CARD

The Perks of American Express Credit Cards

2010-06-30T17:18:00.000-07:00

American Express credit cards are not be as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard, which is why this should not be the only card in your wallet just in case you find yourself in a situation where it is not accepted. But owning one can still give you a lot of benefits that you can enjoy. Although some people may choose other cards rather than American Express because of this issue, having this card can put on more weight on your credit card portfolio.

American Express credit cards allow consumers to have an additional of up to five cards which they can share with their family members. You will pay only a one-time fee of $30 and if you need more than that, then they will just charge you an addition al $30 per card and there is no limit to how many you can get. Each card will have the same benefits and restrictions as well, just like the original card. The whole family can enjoy having their own card separately. For instance, if the wife wants to go shopping, the husband does not have to give out his card. There is also the convenience of having to manage only one account for all family members.

There is no preset spending limit with this card, compared with other cards that usually limit each member to a certain amount. American Express credit cards are believed to be for the wealthy, as the limits are based on the person’s financial capabilities and spending style. The spending limit is flexible and on a shifting basis, depending on the person’s ability to pay.

It also has pay features that can be used to pay bills using their online system. They have partnered with over a hundred companies wherein you can just settle your bills using the credit card either on automatic, monthly basis, or even for one-time transactions. The consumer can enjoy the convenience of this service and enjoy earning rewards as well for every payment made using the card.

American Express credit cards earn points once they are used for payments through their Membership Rewards Program. Every time you use the card in dining out, shopping, traveling, and entertainment, it will accumulate points that can be exchanged for gifts and other privileges – thus, the reason why American Express is known to be one of the most generous credit companies. This is all because of the perks they award to their loyal customers.

Four Ways to Get Your Money Back from a Credit Card Purchase

2010-06-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

Nix Billing Errors with the Fair Credit Billing Act

In 1986, the Fair Credit Billing Act joined the fray in protecting you rights by making it illegal for credit card companies to charge you for mistakes made by the card issuer or the vendor. This includes:

Clerical errors resulting in charges in the wrong amount
Duplicate charges
Charges for goods never received
Calculation errors
Late fees levied because a statement was mailed to the wrong address

The key to getting your money back from a billing error is catching it within 60 days of receiving the statement with the mistake on it. You must send a letter into your credit card company which includes your name, your account number and a written statement notifying them of the error (including the dollar amount in question and the reason for dispute). After that, the credit card company must launch an investigation which must be resolved within 90 days or two billing cycles (whichever comes first). Meanwhile, you can withhold payment for the amount in question – but you still have to make your minimum payment. If you win your dispute, the erroneous amount deducted will be credited to your account.

Get Paid Back for Unauthorized Use

There’s some debate over how much you’ll owe the credit card company if someone nabs your identity and goes on a spending spree, but the range is squarely between $0 and $50, thanks to federal law. For credit cards, you are automatically absolved for any charges that occur after you report the card as lost or stolen. For fraudulent charges made prior to that, you may be liable to pay up to $50, which really ain’t bad. Either way, it’s in your best interest to call that number on the back of your card ASAP. (But wait, if your card’s been stolen, how can you look at the back of the card? I’ve always wondered that. Anyway, the number is on their website or in the phonebook, too.)

Debit cards don’t have the same protections, however. You only have two days to report your card as lost or stolen to protect yourself from liability from fraudulent charges. So, if someone steals your debit card on Monday, goes out and buys $50,000 worth of Bacon Salt on Tuesday and you don’t get on the horn until Friday, then you’re out of luck. Watch those statements closely.

Disputes Over Shoddy Goods

There are numerous reasons to pay with plastic even if you have cash, but here’s one more. If you make a purchase in your home state or within 100 miles of your home address and the quality isn’t as advertised or the product is an obvious sham, you can dispute it through your credit card issuer. How? Call them up and tell them to stop payment. This protection is also part of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, so the process is much the same. Oftentimes, your credit card company will do a chargeback or cancel the transaction if you win your dispute. They do appreciate it if you try to resolve the issue directly with the merchant first, however, and may even request to see evidence of your efforts. So, next time you’re worried that a product is a ripoff and there’s no moneyback guarantee, get some insurance and pay with your credit card.

Purchase Protection Perks

This last one isn’t a federal protection – it’s actually a perk offered by most credit card issuers. We’ve talked about price protection and extended warranties here at MYC before, but these can’t be overlooked in a rundown of convenient ways to get your money back from your credit card company. As a service, credit card companies will often protect your purchases from theft or damage within 90 days of purchase. They’ll also protect you for a certain amount of time after the manufacturer’s warranty expires in case your gadget goes kaput. In fact, if you buy a nifty gizmo on Tuesday and the price drops on Thursday, you can even file a claim to get the difference back. Not bad.

Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover all have their own online portals for activating this protection, but in most cases, you don’t have to. However, registering your products beforehand will streamline the claims process if something happens.

Upromise Credit Card

2010-06-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

As you probably know, Upromise is a savings program that helps parents save for their kids’ college. It’s a great concept, but they do have their critics. Check out this Upromise credit card review to find out the pros and cons:

For starters, here are the two different credit cards they offer:

(1) Upromise MasterCard w/ grocery and dining rewards
This card gives back 1% on all purchases (which are deposited into the 529 savings account) so essentially, it’s like a 1% cash back credit card.

On purchases from Upromise restaurants, the card gives a 10% extra. They do the same thing on participating grocery and drugstore items.

(2) Upromise MasterCard w/ grocery and gas rewards
This Upromise credit card also gives 1% on all purchases.

Like the card above, it also gives the 10% match on eligible grocery and drugstore items.

For gas purchased from Exxon or Mobil stations it does 2%. This is extremely disappointing for three reasons (1) you need to buy 20+ gallons per month (2) it only applies to Exxon and Mobil stations, which tend to cost a lot anyway, and (3) the standard rewards at these stations are only 1 penny per gallon.

Citi used to be involved with Upromise credit cards but Bank of America took over in 2009 and now issues/manages them. This is a turnoff for many people, since we all know B of A isn’t exactly known for stellar service.

Are either of the Upromise cards worth it?
At first glance, the 10% sound exciting. But you have to realize that is only on eligible items. For most people only a small percentage of their shopping would qualify.
For example, let’s say you spent $100 at the grocery store and among that was $5 in eligible Upromise items (and those participating items gave 1%). Your total rewards would break down as follows:

1% back on all credit card purchases = $1
1% back on Upromise items = $0.05
10% extra on Upromise items = $0.50
Total Rewards: $1.55 for spending $100

As you can see the Upromise credit card rewards in actuality aren’t too exciting. Furthermore, since Upromise participating items are usually more expensive name brand items anyway, you almost always would be saving more simply buying a store or generic brand instead.

Is there a better option? (sponsored)
Of course you should use your Upromise account to rake up savings, but the added rewards from the Upromise credit card are far from impressive. A better option would be to get a higher cash back credit card and then deposit that money yourself into your 529 savings plan. But what’s the best card do to this? Check out our review of the new, re-vamped 5% cashback program on the

Card Issuers Find Loop Holes in New Credit Card Legislation

2010-06-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure act, which passed in May 2009, was supposed to protect the general public from high interest rates and irresponsible acts made within the credit industry - as well as allow the government to better regulate this side of banking.

