is not likely to hurt your scores, says Quinn.

But be careful. Some students who apply for deferment or forbearance think it’s a done deal and stop paying, only to discover it was not finalized and they are considered delinquent on their loans. Make sure you have something in writing from your lender before you reduce or stop making payments.

Quinn also warns about a common misconception that loans in deferment or forbearance are ignored when credit scores are calculated. “It’s still considered because you are obligated to pay it,” he says, adding that, “Delinquencies are reported even if the loan is deferred.”

What if damage has already been done? Late payments can stay on your credit reports for up to seven years and simply paying the past due amount won’t remove those late payments. But if your federal loan goes into default, you may be able to improve your credit by rehabilitating your student loan. You’ll have to make nine monthly payments on time over a nine to ten month period, depending on your type of loan. Once you do, you can apply for rehabilitation and, if successful, the notation that your loan was in default will be removed from your credit reports.

More student loan and credit scores tips

• Feel free to prepay. Pay off your student loans early and you’ll save money on interest. Doing so shouldn’t hurt your credit scores, though, Sprauve warns that without other installment loans you could see your scores drop slightly.
• Keep meticulous records. From the time you take out your first student loan, you should start a file and keep copies of loan documents, statements, etc. This documentation may prove to be invaluable if you experience payment problems.
• Pay on time. This can’t be emphasized enough. If you move, notify your lenders of your new address. A statement that goes missing does not let you off the hook for a payment. Never heard from a lender about a loan you took out? Track down the lender and find out when payments are due.

Photo: a_mina
Department of Education

The original version of this article, How Student Loans Affect Your Credit Scores, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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In my review of the best credit cards for 2012, I lamented the fact that for the most part, no credit cards waive balance transfer fees in their introductory offers. In years gone by, some cards offered no-fee 0% APR introductory offers on balance transfers, and offers like these can, if used properly, go a long way to save customers lots of money while climbing out of debt. Savvy financial mavens also used these opportunities for free money. They transferred a balance to a credit card with the offer, but the other side of the transfer was a bank account. With savings interest rates as high 5 percent, they borrowed money at a 0 percent interest rate, kept the 5 percent interest, and paid back the balance to the credit card.

The balance transfer fees all but stopped that practice. Even with a 3 percent fee, however, people getting out of debt could still save money compared with the 10 percent or 15 percent they were paying on another card.

Last year, card issuers began competing diligently to attract new customers, and, although it was rare, a few cards offered relief from the balance transfer fee coinciding with 0% APR introductory offers. Early last year, Discover was the first card brand to eliminate the balance transfer fee in a special offer, but it was only for a limited time. Until recently, the only card continuing a reprieve from the balance transfer fee was Slate from Chase, but now Discover’s offer is back.

The Discover® More Card – No Balance Transfer Fee offer provides consumers with a 0% introductory APR on both purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. While that introductory period may not be as long as other offers available today, this card does not charge a balance transfer fee. If you have $5,000 to transfer, that’s exactly what you will pay to Discover over time. You will have 12 months to make interest-free payments, potentially saving thousands of dollars.

This free balance transfer offer is scheduled to end on January 31, 2012. It could be extended if it proves to be successful for Discover, but it’s too early to say.

This card comes with a rewards program, available during and after this limited-time offer. Discover includes a great rewards program, with 5% cash back on several expense categories that change throughout the year. This type of offer, with rotating categories, is currently standard practice. In addition to the 5% cash back you’ll earn on spending within those categories, you will earn 1% cash back on all purchases after spending $3,000 annually. If you don’t meet the $3,000 threshold, you will earn 0.25% cash back rather than 1%.

The standard APR on this card after the introductory period has expired is a variable rate between 10.99% and 19.99%, depending on the applicant’s credit history.

Additionally, there is no annual fee on any version of the Discover More Card, making this brand one of the best around today. This deal is scheduled to expire January 31, 2012, so take advantage of the Discover More Card – No Balance Transfer Fee offer now.

The original version of this article, Discover More Card No Balance Transfer Fee Offer, 0% APR, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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If you follow credit card offers like I do, you might have noticed that this past year was particularly exciting. Credit card issuers have been heavily marketing products in search of customers, spending more advertising dollars per customer than they have in recent years, and increasing rewards for the best customers. For individuals who have mastered their own financial situation, this has paid off with cash back incentives and free flights through travel rewards, while customers who have just begun the path to getting out of debt could use 0% APR balance transfer offers to save money.

Not everyone benefits from the best credit cards, however. It’s easy to fall into issuers’ traps. Don’t try to beat the credit card issuers at their games unless you’re prepared to lose.

2012 will be an interesting year. It’s impossible to predict specifically what will happen within the credit card industry, but you can be sure the issuers will continue to compete aggressively for new business and offer the best deals to customers with the best credit. If trends continue, here are the offers I expect to be the best credit cards of 2012.

The best cash back credit card of 2012

Cash back is the most popular reward. Of course, it only makes sense to earn cash back on a card if you avoid paying interest and late fees. If you do not pay your bill in full every month, consider finding a low APR card and not a cash back card. With cash back, the primary criterion should be the highest potential cash back rate. There are only a few cards that offer 5% cash back, and those that do only offer this rate on select categories that rotate throughout the year.

With 5% cash back on select categories, and 1% cash back on all other purchases, the Chase Freedom card has my vote for best cash back. Right now, new cardholders can earn a bonus with the Chase Freedom Visa – $200 Bonus Cash Back offer if they meet the requirements. One detriment is the 5% cash back applies to only the first $1,500 spent in the appropriate categories each quarter, but this is still better than most other offers like Discover More and Capital One Cash Rewards.

Runner-up: Citibank offers a cash back program and sign-up bonus very similar to Chase with its Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa® Card – $200 Cash Back offer. Choose between the two by reviewing which categories qualify for the 5% cash back.

Prediction for 2012: Expect the 5% cash back programs to continue with the same restrictions, but fewer sign-up bonuses.

The best balance transfer credit card of 2012

There are three things to evaluate when considering a card for balance transfers. First, look for an introductory rate of 0%. Next, look at the length of the introductory offer. Last, consider the balance transfer fee. There was a time when credit cards did not charge new customers fees for transferring balances, and this led to an era when savvy consumers were using these offers for arbitrage, transferring balances to high-yield savings accounts to earn interest on someone else’s money. The fees effectively eliminated this avenue for free money. But for consumers who are ready to pay off multiple credit cards and can do so within the introductory period, a lot of money can be saved by taking advantage of these offers.

The Citi Simplicity Card offers 0% APR on balance transfers for the longest period available, 21 months. If you use this card solely for balance transfers, you have almost two years to pay off your balance without owing any interest. There is a cost, however; there is a 3% fee (with a $5 minimum) for each balance transfer. Even with this fee, you could save a significant amount of money while eliminating your credit card debt.

Runner-up: With the Slate from Chase – No Balance Transfer Fee offer, qualified customers can receive a 0% introductory APR on balance transfers, without a fee, for 15 months. For me, this card was the runner-up to the Citi Simplicty offer due to the shorter time period, but if the 3% fee is significant, taking advantage of the Chase offer while it lasts would be a good move. And although it’s not accepted by as many retailers as Visa or MasterCard, you could also look at the limited-time Discover® More Card – No Balance Transfer Fee offer.

Prediction for 2012: If Chase’s no balance transfer fee offer is successful, expect to see more issuers offering this. Issuers are highly competitive and often react to others’ offers within days. However, having a balance transfer fee is the new standard, at least for the next year.

The best airline miles credit card of 2012

Choosing the best airline miles credit card comes down to the card associated with the airline that is most convenient for you. There are cards that offer points that can be converted to miles on a variety of airlines, but the best offers are often from co-branded cards.

I own the United MileagePlus Explorer Card due to my proximity to the merged airline’s hub in Newark. Since most of my flights are cross-country to visit family, I like being able to use the miles for upgrade rewards. There is an annual fee of $95 for this card, but it is waived for the first year, and the benefits like free checked baggage and club room passes easily make the fee worthwhile for certain travelers. Right now, new customers can earn 40,000 bonus miles.

Runner-up: Southwest Airlines has teamed up with Visa to offer a credit card, and new customers of the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card earn a free flight after the first purchase. With a 3,000 points anniversary bonus, you will receive at least one free discount fare each year.

Prediction for 2012: The airline industry is still struggling. Unable to cut fares, airlines have turned to charging added fees when possible. Some airlines require a payment just to reserve a seat — any seat — in advance of checking in for the flight. In 2012, customers of credit cards will be able to avoid more of these hassles. In some cases, credit card holders will be treated more like frequent flyers, with preferred boarding and increased seating availability.

The best travel credit card for 2012

Travel credit cards are different from airline credit cards because their rewards can often be used beyond airfare. The Starpoints you can earn with the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express can be cashed in for a variety of travel rewards, including a network of hotels as well as airlines. You can earn up to 7 Starpoints per dollar, but most purchases will be rewarded with 2 Startpoints per dollar.

There is a $65 fee to use this card, but it is waived for the first year.

Runner-up: Right now, there is a 50,000 point bonus for new customers of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card who meet certain conditions. These points are worth $625 in travel rewards. With this card, you earn a base reward of one point per dollar, but some purchases qualify for two points per dollar. A notable benefit for travelers is the lack of a foreign transaction fee, but a potential detriment is the $95 annual fee.

Prediction for 2012: Sign-up bonuses won’t last in this category, but companies in the travel industry will find more ways to reward loyalty, as airlines are attempting to do.

The best low APR credit card for 2012

If you carry a balance from month to month, forget about rewards and concentrate on getting your interest payments as low as possible. One way is to transfer your balance to a card with a low APR introductory offer, but this benefit relies on your ability to pay off the entire balance by the end of the introductory period. For ongoing credit card debt, after stopping to plan your strategy for getting out of debt, consider using a low APR credit card.

The best rates now you could possibly hope to qualify for, outside of introductory rates, are around 10.99%, and only people with the best quality of credit history will be approved for those rates. A few cards advertise these rates, but possible the best card for 2012 is Slate from Chase, a card that is offering a $75 statement credit and a 0% introductory APR for up to 15 months. The introductory APR combined with the low regular APR help establish this card as one of the best for people who carry balances from one month to the next.

Runner-up: The Discover More Card consistently offers low interest rates. Currently, Discover is advertising a variable rate of 10.99% – 20.99% combined with a $150 cash back bonus and a 0% introductory APR on purchases for six months. The actual rate you’ll receive depends on your credit quality and Discover requires customers spend $1,000 in the first three months to receive the cash back bonus.

Prediction for 2012: Interest rates are likely heading upwards. There’s a delicate balancing act; a thriving economy seems to depend on cheap availability of funds, but borrowing has already been inexpensive for those who qualify since the end of the credit crunch, and although the economy is technically expanding, people won’t be spending again until employment has improved. If that happens, and in an election year, it’s likely, expect interest rates to increase.

Read this first

Credit cards are financial tools, and are not inherently good or evil. As a result of using a credit card, one person might fall deeper into debt while another will organize his or her finances. Credit cards help the average consumer spend more money than he or she would spend with cash. It’s important to only seek credit card rewards if you do not have a tendency to spend more than you can afford. Being conscious about your spending choices is the only way to maximize the use of a credit card.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

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The Discover More Card has been around for quite some time. If you’ve seen a competitor’s commercials on television mentioning the “biggest cash back credit card,” you might be surprised to learn that the commercial is referring to this card. To grow the number of customers, Discover has launched different versions of Discover More over the last few years. To maintain competitiveness with other issuers, Discover was the first issuer in several years to launch a card with no balance transfer fee. Today, Discover has continued their recent run of aggressive promotions by offering a $150 cash bonus to all new Discover More Card members.

The $150 cash bonus that all new Discover More Card holders can receive comes after spending $1,000 during the first 90 days of card ownership. The cash bonus will be added immediately to the statement after the 90 day period has expired. As an added perk, this version of the Discover More Card is offering 2% cash back on all Amazon.com purchases during the first billing period (first 30 days of card ownership), but only up to $250 spent. After that, Discover reduces the Amazon.com cash back bonus to 1%. (That’s a total of $5 cash back under the 2% tier, but unlimited cash back under the 1% tier.)

Year in and year out, consumers consider the Discover More Card to be among the top three cash back credit cards. The rewards program offers 0.25% cash back on the first $3,000 spent annually, then 1% on all purchases thereafter. Discover also offers 5% cash back on select purchases every month. Here is the full 2011 and 2012 calendar including the categories of spending that earn the 5% cash back.

• October through December 2011: restaurants and fashion
• January through March 2012: gas and entertainment
• April through June 2012: restaurants and movies
• July through September 2012: gas and summer fun
• October through December 2012: holiday shopping

Unfortunately, the Discover More Card comes with a significant setback related to the 5% categories. The cash back you can earn at this bonus rate is subject to a limit. You only earn 5% on the first $1,500 of your spending, therefore the maximum amount of cash back that cardholders can earn in any period at the 5% level is $75. Once a consumer has reached this amount, he or she will receive 1% cash back on all future purchases with no limits. Warehouse purchases are excluded from both the 1% and 5% tiers; the most cash back you can earn by shopping at a warehouse store is 0.25%.

The cash back never expires and is automatically credited on each statement. When shopping online through the Discover Mall, customers can earn an additional 5% to 20% cash back on their spending.

The Discover More Card comes with a 0% introductory APR on both purchases and balance transfers for six months. After the introductory rate expires, the variable APR is 10.99% to 20.99% depending on credit history. The balance transfer fee is 3% if the balance is transferred by June 10, 2012 or 5% anytime after that date. There is no annual fee for this card.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, having a cash back credit card is a great asset to help save money on gifts, travel or any other expenses. The Discover More Card’s $150 cash back bonus is a decent offer, but it will be available for a limited time. To apply or learn more about this card, visit the Discover More Card secure application.

The original version of this article, Discover More Card $150 Limited Time Cash Back Bonus, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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From a branding perspective, each credit card issuer looks to group similar offers with a catchy name, helping consumers to immediately identify a type of credit card with the associated benefits. Chase offers quite a few slightly different cards under the Chase Freedom banner, and while the core features are the same, the offers differ in several details.

All Chase Freedom configurations include one percent cash back on all purchases, beginning immediately. This cash back is earned in the form of points. For example, if you spend one dollar, you earn one point. If you buy two CDs from Amazon.com for $10 each and return one, you earn ten points, not twenty, because the points are based on the net spending. You can cash in the points you earn to receive a check at the rate of one dollar per hundred points. With 2,000 points accrued in your account, a result of spending $2,000, you could request a check or statement credit for $20.

In addition to the guaranteed one percent cash back, there are several ways to earn more points.

• 5% opportunity. If you enroll once a quarter in Chase’s five percent cash back program, you will earn an extra four points per dollar (five points total) in certain spending categories, like gas or restaurants on up to $1,500 spend each quarter. Keep in mind that each merchant must classify the retail establishment correctly in order for Chase to trigger the five percent bonus.
• 10% opportunity. If you shop online through Chase’s portal, you can receive up to ten percent cash back in addition to the cash back above.

In its television commercials, Chase compares the Freedom card with “the largest cash back card,” a thinly-veiled reference to the Discover More card. One of the points for comparison in the commercial is the fact that the Discover More card offers the five percent cash back tier on up to only $300 in spending. The most you can earn in one year from this benefit is $15, although Discover is increasing this limit. Chase, on the other hand, allows you to earn five percent cash back on up to $1,500 in spending, resulting in a maximum benefit of $75. There was a time when the best cash back cards offered unlimited five percent back on all purchases, but that isn’t the case today.

The points you earn in the Chase Freedom program can be redeemed at Chase’s Ultimate Rewards center. You can trade points in for a check or statement credit as mentioned above and get the typical exchange rate ($1 for 100 points), or you can cash in your points for other benefits like gift cards, sometimes at a better exchange rate.

