MyCardBlog

This is a guest post from Debbie Dragon.

Rewards programs through credit cards are the result of credit card company competition. When they began, the typical rewards program offered a small percentage of cash back on all purchases made with the credit card, in order to encourage new customers to apply for the card.

As competition continues to rule the industry, credit card companies have had to improve on the types of rewards offered to continue attracting new customers to their card over a different card. Today’s rewards programs offer quite a bit more than 1% cash back! When used correctly, there are many rewards programs that can really benefit cardholders – including those that help you pay down your mortgage.

It’s a bit strange to think a credit card could help you pay down your mortgage – but if you choose a card with mortgage rewards and learn how to use it effectively, you could end up paying your mortgage off sooner than expected and without any additional cost to you.

Mortgage rewards credit cards give you a percentage of your purchases back in the form of rebates applied to your mortgage.You may get up to 6% cash back on home related purchases (improvements, utilities, etc), and smaller amounts of cash back on other purchases. Of course, if you just go out and start swiping your card like a Desperate Housewife, you’re going to find yourself owing more in interest and finance fees on your card purchases than you earn in mortgage rebates.

Here’s how to make your mortgage rewards credit card work for you:

• Each time you need to pay for something or make a purchase throughout the month, put it on your mortgage rewards credit card.
• Record the transaction in your check register, as if you paid for it with cash.
• When the statement comes in the mail, write a single check or make a single online payment to pay the balance in full. You’ll already have the money because you’ve been deducting it from your check register the entire month.

This strategy allows you to spend as much as possible on the credit card to get the most rewards, but without going into debt that you can’t repay.

If you aren’t a homeowner yet, you can still benefit from mortgage credit card rewards if you choose a card that lets you grow your earned credits towards the purchase of your dream home. 

Some cards offering mortgage rewards programs:

• Bank of America’s Home Advantage Card
• GMAC Mortgage Equity Rewards MasterCard
• Countrywide Credit Card Rewards Platinum Visa

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Debbie Dragon is a writer for CreditorWeb.com where she writes about credit cards, rewards programs and general finance.

Chase and Amazon.com have worked together to launch the new Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card. Compared to the old Amazon.com visa card, the new rewards card offers more rewards options, higher cash back rate at the first 90 days of account opening, and better look of card design. For some Amazon Kindle fans, the best news is you can get $100 off Amazon Kindle with a new Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card!

The Amazon Kindle has been out in the market for a while and received great reviews both from consumers and experts. The Amazon Kindle sets out to change the way we read books, newspapers, weblogs, and more and is developed by Amazon itself. With the Amazon Kindle, you can have instant wireless access to 115,000 books sold by Amazon just like an electronic book reader, an audiobook player, and a wireless Web browser. Kindle uses a cellular data network to deliver books, newspapers, magazines and weblogs to you immediately. This network is called “Whistler” and is free for you to use. Amazon provides the data connectivity free of charge as part of Kindle’s purchase. Sweet!

The price of Kindle is $359.00 right now at Amazon.com. The Kindle was very popular: Amazon’s initial manufacturing run sold out in just five hours, and it took Amazon six months to get it back in stock. (Somehow, I think this is kind of a marketing strategy.) But if you read carefully, you can find that:

Get the Amazon Rewards Visa Card and Get $100 Off Kindle

Thanks to Chase, you get $100 off Kindle when you get the new Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card. Limited time only.

Here’s how this works: 1) Apply online. Get a response in as little as 30 seconds. If you’re approved, we will instantly add the card to your Amazon.com account and you’ll get $30 back on your credit card statement after your purchase. 2) Add a Kindle to your cart. 3) Place your order using the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card and enter this promo code: VISACARD to get the additional $70 savings at checkout.

The question is whether the new Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card is better than its previous version?

Following is the details of the cash back rate:

From what I can tell, the new Amazon.com Rewards Card is really an upgraded version of rewards card. The old Amazon card gives 3 points for every dollar spent on Amazon and 1 point for other purchases. The new card add two new reward categories—restaurants and gas stations from which you can get 2 points for everyday $1 spent there. At the same time, the new Amazon credit card comes with an introductory double points offer! You will get 6 points for every dollat spent at Amazon.com within the introductory period. The new card also gives you airline miles, cash, or flight tickets in addition to gift certificates for redemption.

Overall, the new Amazon Visa Rewards Card is a better credit card product and if you are a fan of Amazon Kindle, it’s the right time to grab it!

American Express sent me an email targeted to my Starwood Preferred Guest Card about the amazing “People Lower Price” promotion. This is a really interesting promotion which offers an opportunity to you to purchase amazing electronics at the cost of 50% of retail price. The promotion website is: http://peoplelowerprice.amexnetwork.com.

What is the “People Lower Price”?