We have seen many positive things come from the legislation, but only a year later many card issuers have found loop holes to pass their higher costs on to customers, according to an article on the Wall Street Journal.

The main protection the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act provides the public is from credit card companies raising interest rates on existing accounts, and on accounts that are in their first year of being opened.

Some examples of loop holes being used by credit card issuers:

JP Morgan’s Chase raises the minimum payments from 2% to 5% of the balance. The law affects how much they can raise interest rates, but there is no such provision to protect the minimum payments.

First Premier Bank charges $95 dollars for processing fees, before the account is even opened. First Premier Bank offers credit to individuals with less than perfect credit scores and histories.

Citibank increased some of their customers’ interest rates before they made a late payment, and then offered a partial refund of finance charges if the customer paid their bill on time. This gets Citibank around the law of not being able to raise customer’s interest rates due to making late payments.

Another popular ploy is to charge high processing or annual fees when opening a new card. For instance many cards will offer you a $300 spending limit, and a $75 annual fee. Again the law doesn’t specifically protect you from this action, because it does not affect the interest rate. Many banks are using this method to pass some of the costs to you.

In August, it is expected that the Federal Reserve will release a new set of rules affecting the credit card industry that address a provision that would require card penalties to be proportional to a company’s actual costs, as well as require that card companies evaluate interest rates for customers who previous saw interest rate increases every six months.

Debit Card Fees Restricted By the Senate, MasterCard Vowing to Fight it

2010-06-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

A bill approved by the U.S. Senate on May 13^th will allow merchants to set minimum and maximum transaction amounts for debit card purchases. Previously, you could buy anything with a debit card, regardless of the amount, and for store owners – if the purchase was small, like a pack of gum, it meant paying more in debit card service fees than the profits made on the purchase. With this bill, merchants will be able to set limits to ensure their profitability on debit card purchases.

MasterCard and Visa have been concerned over credit and debit card regulation for a long time. They are credit and debit card processing networks, and don’t receive all of the interchange fees directly, but their revenues do depend on how much people spend on their cards. If merchants restrict purchases, they fear they will experience large drops in revenues as people will be less likely to use their cards.

MasterCard is determined to fight this bill until it is finalized into law. While the bill isn’t restricting the amount Visa or MasterCard can charge in interchange fees to merchants on credit card purchases, they’re concerned that the regulation on debit transactions will open the door to more regulation in the future.

Reuters reports:

“MasterCard U.S President McWilton said in a speech earlier on Sunday that MasterCard was “very concerned” about the amendment and “working very hard to make sure” that it would not be attached to the final financial regulation bill.”

Paying Taxes by Credit Card: Tax Pros, Con Jobs and Hidden Fees

2010-04-27T06:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, you can pay your federal income taxes to the IRS by credit card or debit card. Should you do it? Maybe. Here’s how it works:

When you file your tax return through an official IRS e-pay service provider (see list below), you’ll have an option to pay your tax bill by credit card or debit card now or schedule a later date. This payment is processed by the service provider and passed along to the IRS. You will not write your credit card on your tax return. The IRS will never see nor store your credit card information. You will then pay a convenience fee to the service provider.

There are obvious pros and cons to paying your taxes by credit card, most of which are already inherent to using credit cards at all.

Pros of Paying Your Taxes by Credit Card

Convenience – You can send electronic payment by credit or debt whether you e-file or paper file. This saves you from writing out and mailing a paper check (does anyone still do this?).
Deferred Payment – It’s a bit late now, but if you’re one of those nerds who files taxes early, you can schedule the credit card transaction for later so you don’t take that financial hit until you absolutely have to. Also, paying by credit card is an option for folks who simply don’t have the cash to pay their tax bills, though putting it on your credit card balance can quickly become a con (more on this later).
Reward Points – If you’ve got a $100,000 tax bill (and some do), that can add up to a lot of frequent flyer miles. Rewards junkies should be pleased with this additional opportunity to rack up the free stuff.
Security - The IRS uses the same credit card processing system as Macy’s or Target. As such, you’re protected by the same anti-fraud measures.
Fees are Tax Deductible – It may be small potatoes, but every bit counts. You can deduct your convenience fee as an itemized business or personal deduction.

Cons of Paying Taxes by Debit or Credit Card

Fees – The fees range from a low of $3.95 flat charge per transaction to a whopping 2.35% percentage of your total tax bill. With a $5,000 tax liability, you’re looking at a convenience fee of $117.50 – a high price to pay for saving a stamp.
Higher Interest Rates – If you’re paying by credit card because you’re strapped for cash, you should be aware that there are some other options available. The IRS has an installment plan with interest rates as low as 4% (a sweet deal if your credit card APR is in the double digits) which you can get by filling out Form 9465.
Card Rejections Can Lead to Big Trouble - If you don’t have the credit line or checking balance to cover your tax bill on the transaction date, it could lead to even more hot water. A rejected card can lead to a late tax payment which introduces even more penalties.
Responsibility - If the service provider drops the ball for any reason and doesn’t get your money to the IRS, it’s your problem. Even though it’s not your fault, you’ll be responsible for any fees, penalties or other delinquent charges – so be sure you choose a third-party service provider that you can trust.

Don’t Get Scammed

Undoubtedly, the scammers will try to use awareness of this option to their advantage – so it’s your duty to be vigilant. To be safe, only use the providers officially approved by the IRS and never write your credit card information down on your tax return. Also, make sure you get a confirmation number – even if you complete your transaction by phone.

When all is said and done, take a look at your credit card bill. You’ll see two transactions: one for the amount of your tax bill and one for the convenience charge. The first will appear as:

United States Treasury Tax Payment

The second will be some variation of “Tax Payment Convenience Fee.” Don’t be alarmed if it’s something slightly different (i.e. the service provider’s company name). But do investigate if your tax bill and the convenience fee are lumped together in one transaction.

Ready to pay your taxes by credit card? Here’s a list of the IRS approved third-party service providers:

Official Payments Corporation – Debit fee: $3.95/Credit Fee: 2.35%
Pay1040.com – Debit fee: $3.89/Credit fee: 2.35%
PayUSATax.com – Debit fee: $3.89/Credit fee: 1.95%
FileYourTaxes.com – Credit/Debit fee: 3.93%
TurboTax – Credit/Debit fee: 2.35%

Also note that these fees may change and that most providers have a minimum convenience fee of $1.00.

Credit or Debit? It’s Becoming Harder to Tell the Difference

2010-04-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

Last March, we did a breakdown of debit cards vs. credit cards to show you the differences between the two plastic doppelgangers. Fast forward two years, and suddenly, the ying is starting to look and act a whole lot like the yang. Debit cards are accepted everywhere a credit card is, have rewards programs and, hey, they even have hidden fees and nefarious traps. But why are debit cards acting a lot more like credit cards these days? According to DailyFinance, it’s because credit cards are dead. And it wasn’t even Obama who killed them.

It was you! You and me, that is – the consumers. We were fed up with the wavering interest rates, devastating fees and bruises to our credit history. But instead of kicking the plastic, we eased down to a reasonable facsimile: the debit card. It works like a credit card, it looks and (probably) tastes like a credit card, but because you’re drawing from your own bank account and not being charged any interest, it’s a much smoother ride with less surprises.

