The Best Credit Card Offers

CapitalOneCash

When used in the right way, a credit card can be a powerful tool.

The best credit cards provide you with free stuff, and even cash back.

While we often we think of credit cards as debt traps, the truth is that, used responsibly, credit cards actually provide a number of benefits.  Savvy credit card use can lead to the earning of valuable rewards, as well as cash back.  You can actually make money simply by making purchases that you would normally.

The goal, of course, is to get the best credit card possible.

This includes a credit card with generous rewards, as well as easy redemption.  Many of the best credit cards also come with a signing bonus.  When you sign up, and then spend a certain amount of money within a set period of time, you receive bonuses worth $100, or even $200.
Continue Reading

TrueEarnings Credit Card from Costco and American Express – Review

TrueEarnings from American Express and Costco

Are you a Costco member looking for a credit that will be accepted at their locations AND has great benefits as well (or maybe looking to join Costco)?

The TrueEarnings® credit card from Costco and American Express offers the personal attention and customer service you’d expect from an American Express credit card along with additional Costco membership benefits.

TrueEarnings is a rewards credit card that offers varying levels of cash back depending on what you buy with your card, both in and out of Costco, while also giving you access to an exclusive membership warehouse shopping experience with low prices on brand name merchandise.

TrueEarnings Card at a Glance:

Continue Reading

Why You Need a Small Business Credit Card

Many of us with small and home businesses don’t think a lot about getting a credit card.

After all, what do we need with a business credit card, when everything is so…small?

However, a small business credit card can be a good move for just about any small business — even if you don’t think that you need one. There are advantages to having a credit card in the name of your small business.

Here are some of the advantages of having a small business credit card:

Build Credit for Your Business

Continue Reading

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Makes Consumer Complaints Publicly Available

man_megaphone_complaint

Do you know about Yelp?  Maybe Tripadvisor?

If you’re looking for a new restaurant or you’re traveling and find yourself in an unknown place, Yelp and Tripadvisor take some of the guesswork out finding a quality restaurant by publishing customer reviews.  You can search for restaurants by the amount of positive reviews and companies can respond to the review in an attempt to rectify a negative customer experience.

Websites like these have caused some local businesses to clean up their act since they know that savvy consumers reference these sites en masse.  They know that bad reviews can affect their bottom line just as positive reviews can increase traffic.

Not all businesses have such a low tech yet effective system of oversight.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know how a certain bank in your community treats its customers?  When trying to choose from the sea of credit card offers, wouldn’t it be nice if you could see what other card holders around the country think of the card?

Credit Card Complaints Made Public

Continue Reading

The Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards

Do you find yourself traveling often, perhaps for work or pleasure?

A travel rewards credit card is a great way to earn extra perks or get a little back for your trips.  Traveling can be expensive and a travel rewards card can go a long way to earning something back for your spending.

Do you like benefits such as:

  • Earning free nights at hotels;
  • Earning free flights;
  • Not paying foreign transaction fees;
  • Earning free car rentals;
  • and more?

The cards below offer a variety of these benefits as well as others.

These are the best travel rewards credit cards that I’ve found (if you know of others, please let me know so I can add them!).  Look through each of the cards and see which benefits mean the most to you.

Make sure you are actually going to use the benefits!

If you aren’t taking advantage of what a particular card offers then you are wasting the usefulness of a travel rewards credit card.  Some of these have annual fees, so you need to make sure you are making up for that fee in the card’s use (yes, I’d prefer there were no fees, but these cards will quickly pay for themselves if you are using the benefits).

Finding the best credit card to fit your particular traveling needs is a great way to maximize your credit card and your spending.

Take a look at the list below and find the best travel rewards credit card with benefits to match your travel habits.

Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards

Continue Reading

Five Ways to Use Credit Cards Without Getting Buried in Debt

Everyone appreciates the importance of using credit cards responsibly; the issue comes down to tactics.

How do you use your credit cards to your advantage without also over using them to the point where they become a problem?

Let’s face it, credit cards are extremely user friendly!

Everything about them tempts you to use them even more.  From generous (and often rising) credit limits, to zero-interest introductory rates, to cash rebates and rewards, to the completely self-directed nature of the credit arrangement pull us into what is probably the most cozy relationship with any kind of debt we’ll ever have.

