Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Glen Craig

Citi ThankYou Preferred Card – $200 in Gift Cards | Review

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How would you like a credit card that offers rewards as well as a nice 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers?  Add to that a $150 gift card bonus?

Sounds interesting, right?

This is what the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card is offering.  Join me as we walk through what the card offers…

The Citi ThankYou Preferred Card

Sign-Up Bonus

When you make $1,500 in purchases within 3 months of opening your account you will earn 20,000 bonus ThankYou Points.  That right there is good to redeem for $200 in gift cards or other rewards they offer.

ThankYou Point Rewards

The rewards program with the Citi ThankYou Preferred Card is the …wait for it… ThankYou Points program.

You earn 1 ThankYou Point for every $1 you spend on purchases.  No categories or signing up to get your points required.  Just a simple 1 for 1.  You can earn unlimited points and your ThankYou Points don’t expire.

You can earn 2x points when you use your card for entertainment and dining.

You can redeem your ThankYou Points for merchandise, travel, gift cards, statement credits/cash, event tickets, and more.  When redeeming your points pay attention to what the point redemption is.  You may find that you get better value with say gift cards than you do with merchandise.

If you shop through the ThankYou® Bonus Center you’ll have opportunities to earn bonus points.  There are over 600+ retailers represented there.

0% Intro APR

Stack of MoneyHere’s a sweet incentive for those with a balance to transfer from another card or if you’re planning on making a big purchase – you get a 0% Introductory APR for 12 months on both purchases and balance transfers.

If you have a balance elsewhere then transferring to a 0% intro APR can help you pay that balance down faster since you get to put more money towards the balance rather than towards interest.  I’ve done this in the past to help pay off credit card balances.

After the introductory APR expires your rate will be a variable APR from 12.99%-22.99% based on your creditworthiness.

Be aware there is a balance transfer fee of 3% for each transfer with a minimum of $5.  This is pretty much standard for most cards.

Foreign Travel

Your Citi ThankYou Preferred card will have Chip technology in it making foreign travel purchases easier and safer when you shop at merchants that accept payments with chip terminals.  Be aware there is a 3% foreign transaction fee when you use your card abroad.

Annual Fee

There is no annual fee for this card.

Finally

The Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card is a nice all-around rewards card.  There’s no annual fee, you get a bonus point offer to start, and you have a 0% intro APR that applies to purchases and balance transfers.  The rewards are easy to understand as it’s one point for every one dollar spent.

There are cards out there that offer richer points programs or longer intro APR periods, as well as cards that offer no foreign transactions fees.  That said, the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card has a little bit of everything, touching base on a lot of credit card perks.

This card is similar in rewards to the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express or the Discover it® Card.  Both of the other cards offer up some higher rewards bonuses but you need to see which of the three cards has categories you will actually use more often.

*Always make sure you understand the terms of a credit card before you sign up. See the online credit card application for details about terms and conditions. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. When you click on the “Apply Now” button, you can review the credit card terms and conditions on the issuer’s website. Citi is a paid advertiser of this site.

When is Bankruptcy a Good Option?

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1,376,006.

That’s the number of bankruptcy filings in the United States (according to US Courts) for the 12 month period that ended March 31, 2012 – the most recent 12 month period for which statistics are available.

Obviously, if you are filing for bankruptcy you have plenty of company.

But when is bankruptcy a good option?

Bankruptcy has become so common, that is no longer carries the stigma it once did.  In there are folks out there that think ‘YOLO, I’ll just declare bankruptcy if it gets bad.’   That doesn’t mean you should file for bankruptcy or that it doesn’t come with risks.

The Cost of Bankruptcy

When I talk about the cost of bankruptcy, I’m not talking about attorney fees or court filing fees – what I’m referring to is the effect it will have upon your life.

That will be much more expensive than a couple thousand dollars you will pay for the bankruptcy procedure itself.

Before filing for bankruptcy, consider the impact it will have on your life… [Read more…] about When is Bankruptcy a Good Option?

The Best Prepaid Debit Cards 2014

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As banks add more fees, and as it becomes difficult for some consumers to obtain accounts at some of the big banks, prepaid debit cards are becoming popular.

Prepaid debt cards look a lot like “regular” debit and credit cards, sporting the logos of major payment processors like Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.  You can use them anywhere major credit cards are accepted, so it makes them convenient.

However, no matter how much like a credit card a prepaid debit card is, it’s important to understand the difference.

Credit Card vs. Prepaid Debit Card

With a credit card, you are borrowing money up to a certain limit.  You use the money first, and then repay it later.  Additionally, if you carry a balance, you end up paying interest on that balance.

A prepaid debit card functions differently.
[Read more…] about The Best Prepaid Debit Cards 2014

What You Must Consider Before Opening a Brokerage Account

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Shopping for a brokerage account is very unlike choosing a bank.

People often choose a bank based primarily on a convenient location.  Since banks are tightly regulated, and all provide essentially the same services, convenience can be the deciding factor.

There’s a lot more to consider when opening a brokerage account however, since the transactions you enter into with investments will be both more complicated and more diverse.

Consider the Following When Opening a Brokerage Account

Investment choices

How important investment choice is to you will depend on what you intend to do with the account.

For the most part, you’ll want a brokerage account that has the widest investment choices available.  That will include stocks – both foreign and domestic – mutual funds, ETF’s, options, REITs, bonds and other debt securities, and even commodities.  You’ll also want the investment choices within each asset class to also be as wide as possible.

But if you plan to maintain the account for a very specific purpose, you may be more interested in a specialized account.
[Read more…] about What You Must Consider Before Opening a Brokerage Account

TurboTax Online Federal Giveaway

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The tax filing due date is quickly approaching!  Have you done your taxes yet?

If you haven’t then I’m here to help.


The kind folks at Intuit (TurboTax’s parent company) have given me a promotional code for one TurboTax Online Federal Filing product, up to a $100 value.  I’d like to pass that on to a loyal Free From Broke reader.

When I first started doing my taxes I did them myself by hand.  It wasn’t so difficult since there wasn’t a lot going on with my income but it was time consuming nonetheless.

Then I started using TurboTax.  It was immediately so much easier to get my taxes done!  Take a look at our TurboTax Online review for more information on the different TurboTax products.

TurboTax Online Giveaway

[Read more…] about TurboTax Online Federal Giveaway

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