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The Best Cash Back Credit Cards, February 2012

This article was written by Flexo in Credit. 121 comments.

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.

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Buy Airfare Six Weeks in Advance

This article was written by Flexo in Travel. 20 comments.

Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), a company that processes airline transactions for travel agents and consumers, has analyzed 144 million transactions for domestic flights in 2011 to better understand airlines’ pricing schemes. The study found the lowest fares were available six weeks in advance of the departure date.

I’ve always been under the impression that the earlier you can purchase tickets for a flight, the better, but buying far in advance does not seem to be the best option when looking at the data. The study makes the case for planning ahead, but not too far in advance. The data also show that waiting until your departure date is just three weeks away can be financially damaging. Prices incline steeply once your departure date is three weeks away. The fare paid according to the study features another, steeper increase seven days before travel date.

Airplane Customers who purchased their airline tickets six weeks in advance received an average discount of about 6 percent off the average fare paid for that flight.

Not everyone has the luxury of planning six weeks in advance for a trip. Businesses often need to respond to changing travel needs, and are more likely to pay higher prices for a flight than a family planning a vacation.

I purchased tickets to my most recent round-trip flight, traveling from the east coast to the west coast for Thanksgiving, only seven days in advance. The flight cost $419 including all taxes and fees. It wasn’t the most expensive fare I’ve paid for this type of trip, and there was at least one slightly less expensive option available if I were willing to fly at an inconvenient time.

I haven’t done a great job of planning in advance. It could pay off to know where I will want to go six weeks in the future. I’ll try to keep that in mind if I intend to travel this spring. How far in advance to you plan your travel?

ARC [pdf]

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Year-End Personal Balance Sheet, December 2011

This article was written by Flexo in Monthly Update. 17 comments.

I’ve spent the last decade of my life focused on my finances. I started because I had no money and a job that was taking more from me than it was providing in income. I knew I had to make some changes if I wanted to build any kind of future for myself. Soon into this journey, I founded this website, where I’ve written about my own financial situation and tracked my balances on a monthly basis.

Over the years, my financial situation has improved. Rather than focusing on and tracking every cent as I was doing in 2003, a necessary step to train myself to save money and value everything I was earning, I now am significantly more relaxed. I still track my bank account balances. Eventually, I stopped tracking every cent I spent with cash. Cash spending became such a small percentage of each month’s income that it became unnecessary for me to enter every receipt (or every remembered transaction for those where no receipt was provided) into Quicken. I have been using credit cards for most expenses. (I was using credit cards to take advantage of rewards, which I didn’t start doing until I was out of debt, spending less than I was earning, and making conscious spending decisions.) The credit cards helped me carefully track my expenses.

My ability to improve my financial condition has been partly due to my public tracking. When my numbers are published online, I have to admit to my mistakes and accept criticism from readers when it’s due. Knowing that I will be reporting the details of my bank accounts helps me to continue making good decisions with my money.

At the end of the year, I take the chance to look at my life from a broader perspective. I now have ten years of history in my Quicken file. I’ll be thirty-six years old in a couple of months, so my finances have been a focus for almost all of my adult life. And for those of you, readers, who know me only through this site, only as “Flexo” or Luke Landes, you may think that an obsession with personal finance rules my life. The good news is that this isn’t true; outside of Consumerism Commentary, when I see my friends and family, personal finance is not usually a topic of discussion.

With ten years of history in Quicken, I can easily see my own financial progress over time. At the end of 2001, the world was still shaking from terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., and my life was uncertain. With no money, no job, no girlfriend, and no place to live, I knew I needed to make changes in my life. That’s what I did.

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Verizon Wireless Plans Then Rescinds $2 Fee for Paying Your Bill

This article was written by Flexo in Consumer. 27 comments.

Update: Less than a day after a Verizon Wireless employee leaked a memo with this information, the company has announced that it will not be moving forward with the implementation of this $2 fee.

The sad fact is we now live in a world where many companies have left their customers behind in the search to squeeze every possible cent out of every transaction. I’ve long lamented the increasing incidental fees charged by airlines; you can’t eat, check a bag, or receive a seat assignment early without paying extra now, and soon you may not be able to sit or use the restroom in-flight without swiping a debit or credit card. Gas stations charge more for fuel if you want the convenience of using a credit card. Banks tested and for the most part ultimately backed away from monthly debit card fees.

Starting January 15, Verizon Wireless will charge its own customers $2 to pay their own mobile phone bills.

Verizon Wireless Only certain payment methods will be subject to this fee, but the new policy leaves only a few opportunities to avoid this surcharge:

Enroll in auto-payment, so your bank account is debited or your credit card is charged the same day every month.
Mail a paper check as if you’re still living in the twentieth century.
Use your bank’s bill payment service.
Walk into a Verizon Wireless store and pay a bill in person (an option for everyone, but a popular for those without bank accounts).
Pay with a Verizon Wireless gift card.

If you use a credit or debit card to pay your bill via Verizon Wireless’s website or over the phone, the $2 fee will apply, but if you pay via check (electronic ACH or paper) via phone or online, there is no fee. It’s another case of payment type discrimination; it costs more to process credit and debit card transactions, and Verizon Wireless is passing that cost along to certain customers. The customers most affected are those who need to wait to the last minute to pay their bill — customers living paycheck-to-paycheck, many of whom don’t have bank accounts.

It doesn’t take much to avoid this fee, but it’s another hassle for many customers and an indication that the pattern of nickel-and-diming across a variety of industries will continue. And those most at risk are those who have the least power to do anything about it.

Photo: ColumbusCameraOp

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The Best Credit Cards 2012

by Flexo

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 ... Continue reading this article…

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American Airlines Files for Bankruptcy

by Flexo

One of the two major airlines that had not yet filed for bankruptcy or restructuring, American Airlines, gave in and filed for Chapter 11 protection today. The airline will continue to operate its business as usual; if you planned to fly American Airlines, you’ll still be able to do so without any problem. In fact, ... Continue reading this article…

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Personal Balance Sheet, October 2011 ($373,552, +9.2%)

by Flexo

I’ve been tracking my net worth and keeping my finances updated in personal finance management software since July 2003. I’ve done this mainly for myself. Posting my finances online helps make the numbers real. I use these monthly reports to hold myself accountable. If I write publicly about spending more in a budget category than ... Continue reading this article…

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10 Ways to Avoid Hotel Fees

by Flexo

I’ve noticed over the past few years that the fees and surcharges that appear on my hotel bills are creeping steadily upward. I’m apparently not alone with this observation. According to a new study by Dr. Bjorn Hanson from the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies, hotel fees and surcharges will account for $1.8 ... Continue reading this article…

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