MyCardBlog

As the end of the 2008 is approaching, many companies are offering some great gifts for its customers. For example, American Express is offering free gift for its credit card members. This offer is targeted to part of American Express cardmembers. I received this offer via email from American Express targeted to my Blue from American Express Card.

As the email indicates, this is part of the Blue Appointment Book Plan.

We’d like to take this opportunity to give you something special. We’re offering you the 2009 Blue Appointment Book and/or 2009 Mini – Scheduler — FREE for the first year, as part of our extraordinary Blue Appointment Book Plan.

You can also choose to get both of the 2009 Blue Appointment Book and 2009 Mini-Scheduler for some small shipping fees ($2.79 for the Appointment Book and $1.79 for the Mini-Scheduler). The Blue Appointment Book and the Mini-Scheduler seem very cool.

Appointment Book features include:

• Distinctive Silver-Padded Cover—measures 8 1/2″ X 8 1/2″ with
  a Blue hologram and embossed type
• 208 Silver-Edged Pages
• Time Zone and Area Codes
• Wine and Beer Tips
• International Currency Converter
• 8 Full Color Maps of the World
• Personal Address/Phone/Fax/E-mail and Much More.

Mini Scheduler features include:

• Almost everything the bigger version has—only pocket sized.
• Measure 3 1/4″ X 6 3/4″
• 168 Silver-Edged Pages
• Calendars for 2008 to 2010, same as the appointment book
• Much More

More information about the products can be found at https://www.amexappointmentbooks.com/blue.

You can even personalize your books. Enter 3 characters you like at the order form for $3.75 and you can get your own personalized book!

For those without Blue from American Express credit card, there is another link to the other Appointment Book and Mini-Scheduler (click here). The color is not blue but black.

If you didn’t received the offer but want to get one, you can go to the amexappointmentbooks.com to buy one. Of course, the price is pretty high.

The rare and mysterious black cards have now been thought to be the ultimate status symbol by super-wealthy. There are many banks issuing many black cards in the world. Of course, the most famous one is the American Express Centurion Card with an annual fee of $2,500 and minimum yearly spending of $150,000. Recently, the Barclays Bank just added a new black card into the back family—the new Visa Black Card.

The Visa Black Card is produced in stunning black carbon graphite (patent pending), making it the most durable fake money around. The annual fee of this black card is $495 which is not much compared to other black cards. At the black card website (www.blackcard.com), the issuer clearly indicates that this credit card is not for everyone. It is limited to only 1% of U.S. residents to ensure the highest quality of service to its cardmembers. Not everyone can apply for this credit card.

Overall, the features of this new black card:

• Limited Membership
• 24-Hour Concierge Service
• Exclusive Rewards Program
• Luxury Gifts
• Patent Pending Carbon Graphite
• Annual Fee $495

Maybe the most attractive feature of this card is the 24-hour concierge service. The Black Card team is offering the Concierge Service catering to entertainment, travel, business, shopping and lifestyle needs. With a phone call or email to our world class Concierge professionals, Black Card members can tap into an effective time management tool designed to improve quality of life, allowing you to focus on what is truly important.

More information can be found at here.

Other Black Cards you may want to know are listed below:

5 Black Card Designs You Should Know

American Express Centurion Card

The Diamond Studded Dubai First Royale MasterCard

I’m frequently asked by the same question: How many credit cards is too many? Well, this is never an easy question to answer. Today, I received a message from one of my friends who told me that he just got approved for his 14th credit card. I think it is an interesting topic to discuss on how many credit cards is too many?

According to the article in MSN money, 1 in 7 Americans carries 10 or more credit cards. This article also indicated that the average American holds four credit cards. So it is safe to say that carrying 4 to 10 credit cards is really not to many.

As I mentioned at the very beginning, my friend Chris has 14 credit cards. Let’s see how he makes 14 credit cards.

Following is a list of the credit cards he currently has:

Blue Cash from American Express

Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express

The Gold Card from American Express OPEN

Citi CashReturns Card

Citi Platinum Select / AAdvantage World MasterCard

Citi PremierPass Card – Elite Level

Discover More Card

Bank of America World MasterCard with WorldPoints

Chase Freedom Card

Chase United Mileage Plus Visa Signature Card

Amazon.com Rewards Visa Credit Card

WaMu Platinum MasterCard

National City Everyday Rewards Visa Card

Household Bank Platinum MasterCard

He told me that the reason why he got so many credit cards is to get the sign-up bonuses. For example, when he placed the order at Amazon.com there is a message ask him to apply for the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Credit Card which will give him $30 cash back. He then just applied for the credit card! When he heard that the Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express offered 10,000 bonus points, he would just apply for the credit card, use it for a while and then I will catch another credit card later. He told me that there is no negative impact on his credit score for having so many credit cards. I personally have about 12 credit cards and my credit score is very steady.

So there is no definite saying that 20 credit cards are too many. You can’t have more than 20 credit cards. There is even a rumor says that some people carry up to 50 credit cards!