But credit cards are loans—as in debts that are required to be paid back.  If we ever lose sight of that we’re at risk of becoming credit card junkies or bankruptcy candidates.

How do we stay on the safe side of credit cards?

Continue Reading

The Best Airline Miles Credit Cards

JetBlue_TrueBlue_from_American_Express

“If only there were a way to get airline miles faster,” you wonder?  ”What would be really awesome is if I could get lots of cool benefits too,” you say.

Well there is and you can.

If you fly on one favorite airline for most of your trips (or even if it isn’t your favorite but you fly it because you have to), using an airline miles credit card for the specific carrier can be a great way to maximize your airline spending.

credit card for airline miles

Finding the best credit card for airline miles can help you travel for less!

If you have that one magic carrier you always use then it’s pretty easy to find an airline miles credit card to match.  Most, if not all major airlines have a credit card.

But what if you fly different carriers and have a few choices?

If that’s you then having a great airline miles credit card can make your flights more enjoyable and you can earn miles towards free trips faster.  The right card can steer you towards a specific carrier because of the better benefits.

And if I don’t know what airline I’ll be flying next?

Don’t worry, some of the best credit cards for airline miles let you transfer their miles to a number of different rewards programs so you can earn miles without worrying about one particular carrier.

But which are the best airline miles credit cards?

Below we’ll look at some great airline miles choices and what makes each card tick.

Need more convincing?

Finding the best airline miles credit card to match your favorite airline can net you free tickets to fly, miles that can be used towards car rentals and hotels, upgrades, free bag checking, preferential check-in, and more!

Keep in mind you need to responsibly spend and pay off your credit card bill monthly in order to truly make the most of your airline miles.  Keep in mind too, most airline miles cards have an annual fee (some waive the fee the first year).  You will find that if you take advantage of the benefits of the card, the fee is well made up for.

Done right, you can turn your everyday spending into airline miles and reduce the cost of your flying and possibly take advantage of special perks as well.

Take a look at the following cards and see which is the best airline miles credit card for you.

Continue Reading

Visa® Black Card™ Review – A Luxury Card That’s Expensive But Full of Benefits

For years, American Express has had the luxury/executive card market to itself with its wildly successful Platinum Card®.  Visa® has entered the upscale luxury card market with its Black Card (the card is backed by Barclays Bank Delaware).

The Visa Black Card is working to differentiate itself from other credit cards with its appearance and exclusivity.

The Visa Black Card is made with carbon (no, you shouldn’t concern yourself with how a card looks but it is kind of neat that’s it’s carbon – maybe it could come in handy in a MacGuyver situation?).  Also, membership is limited in order to ensure top-quality service for members.  That’s a big distinction from most of the plastic credit cards on the market today.

Let’s take a look at the features and benefits that the Visa Black Card offers, shall we?

Visa Black Card Benefits

Continue Reading

Four Places Not to Use Your Credit Card

Americans are in love with credit cards.

Many of us have replaced the cash in our wallets with our cards, charging everything from a cup of coffee to large purchases like automobiles.

Although credit cards are convenient, they aren’t right for all purchases even if you can get rewards points or cash back.

In what cases are credit cards a bad idea?  Here are some places NOT to use your credit card: Continue Reading

Stay on Top of Credit Card Payments – How to Make Sure You Pay Your Credit Card on Time

If you’ve ever owned a credit card, and most people have at one point or another in their lives, they can be both a blessing and a curse.

If you are like me, you can probably recall that awful sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you receive your statement in the mail.  You frantically try to remember all of the purchases you made in the last month, and at the same time you scramble to remember if you made a payment and how much you put down towards the outstanding balance.

Oops, you didn’t.

Or how about that time you did some cleaning and found the credit card bill you swore you paid, but clearly you didn’t because, well, it’s sitting right there in you hand?

I’ve been there!

Missing payments on your credit card is a quick way to rack up late fee charges, hike up your interest rate, and possibly send your credit score into the dump.

I’m not even talking about whether you can afford what’s on your card or not.  That’s a whole other issue.  I’m talking about missing the due date on your credit card payments.
Continue Reading