MyCardBlog

A lot of readers send me email regarding the “Best Cash Back Credit Card”. Most credit cards offer 1% cash back but only a few credit cards are still offering 2% cash back without any restrictions. But the Fidelity Rewards American Express Cards are the only credit card that I will recommend to you. (Yes, I know that Orchard Bank credit card or Household Bank credit card are offering 2% cash back but their credit limits are too low!) There are three versions of this credit card. Most people will go to the Fidelity^® Investment Rewards American Express^® Card. If you are a college student, then you can also consider the Fidelity Investments 529 College Rewards^® American Express^® Card. Others might want the Fidelity^® Retirement Rewards American Express^® Card.

Main features of this credit card:

Different versions of this credit card need to be linked to different Fidelity accounts to be eligible to get the 2% cash back.

Customers earn 2 points for each $1 in net retail purchases. Once you reach 5,000 points, they can be redeemed automatically or on demand for cash at a 1% exchange rate into an eligible Fidelity account (i.e. 5,000 points = $50 deposit). The ability to contribute to an IRA or 529 college savings plan account is subject to IRS rules and specific program policies, including those on eligibility and annual and maximum contribution limits.

I introduced the Add It Up program from Bank of America early this year. It seems that not many of my readers are interested in this program including myself. I usually us ebates.com or mrrebates.com to earn cash back. Now I found that actually Add It Up will offer huge cash back for certain merchants when they run promotions. So I think it is necessary to point it out and let all of you guys know this.

Enroll in Add It Up is very simple. Login your online account at Bank of America and then at the Customer Service section you can find the link to Add It Up program. All you have to do is to provide email address to let BOA to contact you regarding cash back and choose the accounts (some or all) to enroll in this program (banking accounts or credit cards accounts are qualified). Finally, you want to choose the account that the cash back will be deposited to either credit card or checking account will be OK). Now you are ready to earn cash back by shopping online through Add It Up!

The Key is how much they will reward you for shopping through Add It Up. Now I have some popular merchants for your reference.

• Sears.com 6%
• BestBuy.com 3%
• Staples.com 4%
• Target.com 8%
• WalMart.com 4%
• Apple Store 4%

They can be found at the Limited Time Offer section in the program page.

After you click the merchant to shop, Add It Up will once again to confirm that you are going to enter the merchant’s page. SO the cash back will not be lost because you are always asked to get the permission to go to the merchant’s website.

The limited time offers change all the time. So before you place the order via other cash back websites, it is a good habit to check current rate at Add It Up to earn more cash back.

Some of you may ask “How long does it take to get my cash back rewards?”

Answer: It can take up to 90-120 days for cash back awards to be credited to your account. Why? Participating retailers must first confirm your purchase and typically they have up to 90 days from the purchase date to reverse a transaction for return purposes. During this time, your award will have a Pending status on the My Awards page.

But please note that Washington and Idaho BOA customers are not eligible for this program .

I just introduced the BankAmericard Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card from Bank of America yesterday. And many readers sent inquires about other possible huge promotions. $75 bonus seems to be not so attractive to many. Well, then the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express might excite you! The main reason is that this credit card is offering 15000 bonus sign up points now with first year fee-free!

This 15000 bonus rewards points can be redeemed as a $150 gift card which doubles the earning compared to the BankAmericard Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card. Please remember that you have to spend over $1000 to get the 15000 bonus points.

Overall features of this Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express:

• Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® bonus points when you spend $1,000 in your first 3 months of Card membership – redeemable for up to $150 in gift Cards upon point credit at participating retail, dining, and entertainment partners.
• Earn Membership Rewards® points up to three times as fast: You can earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
• No annual fee for your first year of membership, then $175.
• Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $30,000 per calendar year.
• Gold Card Events: Access to Preferred Seating, pre-sale tickets, and more.

My point is to sign up this credit card and spend $1000 in 3 months and then cancel it any time before the next year. (Secret: When you call to cancel it, American Express will probably give you 10000 bonus points!)

Now most credit card issuers are not offering sign up bonus. I have several posts on recent opportunities to get sign up bonus from credit card issuers. Right now Bank of America is offering $75 bonus for opening a new account with the BankAmericard Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card and meeting required activities.

The promotion page can be found here.

Through the promotion page, we can find that you can get $75 bonus from this credit card through Add It Up program with qualified transactions.

To qualify for the $75 statement credit offer, your new BankAmericard Cash Rewards™ account must be used to make a purchase(s) totaling at least $50 on the Add It Up® website within 60 days of the account open date. Limit (1) credit per new account. Allow 8-12 weeks from qualifying for the statement credit to post to your account. Participating retailers and offers are subject to change. You must have either a Bank of America debit card or credit card and be enrolled in Online Banking to be eligible for participation in the Add It Up program. Redemption of accrued cash back rebates occurs in accordance with program Terms and Conditions, generally monthly when a minimum of $5.00 cash back has been earned. Program is not available to Online banking customers in WA or ID and select military bank customers. Select MyExpression® credit cards, co-brand debit cards, Business credit cards and other accounts are not eligible for participation in the program. Additional restrictions apply. For complete Add It Up program Terms and Conditions visit www.bankofamerica.com/additup.

This BankAmericard Cash Rewads Visa Signature Card also offers 0% introductory APR on purchases, balance transfers, and direct deposits for your first 7 or 10 billing cycles. Annual Fee is $0.