Actually there are only two things that matter to your credit performance: your balance-to-limit ratio and late payments. It is obvious that the more you have your credit card, the greater the chance that you might miss a payment. A late payment will trigger a damage to your credit report. Another risk you might have is you probably will spend more money with more credit cards. If you can keep your balance-to-limit ratio very low, let’s say 30%, there is no negative influence on your credit report even you have 50 credit cards.

How many credit cards is too many?

There’s no right number of credit cards for everyone. It really depends on how much you spend and how much you can pay off. A smart tip is never carry balance on your credit cards if you have a lot of credit cards.

The RevolutionCard is a new credit card product issued by Revolution Money and First Bank & Trust, Brookings, SD, Member FDI. Revolution Money is a new payment network launched in 2007 which works similar to PayPal. There is another financial product from Revolution Money—the Revolution Money Exchange. The RevolutionCard is a PIN-based credit card which is believed to enhance the security with better identity protection. RevolutionCard is also dedicated to eliminate costly interchange fees for merchants and provide incentives and discounts to consumers.

So the RevolutionCard is a completely new credit card product. Right now the RevolutionCard is running a promotion from which you can get up to $100 for using approved RevolutionCard.

How to get the $100 bonus?

According to the promotion rules, you have to apply for the RevolutionCard between 11/15/08 and 1/31/09. Your card statement is credited $5 for each purchase of at least $50. This can be done up to 20 times for a maximum credit of $100. This promotion can be found at RevolutionCard website. The credit will be issued within 24 hours.

Of course, the question is whether the RevolutionCard is widely accepted by merchants. You can find a list of places that accept RevolutionCard as a payment method at here. Every place that has the RevolutionCard logo are accepting the RevolutionCard.

As listed in their website, the RevolutionCard is believed to have following features that are different from a general credit card (details of the credit card terms can be found at here).

• Credit card with flexible features
• PIN-based for greater control and security
• Instant rewards through merchant partners
• Competitive APRs

Each transaction requires your 4 digit PIN and neither your name or other personal data is listed on the card. This credit card also allows you to create temporary PINs for online purchases (virtual credit card).

Like other credit cards, the RevolutionCard is working with other merchants to issue co-branded credit cards. For example, there are Shoebuy.com RevolutionCard, Philadelphia 76ers RevolutionCard, and Philadelphia Phantoms RevolutionCard. Available RevolutionCard Credit Cards can be found here.

It happens. You put aside some bills that are not high on your priority list in order to make ends meet and a few months down the road you find a letter in the mailbox from a collection agency. Once you pay off the account in full, it becomes a matter of dealing with your credit report. No one wants to have a record of a collection account on their credit history but fear not – there are things that can be done to rectify the situation.

Collection agencies are typically not difficult to erase from your credit report because in general they do not keep extensive records and are often not fully licensed to collect debts. Because of this factor, there are ways to clear your credit record with a bit of effort.

Here are 4 ways to get the collection agency off of your credit report:

Pay In Full for Deletion

For small collection amounts, you can speak to the agency about removing the listing completely from your report in exchange for your paying the debt in full. This method is effective because the collection agency, who expects to only receive a partial payment from which they take a cut, will instead get a larger cut of the full payment. You will need the cash to make the deal but for the most part, the process should be quick and relatively easy.

Make A Settlement Offer

When you are dealing with larger debts, you may want to talk to the agency about settling on an amount you can afford to pay in one lump sum to settle the case with the agreement that the agency will remove the listing from your credit report.

File A Dispute with the Credit Bureaus

You can opt to write a letter to the major credit bureaus, requesting that they investigate the collection account listed on your credit report. The agencies are required to follow up on the investigation and should the collection agencies not be able to prove or provide the accurate documentation about the claim, the listing can be removed by credit bureaus.

Debt Validation Method

Using the regulations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you can write a letter to the collection agency to request that they prove proof they are legally allowed to collect on the debt listed. Send the letter certified with a return receipt requested. If you do not get a reply in a reasonable amount of time, usually 30 days, send a copy of your certified mail receipt, along with the copy of your letter and a new letter stating they have violated the FDCPA and that you want the collection removed from your credit report or else you will file a lawsuit. This tactic is rather aggressive and you must stay on task to see it through to the end.

Tisha Tolar is a freelance writer providing content for CreditCardAssist.com, where she regularly writes about credit cards, rewards programs and general consumer finance issues.

These days the news about the promotion from PayPal is widely spread over the internet. I have a post which indicated that PayPal is going to run Holiday Promotion in the coming shopping season published several days ago. And the current PayPal holiday promotions can be found at www.paypal-promo.com/holiday. Not all of the promotions listed there are hot deals. But some of them are really good.

Recently I received 2 PayPal promotions targeted to my personal PayPal account. I think it’s a good idea to briefly introduce the 2 promotions because some of you might not know the promotions are existing.

Get $20 cash back from PayPal when you spend $50 at Walmart.com

This promotion is pretty easy and really a great deal. Use PayPal when you checkout at Walmart.com and PayPal  will give you $20 cash back on your order of $50 or more!

This offer applies to transactions on Walmart.com when you use PayPal as a payment method. Offer begins December 5, 2008 and ends December 15, 2008. The maximum amount of cash back per PayPal account is $20USD. The cash back will be deposited into your PayPal account by January 15, 2009.

