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The Best Credit Cards, May 2012

This article was written by Flexo in Credit. 38 comments.

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 May 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® 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 has an introductory offer of 40,000 bonus points if you make at least $3,000 in purchases during the first three months, worth $500 toward travel rewards booked through Ultimate Rewards. This card has a 1% standard reward rate on purchases and 2% for purchases made on travel and at restaurants. There is a $95 annual fee associated with the Chase Sapphire℠ Preferred Card which is waived for the first year but cardholders will receive a 7% annual dividend on all new points earned – even on points already redeemed. For travelers, this card can really come in handy because there are no foreign transaction fees.

Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back. The best of all cash back credit cards, the Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back offers cardholders a $100 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 – $100 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® Cash Credit Card. The Capital One® Cash Credit Card offers 1% cash back on all purchases. The card offers a 0% APR introductory offer on purchases until December 2012. The card carries a $39 annual fee and of all the cards that made this list, the Capital One® Cash 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

BOA-card-1 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 on purchases for the first twelve statement closing dates following the opening of the account. This card does not carry an annual fee.

BOA-card-2 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 points 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 statement closing dates 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.

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The Best Back-to-School Shopping Tips

This article was written by Flexo in Consumer, Featured. 10 comments.

The best way to get the most for your money when shopping for school supplies is to start early. While there are some good deals and good sales during the summer before the school year starts, you can only take advantage of them if you’re prepared. Some deals aren’t ask great as they’re advertised to be, so it pays to take on this task deliberately, not in a mad rush the day before school starts, with crowded stores, frantic shoppers, and empty shelves.

The goal of back-to-school shopping is to get what the students need and to do so without spending a fortune. In today’s consumer-driven world, it’s not surprising that kids want what they see on television and what other kids have. The balance between these wants and needs is important, and parents shouldn’t be afraid to say that needs come first and wants can be evaluated later.

1. Receive guidance from teachers.

Many teachers communicate with parents before the school year starts to make sure incoming students have a list of the materials they’ll need for the class. Notebooks, pens, pencils and subject-specific tools usually top the list of requirements, and this can be a long list. In this article, I was planning to include a list of the required materials for incoming sixth graders at a public elementary school in Queens, New York, but it was too long to include here. Take a look at this list (pdf): Grade 6 Student Required Materials.

You can anticipate lists like these getting longer as schools don’t include materials for students in their budget and teachers, who often pay for school supplies from their own pockets without school reimbursement, are affected by the recession just like everyone else.

2. Locate your reusable materials from last year.

Students do not need a new backpack every year. A quality name brand backpack should last several years, if not an entire elementary school career. Some manufacturers like Jansport have a lifetime guarantee, so there is rarely a need to buy a new backpack unless it’s been severely damaged, and certainly no need every year. You may save money in the short-term by buying a generic backpack, but if it’s made out of lesser quality materials, it won’t last long.

Unused paper from one year can be a starting point for the current year. If the child didn’t fully use notebooks from the previous year, the leftover pages are as good as new. Pens, pencils, markers, and crayons can be used until they’re depleted. Loose-leaf binders and folders can survive more than one year. It surprises me that a Flash drive is required for sixth graders, but there should be no need to buy new drives every year.

3. Find the best deals.

I’ve acquired a habit of going to Amazon.com for many of the things I buy. They usually offer the lowest prices, and I benefit from free shipping and, at least until the law is eventually changed, no sales tax (though the use tax on my state income tax return negates that benefit). When it comes to school supplies, however, I’ve noticed that Amazon.com does not always have the lowest price, even taking into consideration those advantages.

During the summer, it’s best to keep checking local convenience stores like CVS or Duane Reade for their best specials. Walmart and Target will often present too-good-to-be-true discounts on back-to-school items, and you’ll generally need to move quickly to take advantage of these.

Staples often competes well with these stores for school supplies. I was in Staples a few days ago and they were selling a $10 savings pass. This pass grants the holder a 15% discount on back-to-school items for a limited time. Some quick math tells me you would need to spend about $67 in back-to-school supplies at Stapled in order for this savings pass to pay for itself.

Check for your state’s sales tax holiday. Most states that participate in sales tax holidays have several days set aside for shopping for back-to-school supplies. Being granted the benefit of not owing sales tax is not a guarantee that you’re getting a better price. Check the sales at the stores where you shop to determine if you lose a discount in exchange for the brief tax relief.

Price comparison websites also help. Keep FatWallet and PriceGrabber on your internet speed dial.