Other additional features are:

• Earn 3% cash back on gas, grocery and drugstore purchases for the first 6 months and 1% on all other purchases
• Get a 25% bonus for all cash rewards redemptions of $300 or more
• Get redemptions starting at $25, with the capability to set up automatic redemptions
• Redeem rewards for a check, account credit, direct deposit or pay down your eligible Bank of America^® mortgage

Overall I think is an OK credit card under current situation.

Bank of America is offering free McAfee Internet Security free for one year (12 months). You have to have an online account at www.bankofamerica.com to have the opportunity to get the free 12 month McAfee protection. This means that you have to have either a Bank of America Credit Card or a Banking Account at Bank of America.

Following is what you will get after signing in at Bank of America account via the link here.

Your Exclusive Bank of America Customer Offer: 12 Months Free of McAfee Internet Security

As a Bank of America Online Banking customer, you are eligible for an exclusive 12 month free subscription of McAfee Internet Security. In order to take advantage of this offer (a $69.99 value) you’ll need to complete the following steps:

1. Create a McAfee user account and create a password – which will allow you to access our download center
2. Enter your registration information (name, address, city, state and phone)
3. Provide your billing information for future automatic renewals. Please note your credit or debit card will not be charged at this time and you are under no obligation to renew your subscription. You may cancel the automatic renewal at any time prior to the expiration of the 12-month free subscription.

When your free 12-month subscription expires, as a Bank of America customer, you will receive a 50% discount on your renewal subscription, which is currently $34.98 ($69.99 MSRP). You will be notified ahead of time before your subscription is automatically renewed. To cancel this automatic renewal, contact McAfee Customer Support at 866-622-3911 prior to the expiration of the 12-month free subscription.

So please remember to cancel your McAfee subscription after one year.

Today I logged into my ING orange savings account and found that the referral promotion from ING Direct is working again. This referral promotion from ING Direct is very famous in the late 2007 and early 2008. And for a while, this promotion seemed to be dead. But in my account, I can see the banner for referring new customers to ING and earn up to $500 again. Both the referral and referred customers will earn bonus from ING Direct. $25 for new customers being referred to open a new account at ING with $250 deposit. And $10 for current ING Direct member who refer new customers to ING.

How it Works:
If your friend opens an account with at least $250, we will deposit a $25 bonus in their new account and a $10 thank you bonus in your ING DIRECT Account.

Important points:

• Your friends MUST use the referral link within the email sent from this screen to ensure they get the $25 welcome bonus.
• We will send the email on your behalf, so that the “From” field will display your name and the email address we have for you.
• For privacy reasons, we are not able to disclose which of your friends has opened an account with us or the initial deposit amount.
• The $25 bonus is only available for new Customers opening a new account as a primary owner.
• Your $10 thank you bonus will be added to your account upon the completion of the account opening process for qualifying accounts.

If you have friends or family members who have an account at ING Direct, you can ask them to refer you and both of you can earn bonuses from ING. Or you can contact me via sending email to cardoffer8 at gmail com. Both of us will earn some money from ING. Also please clarify which account you want to be referred, orange savings account or electronic orange account.

Today I received an invitation from Discover More Card which is offering $100 bonus for opening a new account at Discover Card and making required purchase amount. Discover More Card is the most popular discover credit card in the market which is consistently offering 5% cashback throughout the whole year. I have been using my Discover More Card for almost 3 years and like it a lot.

Following is some important information about this $100 bonus:

Application website: www.apply.Discovercard.com

Or Call 800-210-9022

Mention invitation code: FMSH

You have to spend over $599 to receive the $100 bonus.

This invitation code also provides 0% APR on balance transfer until September 2010. The 5% cashback changes every quarter in the year in categories like: travel, gas, groceries, restaurants and more.

Important fine print: Get a $100 Cashback Bonus when you apply by December 31, 2009 and make a total of $599 in purchases with your new card within 3 months of being approved. Promotional reward will be applied within 8 weeks. This promotional reward is in addition to the CashBack Bonus earned on all purchases.

PayPal is offering a $20 off $20 promotion for those who received the email from PayPal. Although the merchants are restricted to a selected group, it is still a great deal to catch up. You can simply grab some small stuffs with little money. The $20 cashback will be paid back to your PayPal account after this promotion ends. The merchants are: Graniph, FocalPrice, Milanoo, Dhgate, BestOfferBuy.com, MyCatwalk, Wiggle Time and Sasa. And this promotion ends on November 17, 2009.

Terms and Conditions:

Receive $20.00 USD cash back with a minimum purchase of $20.00 USD (excluding tax and shipping) (“Offer”). Offer applies to purchases at one of the following merchants: Graniph, FocalPrice, Milanoo, Dhgate, BestOfferBuy.com, MyCatwalk, Wiggle Time and Sasa (the “Merchants”). Purchases must be made on one of the Merchant’s websites and paid for using PayPal. Offer begins on Oct 21, 2009 at 12:00:01am U.S. Pacific Time and ends on November 17, 2009 at 11:59:59pm U.S. Pacific Time (the “Promotional Period”). To ensure that your purchase is eligible for the Offer, you must: 1) have a U.S. PayPal account in good standing; 2) receive an email directly from PayPal inviting you to participate in the Offer and 3) complete a qualifying purchase and meet any additional eligibility requirements at one of the Merchant’s websites within the Promotional Period. The maximum cash back amount allowed per PayPal account is $20.00 USD. The cash back will be deposited into your PayPal account no later than December 15, 2009.