Well, I have a post about my favorite rewards credit cards. And this post was turned out to be one of popular posts in the past few weeks. Sometimes, you will get overwhelmed trying to find out a best rewards credit card for you since there are thousands of credit card in the market. This blog is trying to let you get ready to decide which credit card is best fit for you. If you are still not clear which one is best for you, there’s a shortcut:Take a peek at what industry pros are using. (from MSN.com by MSN money staff)
Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com: Arnold once swore by his American Express Blue Cash card, but this year he’s taking advantage of a special promotion on his Chase Free Cash RewardsSM Visa Card.
“I haven’t used this card in a long time, and they sent me a mail solicitation that promised me $1,000 (cash back) if I’d charge $48,000 on the card during 2008, or $500 for spending $24,000,” he said. “This amounts to an amazing 2.08% overall rebate, no strings attached. I’m a happy camper.”
Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com: Hardekopf uses Blue Cash from American Express everywhere it’s accepted and the Chase Free Cash RewardsSM Visa Card (1% cash rebate on all purchases) otherwise.
Ron Lieber, managing editor of FiLife (and a million-mile frequent flier): Lieber, who’s written columns for The Wall Street Journal about his prowess in wringing the best from rewards programs, uses the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express for everyday use and the Costco TrueEarnings American Express card at restaurants to get the 3% cash back for dining purchases.
Justin McHenry, research director for IndexCreditCards.com: McHenry’s No. 1 card is an Orchard Bank 2% MasterCard that offers — you guessed it — 2% back on purchases.
“For whatever reason, this card offer only pops up occasionally, and one of the benefits of my job is that I know about new offers and jump on the best ones,” he said. “As far as I know, you can’t get your hands on it at the moment.”
Another hard-to-get card McHenry uses is a Chase Cash Plus Rewards that gives a 5% rebate on gas, groceries and drugstore purchases, plus 1% everywhere else. He’s heard Chase bank branches may still offer it, but it’s not available online.
Randy Petersen, publisher of InsideFlyer Magazine and WebFlyer: Petersen is another fan of the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express, as well as Diners Club. In the past, he’s used an Amtrak MasterCard when the other two aren’t accepted (although with Diners Club becoming a MasterCard, that problem has vanished). Petersen still likes the Amtrak card because it has no annual fee, and he can earn train travel, frequent-flier miles or hotel stays.
Ben Woolsey, marketing director for CreditCards.com: Woolsey uses a Citi Platinum Select MasterCard that offers 5% cash back on gas, grocery and drugstore purchases for the first six months and 2% on those purchases thereafter; other purchases get a 1% rebate. After he hits the $300 annual cap for that card, he switches to a Discover More card that offers 5% cash back on spending categories that change quarterly and up to 1% on other purchases.
He’s thinking of switching to the Fidelity Investments 529 College Rewards American Express card, though, because he and his wife just had their second child.
Full story from MSN money is here.
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January 18th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
The usefulness of credit cards has always been a clouded issue. There is a misconception on people’s minds, that credit cards are more secure than any other modes of payment.
Is that so? Let’s find out. Suppose you have decided for a holiday to another country then this is where a credit comes in handy. It is much safer to use a credit card, than carrying all the money or travelers cheques and finding the place for cashing them etc.
Credit cards are safe if you happen to pay the dues on time. But the fact of the matter is that the credit card companies favor those people who purchases more and delays payment. So many people are scared to a great degree at the very notion of making a purchase online with a credit card. The very idea of a burglar attempting to steal your credit card information is frightening.
This is where credit cards having disposable numbers happen to be more popular among consumers and also to businesses. The companies that issue these cards create random numbers, which are meant for onetime use. Their validity will be within the websites from which you make purchases and they will be valid only for a short time period.
This increases the difficulty to robbers, as obtaining this information will be of no particular use to them. Online retailers and consumers are both benefited by the safety offered by disposable credit cards. There is a reduction of risk where a burglar can obtain information relating to an individual regarding a transaction or account details of a number of people from databases. A retailer can carry out instant verification and validation of a transaction. There will be no need for charge backs related to fraud.
The main draw back of a disposable credit card will be that they will not be feasible for certain transactions. Most of the retailers require the card to be shown when an item is retrieved from them after purchasing. This is the case with airline and theatre as well as car and hotel rentals. The card number would have expired when it will be required for another payment. For most of the people card numbers that are disposable will lead to safer shopping online. Necessary precautions need to be taken for making your experience for shopping online enjoyable and safe.
Interest Reduction of your credit card: The Methods.
One thing that we hate most regarding a credit card will be the interest. Interest will be added to the account for each month, which is being charged for provision for borrowing.
It is a way of making lot of money by the adding of interest to card account holders, without which they would fail to make any money.
But the interest of credit cards for the consumers can really be hitting hard. Paying even the minimal amounts can be very difficult for some people at times. Hence rising of interests can become a real concern. Negotiating with the provider may lower the interest rate or a low interest credit card may be applied for and your balance may be transferred over.