If you have an American Express credit card, you can visit the above mentioned website every Tuesday from September 9 until September 30, 2008. There will be a hot electronic product on sale. The starting time is 12PM ET — until 5PM ET or while supplies last. As far as we can see from the website, the first one is Flip Mino Digital Camcorder, the second one is Lenovo IdeaPad Y730, the third one is Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite and the last one is Sharp Aquos 32″ 1080p LCD HDTV. The price of the each featured product will begin to drop (slowly and not much). After you are counted in the program, you are eligible to click “Buy Now” button and place the order at a price that you think is right for you. This is kind of like Dutch Auction.

A Dutch auction is a type of auction where the auctioneer begins with a high asking price which is lowered until some participant is willing to accept the auctioneer’s price, or a predetermined reserve price (the seller’s minimum acceptable price) is reached. The winning participant pays the last announced price.

How does the “People Lower Price” work?

• When a featured product goes on sale at 12PM ET and you click on “Count Me In,” you’ll be asked to enter your Card number for verification because only Cardmembers can participate.
• Once you have been verified, you will be counted in for that product and the number of people needed for the next price drop will lower. You can only be counted in one time for each product.
• After you have been counted in, you can purchase the product when the price is right for you by clicking on “Buy Now.” Inventory is limited, so don’t wait too long.
• The more people counted in, the lower the price drops, so invite others to join in with the “Tell Your Friends” feature.
• When you come back to the website to participate on a different Tuesday, you won’t have to enter your Card number again. Just click on “Count Me In” to help lower the price!

If you want to participate in the promotion, you can set a reminder at the promotion page.

Sony Rewards also runs a similar program called “Reverse Auction” which allows you to purchase a features Sony product at a price you think is right to you. This program runs every month.

I have many reviews and tips on the famous Chase Freedom Card which offers $50 sign-up bonus and gives you 3% cash back on certain categories. This credit card is one of my top rated rewards credit cards and it is also the most popular credit card issued by Chase with more than 1.5 million cardholders. If you use the Chase Freedom Card together with the Blue Cash from American Express, you will be surprised to see how much cash back you can earn from them (Of course, this is good for big spenders only.).

However, it seems I neglect the other upgraded Chase Freedom Card issued from Chase—the Chase Freedom Plus Credit Card. This is a new credit card product launched in late 2007 aimed to attract more credit card consumers who want to get more rewards by using a credit card. Some of previous Chase Freedom Card members have converted to the Chase Freedom Plus Card while they can still keep the same account number. So what’s new in the Chase Freedom Plus Credit Card?

As far as I can tell, there are four improvements on the Chase Freedom Plus Card.

• The number of bonus categories increases from 3 to 6.
• The rewards cap for bonus categories is lifted. This is a really good move for those big spenders!
• The sign-up bonus is increased to 10,000 bonus miles which can be redeemed as $100 ($50 for the Chase Freedom Card).
• More versatile rewards programs. Unlike the Chase Freedom Card which you can only accumulate points or cash, the Chase Freedom Plus Card allows you to choose which kind of rewards you want to accumulate. You can switch between cash back, points and miles.

According to the fine print, this program gives you more freedom to choose which rewards you like:

If you choose to switch how you earn rewards, and you are earning your rewards as rebates, your rebates will be converted to points at a rate of $0.01 to one point, and to miles at a rate of $0.01 to one mile. For example, $5 in rebates will transfer to 500 points or 500 miles. If you are earning your rewards as points, your points will be transferred to the cash back program at a rate of 1 point to $0.01. For example, 500 points will transfer to $5 in rebates. Points will be transferred to the miles program at a rate of 1 point to 1 mile. For example, 500 points will transfer to 500 miles. If you are earning your rewards as miles, your miles will be transferred to the cash back program at a rate of 1 mile to $0.01. For example, 500 miles will transfer to $5 in rebates. Miles will be transferred to the points program at a rate of 1 mile to 1 point. For example, 500 miles will transfer to 500 points.

The 15 categories that are eligible for receiving bonus rewards are:

• Cable/Satellite TV, internet providers
• Department stores
• Utilities
• Fast food & quick service restaurants
• Gas & convenience stores
• Drugstores
• Pet supply stores/veterinarian
• Phone/cell phone bills
• Movie theaters
• Grocery stores
• Movie rentals
• Dry cleaners
• Local commuting
• Beauty salons/SPAs
• Gym memberships

The bad news is this card has a $30 annual fee which can be waived for the first year.

My thoughts: Upgrade to the Chase Freedom Plus Card is not a good move besides to receive the $100 bonus. I would suggest you open a new Chase Checking Account which can give you $125 sign-up bonus (You can easily get a coupon with $125 bonus at the post office.). If you have a Chase checking account, your Chase Freedom Card will automatically be upgraded to get 3% cash back from 5 categories (You can only get 3% cash back from 3 categories if you don’t have a checking account at Chase.).

