Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Credit Card Use and Reviews

Credit cards can be a gateway to debt but can also be a powerful personal finance tool. See articles that will teach you about credit cards,keep you up to date on credit card rules, show you the best credit cards, as well as show you reviews.

Best Western Hotel Rewards – A Review

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Would you like the flexibility to earn hotel rewards or airline rewards with every hotel stay at a hotel chain that is in six different continents? If so, you may want to join Best Western Rewards program.

Best Western Rewards offers flexibility in the way you decide to earn points.  You can choose to earn Best Western Rewards at 10 points per dollar spent on qualifying stays at over 4,000 hotels worldwide in North, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.  Or, you can choose to earn 600 Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points, 20 AIR MILES reward miles or at least 250 airline/partner rewards per qualified stay.  (You must specify which way you would like to earn your rewards when signing up for Best Western Rewards.)
[Read more…] about Best Western Hotel Rewards – A Review

What First Time Home Buyers Need to Know About Their Credit Card Balances

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Many people who feel they are prepared to enter the real estate market by purchasing their first home have experienced a roadblock to good mortgage rates – their credit cards. Credit cards can play a positive, but also a negative role in the process of purchasing a home.

There is not a doubt that having a credit card can work highly in your favor when it comes time to shop around for your first home.  If you have a consistent history of timely credit card payments this builds a strong credit rating.  Having a high credit score not only will secure you a mortgage quickly, but one with very competitive rates.

Your credit card can be very influential when determining what mortgage you are seeking because the credit card payments are added to what the payments ‘would be’ on a possible mortgage to determine how much can be afforded.
[Read more…] about What First Time Home Buyers Need to Know About Their Credit Card Balances

Credit Cards for Excellent Credit

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Having excellent credit (usually 750 or higher) is good for more than mortgage and car loan rates.

An excellent credit score can also yield you a credit card that offers better benefits such as longer balance transfer periods, low introductory APR interest rates, cash back bonuses, better rewards, and better general benefits.

Below I’m going to highlight some of the best credit cards for excellent credit.  If you are looking for a new credit card, and you have excellent credit, see if any of the following cards fit your spending needs.

To keep things simple, I’ve left out specialized cards like airline miles cards, travel rewards cards, small business cards, or hotel rewards cards. [Read more…] about Credit Cards for Excellent Credit

Starwood Preferred Guest® Hotel Reward Program – A Review

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If you are looking for a fairly simple hotel rewards program that offers convenient locations and the ability to book flights (and more) with your points, you need to look into the Starwood Preferred Guest hotel reward program.

Starwood Preferred Guest offers 2 points (Starpoints) for every dollar spent at over 1,000 approved locations in 93 countries and 9 hotels including Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, W Hotels, aloft, The Luxury Collection, Le Meridien, Element, Westin and St. Regis.

You are required to give basic information such as your name, address, and e-mail address in addition to your room preferences when signing up for a Starwood Preferred Guest account.  You can optionally give more information such as your phone number. [Read more…] about Starwood Preferred Guest® Hotel Reward Program – A Review

American Express® Premier Rewards Gold Card – Review

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When you think of a gold card the first thing that comes to mind is American Express®.

They are the one who put an exclusive card on the map. 

I’m going to show you what makes the American Express(R) Premier Rewards Gold Card special.

First off, don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a credit card, it’s not.

This is a CHARGE card.  That means that the purchases you make are expected to be paid off IN FULL when you get your statement.  There are some exceptions but for the most part this is a card for people who will be able to pay everything off every month (you should really aim to do that anyway).

Being a charge card means there is no pre-set spending limit for the card.  Not that you can go out and spend to your heart’s content though.  Your purchasing power will adjust to your spending habits, your payment habits, your income, and other factors that American Express takes into account. [Read more…] about American Express® Premier Rewards Gold Card – Review