4. Manage your child’s expectations.

At a certain age, children start feeling pressure to fit in. That means they are concerned about their appearance. They want to have clothes and accessories (like backpacks, book covers, and bags) that allow others to quickly identify them within a certain group. Parents have the tough job of balancing the need for their kids to not be an outcast with the need for their kids to understand that superficial things like clothes aren’t all that important.

Growing children go through clothing fast, and it can be expensive to clothe a child with new threads every year — or more often than every year. The art of parents convincing children that wearing handed-down clothing is not shameful seems to be lost, for the most part. If a child has a source for slightly used clothing, like an older sibling or a bigger friend, these handed-down clothes can serve as a core wardrobe with one or two new items each year.

Back-to-school shopping can be a teachable moment for parents and their children, identifying the differences between wants and needs. Needs should be the priority, and parents can indulge in their children’s wants only when their finances make it possible. That is, all other needs should be met first. This approach does not work well unless parents effectively live by this philosophy for their own expenses. A child who is neglected the satisfaction of realized desires during the process of learning about needs and wants could develop a negative attitude, particularly if it’s clear that the parents indulge their own desires without prioritizing needs first.

5. Keep your budget in mind.

Back-to-school shopping is not a monthly recurring expense, so many unsuspecting parents forget to include this need when planning a budget. If a household doesn’t have cash left over from income after taking care of other expenses and saving, families could end up raiding a goal-oriented savings account or taking out the credit card for back-to-school supplies. Few things feel worse than the need to reduce your vacation fund in order to cover back-to-school shopping as if it were a surprise. Going into debt would feel worse.

Either way, make a note to remember to budget for school supplies next year.

If back-to-school shopping was included in your budget, establish a frugal mindset for yourself to ensure you stay within budget. Again, it comes down to managing your children’s expectations.

What are some of your best practices and tips for back-to-school shopping? Leave your suggestions below. If you are a member of the Consumerism Commentary community (use the Log In or Register link at the very top of the page) and you leave the best suggestion, you will receive extra points that can be used for purchasing Amazon.com gift cards in the Consumerism Commentary Store.

Photo: kevindooley

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The Best Prepaid Debit Cards, May 2012

This article was written by Flexo in Credit. 14 comments.

Prepaid debit cards have always been a controversial topic, particularly the cards that carry insanely high fees just for making everyday purchases. Suze Orman’s entry into the prepaid card business, the Approved Card, prompted heated debate about whether it represented a conflict of interest, given Orman’s following. In 2010, after the Kardashians announced their branded prepaid card, they received bad press due to the card’s predatory fees and lack of customer benefits. That card was canceled soon after it was announced. Not all prepaid cards are as bad, but fees are common. You need to evaluate each offer to determine whether a prepaid card is right for you. For parents who want to monitor and control their children’s spending, while teaching their children how to responsibly handle money management, prepaid debit cards are some of the preferred tools.

The best prepaid debit cards are cards without fees, offering rewards for everyday purchases. While credit is almost everywhere in this country, many Americans do not have a credit card or bank account. They use cash for their needs. While this might be a cheaper method of paying for products and services, it isn’t always safe to carry around cash for purchases. Rather than resort to prepaid cards with high fees like the popular Rush brand of cards from Russell Simmons, consider looking at some of these best prepaid debit cards available for consumers today.

Green Dot® Prepaid MasterCard®. The Green Dot® Prepaid MasterCard® is a card with a simple fee plan. Cardholders will not have to pay a monthly fee as long as they deposit at least $1,000 onto the card monthly or make 30 monthly transactions. If these conditions are not met, the monthly fee is $5.95. Online activation will cost $0. There are fees for initial purchase, which varies by retailer, of up to $4.95, reloading the card fees also vary by retailer and is currently up to $4.95, cash withdrawal fees vary based on amount.

UPside Visa Prepaid Card. The UPside Visa Prepaid Card offers three different plans depending on your lifestyle, each with a different fee structure. A card designed for teenagers, the UPside Visa Prepaid Card allows parents to load cards free of charge. If you select the plan that charges an annual fee of $29.95 (the Edge plan), you’ll receive 1% cash back on all of the funds you load each and every year. Loading the card via direct deposit is free for Edge and Access plan users, and ATM access and online check writing are also free. Members who choose the Clear plan, which has a monthly fee of $2.99, will have to pay $2.50 for each direct deposit initiated from a debit or credit card.