Debit Cards Close the Gap

According to eCommerce Journal, Visa customers’ debit card spending surpassed their credit card spending in 2008. Visa cardholders spent $206 billion in debit purchases – mostly on necessities, like food and clothing – and $203 billion in credit purchases. Those figures aren’t widely different on theri face, but consider this: this is the first time in history that debit card spending has exceeded that of credit spending for Visa. The paradigms are shifting.

Debit vs. Cash: No Contest

While consumers cite greater convenience and security over cash and checks as one of the main boons of debit, card issuers are doing their part as well to promote debit card usage. With features like Zero Liability from Visa and PayPass from MasterCard, debit is simply the easiest way to pay. While a thief can nab your wallet or forge a check, your debit card has certain built-in protections that safeguard your assets in the case of identity theft. Even if you are victim of a skimming or phishing scam, you can quickly control your damage with a quick call to your card company – in most cases you’ll be liable for less than $50, even if the crook wipes you out. Plus, when you pay with a debit card you don’t ever have to deal with those pesky pennies.

You’ve Got Rewards!

But perhaps more significant to the shift is in rewards. One of the main hooks of credit cards has always been the opportunity to accrue points, cashback and other free stuff from your spending. These perks drove shoppers to use cards even when they had the cash on hand. The most responsible ones would simply pocket the points and pay off their balance as soon as they got home. But with card issuers offering rewards programs for debit purchases, there’s no need for this slice of the cardholder pie to even bother with credit cards. Things work out nicely for the issuers, too – retailers have to kick back upwards of 2.1% per debit transaction.

Here Come the Catches

Still, that 2.1% per swipe is, apparently, not doing enough for the card companies’ bottom lines. Those fees from over-the-limit spending, finance charges, late fees and membership costs that caused cardholders to flee from credit in droves are exactly what were making card issuers weathy. But like rats abandoning a sinking ship for one that’s afloat, those parasitic caveats and gotchas have followed the crowd to debit cards.

Since the beginning, the danger of overdraft has existed. But now, instead of reeling you in when you overstep your checking balance by denying your card, banks and issuers are automatically fronting you the money so the transaction goes through. You won’t know your overdrawn until the next time you look at your statement. Meanwhile, the bank charges you a hefty $25 to $35 fee per transaction for the “convenience” of covering you while you were short. It’s a racket that’s earning banks upwards of $38.5 billion in overdraft fees.

This may be preferable to having your check bounce and your utilities or mortgage payments become delinquent. But anyone who has come to the cold revelation that they are overdrawn only to next discover that they’ve been charged hundreds of dollars of overdraft fines on top of it is unlikely to rejoice.

Push Me, Pull You

Meanwhile, while debit cards are starting to resemble credit cards more, so too are credit cards changing. One of the main reason why debit wins over credit is the danger to a consumer’s credit rating, or a credit history that is already prohibitive of a traditional credit card. But with new prepaid credit cards, even those with little or bad credit can carry a card. The credit limit of a prepaid credit card is commensurate with how much the cardholder pays into the account. So, if the holder prepaid $1,000, he or she could spend $1,000 – after that, the card would be denied.

But wait a minute – isn’t that exactly the same as a debit card? Replace “credit limit” with “checking account balance” and basically, yes, it is the same. But the important difference is that, as of now, the credit bureaus still consider prepaids credit accounts. That means you can slowly build your credit using them (though likely no better than with a secured card). However, as with all cards for those with bad credit, there is a circuitous labyrinth of fees and terms. Plus, the system is somewhat rife for exploitation – meaning that FICO might take preventative action, much like they did in order to stop piggybacking.

But the moral of the story is this: as restrictions on issuers (such as the C-Card Act) continue to make debit cards more competiitive, card companies will begin making changes in order to keep their earnings up. And until Obama comes up with a Debit CARD Act, you may have to be just as vigilant with your debit card as you were with your credit card.

Credit Score Strategy: Paying in Full vs. Credit Limit Increases

2010-04-27T06:22:00.000-07:00

There’s this pervasive myth going around that paying off your credit card balance in full each month will score you points (literally) with TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. The fact of the matter is that it won’t. And, in fact, you could even be hurting your credit score by purposefully racking up a high balance and then paying it off before incurring a finance charge. Sound crazy? I’ll explain.

Paying off your credit card balance in full is definitely a good thing. The benefits include:

Not paying any finance charges.
Reducing the risk of going into debt.
Avoiding late or delinquent payments (which DO go on your credit report).
Being a good customer in the eyes of your credit card company.

I added that obnoxious emphasis to the last point because there is the key difference between building credit and building goodwill with your credit card company. Both are important to your credit score, but in different ways.

FICO Factors – How Punctuality Matters

Payment history eats up a whopping 35% of the pie that makes up your credit scoring factors. But the credit reporting bureaus are only concerned about whether you pay the minimum amount on time. They could care less if you overachieve by paying off your credit card in full each month. That’s because the carrying a credit card balance is part of the agreement between you and your credit card company. You’re not breaking any rules by doing so. While incurring finance charges may be less economical on a personal finance level, it is by no means a penalty and is not indicative of your inability or unwillingness to stick to the terms of your contract. It’s merely a money management choice.

Timing Issues and High Balances

In fact, paying off your debt in full each month may even less beneficial than you thought because of the way the credit reporting bureaus pull your information. The second biggest slice of the FICO pie is amount owed, which takes up 30%. This is a measurement of your credit to debt ratio, or how much you owe vs. how much you can borrow. So, if you pay off your credit card balance every month, that ratio should be very low, right? Nearly zero, even. Wrong.

Let’s say that you have a balance of $1,000 on your credit card with a $2,000 limit and you intend to pay it off on the 23rd. Meanwhile, the credit reporting agencies pull your file on the 22nd. Guess what? It’s going to show up as if you had a 50% credit utilization, even though it would’ve been zero if they would’ve pulled the information two days later. This is an extreme example, but having a credit utilization of 30% or more can bring down your score by 10 to 20 points.

Fixing the Credit Ratio Quirk

It’s not all bad news, especially if you really are in a position to pay off your credit card in full each month. If so, that means that you have reasonable income and assets and probably qualify for a credit line increase. And since you’ve been such a great, responsible customer who has never missed a payment, your chances for getting a credit line increase are even higher.

Extending your credit line will directly help your overall credit to debt ratio. But it also may help to start charging less on your credit card as well. Use some of that cash that you were saving for the end of the month and buy things the old fashioned way until you get your average credit utilization well below 30 percent at any given time. In this way, you’ll be attacking the issue from both ends and you can reclaim some of those stray FICO points that you deserve.

Got a tip for cutting down your credit to debt ratio? Share it in the comments!