Chase Freedom comes with some important fees to consider:

• 3% foreign transaction fee.
• 3% cash advance fee, with a $10 minimum.
• 3% balance transfer fee, with a $5 minimum
• $15 to $35 late fee.
• Up to $35 fee for exceeding your credit limit.

There are at least four different Chase Freedom offers available now. Some use Visa while others use MasterCard. They differ in the additional bonuses available.

Chase Freedom Visa $100 Bonus Cash Back + 0% Intro APR. If you visit the Chase website to sign up for a Chase Freedom credit card, you’ll be offered a $100 bonus after spending $500 within the first three months of owning the card as well as a 0% introductory APR on balance transfers for 12 months and a 0% introductory APR on purchases for six months.

The introductory APR on balance transfers makes this a good option if you intend on transferring a balance from a higher-rate card. Keep in mind that although the interest rate for balance transfers is 0%, you’ll be charged a 3% balance transfer fee, $5 minimum. Also, you’ll need to pay your entire transfer within the period of twelve months to avoid higher interest rates.

Chase Freedom Visa $200 Bonus Cash Back. This offer is a Visa Signature card. While you won’t receive any introductory period with 0% APR, you will receive $200 cash back after spending $500 within your first three months of card ownership. Also, the standard APR with this card is higher than the $100 offer. The standard APR for purchases is a variable 15.99 to 22.99% compared with a variable 11.99% to 22.99% with the $100 cash back selection.

Chase Freedom MasterCard $100 Bonus Cash Back + 0% Intro APR. The MasterCard version of the $100 offer is similar to the Visa offer listed first. The fees and rates are the same, but in the interest of choice, Chase provides a MasterCard option for those who prefer the benefits of a Platinum MasterCard over a Visa Signature.

Chase Freedom Visa – As Low As 9.99% APR. This Visa Signature card from Chase offers a sign-up bonus of $50, but you don’t need to wait three months to receive it. You’ll receive the $50 soon after your first purchase with the card. The primary benefit of this card, however, is the low standard interest rate of 9.99% – 22.99% APR on purchases. It would be difficult to find a credit card today with a lower APR than this but note that the lower APR is for those with excellent credit. Also, keep in mind that any interest you must pay negates the benefit of any cash back you earn.

It’s been my personal goal to avoid paying any interest at all to credit cards. I buy only what I can afford to pay off every month and pay credit card bills in full and on time. This way, I’m never charged any interest. I understand, however, that many people are not in this situation for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they’ve recognized past spending mistakes and are on their way to improving their finances, but need to fix the problem in small steps. Perhaps they’ve taken calculated risks and are willing to pay the fee to borrow a credit card company’s money with the intent of paying off the balance in the near future.

Whatever the reason, if you must pay interest, it’s good for that rate to be low.

Chase Freedom summary

As a whole, the Chase Freedom program stacks up well against similar cash back programs from other issuers. The consistent one percent cash back on all purchases and the ability to cash in points for check or statement credit is the bare minimum consumers should expect from a cash back program today, and the five percent bonus adds a little flavor, though the quarterly enrollment requirement enables some consumers to miss out on this feature.

Credit card issuers count on customers using their card often to gain from interchange fees, and they hope that customers will not pay bills in full so they can collect interest and possibly late fees. The key to making the most out of a bonus program like Chase Freedom is to carefully consider every purchase and avoid interest.

Do you have a Chase Freedom card? Feel free to share your experiences, whether positive or negative.

The original version of this article, Chase Freedom Review and Comparison, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Although Congress is dragging its feet in confirming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s potential director, the bureau has been busy developing new tools to help consumers understand agreements that are potentially damaging to a family’s finances. Last year, issuers debuted new credit card statements designed to frighten borrowers into paying off debt faster. The new statements explicitly outlined how long it would take to pay off an entire balance by paying just the minimum each month.

The CFPB wants to bring this clarity to credit card agreements. These agreements are typically several pages long with small print, like this agreement [pdf] for a Wells Fargo Rewards Visa. The new look suggested by the bureau is more consumer-friendly than it is lawyer-friendly. It will likely need additional support with the terms in legal language, as well, but the new look makes it much easier to understand, and more importantly, compare offers between credit cards.

Here is the first section of the proposed new look for credit card agreements.

Right up front, you can easily find the important interest rates, including any introductory rate, regular rate, rates for balance transfers and cash advances, and penalty rates. It will be much more difficult to bury information if all issuers are required to include this information in a format like this.

Following the section displayed above, the agreement explains what payments need to be made, and that includes the formula for determining the minimum monthly payment. More information describes the consequences of missing a payment, including when a customer’s account will go into default, when the penalty interest rate will apply, and the effect on the late payment fee. The agreement also explains the way the interest is calculated in easy-to-understand terms. Consumers who read the agreement will be introduced to their grace period and also understand that if a borrower doesn’t take advantage of the grace period — that is, doesn’t pay the bill in full and on time — interest on new charges will be added to the credit card balance from the moment a transaction occurs.

The next section explains how the terms of the agreement can change.

This section highlights the fact that the issuer can change your interest rate on existing balances if you are 60 days late on a payment. Otherwise, issuers can only change rates for future charges, and even so, they cannot change the terms until after the first year of owning the card.

The form, as suggested by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ends by summarizing several of the rights of the issuers and the rights of the customers. Issuers afford customers the right to close the account and to dispute charges, while they reserve the right to decline transactions, sue customers to collect debt, close the account without notice, and demand immediate payment in full in some circumstances. It’s pretty clear who the loser is in this arrangement, but if you’re smart and able to avoid problems, sometimes requiring a little bit of luck, you will be fine.

I like that this new credit card agreement template is straightforward. I like that it makes it easy to compare offers between cards. It’s a significant improvement over the standard forms I’ve been looking at for the last couple of decades, which seem to have only deteriorated in readability and increased in complexity. I think the design is a little too “Web 2.0″ for my tastes, but perhaps that’s just the CFPB’s implementation.

What do you think of this new credit card agreement format?

CFPB

The original version of this article, The CFPB’s New Credit Card Agreements, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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CoreLogic, a company that already works with lenders to consolidate credit reports from the three reporting bureaus, is developing a new credit report and score. The company believes its information, culled from public sources and proprietary databases, could give lenders, employers, and any other company that wants to evaluate an individual’s risk, a more accurate picture of that individual. This new credit report will go far beyond reports from Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.

In addition to the traditional information already available on typical credit reports, the new CoreLogic “CoreScore” report includes:

• Rent payment history, with missed payments being negative.
• Payday loan applications and payment history.
• Evictions, with any record being negative.
• Child support or other court judgments, with any record being negative.
• Property lax liens.
• The value of real estate property owned.
• Home ownership fee payment history.

CoreLogic claims that it can receive new information about a transaction or inquiry within 23 days, two months faster than the other credit bureaus. The company’s databases already have 1 billion consumer transaction records covering 99.9 percent of the United States population.

Like the credit reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, most information on the CoreLogic report will remain for seven years.

How to obtain a copy of the report

The new report is already available to lenders, but it won’t be available for free through AnnualCreditReport.com for another year, and the score calculation will not be available until March, after CoreLogic works with FICO to develop the formula. Consumers will be able to challenge any item on the report that is inaccurate, and considering the source for some information is publicly available information, I expect a high rate of inaccuracy.

Until the new report is available online, you’ll need to order the report directly if you’d like to review the information for any errors to dispute.

To order a CoreLogic “CoreScore” report, call 877-532-8778 or mail CoreLogic Credco, LLC, P.O. Box 509124, San Diego, CA 92150. You’ll need to include proof of your identity, proof of your address, your first, middle, and last name, Social Security number, current and previous addresses, and date of birth.

The effect of this new report on consumers

As a result of this new report, individuals who currently have a clean credit report but owe more on their home than its market value, even if they pay their mortgage on time every month, could now have this information provided to prospective lenders who will likely interpret this as negative. People who were not considered a risk without the CoreLogic report could now be unable to qualify for the best mortgage interest rates.

Having more information and a potential for a wider variety of blemishes, lenders will be more inclined to offer higher interest rates on loans or deny credit entirely. As these records focus on problems that affect poor individuals, like evictions, payday loans, and child support, it reduces even further access to credit for society’s neediest.

There’s also a possibility for marks to remain on the report that could be interpreted as negative despite legitimate circumstances. Renters have rights, and in some cases, can refuse to pay rent due to actions by the landlord. Nevertheless, lenders will likely see missed rent payments as a sign of risk. Since the missed payments are not inaccurate, the information can’t be disputed. You may be able to attach a comment to the report, but the new score that will be calculated based on the information will likely be affected negatively regardless of the comment.

What do you think of the new CoreLogic credit report and score? Is it a further invasion of consumer privacy or a better way for lenders to assess consumer risk?

New York Times, CoreLogic [pdf]

The original version of this article, CoreLogic Credit Report and Score: Always Watching You, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Just last month, Bank Transfer Day encouraged disgruntled consumers across the country to move money out of their bank accounts and deposit the funds in credit unions and smaller, community banks. Partly as a result of this successful campaign, hundreds of thousands of American large-bank customers opened credit union accounts since the day the campaign was founded.

Another idea, though it hasn’t gained nearly as much traction with fewer than 600 Facebook fans signed on, is to leave the large credit card issuers behind by transferring outstanding balances to lower-interest cards, like those offered by credit unions. In an ideal world, customers would, on December 11, apply for a zero-interest, zero-fee credit card and include in the application instructions to transfer a balance from a higher rate card.

To figure out who’s behind Balance Transfer Day, you’ll need to trace it through several different initiatives and apparent organizations, but at the root, this effort was organized by a for-profit company whose primary business is an affiliate-based credit card application website. I’m wary about seriously promoting a movement that, when you look layers deep, is organized for the financial benefit of the parent company. Unlike Bank Transfer Day, organized by a woman with no ties or endorsement by the financial industry, the founders of Balance Transfer Day can be easily but not obviously traced to a site called credit-land.com, which has a “Student Credit Card Education Initiative.” This is not a non-profit organization, it is designed to promote the products of the parent website.

There is no association between this organization and the Occupy movement, though they attempt to make it appear there is a connection by using the Guy Fawkes mask in the Balance Transfer Day initiative logo and using “Occupy” language.

It’s also worth noting that the Twitter handle for the movement is “OccupyBankRate” — a company called BankRate just happens to be a competitor of the organizers. An article on Huffington Post identifies the founder of the movement, Michael Germanovsky, as a laid-off architect, but the writer conveniently neglects to mention that he is also the editor-in-chief of credit-land.com.

For Michael Germanovsky’s response, please see the comments below the article.

Regardless of who organized this movement and how the organizers are promoting it, individuals should always do what’s best for their finances. In some cases, that could include transferring balances from high rate cards to cards with 0% introductory APRs for balance transfers. There are potential traps, though. And the big issuers just happen to have been improving these offers recently, eliminating or reducing fees to entice more customers.

• If you do not pay off the entire transferred balance within the introductory period, you will be subject to higher interest rates, and you could be paying more total interest than you would have if you had left the balance on the original card.
• If you apply for or open many 0% APR card offers around the same time, your credit score could be negatively affected.

The rationale for the transfer from a anti-industry perspective is that since the large banks receive benefits from the government, like a facility to borrow money at 0% APR, it isn’t right that the banks charge even higher rates to their customers who borrow money. By bailing out Wall Street, the government supposedly intended banks to pass the savings to customers in the form of lower rates encouraging borrowing, but the banks decided to use the funds to keep cash on hand to improve their appearance of financial condition for the benefit of their shareholders. Interest rates have been higher since the bailout than they had been in recent years, but there are less expensive options for borrowing than these major issuers.

At the same time, the best zero-balance transfer introductory offers are still promoted heavily by the major issuers. If you look at the website for the underlying company that organized the movement, they promote Citi, Capital One, and Discover as being the best cards for balance transfers. This is despite the movement’s apparent goal to recommend credit unions and small banks.

As a movement, Balance Transfer Day won’t gain as much traction as Bank Transfer Day. The back story isn’t compelling enough, and the motivation, though well-buried, is profit and promotion for the underlying company.

Will this movement inspire you to transfer a high credit card balance from one card to a zero-interest offer on a different card?

The original version of this article, Balance Transfer Day: December 11, 2011, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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For my own finances, I’ve been a fan of credit cards with cash back programs. Some financial experts advise avoiding credit cards completely, even those cards that offer rewards like cash back or offer on best gas credit cards and small business credit cards. I’ve never been a fan of this approach — again, for my own finances — because I see a credit cards as just another tool for personal finance. A hammer is inherently neither good nor evil; it’s a tool that someone can use to fix a roof or to send another person to the hospital.

For a large portion of consumers, credit cards cause trouble. That may not be a reason to avoid credit cards entirely, as consumers can learn how to use credit cards effectively. Those of us who do believe we use cash back credit cards responsibly, paying bills in full every month, never paying interest, and buying only what we can afford, are relatively comfortable with the use of this tool, but even the best of us are subject to issuers’ traps.

Cash back credit card programs include traps that help issuers recover the cost of paying out benefits to their customers. While some traps can be avoided by managing finances closely, other traps take advantage of the psychological aspects of using plastic rather than cash. These traps can be more difficult to avoid, because consumers cannot control their subconscious tendencies. Here are the cash back traps to avoid, if you can.

1. Credit card users spend more

The process of taking cash out of your wallet and handing that money to another person is a very deliberate activity, both physically and mentally. Parting with cash has psychological ramifications. In most people, particularly those who best understand the value of having money saved, the act of giving the cash away triggers the same reaction as a painful activity. Spending money and pain are linked in the brain.

When you use credit cards, you add a buffer between your cash and the process of parting with it. Spenders are less likely to hesitate and less likely to get that twinge of pain associated with handing over bills and coins. People familiar with computer science would call this a layer of abstraction. You’re controlling your money by using a representation of that money, not the cash itself, and that makes the process feel better. In addition, cards with a rewards program like cash back encourage higher spending, because that cash back is seen as a reward that can be maximized by spending more.

Avoid this by making a concerted effort to buy only what you could afford with cash at any time.

2. Late fees and interest negate any cash back benefits

If you have debt that you carry over from one month to the next, forget about cash back rewards programs. The interest you pay eliminates any benefit you may receive from the issuer. Even if you manage to earn more cash back than interest you pay, consider that cash back credit cards often have higher interest rates than cards without any benefit program. While issuers advertise their cash back cards heavily, these cards should be used only by individuals who pay the bill in full every month. Late fees also negate cash back, so never pay the bill late.

Accidents and emergencies happen. It only takes one to erase a year’s worth of cash back. If you use a cash back credit card, make sure you tell your issuer to withdraw your payment in full every month, and make sure you have enough money in your bank account to cover your credit card bill at the right time. Have an emergency fund to cover yourself if you lose your job and can’t pay your credit card bill from your income.

3. Rotating categories and opt-in requirements

Over the past year, credit card issuers have increased their cash back percentages in an effort to win back customers who miss the 5 percent cash back on all purchases during reward programs’ heyday. This time, the higher benefits come with a catch. With tiered cash back, where some spending earns 1 percent, some earns 3 percent, and some earns 5 percent, issuers have become trickier. In many cases, the highest level of cash back is available only certain categories of spending, like gasoline or groceries, and the categories for which the companies make the cash back available rotate every three months. You have to pay attention if you want to keep track of how much cash back you should be earning.

Furthermore, some issuers require you to opt in to the highest cash back tier when the categories change every quarter. If you forget to contact the issuer, you don’t earn the higher percentage.

4. Incorrectly categorized purchases

This has happened to me as well as many Consumerism Commentary readers who have shared similar experiences. If you shop around to various gas stations to save money, and your card offers a higher cash back on gasoline purchases, you may not get your full cash back. While stations with brands like Exxon/Mobile, Sunoco, and Shell are almost always categorized correctly, some of the smaller stations are not. Issuers maintain a list of vendors and their categories for earning cash back, but smaller retailers often don’t make the list.

