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The Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards, May 2012

This article was written by in Credit, Featured. 16 comments.


It’s time to plan your holiday travel. That may mean cashing in the travel rewards you’ve accumulated on credit cards — or it may mean starting to use a travel rewards credit card. Chances are you spend money on some necessities, and when you do, tailoring the rewards you receive to your travel needs could end up financially benefiting you and your family even more than a cash back credit card might. Keep in mind, of course, that increasing your spending just to earn rewards doesn’t make sense, and it would be worse if you had to pay interest on your balances.

When you have controlled spending that you can afford, and you pay your credit card bill in full and on time every month, you can offset your costs of travel by earning rewards. Using the travel rewards credit card that best matches your travel needs for the spending you would be doing anyway could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime. For example, some cards offer free flights and hotels while others can soften the blow of foreign transaction fees.

Listed below are the best travel rewards credit cards available today. If you’ve got a card you think deserves to be on this list, let us know and we’ll add it.

Editor’s choice

Chase Sapphire Preferred CardChase Sapphire℠ Preferred Card. The Chase Sapphire℠ Preferred Card offers a bonus if you spend at least $3,000 on the card in the first three months. That reward comes in the form of 40,000 bonus points, which can be redeemed for $500 in travel booked through Ultimate Rewards. When you book through Ultimate Rewards you can get 20% off airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises. Additionally, you can earn double rewards on travel and dining purchases. The Chase Sapphire℠ Preferred Card carries no annual fee for the first year, $95 thereafter. There are no blackout dates or restrictions of any kind when using your rewards points.

For more about the Chase Sapphire℠ Preferred Card 40,000 bonus points introductory offer, visit my Chase Sapphire℠ Preferred Card Earn 40,000 bonus points review.

Miles by Discover® CardMiles by Discover® Card. The Miles by Discover Card offers the opportunity to earn 12,000 bonus miles during the first year you own the card. The card provides 1,000 miles for each month you make at least one purchase. You can earn double miles on your first $3,000 in combined travel and restaurant purchases each year and one mile on all other purchases. Unlike many travel rewards credit cards, the Miles by Discover Card carries no annual fee for the life of the card and has an introductory offer of 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for up to six months.

Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American ExpressStarwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express. The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express continues to be one of the best travel rewards credit cards you can find. 25,000 bonus Starpoints can be yours in two easy steps. First, you earn 10,000 bonus points after making your first purchase, then 15,000 more bonus points can be earned if you spend $5,000 on your new card in the first six months, which is enough for a six night stay at a category 1 or 2 hotel.

With this card you can earn up to 5 Starpoints at hotels and resorts participating in the Starwood Preferred Guest program. When redeeming your points you can select from over 1,000 hotels and resorts in nearly 100 countries and for flights on more than 350 airlines, all with no blackout dates*. The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express carries no annual fee for the first year, $65 thereafter.

Premier Rewards Gold CardAmerican Express® Premier Rewards Gold Card. The American Express® Premier Rewards Gold Card offers 25,000 points when you spend at least $2,000 in the first three months. You can earn membership points three times as fast when you book airfare using this card and twice as fast when you purchase gas or groceries. The American Express® Premier Rewards Gold Card carries no annual fee for the first year, $175 thereafter.

PenFed Premium Travel Rewards American Express® CardPenFed Premium Travel Rewards American Express® Card. The PenFed Travel Rewards American Express Card is like no other in terms of rewards, offering consumers 5 points for every dollar spent on airfare. If you spend at least $650 within the first three months of card ownership, you’ll receive 20,000 points, enough for $250 toward a round-trip ticket. At least one reward point per dollar will be earned on all other purchases. The PenFed Premium Travel Rewards American Express® Card does not have an annual fee. There is an introductory APR of 4.99% on balance transfers made between April 1, 2012 through June 30, 2012, and there is no balance transfer fee on transfers made between April 1, 2012 through June 30, 2012. However transfers made after that time will cost a relatively low 3% balance transfer fee with a minimum of $10 and a maximum of $250. You must be a PenFed member to be approved for this card, but if you are not associated with the military, the American Red Cross, or any number of qualifying organizations, a one-time $15 or $20 membership donation will do the trick.

Capital One® Venture Rewards Credit Card. You earn 10,000 bonus miles on your Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card after you spend $1,000 in the first three months of owning your card. You can earn double miles on every purchase, making this card one of the best travel rewards credit cards available today. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card carries no annual fee for the first year, $59 thereafter, and Capital One is the only issuer that does not charge foreign transaction fees for any of their cards. This means if you spend money on international purchases, you won’t receive the typical 1% to 3% fee.

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.

Photo: Kossy@FINEDAYS

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The Best Online Savings Accounts, May 2012

This article was written by in Banking. 223 comments.

The best online savings accounts offer high interest rates and great customer service. Savings accounts, particularly so-called “high-yield” savings accounts, are best for money you might need within a year. Any money that you don’t want to subject to the short-term risk and volatility in the stock market should be held safe in a savings account, earning as much interest as possible. Your emergency fund should primarily consist of money held in a high-yield savings account.