IBERIABANK Visa® Platinum Card

2010-01-21T15:36:00.000-08:00

Intro Balance Transfer Rate: 1.99% for 6 months
Reg Purchase APR: 8.25% - 14.25%
Reg BT APR: 8.25% - 14.25%
Annual Fee: None
Credit Needed: Excellent

IBERIABANK Visa® Platinum Card

Variable Rate APR ranging from Prime + 5.00% thru Prime + 11.00% depending on creditworthiness and other factors
Purchase and Cash Advance APR's may vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.
Earn 1 bonus point for every $1 in qualifying net retail purchases
Turn your points into hotel, gift, or experience rewards
Travel accident coverage up to $1,000,000
No annual membership fee
Low Introductory APR on balance transfers for your first 6 billing cycles. Applies to balance transfers processed within three months of your account open date.
25 day grace period
Online access to credit card account information

Citi Forward Card: 5 ThankYou Points Per $1 Spent on Books, Movies, Music, Restaurants

2010-01-21T15:34:00.000-08:00

Today Citi announced a new credit card created in partnership with MySpace, called the Citi Forward. It features a few incentives to consumers for managing their credit wisely, including lowering the purchase interest rate by 0.25% when cardmembers make a purchase, stay under their credit line and pay on time 3 months in a row. In addition, you’ll earn 100 ThankYou Points each billing period for paying on time and staying under the credit line.

Citi customers with a Citi mtvU Visa will also note the Citi Forward’s uncanny resemblance. Similar to the mtvU card, the Forward earns 5 ThankYou Points for every $1 spent on restaurants, books, music and movies. More importantly, the Citi Forward does not require that you be a student in order to apply.

Other noteworthy benefits of the Citi Forward include:

* 6,000 bonus ThankYou points after spending $50 in 3 months
* 5,000 bonus ThankYou points when you sign up for paperless statements within 3 months
* 0% APR on both purchases and balance transfers for 6 months (though balance transfers do incur a 3% uncapped fee)
* No annual fee

New Credit Card Abuses Spread in Advance of Credit CARD Act

2010-01-21T15:31:00.000-08:00

A new study by the Center for Responsible Lending finds that credit card issuers have managed to find new ways to pad their profit and work around the Federal Reserve Board rules and federal law set to take effect in February 2010. Even as old abuses are outlawed, CRL finds that new ways to squeeze fees out of consumers are being introduced and popularized.

Among them:

Pick-a-rate: Up until now, a variable rate card was usually tied to the prime rate on the last day of the last billing cycle. CRL’s report shows that a number of issuers now have added language to select the highest prime rate within a 90-day period. The change may seem innocuous enough but CRL estimates it currently costs Americans an additional $720 million a year.

Variable rate floors: A practice that seems to be spreading, this clause stipulates that a variable interest rate cannot go down from the initial rate when an account is opened, but can go up.

Minimum finance charges: Consumers with only a penny in finance charges get charged a minimum amount up to two dollars.

Compression of balance categories in tiered late fees: While late fees have traditionally been imposed on a sliding scale, with a larger flat fee charged for a larger total balance, issuers have been steadily lowering the tiers, such that the balance required to trigger the largest fees has been significantly decreased.

Inactivity fees: Issuers charge consumers for not using or closing their account, with fees as high as $36/year.

International transaction fees: Issuers are increasing charges for transactions in foreign currency and expanding the definition of foreign transactions to include those in dollars.

Balance transfer/cash advance fees: This change has been obvious for anyone following credit card deals. Larger minimum balance transfer fees and percentages are proliferating. Most balance transfer fees are now also uncapped.

Kohls Credit Card

2009-12-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

We all know Kohl’s offers some great bargains, but is the Kohls credit card actually a good deal or just a gimmick? This review has the answer.

Why Kohls?
Founded in ’62, this Wisconsin-based department store now has over a thousand locations, spread across the country in all but one state. They’re now one of the nation’s largest retailers, with an emphasis on discount clothing.

But even though they may be a great place to go to pick up a sweater or pair of shoes, you may want to think twice before you apply for their credit card. Here’s why…

Rewards
Of course this is probably what sparked your interest in the Kohls credit card in the first place. They offer an incentive to reel you in and get you to apply for the card; a 10% savings on your first purchase. This is a common “deal” a lot of store charge cards offer, hoping it will persuade you to signup. Savings are always great, but don’t fall for this bait and get hurt in the long run…

You see, the reason department stores have to offer gimmicks like this to get people to fill out the application is because their cards are crap, to put it frankly. Why you ask? Here are the reasons…

The Fine Print About Interest Rates
If you carry a balance – ever – this card is going to hurt, and it’s going to hurt bad! At the time of this review, the APR is an outrageous 21.9 percent!

To make matters worse, they may give you “penalty” APR which is even higher – 24.9 percent! According to the Kohls cardmember agreement, they may give you this higher rate if you (a) make a late payment, or (b) make a payment that is returned. So if you pay on time, your paying almost 22% and if you make a late payment, you might be paying almost 25% or possibly higher!

Credit Card Acceptance
Because it’s not a part of a major payment network (like MasterCard or Discover) it can only be used at the Kohl’s department store. So it serves no use anywhere else.

Credit Record
Many experts warn that you should avoid store charge cards at all costs. Why? Because every time you apply for a store card, it results in what is known as a “hard pull” on your credit report. This inquiry is used to check your creditworthiness, but is also known to knock down FICO scores.

Also, reportedly a department store charge card may not look too good on your report. Why? Because these cards are often associated with those that have bad credit (and the only reason they’re applying is because they can’t get a major credit card). Whether that’s the case for you or not, it doesn’t matter. The bottom line is that many view them as a red flag. Is it really worth saving 10% off your first purchase if it means consequences which can hurt you in the long run?

A Better Option
You can do much better than the Kohls credit card. Instead, why not go with a major credit card that also saves money at department stores? Discover offers a card which has no annual fee and up to a full 5% cashback bonus at every department store, including Kohls! Get the full scoop and check out our Discover More review!

Chase Credit Cards Ends Forced Arbitration

2009-12-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

The last couple decades, it seems as though we’re being forced into mandatory arbitration agreements with every product and service we use. Whether it’s doctors, cell phone providers, or banks… pretty much everyone is forcing us to have our disputes handled by arbitration, waiving our rights to take a matter to court

Why It’s Unfair
Although arbitration saves big money for the business, it’s rarely fair to the consumer. Because the company is paying for the process (and often using the same arbitrators over and over) you can guess how the rulings usually go. Add in the fact that there’s no jury and you’re only allowed to present very limited evidence, it’s not very consumer-friendly. To make matters worse, even when the business is found to be at fault, the awards are typically only a tiny fraction of what you would get in court.

A Move In The Right Direction
On Friday, Chase announced they would drop forced arbitration on their credit cards - starting in 2010 and they will do so for at least three and a half years. Why? It’s the result of a class action lawsuit filed against Chase and a number of other major credit card issuers which accused them of “secretly consulting each other numerous times with the aim of requiring cardholders to arbitrate all disputes.” In return, the plaintiffs have agreed to not hold Chase liable for this alleged practice.

This is great news for consumers and I hope this trend continues. No one should be forced to waive their rights to a court trial unless they choose to do so.

Lowes Credit Card

2009-12-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

If you are considering applying for a Lowes credit card, you will definitely want to read this review first.

I actually prefer Lowe’s over Home Depot. From my experience, the customer service is a bit better. At Home Depot, every time I go I have to travel 10 aisles down just to find an associate to help, only to tell me that’s not their department and for me to go back and wait… it’s a huge pain in the behind to shop there.