Choose a right gas rewards card at the pump can save a lot of money each year. According to latest study, if you choose a rewards credit card at the pump instead of cash, you can save at least $100 or more each year. If you are driving a SUV or truck, then a gas rewards credit card is a must in your wallet. Anyway, the right gas rewards card eases your pain at the pump.

I have reviewed and summarized the best gas rewards cards in my previous posts: 5 Top Rated Gas Rebate Cards and Best Gas Cards Roundup. This post is kind of reminder for many mycardblog.com readers. Gas rewards cards are similar to cash back rewards cards with some enhancements directed at those looking to save money on gas. Most gas rewards cards offer a high rate of cash back at gas stations and relatively low rate of cash back on other purchases. In most cases, you have to carry one general rewards card and one gas rewards card in your wallet to maximum your rewards. Following are some gas rewards cards that I high recommended:

1. TrueEarnings Business Card from American Express and Costco: This card offers 5% cash back on gasoline purchases. (Note: Exclude gas purchased at warehouse clubs other than Costco, superstores or supermarkets. For example, if you fill your tank at Costco gas stations, you can’t get full 5% cash back. However, if you purchase gas at BP, Marathon, or Shell gas stations, you can get 5% cash back. ) This is a business card (Individuals can still apply for a business card!). The non-business version only offers 3% cash back which is just as good as the Chase Freedom Card. That’s why I recommend the business version. Besides the cash back from the gas stations, you can also get 3% cash back at restaurants and 2% cash back for traveling. Since the American Express SimplyCash card changed the cash back rate on gas from 5% to 3%, this card is the best gas rewards card so far.

2. Dicover Open Road Card: If you ask me which credit card is the best from Discover, I would say the Discover Open Road. Although the Discover More is a good credit card, the rewards categories from which you can get 5% cash back change every quarter. Some might can’t catch it. The only drawback of this card is you can only get 5% from the first $100 spent on gas and auto maintenance purchases every month.

3. Chase BP Visa Rewards Card: If you have a BP location near your home or you always purchase gas at BP gas stations, you should consider this card. You can get 10% cash back for any gasoline purchases made at BP gas stations in the first 2 months. And after that, you can continue to get 5% cash back at any BP gas station.

The gas companies themselves would like to partake in the money that credit cards generate, so many have a branded credit card issued by credit card companies. You can also look at the Shell Platinum MasterCard from Citi if you visit Shell gas stations a lot.

4. National City Everyday Rewards Visa Card: This card only offers 4% cash back on gasoline purchases. But you can also get 2% cash back at restaurants. A brief review can be found here.

5. Blue Cash from American Express: You will find out that this card is always a top rated cash back credit card at every credit card website. You will earn full 5% on gas, grocery and drugstore purchases after you spend $6,500 in the year. If you are a big spender, this card is good for you. However, if you can’t spend $6,500 in a year, please forget about it.

Whenever you  want to choose a gas rewards credit card, you should carefully compare each credit card first. You should also be aware that most credit card have a limit of $75 at the pump.

About 10 million U.S. households save online and more are going to open online savings accounts, money market accounts or CDs. According to Celent, a market-research firm, about 23 million U.S. households will have an onine accounts by 2010.To attract more customers, online banks usually pay higher interest rates on savings accounts, money market accounts, or CDs. Another feature is online banks always run great promotions to lure new customers.

WT Direct, the online branch of  Wilmington Trust FSB, is offering up to $250 bonus for depositing a certain amount of money to its high yield savings account for 60 days.

If you open a new high yield savings account by September 5, 2008, you will receive:

• $100 if your balance is between $10,000-$14,999
• $150 if your balance is between $15,000-$19,999
• $200 if your balance is between $20,000-$24,999
• $250 if your balance is $25,000+

This offer is available to new WT Direct clients only, through 9/5/08. To get the bonus, you have to enter the promotion code: WTF3SOB at the time of account opening. There is no minimum balance required to open the account. Account must remain open and in good standing and balance level cannot decrease from initial funding balance for 60 days to receive bonus. Bonus will be credited to client’s WT Direct account during the first week of November.

The current APY is 3.31% which is relatively high compared to other online banks. But after the first 60 days, the APY for the account will have two tiers: (a) a higher APY for accounts with balances of $10,000 or more (variable and currently 3.31% APY); and (b) a lower APY for accounts with balances of less than $10,000 (variable and currently 0.50% APY).

I personally think this is a great deal to catch. The promotion page can be found here.