American Express Prepaid Debit Card. If you’re looking to avoid fees with your prepaid debit card, this choice from American Express might be the best option. You can load the card from a bank account online or by phone, or you can place your deposit in the form of cash by purchasing a “MoneyPak” at over 50,000 retail locations including Walmart, CVS, 7-Eleven, and Walgreens. There is a fee for purchasing a MoneyPak for depositing cash, but American Express is refunding these fees for a limited time. The card comes with many of the major benefits that all American Express cardholders receive, like roadside assistance, purchase protection, and advance tickets to entertainment events. There are no annual or monthly fees, no overdraft fees, no transaction fees, and American Express does not perform a credit check on its potential customers.

ACE Elite(TM) Visa® Prepaid Card ACE Elite™ Visa® Prepaid Card. The Ace Elite™ Visa® Prepaid Card offers three different plans varying on the needs of the customer. Depending on the plan selected the card carries a monthly maintenance fee of $5.00 – $9.95. There is a plan that includes no monthly maintenance fee, but, this plan carries a charge of $1.00 for every purchase you make. With monthly direct deposit your cash withdrawals up to $300 per day are free at any participating ACE Cash Express location. The ACE Elite™ Visa® Prepaid Card also allows you to overdraw your account by $10, at no added fee as long as you have $500 direct deposit.

Vision Premier® Visa® Prepaid Card – Simple & Fair. The Vision Premier® Visa® Prepaid Card – Simple & Fair has only three fees in their portfolio based on whether you have direct deposit. And every other service they provide is free with no disclaimers, tiers, or restrictions for cardholders. The three fees with direct deposit are a $9.95 activation fee, $7.95 monthly fee, and a $2.50 ATM fee. The three fees without direct deposit are a $9.95 activation fee, $9.95 monthly fee, and a $2.50 ATM fee and free customer service for the first thirty days and $1.95 per call thereafter.

READYdebit® Platinum Visa® Prepaid Card. The READYdebit® Platinum Visa® Prepaid Card includes free direct deposit, free online bill pay and a bevy of other services, free of charge. There are two main fees associated with this card, however. The first is a one-time activation fee of $9.95, and the second is a monthly maintenance fee of $14.95. The card also carries fees for ATM withdrawal and bank teller cash advance. When compared to other cards on this list, these fees can add up over a full year, but the READYdebit® Platinum Visa® Prepaid Card is still better than most prepaid cards in the market today.

As you can see, the prepaid debit card industry is mired in fees. If you believe a prepaid debit card is right for you, tread carefully, read the terms and conditions, and know the fees. Even the best prepaid debit card can end up costing more money than you are prepared to spend. There are many other debit cards I’m not including in this list at all because they are best avoided. Using a prepaid debit card can help a responsible person who does not qualify for a credit card handle their expenses, but it can also be a recipe for disaster.

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Helping Mom Retire, Part 1: Conquering the Stack

This article was written by Sasha in Planning. 4 comments.

My mother and I have recently started the journey to retirement together.

By together, I mean that she’s starting to consider retiring in the next few years, while I’m realizing just how much help she’s going to need in order to get there. I’m up to the challenge, but it’s going to be a lot of work.

She’s a long-term state employee, so she’s eligible for both a pension and Social Security benefits. That’s the easy part. The challenge is in figuring out her budget and the rest of her financial situation, which lies obscured within a heap of unopened envelopes.

Luckily for Mom, most of her bills are set up for automatic payment, but her propensity to ignore an entire year’s worth of mail is disturbing. During a visit to her home last week, I asked for more information on her investments, and she just shrugged and pointed me to the pile. She’s got no idea what investments she owns, nor any estimate of their value.

To me, this is completely unacceptable. I know instantly that because she’s not even aware of what monies come in or out, she’s presently living above her means. I know this because I learned her savings account has been dwindling, but she’s been blissfully unaware of that as well.

So, how to fix it? Read the full article →

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Black Friday and CVS Savings

by Sasha

My “Black Friday” shopping started yesterday at 8 a.m. after I’d readied my 26-pound turkey (we had 22 people planned for Thanksgiving this year) for its 6-plus hours in the oven. Instead of crawling back to bed whilst the scent of roasting turkey filled the house, I had a mission in mind. Earlier in the ... Continue reading this article…

2 comments Read the full article →

Poisonous Toothpaste in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland

by Flexo

If you purchase Colgate toothpaste in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Maryland, take a good look at the packaging first. In some discount stores, counterfeit products are showing up. These fake products are said to contain a poisonous chemical. It should be fairly easy to tell whether the product is legitimate. The fakes include ... Continue reading this article…