But just because I like this home improvement store, it doesn’t mean I like the Lowes credit card. Here’s what you need to know about this card before you fill out that application.

Rewards?
I don’t know about you, but this is the main reason I love credit cards so much. I love getting cash back on my spending. I’m by no means a big spender, but over time, if you use the right cards and pay for all your purchases with them, the rewards can really ad up big time!

Unfortunately, the Lowes card offers no rewards. No points, no cash back, nothing at all. To make matters worse, those projects around the house are definitely not cheap. Just remodeling a kitchen or bathroom can set you back several thousand and up. Especially if I’m spending that much, I better be getting something back. Even the most basic cash back credit cards would give me 1% on that, so why would I pay with a Lowes credit card that’s going to give me nothing?

Interest Rate?
Okay if this thing isn’t going to give rewards, it better be giving you a darn good interest rate. Well, this is letdown #2… at the time I’m writing this, they have a ridiculous 22.99% APR. So 23% interest compounded? No thank you!

Fine Print Warning: Now this is definitely sneaky and can slip by even the most savvy shoppers. Because the card has no rewards and a crappy APR, they need a gimmick to get people to apply. And that gimmick is currently an offer for 0% interest and no payments for 6 months on new purchases of $299 or more. Sounds like a deal, right?

Upon closer inspection, you will discover that this only applies in certain circumstances: you need to pay off that balance entirely within 6 months. If it takes you even one day or week longer to pay off that entire amount, you will be charged interest retroactively starting at the date of purchase at a crazy 26.99%!

Possible Credit Score Damage?
So we’ve already established from this Lowes credit card review that there is really no good reason to apply. But did you know that applying may impact your credit? A so called “hard pull” is used to check your report, and when that’s done, it can drop your score by 10 to 30 points.

In addition, some people feel it reportedly looks bad having any store card listed on your file. The reason being is that typically they are opened on impulse, and the people that apply are more likely to be those with a bad history that would not qualify for a “normal” credit card. So whether that describes you or not, suddenly you may be viewed as such simply for having one.

Is There a Better Option?
To be honest, just about any card is better than the Lowes card. If you were interested in it because of a finance rate promotion, there are cash back credit cards which not only offer 0% for 6 months or more on purchases, but will also give you high cash back at the same time.

Visa Introduces a Credit Card on a Phone

2009-12-10T10:14:00.000-08:00

Visa A cellphone that can charge purchases to a Visa account in Malaysia

I wrote last week about a way to make your cellphone work like a credit card by applying a sticker to the back. The sticker, equipped with a radio frequency identification, or R.F.I.D., tag lets you wave the phone over a terminal to make a purchase.

Visa is introducing a cellphone payment system that is more than sticker-thin. The service is currently available only in Malaysia, but it will be expanded to other countries in coming years.

Like some phone payment schemes already used in Japan, the Visa service uses a chip on the phone to communicate with a payment terminal. But the latest version is based on a global standard for phones and telephones called near field communications.

Here’s how it works:

You buy a phone with the appropriate near field communication chip in it, such as the Nokia 6212.
You connect the phone over the mobile Internet to your bank to set up your payment account.
When you want to buy something, you wave the phone within 4 cm of the terminal at the merchant. The transaction proceeds as if you have swiped your magnetic stripe card in the terminal.

This works exactly the same as the R.F.I.D. payment systems used a bit in the United States that put tags in credit cards or on little key fobs. Indeed, the terminals you now see at fast food shops and drug stores that take the R.F.I.D. cards can also read account numbers on the new sort of phones.

But the chip on the phone adds a few features that may make buying things a bit more secure and a bit more convenient than using the existing R.F.I.D. tags or the phone stickers.

If you want, you can lock the payment capability of your phone with a password, so a phone thief can’t also go on a spending spree. Moreover, even if you don’t lock the card number on the phone, you can call your bank, which can disable it remotely.

As for convenience, the technology standard will ultimately allow you to load multiple accounts onto one phone. The program in Malaysia allows phones to be used to pay for parking and public transit fares through a separate account. Eventually, the system will allow credit and debit card accounts from multiple providers and payment brands. You need to run an application on your phone to switch the default account that is charged when you swipe the phone over a terminal.

And of course, the Visa service might appeal to people who simply think it is easier to pull out their phone at the checkout terminal instead of the card in their wallet. (Does this appeal to you? Let me know in the comments below.)

While the near field communications standard allows for the two-way transfer of information, the payment application is one-way: the phone sends its card number to the checkout terminal. No information is sent back. But Visa and other companies do have applications that send information to the phone over the cellular network. For example, some banks will let you get a text message every time your card is used. (This sort of application, of course, doesn’t need a phone with the special chip that can actually make payments.)

In theory, the near field communication standard will let your phone do other nifty things. It will make pairing a Bluetooth headset as easy as waving it near your phone, rather than futzing with codes and such. And you will be able to tap your phone to pick up airplane boarding passes or giveaways from advertising billboards, if you want a lot of promotional junk filling up your phone.

I asked Pam Zuercher, who runs Visa’s mobile group, how wide the appeal of all this will be. She demurred a bit because the product is being introduced commercially for the first time. And adoption will depend on how available the phones and R.F.I.D.terminals are. But she added that there is a cultural aspect as well.

“My read is that it will be driven by the ecosystem and the landscape of each particular region,” Ms. Zuercher said. “When we look at Malaysia, there is extremely high penetration of smart mobile devices that have the capability of hosting multiple applications.”

In the United States, Visa has tested this technology, but it is emphasizing ways of enhancing credit cards by sending information to phones. In addition to its text message service, Visa has an application available for Android (and soon other) smartphones that will let you see coupons for Visa merchants near your current location. It is also developing a nifty way to associate a short user name, or alias, with your credit card to make it easier to enter when making purchases or transferring funds on a cellphone.

Personally, I’m undecided if I want to actually make purchases with a phone rather than a card. Since my phone and my wallet tend to be with me all the time and they are about the same size, one doesn’t seem much better than the other. If it really works, I might simplify my life and use the phone more.

What do you think? Does any of this make you want to get rid of that gold card so you can say “Charge it on my phone”?

Chase Sapphire Card Review

2009-11-14T20:23:00.000-08:00

The Chase Sapphire Card is the latest “revamped” rewards card line up from Chase. From what I can see in the reward program, I think Chase has a winner here. Check out this long review below.

How to Earn Points – The Chase Sapphire Card allows you to earn one point for every dollar that you spend on the card. Reward points do not expire and you can earn unlimited points. As a sign up bonus, you will get 10,000 bonus points. The Ultimate Rewards program also allows you to book travel tickets through their online travel system and if you choose to use that, you will earn 2 points for every dollar that you spend on the card. They also have a shopping portal where they have many online merchant partners. Using your card and shopping through their portal could earn up to 10 points for every dollar that you spend.

Rewards – The reward program for the Chase Sapphire Card is the Ultimate Rewards. It is a rewards program that offers travel rewards, merchandise, gift cards and other rewards. We’ll now go through the rewards.