Other high rate savings account are:

• HSBC Direct Online Savings Account 3.50% APY
  No fees and no minimums, FDIC insured
• Capital One Direct Banking 3.00% APY
  No fees and no minimums, FDIC insured
• E*TRADE Bank Complete Savings Account 3.30% APY
  No account fees and no minimums, FDIC insured
• Washington Mutual (WaMu) Free Checking 3.75% APY
  Free Checks, Free ATM Cash Withdraws
  Minimum balance to open is $1, FDIC insured
• ING Direct Electric Orange Checking Account Up to 3.40% APY
  No fees and no minimums, FDIC insured
• ING Direct Orange Savings Account 3.00% APY
• No fees and no minimums, FDIC insured

The Chase Sony Card is my eleventh credit card. And I like it very much because you can always get some great promotional offers from the Sony Card. The most popular one this year is “Get 10,000 Sony Rewards Points for Spending $500″ back in this March. The 10,000 sony rewards points can be redeemed for a $100 gift card at www.sonyrewards.com.

There are also two promotions from Sony Card right now: 1. Earn 5X Sony Rewards Points with Your Sony Card from July to September. 2. 10 Below from Chase Sony Card. If you have a Sony card, it’s good to catch the promotions before they expire.

According to my post in this January, Sony Card was offering $100 card credit on purchase of $299 or more. However, right now, the Chase Sony Card is offering $150 card credit after your first qualifying purchase of $299 or more! Plus you can get o% APR on purchase of $299 at SonyStyle.com up to 12 months. Note: Your first single sales receipt purchase made at a SonyStyle store, including SonyStyle.com equal or greater than $299 (“Qualifying Purchase”) will automatically qualify you for a $150 Statement Credit.

Some Sony products that you might be interested in: Sony α (alpha) DSLR-A200 $499 (Your price: $349 after credit); Sony α (alpha) DSLR-A300 $599 (Your price: $449 after credit); 80G Sony PS3 $399 (Your price: $249!); Sony Cyber-shot H10 Digital Camera $299.99 (Your price: $249.99 after credit); or you may consider a Sony Blu-ray disc player.

Other features of this card:

• 0% APR on purchase up to 12 months (I got 3 months.)
• Full platinum Visa benefits
• Earn 5 Sony Reward Points for every $1 you spend–at SonyStyle.com and Sony Style stores
• Earn 3 Sony Reward Points for every $1 you spend–on any Sony product when purchased from an authorized Sony retailer
• Earn 1 Sony Reward Point for every $1 you spend–on everyday purchase

According to my experience, you can get about $100 credit (or points) every year from Sony Card. But I should say that my favorite credit card from Chase is the Chase Freedom Card which offers 3% cash back (or 3.75%) on everyday purchase. Another credit card is the BP visa card which is offering 5% cash back on gasoline purchase at BP locations (10% for the first 60 days).

I have a post about PayPal Plug-In ($10 off $50 from PayPal Plug-In) which is offering $10 off for using this new online shopping assistant. Today I received an email from American Express which is offering 2500 membership rewards bonus points for using their Online Assistant.

The Online Assistant is a new product from American Express aimed to make your online shopping even easier. Right now, if you download the American Express Online Assistant and register the Online Assistant (enter your American Express Card information), you can get 2,500 bonus Membership Rewards points. What’s the new online shopping service can do for you? Basically, the Online Assistant remembers passwords, automatically fills forms, and even saves receipts. It can store your credit card information and at the checkout it can automatically fill in the form for you. The Online Assistant can even store your receipts after each transaction! You can edit your credit card information at the Online Assistant at any time.

There are several features of the Online Assistant that will offer you convenience when you shop online.

• Websites: Use this option as a “favorites”. Websites will automatically be stored here for your convenience as you save receipts on the related sites.
• Passwords: Manage Passwords or link to websites where you have saved login information.
• Fill Form: Instantly access your eWallet to fill registration and payment forms online.
• Receipts: View saved purchases and reports.

You can store any or all of your American Express Card products, as well as information such as different addresses for billing or shipping.

Your information at Online Assistant is encrypted using 128 Bit AES encryption. And all of the information in your eWallet is encrypted and stored locally on your PC. If you don’t like it, you can uninstall the Online Assistant software and/or cancel your Online Assistant account at anytime.

You can download the Online Assistant at http://www.americanexpress.com/onlineassistant

According to the fine print:

To receive this offer, the download of the Online Assistant is required by 09/30/2008. This offer is good for solicited Cardmembers only. Bonus points will be credited to your account 6-8 weeks after the promotion period ends. To earn bonus points, prior enrollment in the Membership Rewards program is required at time of the Online Assistant download. One download per Cardmember only. Bonus ID 1696. POID K939:000.

It seems this bonus offer is targeted to my Blue from American Express Card. My friend who has the Preferred Rewards Gold Card also received the email.

To learn how to use the Online Assistant, you can click this link. Remember: Only Mozilla Firefox 2.0, Internet Explorer 6.0 & 7.0 are supported