If you’re in a period where gasoline purchases earn 5 percent and all other purchases earn 1 percent, if you shop at a less-expensive, off-brand gasoline station to save money, you may not receive the 5 percent cash back you should. Issuers are inflexible, and customer service representatives will often say that if a retailer is not categorized correctly, there’s nothing they can do to credit you the full cash back.

5. Cash back can be difficult to claim

One of the first cash back cards I used on a regular basis was the Citi Dividend Platinum Select, with which I earned 5 percent cash back on all purchases. Those were great days. But retrieving the cash I earned wasn’t a perfect process. After earning $50, I was able to request that Citi send a check to the address on my account to cover my cash back. If I were to close my account before reaching the $50 cash back threshold, I would forfeit my cash back.

6. Cash back isn’t always cash back

File this under misleading advertising. If a credit card issuer is offering cash back, I expect to receive cash back at the rate that is advertised, like 2 percent. That should mean that for every $100 I spend, I earn $2 cash back. I don’t expect that the cash back be in the form of a gift card for a retailer. Many issuers have improved their labeling of these programs, but some problems still exist.

Some issuers still use the term “cash back” when referring to a statement credit. If a credit card company credits your statement once a year with the cash back you earn for the previous twelve months, you haven’t earned cash back that you can use to deposit into savings, invest for the future, or buy yourself something additional. The issuer is keeping the cash back in its own hands by applying your cash back to your account. Assuming your statement credit is $300, you can take $300 of your own cash that you would have applied towards your credit card bill and use that to increase your savings or buy something else, but the idea that you’re not receiving any real cash back from a cash back program is bothersome.

Additionally, if you close your account before your annual cash back credit, you might be forfeiting the portion of the benefit you earned.

7. Earning maximums and thresholds

With your favorite cash back card, or one that looks great on the surface, you may find that the fine print limits your cash back earning potential. Some of the highest cash back rates, particularly those 5 percent rotating categories, are limited. The highest rates may only apply to the first $1,000 in spending — or less. The “biggest cash back credit card” that you may hear about in a competitor’s commercials is the Discover More Card. You can earn 5% cash back in rotating categories each quarter, but the 5% is limited to the first $300 spent in that category. That means that the most you can earn from the accelerated tier is $15 each quarter. Your spending in these categories may not exceed $300 over the course of three months, but if it does, you’ll be leaving money on the table.

With some cards, like the Blue Cash Everyday from American Express, you don’t earn a higher cash back percentage until your spending $6,500 in a year. Purchases on the card in the highest tier after that point earn 5 percent, but until you reach that threshold, your purchases earn only 1.25%. In the lower tier, you can earn 1.25% after reaching the threshold, but only 0.5% beforehand.

8. Changing terms

Thanks to the Credit CARD Act of 2009, issuers have less flexibility to change your credit card terms without much notice. Issuers do have options if they want to move customers from a great cash back program to a less impressive program. The most used option is replacing one card type with another. When Citibank replaced the Dividend Platinum Select MasterCard with the Dividend World MasterCard, the cash back structure changed to be less beneficial for the customer. Even customers who opted out of the switch, which Citi approached as if it were mandatory for customers to accept, the cash back program was eventually reduced.

The benefits spenders receive today can change at any time. Credit card issuers react quickly to market forces; when one issuer offers a higher benefit, other issuers often respond within a week to remain competitive. The same reaction can happen on the opposite direction.

9. Some retailers are excluded

If your card earns 5 percent cash back at groceries stores, but you shop for groceries at Costco, Target, Walmart, or some other store that’s not a pure grocery store or supermarket, you won’t earn that higher tier of cash back. In fact, some of the big warehouse stores are excluded from cash back programs altogether. Some of these stores, often offering products at a discount compared to other stores, as well as small retailers who can’t afford to pay the higher interchange fees associated with some rewards cards, ban the use of cash back credit cards in their stores.

Shoppers may not be aware of this no cash back requirement until they have finished shopping. At the cashier, they are given the opportunity to buy all the products they collected from around the store with a card that offers no cash back, to pay for their items with cash, or leave the store without making their purchase. Most shoppers will simply forgo the cash back and buy the products anyway, as that’s often a better option than considering the time spend in the store a waste and creating a necessity for shopping somewhere else.

10. Misleading conversion rates

As mentioned above, customers expect cash back programs to be straightforward. A 2 percent cash back rate should mean that every $100 earns $2 in pure cash. Some issuers make the conversion more complicated that it should be, by saying you can redeem your cash back for full value only through retail gift cards, and more flexible forms of rewards would cost more. For example, a $100 pre-paid debit card might cost $125 in cash back rewards.

This conversion obfuscation is aided by issuers who use a point system rather than a straight cash back system. Always be wary of point-based benefits if your goal is to earn cash back. When credit cards use points, they add a layer of abstraction between your reward earnings and your cash back, and issuers can do whatever they like with those points. Once you earn points, credit card companies can change their value relative to cash or change the price of the rewards for redemption.

Although some of the best maximizers can find ways to earn the most cash back from their spending, and some of the most focused work own a combination of credit cards to earn the highest cash back on all categories of spending at any one time, credit card issuers still have the upper hand. One mistake with a payment and you can throw away all the cash back you’ve earned in a year. You may misunderstand the complicated terms or forget to opt in to this quarter’s highest tier. Or, just like a large portion of credit card users, you may spend more than you would otherwise in search of a relatively small reward. Cash back credit cards are tools best used by those who have been trained to recognize these traps and fight the psychological impulses that allow spending to increase when using one of these tools.

The original version of this article, 10 Cash Back Credit Card Traps, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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American Express has always been great in varying their credit card offers to business owners. Whether a business owner’s priority is travel accommodations, spending power or saving money, there’s a credit or charge card designed to help out. The TrueEarnings Business Card from Costco and American Express fits into the saving money category, as it’s the only business card around offering 4% cash back on gasoline purchases.

All business owners of the TrueEarnings Business Card from Costco and American Express will receive a 0% introductory APR for six months. After the introductory period, the interest rate reverts to a standard APR of 15.24% variable. The cash advance APR is 21.24% variable and the default APR is a pricey 27.24% variable so avoid cash advances and pay bills on time to prevent default.

The TrueEarnings® Business Card’s primary feature is cash back, and the card offers competitive cash back rates, listed below. Cardholders will not be subject to cash back limits, and the cash earned never expires.

• 4% for annual gasoline purchases of up to $6,000 (1% thereafter).
• 2% for restaurants and travel.
• 1% everywhere else, including Costco.

Every business is entitled to additional perks and benefits as owners of an American Express business credit cards. Here are some of the noteworthy benefits.

• No annual fee with your paid Costco membership.
• Save up to 10% automatically on business expenses from FedEx, Hertz, and more with OPEN Savings.
• Assistance with emergency card replacement, check-cashing, and hotel check-in.

Few business credit cards offer the full package. These tend to be big money makers for card issuers, whether through a high interest rate or annual fee. The TrueEarnings Business Card from Costco and American Express seems to be one of the few business cards offering a solid rewards program with a low APR, and, possibly most importantly, no annual fee.

Consider enhancing your business by signing up for the TrueEarnings® Business Card from Costco and American Express today.

The original version of this article, TrueEarnings Business Card from Costco and American Express Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Citibank has launched a new version of their Citi Forward Card with a credit card bonus worth mentioning. The new card offers cardholders the opportunity to earn 30,000 bonus ThankYou points, redeemable for $300 in gift cards. This is a big boost over the typical offer for this card, 10,000 points. Unlike many other bonus credit card offers, this one comes with a disadvantage of delayed gratification; earning the full bonus requires meeting three separate criteria. That doesn’t make the Citi Forward® Card – $300 in Gift Cards offer particularly attractive, but for young professionals with a fresh credit history, it may be the best card available today.

In order to earn the full 30,000 ThankYou point bonus on the Citi Forward® Card – $300 in Gift Cards offer, a new cardholder must do the following:

• Spend $500 in the first three months of card ownership to receive the first 10,000 ThankYou points.
• Spend $1,000 in months four through six of card ownership to receive the second set of 10,000 ThankYou points.
• Spend $1,500 in months seven through nine of card ownership to receive the last set of 10,000 ThankYou points.

As you can see the barriers to earning this full bonus aren’t particularly large, but it will take some time before the full 30,000 ThankYou points can be realized. You can meet these criteria while paying your balance in full every month; in fact, this is important to do, because any interest you pay will decrease the value of this offer.

This card also includes a rewards program that offers two ThankYou points for every dollar spent at restaurants and on books, movies and music, and Citi offers One ThankYou point per dollar on all other purchases. There is no limit to the amount of points you can earn every year, and the points never expire. Points are more valuable when converted into gift cards and travel than cash.

The Citi Forward Card – $300 in Gift Cards offer has a variable interest rate on purchases and balance transfers of 13.99% to 21.99% depending on credit history. Citi will reduce your APR by 2 percentage points when cardholders make payments on time and spend within their limits. It’s the only card marketed today that offers the perk of a reduced APR. There is no annual fee for using this card.

The $300 gift card bonus is available for a limited time only on select websites like Consumerism Commentary. Consider applying for the Citi Forward® Card – $300 in Gift Cards offer, especially if you’re just getting started in your professional career and don’t have the excellent credit (this card requires a good credit score, but not necessarily excellent) other top-of-the-line credit cards require. If you’re unsure about your credit score, consider visiting GoFreeCredit.com to check your credit score with a 7-day free trial.

The original version of this article, $300 Gift Card Bonus from the Citi Forward Card, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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In a competitive credit card market, issuers compete with each other by increasing their benefits. After the Slate from Chase balance transfer offer became available, Citi responded with a sizable sign-up bonus for its balance transfer credit card. For a limited time only, new cardholders of the Citi Diamond Preferred Card will receive a 0% introductory APR on both purchases and balance transfers for 18 months, with a $200 up front statement credit and 3% balance transfer fee.

Cardholders qualify for the $200 statement credit after spending $500 online within the first three months of owning the card, which is not exactly the best situation for someone intending to use this card for the balance transfer offer. The best balance transfer offers are usually only good deals when the card is used solely for paying off the transferred balance, not for new spending. With a 0% introductory APR on purchases for 18 months, however, if new members intend on purchasing holiday gifts online, they could possibly reach the $500 threshold before the year is over. This new debt can be paid off just as easily at 0%.

If you plan to make an event out of Black Friday or Cyber Monday by shopping online, the $200 statement credit could be one of the most beneficial card offers.

Keep in mind that offer like these are not good for anyone who is not in control of their expenses. Good introductory offers can attract spenders to credit cards only to trap them into paying more interest down the road. Only take advantage of these offers if you are disciplined and have an emergency fund to draw from if your financial situation changes.

When you compare the Citi Diamond Preferred Card with the no balance transfer fee Slate from Chase, there are two things to consider. Any cardholder with a balance of $6,667 or more would save more money by transferring the balance to the Chase card because Citi’s fee at 3% is greater than $200. Conversely, with the Citi Diamond Preferred, the 0% interest rate lasts a full six months longer, so even if a consumer has to pay a few dollars more to transfer the balance, an additional six months may be worthwhile. It’s a tough call, but this new offer from Citi edges out the Slate from Chase in general, but you have to consider your own specific circumstances.

Once the introductory interest rate expires, the Citi Diamond Preferred Card, which has no annual fee, reverts to the following APR structure:

• 11.99% to 21.99% variable on purchases and balance transfers depending on quality of credit history
• 25.24% variable cash advance APR
• 29.99% variable default rate APR, initiated when a cardholder is consistently delinquent with late payments or over-limit charges

The holidays are a great time to get together with family and friends, but they also bring on the added pressure of buying gifts and spending money on holiday decorations and parties. Don’t dig a credit card debt hole deeper than you have to. Pay off all your purchases interest-free for 18 months with the Citi Diamond Preferred Card.

The original version of this article, Citi Diamond Preferred Card $200 Credit and 18 Month Balance Transfer Offer, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Earlier this year, Discover launched a no balance transfer fee credit card offer that was available for a full three months, an unexpected offer given the trend towards increased balance transfer fees following the recession. Credit cards with these attractive balance transfer offers are generally the least profitable for card issuers, and it had been years since any issuer took a big risk by offering a fee-free balance transfer. Today, Chase has also taken that leap of faith by offering the Slate® from Chase – Limited Time: No Balance Transfer Fee credit card offer. I expect this will only be available for a short time, so for anyone who has a high-APR balance on a credit card, this is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of a big discount on interest expenses.

The Slate® from Chase – Limited Time: No Balance Transfer Fee offer provides a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. This is offered only to applicants who have good or excellent credit. This deal is reserved for the best risks in the eyes of Chase; approved applicants with average credit will receive a 0% introductory APR on balance transfers for only six months. All other card offers available publicly today come with a fee for balance transfers, usually 3 to 5 percent of the balance transferred. Chase is the only bank currently offering this perk, and this is the only Chase card for which the benefit is available. The 3 percent minimum balance transfer fee charged by other issuers cuts into the savings a balance transfer offer provides.

For example, a cardholder with a $10,000 balance looking for a lower interest rate transfers the entire balance to another credit card. With a 3 percent balance transfer fee, the new balance is already $10,300. With the Slate® from Chase – Limited Time: No Balance Transfer Fee, the new balance would remain $10,000, saving the customer $300 in comparison. The higher the balance transfer, the greater the potential savings.

Once the introductory rate expires, the standard purchase APR on the Slate® from Chase – Limited Time: No Balance Transfer Fee becomes 11.99%, 16.99% or 21.99% variable, depending on quality of credit history. Chase does not charge an annual fee, so card holders who do not charge beyond their credit limits and who pay their bills on time will never pay Chase a dime for the privilege.

Citibank has been the leader of balance transfer offers, but this no balance transfer fee offer from Chase is putting pressure on Citi. Citi currently offers a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 21 months (with a 3% fee), so depending on how long a consumer needs to make interest free payments, the Slate from Chase could present a unique opportunity to save even more money. Remember that this is a very limited time offer so to take advantage, apply for or review more information about the Slate® from Chase – Limited Time: No Balance Transfer Fee offer.

The original version of this article, Slate from Chase Limited Time No Balance Transfer Fee Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Citi has announced one of the biggest credit card sign-up bonuses I’ve seen recently. The Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card is now offering a 50,000 ThankYou point bonus for new customers. Card holders need to spend $2,500 over the first three months of ownership to qualify for these bonus points, and as soon as they are credited to a customer’s account, they can be redeemed for $500 in gift cards or $665 in travel when you redeem for airfare through the ThankYou Travel Center. The potential bonus of $665 is one of the largest currently offered by any credit card issuer. In comparison, another great offer, with the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card new cardmembers can earn 25,000 bonus points after the first purchase, that’s over $400 in Wanna Get Away® Fares to be redeemed for a free roundtrip flight.

Getting back to the Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card, in addition to the $665 travel bonus, the card offers 1.2 ThankYou points for every dollar spent at gas stations, supermarkets, drugstores, commuter transportation and parking merchants. All other purchases qualify for one point per dollar. Unlike other Citi cards, there is no annual maximum to the amount of possible rewards points. The points never expire.

Citi includes additional perks with the Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card, including:

• Earn points for the miles you fly when you purchase a ticket with your Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card.
• Annual Anniversary Bonus every year you’re a cardmember.
• No foreign transaction fee on purchases.
• Annual complimentary domestic companion ticket (within the continental United States) and a 15% discount when booking air travel through Citi’s travel benefits provider.

The Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card purchase APR is 13.99% to 22.99% variable, and the rate a cardholder will receive depends on credit history. The cash advance is an expensive 25.24% and the default APR is up to 29.99%. These are rates to avoid, so don’t use this card for cash advances and make sure you pay your bill on time to avoid default. The one major drawback you’ll find on this card is the $125 annual fee but it is waived for all first year cardholders. Make sure you take full advantage of the rewards program and initial bonus if you plan to own this card for a long period of time.