Travel Rewards – There are a few ways to redeem travel rewards for the Chase Sapphire program. You can use their online travel site and book your flights, hotel stays, car rentals, cruises etc (just like you would with Expedia.com or Travelocity.com). Their travel site should be the same as these online sites with access to most flights and hotels. If you do it this way, you can get earn 2 points for every dollar you spend. By doing it this way, you could also either pay by points or pay by points and cash (from your credit card off course). 100 points is worth $1 (which is pretty standard).

You could also book your travel with other online sites or even off line travel agents. After you have done the bookings, you will just have to inform Chase and you will get a statement credit.

You can also transfer points into miles or frequent guest points with their partners. Below is a screen shot of their partners.

Lending Club Interview and Review

2009-11-14T20:21:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure yesterday of interviewing Rob Garcia of Lending Club. Lending Club is a person to person financial service where borrowers can apply for loans and investors can fund those loans directly. Below is our radio interview and I will follow that up with a review of the site.

What is Lendingclub.com? – Lending Club is peer to peer marketplace for individual borrowers and investors (or lenders). It was formed in 2006 and after getting SEC approval in 2008, has seen its business grown leaps and bounds. Lending Club issued more than $6M in loans in October, which makes them the largest P2P lending operation in the world, while it keeps growing at an impressive 15% monthly.

How does it work for borrowers – For those who need to borrow, all you need to do is to sign up with some basic information. After the sign up process, you will be sent another set of questions to answer which contains more details like your salary, your job etc. Not everybody could be a borrower as there are criteria to meet. The two most important are your FICO score (which has to be at least 660) and your debt interest to income ratio (excluding mortgage) cannot exceed 25%. You can request a loan for up to $25,000 for a 3 year maturity. The interest is fixed and the loan is unsecured.

Based on the information that you give, Lending Club will run through a proprietary credit score system and assign the borrower a rating and an interest rate. Below is a screen shot showing what the ratings are and what rates are being applied.

How does it work for lenders and investors? – Once again, all you have to do is to sign up. The minimum investment is $25. All you have to do first is to deposit some more from your bank account to Lending Club. (Note that you do not earn any interest for any money sitting with them that is not invested).

You can browse the list of borrowers and even ask them questions about the reason for their loans, their past records etc. It is like being a credit officer.

Lending Club advocates diversification (who doesn’t) and claims that the the average net annualized return (after fees and defaults) is over 9.5%.

What happens when someone defaults? – According to Lending Club, the annualized default rate is slightly over 3%. Lending Club has a collection process if a borrower defaults. According to them, about 80-90% of missed payments are due to changes in bank account or temporary cash flow issues, and these loans become current again within the first 30 days of the missed payment. Late payment fees are charged to late payers and most of the fees goes into the investors pocket. Lending Club will also utilize external collection agencies if the note is deep on default.

Lenders and investors also have a choice of selling their loans in the secondary market. This requires a sign up with FOLIOfn (which is a member of Finra and SPI).

Lending Club is governed by the SEC – Lending Club is governed by the SEC. That that every loan is issued in the form of “notes” and is filed with the SEC.

Tools for Lenders – Lending Club has a statistics page which contains a lot of statistics for lenders. They contain some really cool date like

what are the main uses of funds for borrowers?

what is the average returns for loans with different purposes?

what are the average default rates for a specific category?

Below are screen shots of the stats page.

Why is Lending Club able to offer borrowers a lower rate and are they underpricing risk? – I asked Rob in the radio interview why was lending club able to provide a lower cost of borrowing to borrowers and if they were underpricing risk for their lenders. His answer was that Lending Club is not a bank and they do not take deposits or borrower money. Hence, they have no “funding cost hurdle” to overcome. They also do not have costs associated with having branches and a bricks and mortar bank have. Hence, they are able to pass these savings on to their borrowers and investors.

Who is Lending Club For? – On their statistics page, Lending Club has a breakdown of the use of the loans taken out by borrowers. By far and large, most borrowers make use of Lending Club as credit card consolidation loans. Some use them for small business, home improvement. This does not surprise me as credit card issuers have been clamping down on their 0% balance transfer offers. Hence, if you are looking to consolidate your debt, whether is it just credit card or other types of debt, Lending Club is a great alternative if you cannot get approved for these 0% offers. There are several advantages that Lending Club provide.

Your payments are fixed – credit card issuers can raise their minimum payments on a 0% deal from 2% to 5% without any notice. This will never happen with Lending Club

If you accidentally make a mistake and miss your payment by a day, credit card issuers can jack up your rates to “default rate levels” of 29%. With Lending Club, this will not happen (though you will be charged a late fee).

Overall, I think Lending Club is a great concept and marketplace and has been used successfully by both borrowers and lenders. I know of folks who have been denied a 0% interest credit card but managed to consolidate their credit card debt through Lending Club. It also gives lenders a chance to earn higher returns that they would if they kept their money in the bank. They key is to have a diversified portfolio of loans. I think Lending Club would continue to grow and become more mainstream. Whether you need money or are looking for a place to earn higher interest, Lending Club is the place to be. (note: I do not have an account yet with Lending Club because it is not yet available in my state. But I will open an account when it becomes available. I was told by Rob that I can still open an account but can only buy “secondary loans”)

Lastly, if you sign up through the link here on this page, your account will be credited with $25 bonus.

CitiBank Sends Me A Check

2009-11-14T20:19:00.000-08:00

Bellow is the funniest letter I have ever received. The story is that I recently canceled a CitiBank card that I had. Apparently, I had overpaid my last bill by the princely sum of $0.01.

I have seen this phenomenon before, sort of. Years ago, when I had a roommate, we used to split our utility bills half and half. Inevitably, we both rounded an odd number down to the next cent. One day I got a bill for an outstanding balance of $0.01. We had the greatest time calling the company up and telling them we couldn’t come up with the money, and would like to pay in installments!

Personally, I can’t really think of a way around this. If they did not send out checks, then they would be accused of profiting in small increments, like in the movies Superman III and Office Space.

What do you think, should I frame it?

Blue Sky from American Express

2009-11-14T20:17:00.002-08:00

Blue Sky from American Express

No annual fee
Redeem points for a variety of travel discounts
Many valuable cardholder benefits & services

If you're looking for a credit card with a stellar travel rewards program, the Blue Sky from American Express card is for you. In this post, we'll review the basics of the card and explain what makes it one of the best travel rewards cards in the industry.

Blue Sky Rewards Program

The Blue Sky from American Express offers one of the best travel rewards programs in the business. Through this program, you will receive one point for every dollar spent on any purchases. You can earn an unlimited amount of miles, and your miles never expire as long as your card is in good standing and active. You may redeem your points for discounts on flights, hotels, cruises, or rental cars, with no blackout dates or travel restrictions. You can only redeem your points toward one purchase at a time in increments of 7,500, which is the equivalent of a $100 credit.