“High-yield” is unfortunately a bit of a misnomer these days; a decade ago, interest rates were 4% and 5% among select savings accounts and money market accounts. Today, the best rates are all below 2% while a fair amount are still hovering around 1%, many rates are now dipping below the 1% mark. This trend will continue until banks need more cash from depositors.

Interest rates. Interest rates are important because money shouldn’t lose too much purchasing power. In a perfect world, interest rates offered by banks should beat inflation while preserving the balance without risk. I am not aware of any bank offering a savings option with ongoing interest rates high enough to beat inflation, whether measured by the government-reported CPI-U or by any other meaningful measure of consumer prices. Nevertheless, if your savings is at a brick and mortar bank earning below 0.25% APY, choose one of the better options below.

Customer service. When evaluating customer service, there are two important factors to consider. The best banks offer all account maintenance and transfers through a professional, reliable, and easy-to-navigate website. Secondly, live customer service representatives should be knowledgeable, helpful, and available, although customers should have to deal with a representative infrequently if at all.

Based on my own experiences and reviews from other Consumerism Commentary readers, here are the most-recommended accounts for short-term savings. All of the listed interest rates are current as of May 2012, but they are subject to change by the banks. Although I have nine accounts listed below the table of rates, you don’t need to have accounts with that many different banks. Choose one that fits you the best.

First, here is a list of the latest interest rates. Following this table, I offer a few of my own observations and opinions about savings accounts from nine popular online banks. Read the full article →

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The Best Cash Back Credit Cards, May 2012

This article was written by in Credit. 135 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 the 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 programs worthwhile, you must avoid interest charges and late fees by paying your bill on time and in full every single month.

Editor’s choice

Blue Cash Everyday(SM) from American ExpressBlue 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.

Because there are no limits to the cash back rewards and no need to track rotating categories, the Blue Cash Everyday credit card from American Express is the top pick as your “workhouse” cash back card. If you make your regular household purchases on this card, you should be able to get substantial cash back over the course of the year.

Read the full article →

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The 3/50 Project: Help Your Local Economy

This article was written by in Consumer, Economy. 9 comments.

This is a guest article by Emily Guy Birken, author of The SAHMambulust. In this article, Emily explains and reviews the 3/50 Project, a movement designed to boost local economies.

The presents have been given out, the wrapping paper has been cleaned up, and Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Small Business Saturday from American Express are just distant memories. Now may not be when most people are thinking about shopping, but it’s the perfect opportunity to commit to really help small businesses in your area for 2012. And what do small businesses need more than anything else? Loyal customers.

This is the basis of The 3/50 Project, spearheaded by Cinda Baxter, a retail consultant, professional speaker, and former retail business owner. Back in 2009, after hearing several reports about how patronizing local brick-and-mortar stores could help the economy, Cinda wrote about the achievability of economic recovery if we all simply commit to being good customers to independent retailers.

BakeryFrom that blog post, a movement was born.

The idea is very simple. Pick three local, independently owned businesses in your area — businesses that you would be sad to see shut their doors — and plan on spending $50 total per month among those three businesses. That’s it. The movement does not ask you to spend more than you already do. Just plan on $50 of your monthly expenditures going toward local businesses.

It is important to note that sometimes you will end up spending a little more money by purchasing locally rather than at the neighborhood box store or online. However, paying above bargain-basement prices means that you are also helping your local economy — a fairly easy trade-off in most budgets.

What’s exciting about making this commitment is the fact that it could contribute to our financial recovery. According to the statistics provided by The 3/50 Project website, every $100 spent in local brick-and-mortars results in “$68 return[ed] to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays [local]. Spend it online, and nothing comes home.” Imagine the boom to the economy if everyone simply chose to spend some of their money locally.

The 3/50 Project is specific in how it defines an independent business. Though a franchised store may have a local owner, it is not one of the local businesses that The 3/50 Project is aiming to help. As a franchisee, the owner of a fast food restaurant, for example, can benefit from national ad campaigns, preferred vendor lists and large-scale price negotiations. This project is looking to help the independents who are relying on their own unique brand, pay their own expenses for marketing, rent and other operating costs, and operate from a storefront, rather than their home, a kiosk, or the internet. The full description of what constitutes an independent retailer is available here.

Deciding to try The 3/50 Project in your community does not mean that you have to give up your Starbucks coffee or your cheap groceries at Wal-Mart. There is room for national chains, internet shopping, and local stores in your commitment. This is an opportunity to be mindful about your spending, which should always be a goal of responsible personal finance. Why not help your local economy while you’re making savvy spending decisions?

Photo: Calgary Reviews
3/50 Project

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How Much Money Did You Spend This Weekend?

by Flexo

From a retail perspective, this holiday weekend was successful. The National Retail Federation — an organization that represents retailers and is always happy to report good news in the industry — says that total spending over the four-day weekend from Thanksgiving to Sunday increased 16 percent over the same time period in 2010 when measured ... Continue reading this article…

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PEX Visa Prepaid Card for Business Review

by Flexo

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 ... Continue reading this article…

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BankAmericard Cash Rewards Review

by Flexo

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 ... Continue reading this article…

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The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN Review

by Flexo

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 Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN. The most important change is the addition of a cash back rewards program. For new ... Continue reading this article…

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