For more information or to file an application online, visit the secure application page for the Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card.

The original version of this article, Citi ThankYou Premier Card $500 Gift Card Bonus, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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If you want to know how much credit card debt Americans have, don’t ask the borrowers. For years, economists have sought debt data from both borrowers and lenders for credit card debt and four other debt categories. Borrowers report their debt balances by responding to household surveys, like the Survey of Consumer Finances. Lenders report debt to the credit reporting bureaus such as Equifax.

Relying on self-reported information for studies is always a risky approach if you’re planning to make any scientific assumptions based on the data. Everybody lies. Or, in some cases, people think they know the answer to a question about how or why they do something, but the truth remain undetected. Asking a population of consumers if they will transfer all their money from a big bank to a credit union will always result in overstating the number, as people tend to respond as if they were their ideal versions of themselves. Surely, a quantifiable question such as their debt balances shouldn’t be subject to this kind of error.

In fact, for most types of credit card debt, the self-reported balances match the issuer-reported balances. In only one category is there a discrepancy: credit cards.

Binyamin Applebaum from the Economix Blog explores some of the possible reasons that consumers misreport credit card debt. Among the possibilities:

Shame

Most of the other debt categories reported, such as student loans and home mortgages, tend to be socially acceptable. A consumer who feels embarrassed about a behavior or a state of being, there’s a chance he or she will be less willing to report it on a survey. Personal bankruptcies, on the other hand, could also be embarrassing, but households report them correctly.

Ignorance.

The study comparing the two debt reporting approaches show that single people report their credit card accurately while households do not. Household surveys are generally answered by only one person within the household, and that person may not be aware of the other person’s debt, even if the family has chosen to combine accounts.

Interpretation.

If someone were to ask me how much credit card debt I have, I’d say I have none. My latest balance sheet (net worth report) shows that is false. At the end of each month, I have a balance on my credit cards. I pay my credit card balance in full every month before it is due, but a snapshot on any date would show that I have a balance. People like me might report that they have no credit card debt, particularly if the question is not explained well on the survey. The issuers see it differently. They report a balance to the credit bureaus even if the issuers expect (or would expect if they note patterns) the borrower to pay in full.

When correcting for these issues, the researchers who conducted the study comparing the two reporting techniques still couldn’t explain the remaining discrepancy. Issuers reported more than twice the amount of credit card debt borrowers reported. The only possible conclusion is that people just don’t know how much they owe on credit cards. The study concludes that “uninformedness” is the problem. People just don’t know how much credit card debt they have, even if statements make this information easily accessible, at least on a monthly basis.

Two important steps in taking control of your finances are to take an inventory, finding where you stand in every financial account including debt, and to track your money, knowing how much is coming in and going out, and when these changes happen.

Do you know how much credit card debt you have? Do you think it matches what your credit card issuers say you have?

Federal Reserve Bank of New York [pdf] via Economix

The original version of this article, Under-reporting Personal Household Debt, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Some small business owners find that they can more easily organize their accounting if they have a credit card dedicated to business purchases. For business owners who haven’t established credit in the business’s name, credit card issuers generally rely on the owner’s credit history. So even without a business credit history, it’s possible to be approved. Many small business cards are offering up-front rewards for signing up. The newest offer on the market is the CitiBusiness® World Card, offering new account holders a $100 bonus in the form of points.

New customers must spend $300 on the card during the first three months to qualify for this sin-up bonus. When a new cardholder satisfies this requirement, Citi will add 10,000 ThankYou points to his or her account immediately. Customers can redeem these points for cash, travel, or $100 in gift cards. The Citi Business World Card also offers points for every purchase using the following schedule.

• Three ThankYou Points for every dollar spent on purchases at certain office supply merchants and on professional services.
• One ThankYou Point per dollar spent on other purchases.

Also, business owners who order additional cards for employees will earn ThankYou Points for the employees’ purchases.

Unfortunately, the conversion between ThankYou Points and cash back is not the standard consumers have come to expect. Normally, card issuers allow a conversion of 100 points to one dollar in cash back. The ThankYou Points convert at that rate when redeeming gift cards, and most customers will find this to be the best use of the points. ThankYou points never expire. Unlike most Citi consumer (non-business) cards, there is no limit to the amount of points a business owner can earn each year.

One of the strongest benefits of the CitiBusiness® World Card is that it functions similarly to a charge card while still maintaining the features of a credit card. The card has no pre-set spending limit, so if a customer completes a purchase that causes the account to exceed the stated credit limit, Citi may still approve the transaction, without assessing a penalty or fee. If Citi does approve a purchase that sends a cardholder over the limit, the issuer allows a full statement cycle to pass to pay the over-limit amount before charging interest and fees. It’s the only card I know of that offers this feature, which could come in handy in some situations.

Citi also provides a 0% introductory APR on purchases for six months, and after this introductory period, the rate reverts to the standard of 13.24% variable, which is considered low in today’s market. With no annual fee, the CitiBusiness® World Card is a great option for any business owner looking to make organizing finances a little easier.

The original version of this article, CitiBusiness World Card Offering $100 Bonus, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Over a year ago, the popular Southwest Airlines purchased AirTran Airways, furthering the growth of the discount airfare business. If you’re fortunate enough to have a Southwest hub near you and can take advantage of their highly discounted fares, take a look at the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card. The card offers options for saving even more money on your travel expenses in addition to one of the best up-front bonuses offered today.

The credit card rewards program found on the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card is fairly straightforward. First, you earn 25,000 bonus points after your first purchase, which can be traded in for a free flight. You can earn 3,000 bonus points every year you renew your card, redeemable for a $50 “Wanna Get Away” fare.

For purchases, here is the structure of the rewards program.

• Two rewards dollars for every dollar spent on Southwest Airlines purchases and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Rental Car partner purchases.
• One rewards dollars for every dollar spent on all other purchases.

As you accumulate points, you’ll qualify for free flights. Depending on the type of ticket you are looking to get, point values for free flights vary. There are no blackout dates, unlimited reward seats, your first and second bag fly free, no change fees if you need to change your flight and points don’t expire.

To qualify for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card, you will need a high credit score in order to be approved. To check your credit score, visit GoFreeCredit.com for a 7-day free trial.

One last important item to mention about the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card is the $69 annual fee associated with the card. For a casual traveler who doesn’t necessarily fly Southwest airlines, there are better travel rewards credit cards available. If you are a frequent Southwest Airlines flier, consider the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card. This offer will only be around for a limited time.

The original version of this article, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card Free Flight, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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The idea of prepaid card being used as financial tools can be a cringe-worthy concept, particularly to savvy financial experts. For most Americans, prepaid cards aren’t really part of the tool set. The benefits of a credit card are much stronger than prepaid cards, and with most people qualifying for credit cards, even through the recession, prepaid cards don’t get a lot of respect. The drawback of prepaid cards are the varieties of fees. For consumers without choices due to bad credit or no credit, prepaid card issuers really have an advantages. These fees can be exorbitant like those for the RushCards.

There are much better deal available. One such card with reasonable fees — keeping in mind it is still more expensive to own a prepaid card than most credit cards – is the Mango™ MasterCard® Prepaid Card. In addition to the low fees, this card provides a 6% APY on money deposit. In today’s interest rate environment, where banks are offering 1% APY or much less on savings, this is a compelling option. The money you deposit with the prepaid card is FDIC insured, too, so your money is never at risk.

Mango™ MasterCard® Prepaid Card members has the following stipulations:

• Customers must open a Mango Money bank account, which can easily be done online.
• Card holders must initiate a direct deposit, also easily completed online. Without direct deposit, the interest rate would be 2%.
• The 6% only applies to the first $5,000 deposited, with anything above $5,000 receiving a 0.10% APY.

Consumers expecting to transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars to their new Mango online savings account will be disappointed to see that only the first $5,000 will qualify for the six percent interest rate, but this prepaid card is designed for people in need of a payment method, struggling to make ends meet. The Mango™ MasterCard® Prepaid Card is able to provide such a high interest rate because it does very little marketing and print advertisements, passing the money on to the consumer with this offer.

While the above deal sounds quite good, particularly for people who don’t have other options available, but there are drawbacks. The Mango™ MasterCard® Prepaid Card charges just a few general fees, the largest of which can be easily avoided. Card holders can expect to pay these fees:

• $5 monthly fee. This fee can be waived if the card holder loads at least $500 onto the card during the month.
• $2 ATM withdrawal fee. Keep in mind that this fee would be in addition to any fee the ATM charges.
• $0.50 ATM balance inquiry fee. There is no fee to check your balance online, however.
• $4.95 cash load fee using Green Dot. Direct deposit and the first six electronic transfers each month are free of charge.
• $10 account closing fee.

There are no application fees, sign-up fees, one-time account opening fees, or any other tactics prepaid cards often take advantage of consumers. For a limited time, when a new account holder makes two direct deposits, the issuer will add a $20 credit to the Mango Money savings account.

The Mango™ MasterCard® Prepaid Card does not report to the major credit bureaus and is not designed to be used by anyone who has good to excellent credit. Prepaid credit cards help consumers with poor credit in need of a safe and secure way to pay for everyday purchases as an alternative to using cash. This one just happens to have a head-turning interest rate, and it’s quite possible for card holders to avoid paying fees. Prepaid cards prevent holders from spending money they don’t have, but so does a cash-only approach. If it weren’t for the 6% APY interest rate, I might not even mention this card.

Saving money has become quite depressing these days. Almost every day, I need to update the best online savings account page by reducing the interest rates. After another flurry of rate decreases this week, the best rate available today is a sad 1%. Just three years ago, banks were attracting customers with rates of 3% or 4%. With current Federal Reserve policy, there’s no telling just how low deposit interest rates will go.

If you find yourself in need of a prepaid card or are looking to maximize the return of $5,000 in a safe and secure way, consider applying for the Mango™ MasterCard® Prepaid Card and earn a return of up to $300 a year on your money.

The original version of this article, Earn 6% APY With the Mango MasterCard Prepaid Card, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Using a hotel rewards credit card can do more than just provide a way to pay for your travel expenditures. If used properly, it can also save you hundreds to thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime by offering free stays at hotels and by providing discounts on future travel purchases.

The Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card promises to do both.

The very first thing you’ll notice about the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card is a 50,000 point bonus for signing up and making your first purchase. Those points can be redeemed for a multiple-night stay at most Marriott locations. Next, Chase will give you another night stay at any hotel in categories 1 through 4 hotel, again just for signing up. Each year you renew your card membership, you’ll receive a free night’s stay.

A great rewards program accompanies the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card. Here are the details:

• Five points earned for every dollar spent at Marriott locations.
• Two points earned for every dollar spent on airline, dining and car rental purchases.
• One point earned on all other purchases.
• No foreign transaction fees (new feature).

This card also allows you to reach elite status (in Silver, Gold and Platinum) where you’ll earn points faster and receive unique perks and rewards. Every $3,000 you spend will give you one elite night credit, which accelerates your progress towards the next elite status level.

Other than the rewards program, the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card offers other factors that make this a valuable offer. All cardholders receive an above-average variable APR on purchases and balance transfers of 15.24%, but this card carries an annual fee of $85, which is waived during the first year. The fee may be high, but the rewards you receive through free night stays are worth the cost. If you plan to stay at Marriott hotels often enough to accrue the rewards, this card is a good choice.

The 50,000 bonus point offer included with the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card is brand new and only available for a limited time, so if you find yourself in need of a rewards credit card that offers multiple free night stays on a yearly basis, consider the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card.

The original version of this article, Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card 50,000 Bonus Points Promotion, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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There haven’t been many significant credit card bonus offers lately, but Citi is putting on the table a solid offer worth mentioning, for the benefit of those who can take advantage of the timing. Late last week, Citi launched a new version of the Citi ThankYou℠ Preferred Card that now includes a $500 gift card bonus. A gift card bonus is not as flexible as a $500 cash bonus, like the one offered by the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, but the benefit this card has is the lack of an annual fee.

Any new approved applicant of the Citi ThankYou℠ Preferred Card can be awarded up to 50,000 bonus ThankYou points. In order to receive the full allotment, there are two requirements.

1. The cardholder must spend $5,000 in the first six months of owning the card to obtain 25,000 ThankYou points.
2. The cardholder must then spend $5,000 over the next six months to obtain another 25,000 ThankYou points.

This means that customers must spend a total of $10,000 during the first year of card ownership, and this feat must be accomplished in two separate stages. For example, if a consumer spends $20,000 in month number four, that money will only garner the first 25,000 point bonus. He or she must spend a minimum of $5,000 during the second half of the first year in order to receive the consummation of the promotion.

This is the first promotion I’ve seen a long while that’s been thought out by a card issuer. From the company’s point of view, customers often sign up for cards to receive bonuses without any long-term requirements, so customers often cancel as soon as they’ve met all the requirements. These are the best deals from a consumer’s point of view, as long as they don’t mind the potential hit to the credit score for opening and closing new credit cards, but issuers spend money to acquire customers who often end up being unprofitable. As a result, issuers lower other benefits to new and existing customers.

With the $500 promo being offered by the Citi ThankYou℠ Preferred Card, Citi is increasing the chance that new customers will stick with the card for a longer period of time.

There are a few other important details to consider when applying for the Citi ThankYou℠ Preferred Card.

• Spenders earn one point for every dollar spent on all purchases.
• The purchase APR is 12.99% to 20.99% variable depending on credit history.
• An anniversary bonus is provided on points earned every year.
• There is no annual fee.

Depending on how a cardholder redeems points, the 50,000 ThankYou point limited time bonus offered on the Citi ThankYou℠ Preferred Card could be worth more than $500. For example, redeeming points for travel benefits is better than a $1 to 100 point conversion.Considering that this card still offers a rewards program without charging an annual fee, many consumers conscious of giving back to a card issuer every year may find this card attractive. Consider applying for the Citi ThankYou℠ Preferred Card today.

The original version of this article, Citi ThankYou Preferred Card $500 Limited Time Bonus, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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With hundreds of credit cards available today, it’s difficult to find the best credit card for your particular situation. Whether you need a travel rewards card or a great cash-back card, the best offers are getting more difficult to find. The best credit cards of 2012 are just not as rewarding as they once were, but as the economy improves, credit card issuers are beginning to make a concerted effort to get your business back.

Credit cards, and in particular the type of credit card use that’s associated with maximizing rewards, is not the best option for people who do not pay the bill in full and on time each month. Be sure to read the note at the bottom of this article before changing your credit card situation.

These are the best credit cards available today, updated for February 2012. I’ve included a brief explanation as to why each credit card made the list. I update this page frequently, so check back often.

Citibank

Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard®. The Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® offers a 0% introductory APR for 18 months on purchases and balance transfers. If you need to transfer a high balance, I recommend this card. The Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® has no annual fee and carries a very low APR of 11.99% to 21.99% variable. To obtain this card, you need good credit, but if you want to receive the best introductory offer and APR available, you need excellent credit.

Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card. The Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card includes a 30,000 bonus point offer after signing up and making $2,000 in purchases during the first three months. Those 30,000 points can be redeemed for a $300 gift card, and cardholders can also earn bonus points for signing up for an online account with paperless statements. Each year you own the Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Rewards Card, you earn an annual bonus. The card carries a hefty $125 annual fee, but the fee is waived for all first-year cardholders.

Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card. While the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card does not include a rewards program, there is a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for a full 18 months. The regular APR is 11.99% – 21.99% variable, depending on credit history, and this card includes no annual fee. The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card provides cardholders a concierge service, which can be used for just about everything, from booking hotel rooms and flights to purchasing concert tickets and making restaurant reservations.