To get the $20 cash back, you must

(1) have a confirmed U.S. PayPal account in good standing

(2) receive an email directly from PayPal inviting you to participate in the Offer

(3) purchase using your PayPal account that has the same email address where you received the email invitation

(4) make an eligible purchase no later than December 15, 2008

This offer is similar to the American Express Credit Card promotion at Walmart and Walmart.com which will give you $20 statement credit for shopping at Walmart stores or Walmart.com twice with each minimum transaction of $40.

20% cash back from PayPal for shopping at eBay

Right now, Microsoft live search is only offer 8% cash back. So if you receive this email, it’s a great chance to pick up some cheap stuffs at eBay. This offer is very simple: Pay for your eBay purchase with PayPal, and get 20% cash back in your PayPal account.

This offer applies to transactions between December 10, 2008 and December 19, 2008 using PayPal as the payment method. Purchases made within the Offer period must be charged to your account no later than December 19, 2008. The maximum amount of cash back per PayPal account is $100 USD. The cash back will be deposited into your PayPal account by January 31, 2009.

To be eligible for the Offer, you must:

(1) have a confirmed U.S. PayPal account in good standing

(2) receive an email directly from PayPal inviting you to participate in the Offer

(3) make your purchases no later than December 19, 2008 using your PayPal account, which also has the same email address where you received the Offer invitation

Some might ask how to receive the promotional offers from PayPal. From my personal experience, I think the way to get the PayPal offers is don’t link your PayPal email to your eBay account. In this way, PayPal, which is an eBay company, will send more promotional offers to you.

Washington Mutual has already been sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co in this September. The previous WaMu free checking account and high yield savings account is a great combination to enjoy high interest rate from a good savings account and an easy to use checking account. This combination is reviewed here.

Today I received an email and a mail from WaMu which is offering $100 bonus for opening a free checking account at WaMu.

The email stated that:”As a valued WaMu Credit Card customer, you may have heard that we’ve joined forces with Chase, one of America’s largest banks. To celebrate our bright future, we’re offering you $100 simply for opening a WaMu Free Checking account.”

It seems that this offer is targeted to WaMu Credit Card customers. There is a promotion code came with the email. Mine is 0070-ADCR-8845. This offer ends on 01/24/2009. The online application page can be found through this link.

WaMu Free Checking Account features:

• FREE Access to over 14,000 WaMu & Chase ATMs nationwide
• FREE Checks
• FREE WaMu® Debit MasterCard® with $0 Liability Fraud Coverage
• FREE Online Banking with Bill Pay
• One overdraft or bounced check fee waived per year

The $100 bonus is a sweet deal, especially when this account only requires you to make $100 initial deposit to receive $100 bonus (no direct deposit is required!).

Plus if you use the WaMu Debit MasterCard comes with your free checking account, you have the chance to win $1,000 per day!

WaMu is running a sweepstake for the WaMu debit MasterCard users. Each time you sign for purchases between November 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008, you will be entered for a chance to win the daily prize of a $1,000 gift card. You’ll also be automatically entered to win the grand prize of $50,000 on New Year’s Eve. Please note that only the signature based transactions are counted. The details can be found here.

Fidelity Investments, the No. 1 provider of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), partnered with Bank of America to launch a new credit card product—the Fidelity Retirement Rewards American Express Card. Fidelity currently has two credit cards: Fidelity 529 College Rewards American Express Card and Fidelity Investment Rewards Visa Signature Card with WorldPoints Rewards. The new credit card is a great choice in the credit card market.

The Fidelity Retirement Rewards American Express Card is claimed to “give investors an innovative way to save for retirement while purchasing everyday necessities”. This new credit card product is offering a 2 percent earn rate on everyday purchases when Cardmembers redeem their cash rewards as a current year contribution into their Fidelity IRA.

Features of this credit card:

• Turn 2% of purchases into a contribution for your Fidelity IRA
• No limits on cash rewards
• No annual fee

Here is how the Fidelity Rewards Card works:

• You’ll earn 2 points for each $1 you spend on purchases.
• Reach 5,000 points after you make $2,500 in purchases and $50 can be automatically swept into your Fidelity IRA as a current year contribution or other Fidelity account.
• Enjoy more flexibility with additional WorldPoints rewards options, including travel, merchandise, travel, and other rewards.

This is a really great credit card if you have a Fidelity IRA account. Combine the Fidelity Retirement Rewards Card with the tax-advantaged benefits of the Fidelity IRA, you can really save a lot of money. The Fidelity 529 College Rewards American Express Card and Fidelity Investment Rewards Visa Signature Card with WorldPoints Rewards are rated as the top 5 credit cards by SmartMoney.com in 2006. Thus this new credit card is really promising.

This new credit card is accepting applications now via www.fidelity.com/retirementrewards. Or you can call 866-598-4971 and mention priority code FAC5D2.

Fidelity Investments is one of the world’s largest providers of financial services, with custodied assets of nearly $2.7 trillion, including managed assets of over $1.2 trillion as of October 31, 2008. Fidelity offers all kinds of financial services to American people. Fidelity is the largest mutual fund company in the United States.