Other Card Information

The Blue Sky from American Express has much more to offer than just the rewards program. You will enjoy access to such services as an online year-end financial statement, auto rental insurance, and return protection services. Return protection services allow cardholders to receive a credit of up to $300 for non-refundable purchases within 90 days. This card has a very competitive interest rate and comes with no annual fee. The card comes with a very attractive 0% introductory APR on purchases for the first 6 months and a 4.99% APR on balance transfers that you submit during the application process. Thus, the Blue Sky from American Express card is ideal for those who plan to take advantage of the low introductory rate offers and the excellent travel rewards program

Chase Flexible Rewards Platinum Visa Card

2009-11-14T20:17:00.001-08:00

Chase Flexible Rewards Platinum Visa Card

Point rewards program
Redeem points for travel rewards, merchandise, and more
Earn one point for every dollar spent on purchases

Do you have very good credit? Would you like a credit card with a flexible rewards program? If so, the Chase Flexible Rewards Platinum Visa Card might be the card for you. In this post, we'll tell you more about the card and explain what makes it stand out among other cards.

Chase Flexible Rewards Program

Through the Chase Flexible Rewards Program, you can earn one point for every dollar you spend on your card. You have a wide variety of rewards for which you can redeem your points, which allows you much more flexibility than comparable credit card rewards programs. You can redeem your points for airline travel, hotel stays, cash back, car rentals, or gift certificates/gift cards. You can earn up to 60,000 points per year, and your points will expire in five years.

Additional Card Information

This card comes with an excellent 0% introductory APR offer for 12 months that applies to both balance transfers and purchases. After this period, your regular APR will depend on your credit. Your APR could be as low as 11.24%. The Chase Flexible Rewards Platinum Visa Card also offers a variety of cardholder services, including zero liability for unauthorized transactions, travel accident insurance, auto rental insurance, and extended warranty services. You can enjoy all of these benefits for no annual fee. Therefore, if you plan to take advantage of these services and the low introductory APR, you should consider the Chase Flexible Rewards Platinum Visa Card.

AT&T Universal Savings and Rewards Card

2009-11-14T20:15:00.000-08:00

AT&T Universal Savings and Rewards Card

Get up to 30 free phone minutes per mont
Doubles as a calling card
Redeem points for travel, gift cards, merchandise, and more

Are you looking for a low-interest-rate card with a great rewards program? Would you like your credit card to double as a calling card? If so, the AT&T Universal Savings and Rewards Program is the ideal card for you. In this post, will give you some basic information about the card and explain what makes it one of the best reward cards out there.

Rewards Program Information

Through the rewards program, you will earn one point for every dollar you spend on all purchases. Cardholders can redeem points for gift cards, travel, merchandise, experiences, and more. You will also enjoy up to 10% savings on AT&T purchases for the first 12 months you are a cardholder. You can earn a maximum of 50,000 points per year, and unused points expire after five years.

Other Card Perks

The AT&T Universal Savings and Rewards Card also doubles as a calling card. As a cardholder, you will receive two free directory assistance inquiries per month, wireless phone loss and theft insurance, and up to 30 free phone minutes per month. This card comes with no annual fee and a very competitive APR as low as 11.24% (depending on your credit score). You will enjoy an unbeatable introductory 0% APR on balance transfers for one year. As a cardholder, you will also have access to a variety of platinum benefits, including up to $1,000,000 in travel accident insurance, lost or stolen card reporting, fraud protection services, and auto rental insurance.

Quality And Frugality

2009-11-14T20:14:00.001-08:00

I think of frugality as the conservation of both time and money. When it comes to money it helps not to think of the least expensive product, but the one with the best value. For example, in the eighties, a company began importing a car from Yugoslavia, aptly named the Yugo, for a mere $4,000. That would seem to be a frugal choice, except for the fact that the car was poorly made and unreliable. While that is an extreme example, it does illustrate that price should not be the only determining factor when making a purchase.

Another illustration would be Wal-Mart vs. Costco. Wal Mart does have very low prices. They do this by paying their employees poorly and offering them few benefits and notorious working conditions. As a result, the personnel I have encountered there are not motivated to assist you and are indifferent to customer satisfaction. Furthermore, most of the merchandise they sell are low quality products imported from China. On the other hand, Costco is well known for being one of the nation’s best employers. They pay their employees above average wages for the retail sector, and offer great benefits. In return, they retain employees a long time. This means that they are more efficient and have superior knowledge of their responsibilities. Their prices may not be quite as low as Wal-Mart’s, but their employees are courteous, helpful, and don’t seem to hate their job. Sure, many of their products are Chinese imports as well, but there are a lot more quality name brands than at Wal Mart.

I choose to patronize Costco not just because they treat their employees better, but because their employees treat me better. I have a better experience when I go to Costco, and I know that they are committed to customer satisfaction. Wal-Mart is like a Yugo, while Costco is like my trusty Subaru, they never let me down.

Look For Customer Satisfaction Guarantees

Some businesses guarantee customer satisfaction. Costco will take just about anything back, with or without a receipt. Other examples of companies with iron-clad satisfaction guarantees include REI and Performance bicycle shop. When you buy quality products from retailers who will stand behind them, you are being frugal even if it occasionally costs slightly more.

The same philosophy works with financial services. I do my banking with a small, internet based bank. I chose this bank because they rated highly on customer satisfaction surveys. They keep their costs down by not having branches all over town. Instead, they provide first rate customer service over the phone with live human beings based here in the United States. They charge few, if any fees, and even refund the ATM fees that other banks may charge me.

This Works For Credit Cards Too

You might get some great rewards from your credit card occasionally, but some companies just don’t have their customer service act together. When I had some cards stolen from my house two months ago, I was able to fix all of the problems with one phone call to one credit card company. I am still dealing with fraudulent charges from another company, two months later. Guess which card I will be keeping?

Another example is with reward partners. Like most travel and reward card bloggers, I am devoted to the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest program. On the rare occasion that I have had any problem with the card, their website, or even their hotels, I have received a prompt resolution that has been more than adequate. They do not devalue their program periodically, at least not nearly to the extent that most other programs do (I am looking at you Hilton!). They also don’t withhold points on discounted stays, like the Intercontinental Hotels Group (Holiday Inn) does.

Bottom Line

I frequently mention that your credit card is not a lifetime relationship. I also like to remind my readers that the credit card market remains extremely competitive for people with decent credit. The evidence is as clear as the offers that litter everyone’s mailbox. On the other hand, it is a good feeling when you find a product or service that delivers real value. That value is a quality product or service. When it is coupled with a competitive price, you actually have a frugal choice, even if it is not “the cheapest

Good Credit Cards

2009-10-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

For those with good credit and looking for a credit card, you will want to consider good credit credit cards. These credit cards have decent rates of interest, some great benefits, and even fabulous rewards to look into. You should be rewarded for maintaining good credit and good credit credit cards is your reward, allowing you to make the purchases you need without having to carry around the cash at all times.

Discover® More® Card - American Flag

Discover® More® Card - Sealife Collection

Slate(SM) from Chase

People Who Manage Their Credit Responsibly Get Rewarded

Good credit credit cards are designed for those who have a credit rating of 660 to 749. Good credit consists of timely payments, low income to credit ratio, and a decent amount of credit that has been assigned to the applicant. Typically, a good credit status is given to someone who has possessed some sort of credit card or bank loan of at least $5,000 or more during the last three years. Just possessing this amount of credit in any form is not enough to give you the status of good credit or make you eligible for good credit credit cards.