Citi ThankYou℠ Preferred Card. The cousin of the ThankYou Premier, the Citi ThankYou℠ Preferred Card is a scaled-down version of the card with slightly smaller bonuses and rewards. If you spend $1,000 within the first three months, Citi provides cardholders with 15,000 bonus ThankYou® points, good for a $150 gift card. Customers earn five rewards points for each dollar spent on gasoline, drugstore and supermarket purchases during the first 12 months and one rewards point for each dollar spent thereafter. The Citi ThankYou℠ Preferred Card does not carry an annual fee.

American Express

Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card. One of the leading credit cards for travel rewards, the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card offers up to 25,000 bonus points in the first six months you are a cardholder, and has no annual fee for the first year ($65 thereafter). At the recent Financial Blogger Conference, there was a significant consensus at my dinner with a number of top bloggers that the rewards offered on this card and its business counterpart are the best. And your Starpoints can be redeemed for nearly any travel expense.

Blue Cash Everyday℠ from American Express. Blue Cash Everyday℠ from American Express offers $100 cash back bonus after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases in the first 3 months, as well a cash back tier of: 3% cash back on supermarket purchases, 2% cash back on gas and department store purchases and 1% cash back on everything else. There is an introductory 0% APR on purchases for 12 months and no annual fee associated with the card. A $25 referral fee is awarded if you sign up and recommend the Blue Cash Everyday℠ from American Express to a friend.

TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express. Rounding out the best American Express cards, the TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express offers 3% cash back for annual gasoline purchases of up to $3,000 (1% thereafter), 2% on travel and restaurants, and 1% on everything else. The card has a low comparable APR and an introductory offer of 0% APR on purchases for six months.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

Chase

Chase Sapphire® Preferred Card. The Chase Sapphire® Preferred Card provides 50,000 bonus points if you make at least $3,000 in purchases during the first three months, worth $625 toward airfare or hotel accommodations. This card has a 1% standard reward rate on all purchases and 2% for all travel and dining purchases. There is a $95 annual fee associated with the Chase Sapphire® Preferred Card which is waived for the first year but all cardholders will receive a 7% anniversary bonus on points earned every year. For travelers, this card can really come in handy because there are no foreign transaction fees. This is a limited time offer.

Chase Freedom® Visa – $200 Bonus Cash Back. The best of all cash back credit cards, the Chase Freedom® Visa – $200 Bonus Cash Back offers cardholders a $200 statement credit after making just $500 in purchases during the first three months of card ownership. This card also includes 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent on rotating categories throughout the year and 1% cash back on everything else. Cash earned never expires and the Chase Freedom® Visa – $200 Bonus Cash Back has no annual fee.

Capital One

Capital One® Venture℠ Rewards Credit Card. The Capital One® Venture℠ Rewards Credit Card is as straightforward as it gets. Earn two miles for every dollar you spend and an additional one-time bonus of 10,000 miles when you spend $1,000 in your first three months. There is a $59 annual fee, but it is waived the first year you have the card. The Capital One® Venture℠ Rewards Credit Card is a Visa Signature card, so the card offers the Signature set of extended benefits such as complimentary concierge services and travel upgrades.

Capital One® No Hassle Cash℠ Rewards Credit Card. The Capital One® No Hassle Cash℠ Rewards Credit Card offers unlimited 2% cash back on gas and groceries and 1% cash back on everything else. The card offers a 0% APR introductory offer on purchases until September 2012. The card carries a $39 annual fee and of all the cards that made this list, the Capital One® No Hassle Cash℠ Rewards Credit Card is the only one that is available for customers with average credit.

Discover

Discover® More® Card. The Discover® More® Card can be a strong cash back card if used properly. With the opportunity to earn 5% cash back on rotating categories throughout the year, up to the total purchase dollar amount specified in each program, the Discover® More® Card has been a customer hit for years. Category purchases in excess of the specified amounts will earn up to 1% cash back. In addition earn 1% unlimited cash back on purchases after your total annual purchases exceed $3,000; purchases that are part of your first $3,000 earn .25%. The card also carries a 0% APR introductory offer on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months. There is no annual fee to carry the Discover® More® Card.

Bank of America

BankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Card. The BankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Card offers 3% cash back on gas, 2% on groceries and 1% on all purchases thereafter. Cardholders have the opportunity to earn an additional 10% cash back if they redeem into a Bank of America® checking or savings account. The BankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Card does offer an introductory rate of 0% APR for the first twelve billing cycles on purchases and for any balance transfers made within 60 days of opening your account. This card does not carry an annual fee.

Bank of America® Accelerated Rewards® American Express® Card. Two issuers combine to form this great cash back credit card, currently offering up to $50 in statement credits. The Bank of America® Accelerated Rewards® American Express® Card offers 1.25% cash back for every $1 in net retail purchases and does not have an annual fee. The card also carries a 0% APR introductory offer for your first 12 billing cycles only for purchases and for balance transfers made within 60 days of opening your account. If you don’t pay your card off each month, you might discover this card’s one drawback: a purchase APR as high as 20.99%.

Simmons First

Simmons First Visa Platinum Rewards. The Simmons First Visa Platinum Rewards Card made the list because of its low standard purchase APR. At 9.25%, the only card with a lower standard purchase APR we could find was the Simmons First Visa card but that card didn’t have a rewards program. With the Simmons First Visa Platinum Rewards Card, you earn one point for every net dollar you spend, and the card carries no annual fee. If you’re planning to make a balance transfer onto this card, you’ll be happy to know there is no balance transfer fee either.

Reader favorite

Fidelity Investment Rewards Visa Signature Card. The Fidelity Investment Rewards Visa Signature Card offers a unique reward program. Earn 1.5 points for each $1 spent on the first $15,000 in purchases per year, and if you spend more than $15,000 annually that reward is increased to 2 points per $1 in purchases. When you reach 5,000 points they can be converted into deposits into your eligible Fidelity investment account. The card also participates in the WorldPoints program, so if you do not want cash back in your Fidelity account or if you don’t have an investment account, you can redeem for travel on major U.S. airlines with no blackout dates or for purchases from a selection of available merchandise.

Note: If you use credit cards as a tool for convenience, pay your bills in full every month, and are otherwise financially self-aware, consider some of these credit cards. If you use credit cards to pay for things you can’t afford, paying interest every month, then start thinking about paying off debt.

The original version of this article, The Best Credit Cards, February 2012, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Sears introduced the Discover Card in 1985 and sold off the business to the independent company Discover Financial Services. Over the last few years, Discover has made some excellent strides in strengthening their somewhat ill-respected brand by expanding coverage. The company’s credit cards are now accepted almost everywhere Visa, MasterCard and American Express are.

Discover offers credit-seekers a pretty good mix of consumer-focused cards with typical features like cash-back rewards, low rates and travel perks. Chase, Capital One, and other major issuers are tough competitors for Discover, but the company is moving in the right direction by offering a varied selection of credit card products.

Here are the best credit card offers Discover is presenting to consumers today.

Discover® More® Card. The Discover® More® Card is one of the best cash back credit cards on the market, similar to the best cash back cards from other issuers, offering 5% cash back on rotating categories every quarter and up to 1% cash back on all other purchases. Cardholders earn 0.25% cash back on the first $3,000 spent each year and 1% thereafter. The card currently offers a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. The Discover® More® Card includes an interest rate of 10.99% to 20.99%* variable depending on credit history, and there is no annual fee.

Discover® Open Road Card. A good card for someone who likes to dine out and drive, the Discover Open Road Card offers a 2% cash back on up to $250 of combined restaurant and gasoline purchases and up to 1% cash back on everything else. The card currently offers a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. The standard purchase APR on the Discover Open Road Card after the intro period is 10.99% to 19.99% variable, depending on the credit history of the applicant, and this card charges no annual fee.

Miles by Discover® Card. The Miles by Discover Card has the lowest APR of all the cards in the Discover product line, currently offering a 10.99% to 16.99%* variable APR. This card also includes a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfer for six months, which isn’t as good as others listed here. However, spenders earn 1,000 bonus miles every month that includes a purchase for the first 12 months, resulting in $120 in potential travel rewards in addition to one mile for every dollar spent. Miles by Discover® Card also does not charge an annual fee.

Discover® More® Card – 18 Month Promotional Balance Transfer. This version of the Discover More Card offers consumers an extended introductory rate on balance transfers, providing a 0% APR for 18 months. The introductory rate on purchases is 0% for only six months, however. This card carries all of the other benefits the standard Discover® More® Card does, including the 5% cash back on select purchases every quarter and up to 1% cash back everywhere else. The Discover® More® Card – 18 Month Promotional Balance Transfer has a standard APR of 10.99% to 20.99%* variable and there is no annual fee.

Escape by Discover Card. This card features bigger benefits in exchange for an annual fee. Cardholders can earn 1,000 bonus miles each month that includes a purchase for the first 25 months. The total potential bonus for new cardholders converts to up to $250 in travel rewards. Spenders can also earn double miles on every dollar spent. The same low APR found on the Miles by Discover® Card is included on the Escape by Discover® Card, 10.99% to 16.99%* variable. Discover adds the perk of a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for six months. That annual fee mentioned earlier is $60.

Discover® Motiva Card. One of the truly unique credit cards on the market today, the Discover® Motiva Card rewards cardholders who pay their statements on time every month. For example, if a consumer owes $10 in interest, Discover will credit $0.50 to the account if the bill is paid on time. This effectively provides a 5% cash back on, or perhaps reduction of, interest paid. Discover offers an introductory APR of 0% on purchases and balance transfers* for the first 15 months. Cardholders earn 0.25% cash back on the first $3,000 spent each year and 1% thereafter. The Discover® Motiva Card has no annual fee*.

The original version of this article, Discover Credit Cards Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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I’ve written quite a bit about credit and debit cards over the last few years, with reviews many of the popular credit card offers available to consumers and small businesses. Most of these offers require a good, very good, or excellent credit history. With this requirement, consumers trying to build their credit from zero or to repair their credit from past mistakes or problems have a different set of options. A popular solution for building credit is to apply for a prepaid debit card and build the credit history needed to upgrade to one of the more lucrative offers at a later time. For small businesses, the variety of prepaid cards to manage spending is more limited than what is available for consumers. The best offer available today by a wide margin is the PEX Visa® Prepaid Card for Business.

Small business owners find it convenient to keep all spending confined to one account. Spending by all employees can be managed in one place online. The owner can visit the PEX Visa® Prepaid Card for Business website and create an account to manage all card limits and expenditures. Each issued card within the business can have its own spending limit. Here are some of the features of this card, in a chart from the PEX website.

As with most prepaid debit cards, PEX charges a variety of fees for using the PEX Visa® Prepaid Card for Business. The fees a reasonable in comparison to other cards, and with total spending across all of a business’s issued cards beyond a monthly threshold, the major fee disappears. These are the most prevalent fees this card carries:

• $7.50 month maintenance fee per card (waived any month thee business spends $50,000 collectively)
• $49.95 one-time account set up fee
• $5 fee to transfer money from your PEX account to your bank account
• $5 card replacement fee

All new cardholders will receive the first two months of services free of charge no matter how much is spent. Compared to the fees for some consumer prepaid debit cards, this card is actually quite inexpensive. That doesn’t mean however that this card is a good choice, but if your business could benefit from a centralized payment management system, PEX offers a compelling solution.

For any small business that has the high-quality credit to qualify for a small business credit card, the SimplyCash® Business Card from American Express OPEN or Ink Cash℠ Business is the way to go. But if excellent credit is something a business hopes to have in the future, the PEX Visa® Prepaid Card for Business is a solid option.

The original version of this article, PEX Visa Prepaid Card for Business Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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JP Morgan Chase is one of the few companies that continued to thrive, even during the recession. Chase is making a concerted effort to introduce new credit card offers, competitive with major issuers. The $500 cash back Chase Sapphire® Preferred Card is one of their strongest offers right now, but the Slate® from Chase offers a different set of features.

With an excellent credit history, Slate® from Chase will supply successful applicants with a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. For applicants with good credit, Chase modifies the promotion to a 0% introductory APR on balance transfers for just six months. There is a balance transfer fee of 3% of the balance, an industry standard. Once the introductory rate expires, the standard purchase APR is 11.99% or 16.99% variable for excellent credit or 21.99% for average credit.

Slate® from Chase also includes Blueprint, a feature that allows cardholders four ways to track spending:

• Full Pay. Avoid paying interest on categories of your choice by paying in full each month.
• Split. Pay off large purchases by telling Chase how much and how fast you wish to pay things off.
• Track It. Track your spending habits and compare them against your current payoff goals.
• Finish It. Choose a goal and a time-frame to pay off your balance and Chase will do the math to figure out just how long it will take.

There is no annual fee to own the Slate® from Chase, but there is also no rewards program associated with this offer. That makes this card ideal for consumers needing a balance transfer offer or long-term 0% APR on purchases, but not ideal for anyone wanting to maximize cash back or travel rewards.

Issuers may not continue to offer these 0% introductory offers in the future. Slate from Chase’s offer is second best to the Citi® Platinum Select® Card and its 21-month 0% deal. If you prefer to remain loyal to Chase and believe you will be able to pay off your existing credit card balance before the offer expires, consider the Slate® from Chase.

The original version of this article, Slate from Chase MasterCard Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Although it’s not my primary card, I still have a Citi Dividend World MasterCard in my wallet. The card, in its former incarnation as the Dividend Platinum Select MasterCard, was one of the best cash back rewards credit cards of its time, with 5 percent cash back on all purchases. Today, though, the card offers only 1 percent cash back with rotating categories for earning 5 percent cash back.

My Dividend Word MasterCard is not scheduled to expire for a while, but Citi sent me a replacement card. In fact, the issuer sent two replacement cards: a new Dividend World MasterCard and a new Dividend American Express Card. The American Express Card offers the same rewards as the MasterCard, and any charges appear on the same bill, but the AmEx Card offers an additional bonus of 20 percent on cash back. The total cash back I could earn by using the American Express version of the Citi Dividend card is 1.2 percent cash back, but for only the first twelve months of using the new card.

The details of the Citi Dividend World cash back program are here.

Receiving an American Express card from Citi was unexpected, and I don’t fully understand the point. By offering an incentive on the AmEx version of the card, Citi obviously is encouraging its use over the MasterCard version. Why send both? The package I received includes a frequently asked questions list, but it fails to answer that basic question sufficiently, other than to say that Citi believes that two cards encourages customers to use cards more often. Perhaps the company anticipates that customers who currently use a Citi Dividend World MasterCard for certain purchases and a different American Express card for others will replace their AmEx card with the one offered by Citi.

This change won’t encourage me to use either version of the Citi Dividend card more often. The MasterCard version of the card will continue to be my back-up card, used only on rare occasions. American Express seems to be finding ways to get more of its cards in the hands of consumers without having customers apply directly. American Express used to issue its own cards and not allow other issuers to do so to increase its market share. Macy’s recently converted its card to American Express, and now Citi is offering a cash back incentive to move its customers from MasterCard to AmEx.

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Credit card companies tend to have some of the most pervasive marketing messages. Through frequent commercials, credit cards get their branding goals across with immediately-identifiable taglines. Discover has “it pays to Discover.” Citibank has been using “Citi never sleeps” recently. One of the most effective marketing hooks comes from Capital One, with the indelible “what’s in your wallet?” message. The ads are also memorable because they are confusing. Why, exactly, are barbarians the spokespeople for the card? Alec Baldwin signed on as a spokesperson recently, so now they offer a mixed message with barbarians on the one hand with an eloquent and cultured version of Alec Baldwin on the other.

The product in which Capital One spends the most time advertising is the Capital One® VentureOne℠ Rewards Credit Card. This card is designated one of the best travel rewards credit cards and new account holders will earn 10,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 during the first three months, which is equivalent to earning $100 in travel rewards. Capital One also includes a 0% introductory APR for new customers on purchases until December 2012, so this card is great for making interest-free purchases, as long as the cardholder focuses on getting the entire balance paid off by the time the introductory period ends.

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card carries a simple rewards program. Every card user earns 1.25 miles for every dollar spent, and these miles never expire. There is no maximum to the miles earned, and they can be redeemed for almost any travel expense. The standard purchase APR on the card once the introductory rate expires is 11.9% to 19.9% variable, depending on credit history. This rate, or range of rates, is also the rate for balance transfers. Although there is no low-interest introductory offer for balance transfers, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card has no balance transfer fee, unlike most other major cards currently on the market.

In addition to the travel rewards and low APR, Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card also receive the following:

• No foreign transaction fees
• No annual fees
• No blackout dates when redeeming miles

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is a great all around travel rewards credit card but the up-front bonus is a little light. If you have the excellent credit that this card requires, you may want to consider the Chase Sapphire® Preferred Card they offer 50,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months which is worth $625 toward travel. The rewards are similar, and Chase provides a 7% bonus on all points every year you renew the card.

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Now that the Schwab Invest First 2% Cash Back credit card is officially closed, consider one of the alternatives below.

Owners of the very popular Schwab Invest First Visa credit card, which offered 2% cash back on purchases deposited directly into a Schwab account, have started receiving word that their favorite card will be converted to another offer. The card has been closed to new applicants for some time, and when a card stops soliciting new customers, it’s usually a good sign that demise for current cardholders is imminent. Many Consumerism Commentary readers over the past few years have written in to sing praises about this card in comparison with other cash back credit cards.

Bank of America, the bank that has been operating the cards with the Schwab branding, is offering current cardholders a choice between the BankAmericard Privileges Card or the BankAmericard Cash Rewards Card. The Privileges Card offers bonus cash back when linked to a Merrill Lynch account, while the Cash Rewards Card offers up to 3% cash back in certain categories, with a maximum.

Cardholders will have until late October to make their decision.

If the Bank of America options do not interest you, after considering the effect to your credit score, you may want to replace the Schwab Invest First card with a brand new credit card. Today, a number of issuers are willing to pay bonuses for customers who switch.

Chase Freedom® Visa – $200 Bonus Cash Back. With the Chase Freedom Visa – $200 Bonus Cash Back Credit Card, cardholders can earn up to 5% cash back on rotating categories throughout the year.

The cash back bonus is subject to a maximum, but with a $200 bonus for signing up and spending $500 on the card during the initial three months, you could walk away with more cash at the end of the year than sticking with the two Bank of America choices.

Citi® Dividend World MasterCard®. Like the Chase card above, the Citi Dividend World MasterCard offers 5% cash back on rotating categories and 1% cash back on all other purchases. New cardholders who spend $500 during the first three months qualify for a $100 cash back bonus.

Check the Citi website for the latest categories qualifying for the 5% this quarter. Compare it with the Chase offer and your anticipated spending to determine which offer would result in the most cash back.

Here are reviews of the best cash back credit cards. The others don’t reward you for being a new customer, but they might have higher cash back categories such as 3% or 2%. If your expenses are focused in these categories rather than the categories that offer the 5% cash back in the above cards, you may be better off by taking advantage of that offer rather than the above.

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You may have seen a lot of commercials for a new and improved credit card offered by Bank of America called the BankAmericard Cash Rewards™. Although this card offers a solid rewards program with a good interest rate and no annual fee, it’s nothing new and it’s certainly not improved. In fact, there are other credit cards that offer exactly what this card offers with additional perks you won’t find from Bank of America. Here are the latest details for the BankAmericard Cash Rewards offer. From this, you can determine whether the card belongs in your wallet.

The big attraction for all potential Bank of America cardholders is a rewards program that offers the following:

• 3% cash back on all gasoline purchases.
• 2% cash back on all grocery purchases.
• 1% cash back on everything else.

The 3% and 2% cash back categories expire after spending $1,500 in those categories each quarter. After spending $1,500, all purchases earn 1% cash back.

In addition to the cash back percentages, the BankAmericard Cash Rewards offers a $50 bonus when spending $100 in the first sixty days and a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. The balance transfer must be made within the first sixty days to qualify for the 0% APR. Finally, this card carries no annual fee. When you look at all the benefits, it’s actually a pretty solid offer.

Despite the quality of this offer, there are cards that offer a better rewards program and a better introductory APR, but not together. The fact that the competing offers span two cards is irrelevant because cardholders of the BankAmericard Cash Rewards can’t effectively take advantage of both an introductory 0% APR for transfers and the cash back rewards. Either you use the card to reap the reward benefits or transfer a balance. If you do both, you’ll probably end up with more debt than you started with, making the situation even worse.

If you’re attracted to this card for the tiered rewards program, the Blue Cash Preferred℠ from American Express provides 6% cash back on groceries, 3% cash back on gas and department store purchases and 1% cash back on everything else with no quarterly limits. The card also includes a $100 up front bonus and perks only American Express can provide, but there is a $75 annual fee. That fee is small compared to the savings when you consider the high cash back rates and unlimited reward potential. In terms of rewards cash back, this is better than the BankAmericard Cash Rewards.

For borrowers looking for a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers, consider the Citi® Platinum Select® Card. This card includes a 0% introductory APR for 21 months and the balance transfer fee is 3%. Nine extra months to pay your bills interest free can go a long way. Customers can qualify for this card easier than the BankAmericard Cash Rewards card. There’s no annual fee for the Citi card, so it’s clearly the better choice for introductory rate needs.

Bank of America has put out a good card in launching the new and improved BankAmericard Cash Rewards™, but it might not be good enough when compared to a few other offers. For more information such as terms and conditions, visit the BankAmericard Cash Rewards application.

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Even though there are about a dozen credit cards currently offering cash bonuses for signing up, if you have a credit card balance, your most lucrative incentive may be a long introductory period of 0% for balance transfers. The Citi® Platinum Select® Visa Card® is one such card, offering an 18-month introductory APR of 0% on purchases and balance transfers. Used right, this kind of offer can save significantly more than the best sign-up cash bonus, but only if a consumer takes advantage of the offer properly.

All new cardholders of the Citi® Platinum Select® Visa Card® will receive a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers* for 18 months. Once the introductory rate expires, the purchase APR becomes 11.99% to 21.99% variable depending on the applicant’s credit history.

For the first 18 months, cardholders can make interest-free purchases or transfer a balance from another card, without owing any interest. The cardholder must pay each monthly credit card bill on time. Unfortunately, there is a 3% fee for transferring a balance ($5 minimum). That 3% fee is likely still less than the APR on the original card with the balance, so you can save money despite the fee addition to the transferred balance.

There is no annual fee to own the Citi® Platinum Select® Visa Card® and everyone that is approved will receive this limited time offer. To find more information or file an application online, visit the secure application page for the Citi® Platinum Select® Visa Card®.

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This has been an interesting summer for credit card deals. Issuers have been rolling out new bonus offer for the last few months. Even though consumers understand the dangers of owning a credit card, business has been good. Chase, American Express, Citi and Discover have been competing with each other in the fight for new customers. Pulling into the summer’s home stretch, there’s a new offer worth mentioning. Citi has just launched a new version of the Citi® Dividend World® MasterCard® which offers a $300 cash bonus. The $300 bonus requires more effort than some of the other bonuses currently available, however.

All new cardholders of the Citi® Dividend World® MasterCard® will receive a $300 cash bonus after spending $5,000 during the first three months. This bonus is larger than any other bonus offered by a consumer credit card with no annual fee, but so is the minimum new customers need to spend in order to qualify. $5,000 over the course of three months, or an average of $1,667 a month, might be more than most consumers expect to spend. In fact, it could be more than many customers can spend while still paying the balance in full every month — a necessary step if you intend to take full advantage of a bonus offer. On the other hand, getting to $5,000 over three months can be easier if you have the ability to put your mortgage payment on your credit card. I don’t recommend this for anyone but the fiscally disciplined.

Citi offers additional benefits for Citi® Dividend World® MasterCard® members, including a cash rewards program that offers 5% cash back on select purchases every month. For the months of July through September, the 5% cash back categories are airlines, hotels and car rentals, while all other purchases will earn 1% cash back. There is no expiration date for the cash back rewards, but there is a maximum annual cash savings of $300 in addition to the initial $300 cash back bonus. That makes this card good, but not great.

Something else to consider is the higher than normal purchase APR of 15.99% to 22.99% variable. Citi is using a higher APR to compensate for the $300 cash back bonus offer. This is not a card for everyday spending unless you pay the bill in full and on time every month.

The Citi® Dividend World® MasterCard® does not carry an annual fee. This is an expected feature; consumers should expect credit cards not to carry annual fees unless they offer significant benefits and rewards or are designed to help lower-credit borrowers rebuild their credit.

While the initial bonus for the Citi® Dividend World® MasterCard® is lucrative, the APR is not attractive. This is the type of offer that bonus-hunters will sign up for and then cancel after receiving the bonus. I’m not recommending this approach, as opening and quickly canceling lines of credit can hurt your credit score, but if you’re interested in taking advantage of the $300, consider applying for the Citi® Dividend World® MasterCard®.

The original version of this article, Citi Divdend World MasterCard $300 Limited Time Cash Bonus, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Several times, I’ve done what is considered unthinkable by most personal finance experts: I signed up for store credit cards at the point of sale. I have a Macy’s card, which I signed up for a discount on clothing I was planning to buy — clothing that is probably overpriced in the first place. But when I was first starting to get some freelance web design off the ground after college, while working at a non-profit and in need of another source of income, I needed to stop using my roommate’s computer. My own desktop computer was insufficient for working on the latest technologies because it was about six years old and couldn’t handle broadband internet connections. I couldn’t afford a computer, but to get my business off the ground, I bought the computer with a 0% APR store credit card, having qualified for just enough credit to make the purchase possible (what a coincidence).

That card was an earlier incarnation of the Best Buy Reward Zone® Credit Card. For me, the attraction was the 12-month 0% APR offer on the store purchase at the time, and the card was not free from problems. Because of how they tend to trap you, and are used to encourage purchasing of items you cannot afford, you should stay away from store cards in general. But for those who frequent Best Buy, the latest incarnation of the card has a decent rewards program.

Keep in mind that if you’re buying your electronics and most other items at Best Buy, you’re already likely overpaying. I still manage to find good deals, but only on discontinued items when I can haggle with the manager. Unlike 1999, I prefer Amazon.com or specialty discount stores like B&H Photo and Video and NewEgg over Best Buy. The rewards program might make it worthwhile, especially if you manage to find good deals at Best Buy.

Like most credit cards, the Best Buy Credit Card offers an incentive for signing up, but it varies. If you sign-up in person at a Best Buy location, you may receive a discount on your first purchase using the card. If you sign-up online, there is no discount. The card also includes a rewards program which is quite lucrative when compared to others. Here’s how points are earned:

• Earn two points for each dollar spent at Best Buy and BestBuy.com.
• Earn one point for each dollar spent on dining and grocery purchases.
• Earn one point for every two dollars spent everywhere else MasterCard is accepted.

When redeeming your rewards points, 1,000 points are worth a $20 Best Buy gift card, so you’re effectively earning a cash back rate of 4% when you shop at Best Buy, 2% when you buy gas or groceries and 1% on everything else. This isn’t true cash back, though, because the rewards must be used at Best Buy. Still, the offer isn’t bad for a store credit card.

The largest detraction of this card is the interest rate and fees, which are generally higher than other cards I write about on Consumerism Commentary. The purchase APR on the Best Buy Credit Card is 17.99% to 22.99% variable. If your credit history is less than excellent, you may receive the Gold version of this card, accompanied by a $59 annual fee. Otherwise, this card does not carry an annual fee. There is no introductory offer either, so there is no reduced interest rate for balance transfers or purchases.

Cashiers are often rewarded bonuses when they successfully pressure or otherwise convince shoppers to open up a new credit line at the point of sale. It’s a very effective technique, and dangling an immediate discount and future discounts traps even educated consumers. I still use my Macy’s card, and when I arrive home after shopping, I access my account and pay the bill right away so I don’t get caught in any high interest traps.

As a rule of thumb, no financial decision should be made spur of the moment. The Best Buy Reward Zone® Credit Card may look good initially but its high interest rate and strict rewards program will benefit too few. Unless you are an expert at finding deals at Best Buy, you’d be better off looking into an all-around cash rewards credit card that offers big bonuses with a low interest rate and no annual fee.

The original version of this article, Best Buy Reward Zone Credit Card Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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American Express is consistently one of the highest rated credit card issuers. This could be because the customers are demographically different than average Visa and MasterCard customers. American Express customers are generally individuals and businesses with higher credit ratings, and they are more likely to make better financial decisions. Additionally, many American Express cards are charge cards. Charge cards don’t have associated interest rates, so every bill is due in full. As a result, American Express customers generally don’t buy what they can’t afford to pay back within 30 days.

In the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 credit card satisfaction survey, American Express received five out of five in all ratings categories: overall satisfaction, credit card terms, rewards, and benefits. This is the fifth consecutive year that AmEx has taken the highest honors. American Express also won the highest accolades from personal finance bloggers, taking home the Best Credit Card in the First Annual Plutus Awards last year, with the Blue from American Express card.

Here’s an overview of the major credit and charge cars from American Express and reviews for each.

The Platinum Card® from American Express is the flagship charge card, offering the best benefits American Express can offer. With this card, AmEx will reimburse the cardholder up to $200 in airline fees each year, including any fee from any airline. Members will be able to enter private lounge areas at airports to pass the time in comfort. When cardholders use AmEx’s travel services, they will benefit from free companion tickets. AmEx has a concierge available to tend to all customers’ needs. Businesses can receive similar features with the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN.

These benefits come at a significant cost. With an annual fee of $450, the Platinum Card is not for the faint of heart. The potential benefits could outweigh this annual fee, but this is a personal decision. This card would simply not be the best match for many consumers due to that annual fee.

Sitting in between the Platinum Cards and the regular Gold Card is the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express. New cardholders will receive 15,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $1,000 in the first three months of card membership. On purchases, you cardholders earn points quickly, with three points per dollar on airfare, two points per dollar on gas and groceries, one one point per dollar on all other purchases. These points can be used to fly anytime, anywhere, on any airline. Members receive exclusive access to buy tickets for popular events.

This card carries a $175 annual fee, much less than the Platinum Card, but the benefits are not as extensive. The annual fee is waived for the first year.

The American Express® Gold Card offers some of the same features as the Platinum card, but at a lower level. Today, this card offers a 10,000 Membership Rewards bonus when you spend $1,000 in your first three months of card membership. Benefits include 24-hour roadside assistance, and exclusive, early access to purchase tickets for events. With the business version, The NEW Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN, you can earn points faster, get rewarded for what your business already spends.

Both versions of the charge card waive the annual fee for the first year. Thereafter the American Express Gold Card comes with an annual fee of $125, while the business version comes with an annual fee of $175.

For travelers that fly on Delta Airlines frequently, the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express is one of the best ways to earn relevant and valuable rewards. The introductory offer is up to 30,000 miles, which converts to $300 in Delta airfare. You can continue to earn miles at the rate of two miles per dollar spent on Delta flights and one mile per dollar for all other expenses. The Gold Delta SkyMiles card offers free checked bags on Delta flights for up to nine people in your reservation.

While the annual fee for this credit card is $95, American Express waives the fee for the first year.

For consumers with excellent credit, the Blue Cash Preferred from American Express offers one of the best cash back programs the issuer has to offer. After a $150 sign-up bonus after spending $1,000 within the first three months of card membership, earn 6% on supermarket purchases, 3% on gasoline and department store purchases, and 1% on everything else. This is the best cash back offer American Express has, and it is better than offers from many other issuers, as well.

The Blue Cash Preferred from American Express comes with a $75 annual fee, but you can eliminate this fee or even make more money by referring qualified customers to the card.