You have to show that you have a history of timely repayment on all instances of credit, which might include credit cards, bank loans, rental payments, utilities, and any other form of credit in which you may have applied for and received. One thing you might not be aware of is that any time you apply for credit cards and are denied this could hurt your credit score, so be sure that you are only apply for credit that you really need or have an excellent chance of receiving.

Obtaining good credit credit cards and continuing down the path of timely payments and reliability can help increase your credit rating and perhaps increase your credit status to excellent credit, which is a goal for most any person. Good to excellent credit ratings opens many doors for people and offers so much more in the way of credit than those with poor to fair credit.

With good credit, you can obtain good credit credit cards with good rates of interest and great introductory interest rates. You will also likely qualify for credit cards that have no or low annual fees and no usage charges. Your credit limit will also be higher than that of someone with poor or fair credit ratings, which offers you more in the way of buying power.

However, it is important to keep on the right track with your good credit and maintain or increase your credit status. Obtaining good credit credit cards and then travelling down the wrong path can result in a great deal of damage. If you start to find yourself late on payments, over extending your credit limit, or unable to make your payments altogether, you will find your good credit rating lowered to fair or poor. At the same time, your credit card company may lower your credit limit or even cancel your card altogether, assessing late fees or other fees that can really increase the amount you are in debt to that company.

A good credit rating is something to treasure and hold onto. Make sure that you make the right decisions and never spend more than you can afford to pay off. While you may have a low interest rate, if you tend to carry a balance on your good credit credit cards month after month, you may find that the interest rates really start to pile up and become unmanageable.

Another great thing about good credit credit cards is the rewards programs that you can take advantage of. Many credit cards now offer some sort of rewards programs that allow you to earn rewards with each purchase you make using the credit card. Some rewards that you may find on good credit credit cards might include company specific rewards. Company specific rewards give you rewards usually based on what services or products the company has to offer.

For example, with Airlines rewards, you might get points or mileage towards free airline tickets. For department stores, you might earn points good towards gift certificates or name brand merchandise. Points and mileage are earned with each purchase you make using your good credit credit cards; however, you usually earn more points or miles with specific purchases towards a specific company.

Credit One Bank Credit Cards

2009-10-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

First National Bank of Marin began its operations in 1984 under Kjell Qvale and was later acquired by Sherman Financial Group, LLC. In February 2006, after obtaining a CEBA status, its name was subsequently changed to Credit One Bank. Today, Credit One Bank offers both Visa and MasterCard to its consumers and is also well known to provide credit limits to people with little credit histories or have had bad credit histories in the past.

Improving Credit Score with Credit One Bank Cards

Credit One Bank is a nationally chartered institution and is a subsidiary of the Sherman Financial Group LLC. Credit One Bank specializes in providing unsecured credit cards to customers who have shady credit records. The following are the credit cards offered by Credit One.

The Visa Classic Credit Card is the standard account offered by Credit One. Clients can apply for the Visa Classic card online. Its features include the ability to rebuild credit with processed on-time payments, full access to monthly online credit scores free of charge, a credit line reaching up to a thousand dollars, automatic credit line increases, dependent on credit performance reviews, monthly updates to credit bureaus, and $0 fraud liability.

The Visa Classic Credit Card? APR or annual percentage rate is 23.9% while its annual fee is $69, which is billed to the credit account at $5.75 each month. A one-time enrolment fee of $69 is required as well. A transaction fee for cash advance is charged at either $5 or 3% of the amount requested for the advance. Cardholders can also take avail of the optional feature of Credit One Bank? Credit Protection Program. Additional benefits include account-specific email notices and 24/7 access to cardholders?online accounts.

The Visa Platinum Card, on the other hand, is quite like the Visa Classic Card, in terms of features. It still offers the same features, like the ability to rebuild credit, monthly online credit scores free of charge, a thousand dollar credit line maximum, monthly updates to credit bureaus, credit performance reviews, automatic credit line increases, $0 fraud liability, the same APR, annual fee, enrolment fee, cash advance transaction fee, and the optional feature of Credit One? Credit Protection Program. The difference is in the additional benefits, where Travel Accident Insurance and Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver are included.

The Platinum MasterCard, meanwhile, is still much alike the Visa Platinum Card. It is still in the additional benefits that the card? distinguishing feature lies. The Platinum MasterCard offers Master RoadAssist?Service to its cardholders, as well as Extended Warranty Coverage. Master RoadAssist?Service is actually a 24-hour emergency service available to MasterCard cardholders, where MasterCard and the AAA or American Automobile Association offers roadside assistance. Extended Warranty Coverage allows cardholders extended warranty periods for products purchased with the card.

Lastly, the Visa Black Card provides you the same set of features and the ability to choose your design from a set of templates. The annual fee is now $81 and is billed at $6.75 each month. Additional benefits include Travel Accident Insurance and Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver.

Providian Credit Cards

2009-10-31T21:43:00.000-07:00

Providian is now a part of Washington Mutual, for a very long time now Providian credit cards have been synonymous with quality and service. Creditcardflyers.com is happy to bring you the latest in Providian Credit cards. The vanguard of Providian credit cards, the Providian Visa Platinum credit card is unique, in being the first credit card to offer users access to their FICO credit scores. This is just one of the many innovations that Providian credit cards have been working on, Providian credit cards have benefited greatly from their association with Washington Mutual.

Providian Credit Card

Back in the day when Providian was still one of the leading credit card companies in America, it was able to make a lot of money from the "subpar" market segment of the industry. This segment is comprised of clients whose credit histories contain several blemishes.

Problems rose when losses began outrunning the high fees and interest rates. By October 2001, Providian lost its operations and was then acquired by Washington Mutual, the country's biggest savings and loan firm, by the middle of 2005.

After the merger, Washington Mutual proceeded to control operations from Providian's headquarters in San Francisco, California. Washington Mutual also became the main provider of Providian credit cards. Providian credit cards are known to have customized abilities to fit the needs of individual customers. Providian credit card services customize each credit card, making sure that it would suit the preferences of each customer. The following are the different types of Providian credit cards and their features.

There is the Providian Visa Platinum Card. This card caters mainly to American consumers. The credit cardholder is given full access to his or her Fico Credit scores. There are also many restaurants and retailers that offer discounts and coupons to Providian Visa Platinum credit cardholders. Credit limit is also set to correspond with the needs of the cardholder and credit lines are regularly checked so that credit limit increases can be implemented for qualifying customers.

There is also the Providian Real Rewards, which provides a lot of reward programs for customers who use their credit cards for their purchases, as well as those who may payments on time. Other benefits include the redemption of points in the form of airline travel discounts, restaurant discount cards, and more. Cardholders can also use their reward points to make their APRs lower.

Providian Cash Rewards, on the other hand, gives the cardholder rewards in the form of cash rebates. Depending on the purchases made by the cardholder, cashback rewards are given accordingly.

Lastly, there is the Premium Points credit account. This system is a reward program wherein the cardholder earns a point for each dollar spent with the credit card.

Aside from these credit accounts, Providian also offers a lot of other services in the form of money market deposit accounts, savings products, institutional investors' services, and certificates of deposit. There are also several ways for Providian customers to process their payments. Payments can be made over the internet, the phone, or regular mail.