Consumers with good credit can consider the Blue Cash Everyday(SM) from American Express, offering consumers one of the best cash back programs the issuer has available. Earn 3% on supermarket purchases, 2% on gasoline and department store purchases, and 1% cash back on everything else as well as $100 cash back bonus after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases in the first three months. There are no spending thresholds to overcome before earning this cash back. Unlike the Gold and Platinum cards, Blue Cash Everyday is a credit card, so purchases are subject to interest fees if the bills are not paid in full.

There is no annual fee for being a member of Blue Cash Everyday.

The Blue Sky from American Express and the Blue Sky Preferred from American Express are credit cards, not charge cards, focused on travel rewards. With the Blue Sky card, spenders earn one point for every dollar spent on the card, but those points are about 33% more valuable than typical rewards programs. You need only 7,500 points to qualify for a $100 statement credit. The Blue Sky Preferred card has the additional feature of earning two points for ever dollar spent on hotels, dining and car rental purchases, as well as an annual $100 airline allowance to cover airline fees, like checked baggage.

The Blue Sky has no annual fee, and The Blue Sky Preferred Card comes with a $75 annual fee.

Without fail, the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express is the readers’ favorite at Consumerism Commentary. This credit card currently features an introductory bonus of 25,000 Starpoints, receive 10,000 Starpoints after your first purchase and an additional 15,000 Starpoints when you spend $5,000 in six months. Starpoints can be used for free nights and hotels and free flights with many airlines (over 350). The business version of this card, the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN, offers the same features for small businesses and their owners.

The Starwood cards comes with a $65 annual fee, waived for the first year.

The TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express is another favorite among Consumerism Commentary readers. There is no bonus offer with this credit card, but the cash back arrangement is solid. Approved applicants can immediately begin receiving cash back at the rates of 3% on gasoline purchases up to $3,000 (1% thereafter), 2% on restaurants and travel, and 1% on all other purchases, including purchases at Costco.

For Costco members in good standing, this credit card has no annual fee.

All the above American Express cards, both credit cards and charge cards, have the same security features, extended warranty benefits, and purchase protection.

This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

The original version of this article, American Express Credit Card Reviews, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Even though cash back rewards programs have increased over the years, they’ve also become much more complex. When a credit card issuer decides to offer more than 1% cash back, the company usually does it in a convoluted way that few consumers take the time to understand. Some require specific purchases to be made while others limit the amount of money that can be earned each year, and at the end of the year, it’s difficult to figure out just how much money was saved by using a credit card. The new Capital One® Cash Card obliterates everything I just described, offering the simplest rewards programs I’ve ever seen in recent years.

Capital One® Cash Cardmembers initially receive a $100 cash bonus after spending $500 during the first three months of card ownership. A nice initial bonus indeed, but the simplicity of this card comes in the form of its cash back rewards program.

Everyone who owns this card receives 1% cash back on all purchases. Then, every anniversary of card ownership, Capital One adds an additional 50% cash bonus to the card. As a result, the total cash back offered is a flat 1.5% on all purchases.

For example, consider a new customer who spends $18,000 during the first 365 days he owns the card. He would have accumulated $180 in cash back rewards during the year, and on day 366, he would have another $90 cash back for a total of $270. That’s all there is to it.

To my knowledge, this is the only credit card available today, with the popular Fidelity Card now closed to new applicants, that offers more than 1.25% cash back on all purchases. The cash back never expires and there is never a yearly limit to the cash back program. Although this is a great incentive, it’s not the only reason to own the Capital One® Cash Card. Here are a few others:

• 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers until December 2012.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• No annual fee.

The Capital One® Cash Card is one of the best cash back credit cards and requires excellent/good credit for approval. Once the introductory rate expires, the purchase APR is 12.9% to 20.9% variable. If a consumer applies and receives a credit line of less than $5,000, they will be given a Platinum MasterCard which will carry different benefits. For more information on this card or to file an application, visit the Capital One® Cash Card.

The original version of this article, Capital One Cash Credit Card Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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One of the freedoms that credit card rewards programs can provide is the ability to redeem points for any reward. You might be able to use points to pay for a vacation if you believe the typical credit card commercials, upgrade your television from a tube set to high definition, or just pocket the cash. Every credit card issuer has a card designed for people who are interested in point rewards, and Citi has its ThankYou cards. One of these is the Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card, and it offers all new cardholders the opportunity to earn $300 in gift cards or $399 in travel, right after signing up and being approved.

Citi’s ThankYou℠ Premier Card offers a 30,000-point bonus for any new customer who spends $2,000 on the card during the first three months. Depending on how the cardholder redeems the rewards, the bonus could be worth up to $300 in retailer gift cards or $399 in airfare when you book through Citi’s ThankYou Travel Center. Unfortunately, anyone familiar with the ThankYou rewards program from Citi knows that 100 points are not always worth $1 in reward value, so when redeeming remember to maximize your rewards as best you can.

The Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card offers ThankYou points for every purchase with a few perks in-between. Here’s how rewards can be earned.

• 1.2 ThankYou points for every dollar spent on gas, supermarket, drugstore, parking and transportation service purchases.
• 1 ThankYou point for every dollar spent on all other purchases.
• Earn an anniversary bonus of up to 5% on ThankYou points earned every year.
• One free annual companion domestic ticket and a 15% travel discount when you book through Spirit Airlines.
• 200 ThankYou points for signing up an account online and another 200 ThankYou points when you sign up for paperless statements.

As a nice added perk, there are no foreign transaction fees with the Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card. This is one of the few credit cards that will not charge a typical 3% fee to convert currency when making international transactions. The purchase APR on this card is 13.99%, 17.99% or 22.99% variable depending on credit history. There is also a $125 annual fee to consider if you decide to own this card, but it’s waived for all first-year cardholders. This means you can take advantage of the initial bonus offer without paying anything back before the first anniversary of membership.

The issuer requires applicants to have excellent credit to qualify for the Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card, but the initial $399 travel rewards bonus is one of the best available today. With a hefty travel discount, a free companion ticket and no foreign transaction fees, this is a pretty nice credit card for frequent travelers. If this card sounds like something you could benefit from, consider applying for the Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card.

The original version of this article, Citi ThankYou℠ Premier Card Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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The incentive for becoming a customer of American Express’s business cards is continuing to improve. The card formerly known as the Gold Card from American Express OPEN is now known as the New Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN. The most important change is the addition of a cash back rewards program.

For new cardholders, the card’s annual fee is $175, but it’s waived for the first year. Current American Express customers who are currently paying a lower annual fee — the amount was recently changed from $125 to $175 — are not affected.

Here are the new details.

The flagship benefit of the New Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN is the reward program. With each point worth $0.01, you can earn a better exchange rate with gift cards than by using Membership Rewards on Amazon.com. Cardholders will earn points on the following schedule.

• Three points per dollar spent on all airfare expenses, regardless of airline.
• Two points per dollar spent on advertising, gasoline, and shipping.
• One point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

Cardholders also have an opportunity to earn up to 10 points for every dollar spent in the American Express membership rewards area.

This is a charge card, so balances are due in full each and every month. If you choose not to pay your balance in full by the due date, you will be assessed a fee. As a result, and depending on your history with American Express, your account can be closed without notice.

The New Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN℠ doesn’t come cheap either, with an annual fee of $175, an increase of $50 from the previous incarnation of this card. This fee is waived for the first year. If you’d like to try the card, you can do so without paying the annual fee by closing your account before your anniversary date.

With solid customer service, timely rewards, and non-stop amenities including extended warranties, purchase protection, and travel protection, American Express is a great option for unsecured credit. Small business owners and other individuals with high, fixed expenses and a cash flow capable of covering those expenses every month should consider the New Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN℠ and take advantage of the rewards. Keep in mind you’ll need a very high credit score to be approved.

This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

The original version of this article, The New Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Charge cards have always had a reputation of being not for the average middle-class credit card user, primarily because many come with high annual fees and offer perks that the typical American consumer can’t afford or doesn’t want to pay. While this may be true for most charge cardholders, as long as a consumer doesn’t mind paying that fee, anyone with excellent credit can own a charge card. If paying an annual fee isn’t a deal breaker, the Platinum Card® from American Express offers some of the best rewards among charge cards.

Immediately after spending $1,000 during the first three months of owning the card, all new customers will receive 25,000 membership rewards bonus points. Card users will earn one point for every dollar spent on all purchases, and American Express rewards 10 points per dollar when you shop online through the American Express Membership Rewards program. These points never expire, and there is no maximum to the number of points that customers can earn.

To qualify for an American Express Platinum Card, the prevailing thought is that you will need an annual income of at least $100,000 and a high credit score in order to be approved. To check your credit score, visit GoFreeCredit.com for a 7-day free trial.

The Platinum Card® from American Express also includes a number of perks that fall under the category of “special treatment;” perks you won’t find and almost any other card. The full list of amenities is extensive but these are some of the most interesting.

• Every year, cardholders receive a $200 travel fee reimbursement. Any fee charged by an airline qualifies for this refund from American Express.
• Get over $450 in complimentary benefits with every stay at more than 700 luxurious hotels around the world when you book through Platinum Travel Service.
• Receive a companion ticket with the purchase of a qualifying international Business Class ticket when you book with Platinum Travel Service, and enjoy the flexibility of a refundable ticket with no black-out dates.
• Once a year, you can receive a statement credit of $100 when you book a qualifying cruise or vacation of $3,000 or more through American Express.
• Sample five-star cuisine and more at some of the world’s finest restaurants.

All these benefits come at a price, however. This card has a wallet-busting $450 annual fee, one of the highest annual fees ever charged for a card. With a fee like this, this card is not for everyone. Only customers who take advantage of these rewards beyond the value of the annual fee should consider applying. Additionally, this is a charge card, not a credit card. All purchases must be paid back in full each month by the due date on the statement. Following the nature of charge cards, there is no pre-set spending limit, though purchases can still be declined, and no interest charges.

Few charge cards have the purchasing power and rewards program that the Platinum Card® from American Express can provide, but the annual fee of $450 is steep for even a wealthy cardholder. If the benefits you’ll receive by using this card for purchases is worth a high annual fee, consider signing up for the Platinum Card® from American Express.

The original version of this article, Platinum Card from American Express Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Of all the credit cards available to Americans today, student credit cards are rare among issuers. Credit card providers generally carry a variety of travel rewards, cash rewards, and point-based credit cards, but only have one card with features designed for college students. With less variety among those that are available on the market, it’s important to research offers in detail to find the best student credit cards available. One of those cards happens to be the Discover® Student Card. For a limited time, this card is offering a $25 cash bonus to all new student cardholders.

Discover starts by offering students a $25 cash bonus after making one purchase within the first three months. This bonus is hardly comparable to the high bonuses presented for other consumer credit cards, but it is one of the only cash bonuses available on student cards. Discover also includes the Discover® Student Card rewards program, which provides 0.25% cash back on the first $3,000 in annual purchases 1% cash back on all purchases beyond that limit.

Every quarter Discover offers students the opportunity to earn 5% Cashback Bonus®* on rotating categories with a maximum of $75 in cash back during that time period.

The intro purchase APR on the Discover® Student Card is 0% for the first six months, followed by a 13.99% to 20.99%* variable standard purchase APR depending on the quality of credit history. This card’s cash advance APR is 23.99% and its penalty APR is 18.99% to 25.99%, so make sure this card is used only for purchases to avoid higher interest rates. There is no annual fee for the Discover® Student Card, perfect for the casual student spender.

Other than a few minimal perks including travel insurance and additional collision insurance in certain situations, there is not much else to this offer. The Discover® Student Card doesn’t offer an impressive bonus opportunity, but for students in need of their first credit card, this is a great option. While there are no frills, responsible use could help a student establish credit and earn a higher credit score. For more information or to complete an application online, visit the Discover® Student Card application.

The original version of this article, Discover Student Card $25 Bonus Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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The best credit card deals are often spoiled by an annual fee. Annual fees can range from about $50 to $2,500, with the high end reserved for the super-select American Express Centurion Card (the “black card”). In return for this fee, credit card issuers provide a range of benefits beyond what typical no-fee cards offer, including free gifts, a travel agency, and a personal concierge.

From the issuer’s perspective, an annual fee makes a card more exclusive. A higher-quality customer (in terms of credit worthiness and income) will apply for these cards, and these customers will spend more on their credit cards than typical non-business credit card users.

Issuers also use annual fees for certain cards catering to lower-quality consumers — those with lower credit scores who may not be able to qualify for regular credit cards. In this case, the annual fee helps reduce risk to the issuer, but just barely. More importantly, issuers charge fees for some below-average or sub-prime credit cards because they can; these customers have few options if they desperately need a credit card.

Annual fees are often waived for the first year, so be sure to check the terms and conditions to determine if you’ll need to pay up front or on the first anniversary of your membership.

The value of the annual fee

Whether a credit card is worth the annual fee depends on the conditions. The first condition pertains to the benefits you receive for the card in exchange for that annual fee. If the benefits you receive are worth more to you than the cash in your pocket would be, if you will use those benefits, and if the benefits wouldn’t be cheaper through other avenues, the annual fee might be worthwhile. In some cases, like for those with a substandard credit history, the benefit you receive of just having a credit card to use is worth the annual fee.

It’s important to note that whether you use those benefits plays a large role in determining whether the annual fee is worthwhile. It’s easy to say you’ll use the benefits, and then never take advantage. In some cases, you may wish to use the benefits, but find they aren’t all that great. I used a travel agent through a Visa Signature card, for example, but they weren’t able to do anything for me more than what I was able to do using the Internet myself. In fact, the travel agent needed 24 hours to get back to me, while I could have done the same thing immediately.

The second condition is whether you can receive these same benefits for less money from another service, and if those benefits are comparable.

Shop around. Another credit card may offer the same benefits while charging a lower fee — or no fee at all.

Furthermore, if you don’t pay your balance in full every month, you’ll be subject to interest fees. Worse, you could have late fees and higher default interest rates if you’re not careful. Any of these immediately devalue the benefits, and paying an annual fee on top of these other expenses would be even more detrimental to your financial condition.

In most cases, a credit card annual fee is not worthwhile, but at the same time, for some people an annual fee is not an automatic deal breaker. The extra benefits can often be found on cards that don’t charge annual fees, and these benefits are often unnecessary anyway. Even consumers with low credit scores can often find one free credit card for which they qualify. It’s mainly special situations and needs of experienced consumers that help to justify paying annual fees.

I use a credit card that charges an annual fee, waived for the first year. It’s an airline credit card I’ve mentioned before, the Continental Airlines OnePass Plus Card. I recently passed my first anniversary with the card, though they have not yet charged the annual fee. The benefits have already paid for the potential fee, thanks mainly to the ability to check luggage for free on Continental and United flights and travel certificates. If I didn’t travel often, and if Continental didn’t already have low rates for direct flights on the routes I need, there would have been no reason for me to sign up for this card.

Some credit cards with annual fees

For an overview of the typical credit card featuring annual fees, here is a list of some of the most popular. For the cards that are listed as not having the fees waived for the first year, new customers might be able to negotiate this and avoid paying the annual fee once.

The original version of this article, Are Credit Card Annual Fees Worthwhile?, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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American Express continues to top J.D. Power & Associates’ list for best credit card issuers for customer satisfaction, thanks mainly to its strong rewards programs like the one that accompanies the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card. The rewards program and top-ranked customer service from American Express continues to foster appreciation among personal card owners, and now this card is available for businesses as well. The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN offers the same benefits as the consumer card with a few business perks that make this attractive to business owners looking to maximize travel rewards.

Immediately following a business customer’s first purchase with this card, holders of the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN will receive 10,000 bonus Starpoints. After spending $15,000 during the first six months, American Express will award another 15,000 bonus Starpoints, for a total potential initial bonus to 25,000 Starpoints.

These points, and all points earned in this program, can be redeemed for two nights at a category 5 hotel or more than two nights at a less expensive hotel. The Starpoints can also be redeemed for flights on more than 350 airlines and for hotel stays at more than 1,000 locations.

American Express starts new customers of the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN with a 2.9% introductory APR on purchases for the first six months. Once this rate expires, the purchase APR becomes 15.24% variable. This is a credit card, unlike the more typical charge card from American Express, so customers who don’t pay bills in full and roll a balance from one month to the next will owe interest.

This card also has a $65 annual fee attached, relatively low for an American Express business card, but American Express waives this fee for the first year.

Business owners will also find a variety of special services and perks attached to the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN.

• Automatically save 3% to 10% on business service providers such as FedEx and Hertz
• Additional cards for employees at no cost
• Insurance coverage during travel
• Online expense management tools that can be customized to track charges and monitor exactly where, when, and how company dollars are spent

Just a few days ago, American Express reduced the bonus offer associated with the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN to the 25,000 bonus points offer you see here. To maximize this initial reward, apply now. Any business owner in need of a great business credit card should consider signing up for the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

The original version of this article, Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Recently, Capital One announced they would purchase ING Direct, and from the feedback I’ve seen, most ING Direct customers are not to happy about this arrangement, primarily due to their experiences with Capital One credit cards. While I’m reserving my judgment until later because credit card operations are usually run by different management than banking operations, many ING Direct depositors are ready to abandon the ship.

Capital One is now in the process of acquiring the domestic credit card business operated by HSBC. They’ll be paying $32.7 billion to acquire these customers, or $2.6 more than the value of the outstanding loans.

The deal includes HSBC’s store branded cards, not HSBC Bank USA credit cards. Many years ago, I had a run-in with HSBC’s private-label Best Buy credit card. The credit card issuer did not send statements consistently, and some months I didn’t receive statements at all. This was before I had my finances organized and while I was spending more money to commute to my non-profit than I was earning by working. I needed a new computer at the time. Mine was so old it hardly worked for web design, which I was trying to do on the side to earn more money because working 80 hours a week at the non-profit was not paying off. My roommate was not happy I was using his computer, so I had to do something.

I took advantage of a 0% APR deal for a Best Buy credit card, but the infrequent statements made paying back the loan a mess. I almost lost my 0% APR status at the very end. When my last payment was due, HSBC charged me back interest for the entire nine month period at a very high APR. I was able to talk the customer service representative out of it, but I was not happy with the idea that statements would arrive at any time during the month, leaving me just a few days to get a check in the mail, if the statements arrived at all.

The blame is my own; I should have been more diligent with my finances to make it less likely I’d fall into a trap like this. This experienced helped me learn that I needed to make some changes with the way I was handling money.

Since then, I’ve avoided these types of credit cards, but Capital One sees the value from a business perspective. They must generate ample profit for HSBC, particularly if more borrowers fall into the traps I fell into. While the Credit CARD Act and the resulting regulation have stopped some of the more consumer-unfriendly practices, store brand cards are designed to take advantage of customers vulnerable at the point of sale.

Bloomberg

The original version of this article, Capital One Buys HSBC Credit Card Business, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Although it may not be apparent immediately, an airline miles credit card has a number of differences in the structure of its rewards than a travel rewards credit card. Airline credit cards reward loyalty to one particular airline while travel rewards are generally much more flexible. For example, since the Continental OnePass Plus Card is the card I now use for most of my spending, the only rewards Chase provides are for Continental flights, notwithstanding the recent merger with United. A travel rewards credit card can earn rewards for any airline, hotel, or car rental. This freedom for redeeming rewards is why travel rewards cards are much more popular than airline miles cards. One of the most popular travel rewards cards available to consumers today is the Miles by Discover® Card.

The Miles by Discover® Card offers new cardmembers up to 12,000 bonus miles the first year. Every month the cardholder makes a purchase, Discover adds 1,000 miles to the rewards balance. This continues for the first twelve months of card ownership. These 12,000 bonus miles can be redeemed for $120 in travel rewards.

New cardholders also benefit from a 0% introductory APR on both purchases and balance transfers for six months. Once the intro period expires, the standard purchase and balance transfer APR is 10.99% to 16.99%* variable, depending on the applicants credit history. This APR is the lowest APR I’ve seen on a rewards card, so not only will the Miles by Discover® Card save money on travel, but it also saves money on interest for those cardholders who, for whatever reason, do not pay their bills in full each month after the introductory period.

Cardholders earn one mile for every dollar they spend on the Miles by Discover® Card, lending to the simplicity of this card’s rewards program. Miles can be redeemed for travel on any airline, overnight stays at any hotel, or car rentals from any agency. In addition, miles can also be redeemed for merchandise or cash, making it the reward program even more flexible. Here are some additional perks.

• Secondary collision insurance. When you rent a car, the Miles by Discover® Card will provide added collision insurance on your ride without an extra fee.
• No annual fee. Many travel cards included a pesky annual fee of $49, $99, or even more, but the Miles by Discover® Card is free of charge.

The Miles by Discover® Card is designed for consumers who prefer to use rewards to book travel and lodging at a variety of airlines and hotels. The bonus miles and a very low interest rate combine for is a great deal for potential Discover cardmembers. The bonus associated with this card is a limited time offer. For more information or to fill out an application online, visit the Miles by Discover® Card application.

The original version of this article, Miles by Discover Card Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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The lack of a pre-set spending limit can be both an advantage and a disadvantage when it comes to spending with plastic. Charge cards often have this feature, and it can be dangerous for spenders who are tempted to spend more than they can afford. Others customers, who need the flexibility to make large purchases at a moment’s notice, would benefit from a card that does not limit the user. The Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express was one of the first charge cards ever introduced to consumers, and even today, it is still regarded as one of the best.

Cardholders of the Premier Rewards Gold Card will have no pre-set spending limit on purchases, but over time American Express will determine what cardholders can afford and use this as a guide for approving transactions. For new cardholders, American Express offers 15,000 membership rewards points after they spend $1,000 during the first three months. The rewards program aside from the sign-up bonus is straightforward.

• Three membership rewards points for every dollar spent on airfare
• Two membership rewards points for every dollar spent on groceries and gas
• One membership rewards point on all other purchases

Members of the Premier Rewards Gold Card can use their points for statement credits, merchandise, or travel on any airline, anytime, anywhere (with no blackout dates or restrictions). There is no limit to the amount of points cardholders can accrue every year. These points will never expire as long as the account remains in good standing. American Express cardholders will also receive opportunities to purchase exclusive tickets for select concerts, shows, and major sporting events.

Unfortunately, American Express can only provide these benefits at a premium. The annual fee on the Premier Rewards Gold Card is $175, and they are kind enough to waive this fee for the first year. There are other credit cards on the market today that offer similar if not better rewards for no annual fee, but among charge cards with this level of perks, the annual fee for this card could be worth while. In any case, with the first year free, cardholders have an opportunity to try it out and determine whether the rewards are worth the fee.

Depending on the type of purchasing power and rewards program you need, the Premier Rewards Gold Card may be a great fit. Consider the amount of money you’ll save by owning this card, leverage it against the annual fee (beginning year two) and if you like what you see, consider applying for the Premier Rewards Gold Card. You must have excellent credit in order to be approved for this card. Because this is a charge card, all purchases must be paid in full each and every month.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

The original version of this article, Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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For people in certain businesses, perception is more important than reality. A real estate agent who sells high-value properties generally tries to impress his or her clients by looking the part of a high-value property real estate agent. Fancy cars, fancy meals, and fancy clothing are all part of this facade. While the American Centurion “Black” card built up a bit of high-end reputation among celebrities thanks to some clever marketing, the business equivalent is the Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN. Don’t rush to jump in, though. Owning this card costs money. Although it’s likely deductible as a business expense, the $450 annual fee only makes sense for a select number of businesses.

Unlike most small business cards, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN is a charge card, and a feature of charge cards from American Express is the lack of a pre-set spending limit. When it comes time to make a purchase, American Express will determine immediately whether or not to approve the charge. For small purchases, transactions are all but guaranteed to be processed. For larger purchases, American Express takes the business’s credentials into account.

Charge cards don’t have interest rates because monthly bills are due in full by the due date. If your business has a charge card in mind, make sure it has the cash to back up every purchase. If a business gets into trouble with this card, the individual, not just the business, can be responsible for the balance and can suffer the consequences, whether debt collection, negative remarks on the credit report, or worse.

Business owners of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN will receive a variety of cash back perks as well as a personal concierge. For that sizable fee of $450, business cardholders receive these benefits:

• A $200 airline fee annual reimbursement.
• Savings of 3% to 10% on business expenses with merchants like FedEx, Hyatt Hotels and more
• Airport Club access for you and two companions
• Anytime personal concierge service
• Guaranteed late checkout at hotels and continental breakfasts

Only business owners with excellent credit will be approved for the Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN. In some cases, that $450 fee pays for itself in the value of collected rewards and perks. To determining whether this card is right for your business, visit The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

The original version of this article, The Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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In an effort to market towards a younger generation of customers, Citi has teamed up with the MTV brand to create the Citi® mtvU™ Platinum Select® Visa® Card for College Students. That would not be enough of a reason for students to become customers of this card, though there may be a certain percentage of customers who find the MTV brand a draw on its own. I can’t imagine, even as a high school student, signing up for a product just because my favorite television station was slapped on the face of the card (and MTV was not my favorite television station, anyway). This card does offer some benefits for students beyond the brand association, though.

The rewards offered on the Citi® mtvU™ Platinum Select® Visa® Card for College Students are designed to be true to the theme. Citi offers entertainment-related benefits while rewarding students for good academic performance. Citi’s rewards come in the for of ThankYou points, and on this card, spenders receive points on all purchases.

• Five reward points for every dollar spent on books, movies, music and at restaurants
• One reward point for every dollar spent on all other purchases
• 25 reward points each month when you pay on time and stay under your credit limit

ThankYou points never expire as long as the account stays in good standing, and there is no limit to the amount of points. Plus, the Citi® mtvU™ Platinum Select® Visa® Card for College Students will give each student up to 2,000 additional bonus points every year if he receives a grade of A in each of his classes. While the full bonus requires a 4.0 grade point average, a B or a C will still qualify the student for a bonus, albeit a smaller amount. Students will need to send proof of grades to Citi each semester in order to receive the bonus. This card is the only credit card I know of that awards good academic performance.

The Citi® mtvU™ Platinum Select® Visa® Card for College Students starts off students with a 0% introductory APR on purchases for seven months, then moves to a purchase APR of 13.99% to 22.99% variable, depending on the cardholder’s credit history. There is no annual fee to keep this card, an important aspect of any financial product for students.

The MTV benefits portion of the card include two perks:

1. 10% discount on music and entertainment products at shop.mtv.com
2. Access to exclusive mtvU experiences like free concert tickets, tickets to the mtvU Woodie Awards or VIP status at mtvU’s Spring Break

Not every student is ready for the responsibility of owning a credit card. Only young adults who are ready to manage their finances while trying to save a little on the side should consider owning a student credit card. If that’s you or a student close to your heart, the Citi® mtvU™ Platinum Select® Visa® Card for College Students is one of the better choices available. For more information or to complete an application online, visit the Citi® mtvU™ Platinum Select® Visa® Card for College Students official website.

The original version of this article, Citi mtvU Platinum Select Visa Card for College Students Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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As I live not too far from Newark, New Jersey, many of my flights around the country are serviced by Continental Airlines, an airline with a significant hub at Newark Liberty International Airport. Like all airlines, Continental has been cutting services and adding fees to keep fares low, but I’ve never had a bad experience with the airline. I came very close to cashing in 30,000 miles in exchange for first-class upgrades in a recent trip, but the seats never became available. It took a few days for the unused miles to be credited back to my account, but even customer service was helpful.

Since I travel every year, I’ve decided to begin using the Chase Continental Airlines OnePass® Plus Card to improves my benefits. While cash back credit cards have done well for me for many years, I never earn more than $500 a year. With a credit card providing a mile for every dollar spent, a number of bonus opportunities, and a free checked bag on every flight, I could probably receive more in benefits that with my two cash back rewards cards. This is despite a $95 annual fee that kicks in after the first year.

The Continental Airlines OnePass® Plus Card offers benefits similar to my (no-fee) Visa Signature card, such as concierge services, extended warranties, and price protection. There are some promotions right now, too:

• Earn up to 40,000 bonus miles & first year free ($95 value)*
• Now with priority boarding privileges on Continental and United flights
• Check your first bag for free on Continental and United flights, up to a $50 value
• Visit the United Club with two complimentary passes every year, a $100 value
• Earn 2 miles for $1 spent on tickets purchased from Continental and United and 1 mile per $1 everywhere else
• Your miles don’t expire and there is no limit to the number of miles you can earn

After completing my application, I was accepted in under 60 seconds. Oddly, the acceptance page was blank in my web browser and I couldn’t determine the next steps. Reloading resulted in an error and completing the application a second time would probably raise a red flag. Thankfully, everything worked out well and I received the card about a week later. As miles aren’t a real currency, they are always in danger of being devalued. This type of systemic risk isn’t for everyone, particularly if the rewards drawn don’t compensate for the annual fee.

With the potential to earn 40,000 bonus miles the first year and 10,000 bonus miles every year thereafter, the Continental Airlines OnePass® Plus Card is a great credit card for frequent fliers of United and Continental. The annual fee is a reason not to own this card but the savings and benefits for fliers is far to great too ignore, even if it costs $95 a year beginning in the second year. If you’re interested in filling out an application, visit the Continental Airlines OnePass® Plus Card application.

The original version of this article, Continental Airlines OnePass Plus Card Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Air travel used to be seen as a luxury, but those days are long gone. If flying was ever fun and convenient, it’s not anymore. My last flight from California, a trip to visit family, was plagued with delays and inconveniences. It was a good thing the flight was delayed; otherwise, I might have missed the flight due to an hour-long security line.

While airlines continue to reduce benefits for customers, like free meals, pillows, and checked bags, they are paying more attention to their most frequent fliers and customers of their branded credit cards. Airlines who partner with credit card issuers are willing to give certain customers a little bit more than everyone else. A good example of this is the United MileagePlus® Explorer Card, which offers consumers enough bonus miles for a free flight right away.

All new cardholders of the United MileagePlus® Explorer Card will receive 25,000 bonus miles after making one purchase. Then, new customers will earn 5,000 additional miles after adding an authorized cardholder to the account. Every year a cardholder spends $25,000, Chase will add 10,000 more miles. In total, up to 40,000 bonus miles are available the first year and 10,000 bonus miles are available every additional year. Miles never expire and there is never a cap to the number of miles customers can earn. Every dollar spent on the United MileagePlus® Explorer Card earns miles, and if a cardholder purchases a United or Continental flight with the card, Chase rewards the customer with double miles.

United offers in-flight and flight-related rewards to its credit card customers in addition to the miles. All United MileagePlus® Explorer Card members will have the following perks:

• The first bag per ticket can be checked for free on flights operated by United and Continental, up to a $50 savings per person.
• You’ll be invited to board your flight ahead of general boarding with priority boarding.
• You will receive two passes to visit the United Club every year.
• You’ll have exclusive access to purchase once-a-lifetime experiences from Inside Access from Chase.
• The card comes with travel protection benefits.

A quick glance at the “Inside Access” program shows that it offers the opportunity to buy tickets to events such as an evening on Broadway including a show, an opportunity to meet the cast, and dinner at Sardi’s. This event is $200 per person — not a bad deal considering a ticket for a show can easily cost that much on its own.

When using a credit card, it’s important to know the pricing details. The United MileagePlus® Explorer Card offers a 14.24% variable APR on both purchases and balance transfers. There is a $95 fee associated with this card, but that fee is waived for the first year, so new customers have time to test drive the bonus miles and overall offer.

The United MileagePlus® Explorer Card is a brand new offer and it comes in as one of the best airline miles credit cards available today. Considering that United has merged with Continental, this card allows its members to travel on two airlines with benefits rather than just one. To take advantage of 25,000 bonus miles right away, consider applying for the United MileagePlus® Explorer Card.

The original version of this article, United MileagePlus Explorer Card Review, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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