MyCardBlog

There are many ways to save on gas. I have many posts on how to save gas: 5 Top-Rated Gas Rebate Cards and How to Save Money on Gas. Choose a good gas credit card is an easy job to save money on gas. I strongly suggest the Discover Open Road Card for our drivers. I have been using this credit card for more than 1 year and liked it very much.

Shell Oil Products just launched the new Shell Saver Card which is directly linked to your checking or savings account without credit payment. This new Shell Saver Card is a debit card like payment option at the Shell gas pumps.

According to the press release, the Shell is the first gasoline retailer to make an electronic check payment method available to consumers nationally.

The Shell Saver Card is a non-credit payment product issued to consumers directly from Shell, has no application or annual fees and offers a promotional savings of 5 cents per gallon on Shell gasoline or diesel purchases until June 1, 2009 and 2 cents per gallon thereafter. Because the card is linked to a checking account, it offers the added advantage of no impact on consumer credit scores, especially important to consumers who wish to avoid using credit. Consumers who apply for the Shell Saver Card must have an active checking account in good standing to qualify.

Besides the ability to buy gasoline at the pumps, the Shell Saver card can also be used to by any products at shell stations except lottery tickets. The 5 cents discount applies only to gasoline and diesel purchases. More information can be found at www.shellsavercard.com.

I reviewed a lot of American Express credit cards. American Express is one of my favorite credit card issuers in this country and I use American Express credit cards a lot for my daily shopping. When it comes to purchase a large electronic product, American Express credit card is always picked. Their extended warranty program is really great! You can get additional warranty without additional cost. Of course, you have to pass the famous “Financial Review” if there is something happens to your account.

Today when I visited a website, there is a pop-up window came up to my eye. The pop-up window indicated that I could get a $100 gift card for applying for the American Express Rewards Gold Plus Card. I never mentioned the American Express Rewards Plus Gold Card at MyCardBlog.com. Since there is a $100 gift card sign up bonus, I have to briefly introduce this credit card.

Rewards Overview:

• Earn 1 Membership Rewards point for virtually every dollar you spend
• Earn additional points with select travel partners (get 2 points for traveling)
• Up to 5 Fee-Free Additional Cards
• Gold Card Events

The membership points you earned are very rewarding. You can redeem all your membership rewards points easily with many options. You can redeem points for rewards from 20 airlines, hundreds of hotels worldwide, vacation packages, over 50 cruise itineraries, and spa retreats. You can also transfer points into 16 frequent flyer programs — 1 point for 1 airline mile with most programs. Or you can redeem points for rewards from over 50 of the finest names in shopping and entertainment, including Saks Fifth Avenue, COACH, Dell Computer, Callaway Golf, and The Sharper Image. There is no expiration date or limit to the number of points you can earn.

Basically, the rewards is similar to other American Express credit cards-1 point for $1. But if you travel a lot, the additional point will bring huge amount of savings for you.

Plus all American Express gold card members have the access to the gold card hotline which will save you a lot of time and money to schedule your travel. You can also have access to Gold Card Events and other exclusive entertainments.

There is a $150 annual fee which is waived for the first year. (After the first year, you should probably close the account or convert it to another American Express credit card.)

Another similar offer is the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Card which is also offering 10,000 membership rewards points if you spend $500 in 3 months with this card. The 10,000 membership rewards points are redeemable for a $100 gift card.

I believe this is great news for most credit card users but a nightmare for the credit card issuers. The Office of Thrift Supervision, Federal Reserve and National Credit Union Administration has approved a new rule set to take effect in July 2010 that will regulate credit card companies’ ability to raise interest rates and how they apply payments to existing balances. The government is aimed to stop the “unfair and deceptive” practices used by credit card issuers.

The Washington Post first reported the new rules. The new rules allow credit card companies to raise interest rates only on new credit cards and future purchases or advances, rather than on current balances. This is the most important change in the new credit card rules. This new term will definitely help a lot of credit card users who carry balances every month.

Some major/noticeable changes you might want to know:

Minimum time to pay your balance-the minimum time for a borrower to pay is 21 days. (Some credit card issuers are using 20 days now.)

NO two-cycle billing-this is commonly used in current credit card industry and unfair. Ne rules prohibit such tricks. This will dramatically reduce your interest burdens. (Under this method, when a consumer pays the entire account balance one month, but does not do so the following month, the bank calculates interest for the second month using the account balance for days in the previous billing cycle as well as the current cycle.)

Payment allocation-When different annual percentage rates (APRs) apply to different balances on a credit card account (for example, purchases, balance transfers, cash advances), the final rule requires banks to allocate payments exceeding the minimum payment to the balance with the highest rate first or prorata among all of the balances.

Changing of Interest Rate-The new rules will prohibit the credit card issuers to increase your interest rate for an existing balance. New rule requires banks to disclose at account opening all interest rates that will apply to the account and prohibits increases in those rates, except in certain circumstances. If your credit card issuer want to increase your interest rate on your credit cards, the increased new rate can’t be applied to previous balance.

NO high-fee subprime credit cards-Banks would be banned from financing security deposits and fees for credit availability (such as account-opening fees or membership fees) if charges assessed during the first 12 months would exceed 50 percent of the initial credit limit. Fees exceeding 25% of available credit must be spread over no less than the first six months that the account is open. This might cause trouble for some subprime credit cardholders. With less revenues, subprime credit card issuers might require the applicants to have better credit performance.

It’s obvious that the new rules will bring less revenues for credit card industry. it’s even projected that the new credit card rules might cost the credit card industry about 10 billion dollars. Our credit card issuers might have to bring new ways to make money. It’s also possible that the sign up bonuses might disappear for many credit card products. The full press release from Feds can be found here.

American Express is one of my favorite credit card issuers at U.S. (another one is Chase). I like the high quality customer service and great credit card products provided by American Express. Yes, I know they have the famous “Financial Review“. American Express was ranked highest in 2008 J.D. Power credit card satisfaction study. And the great news is American Express again tops on the most trusted companies list this year!

American Express remains on top of a list of most trusted U.S. companies for the fifth consecutive year. This news is released by Ponemon Institute and TRUSTe. The list is aimed to provide the survey result of the most trusted companies for privacy. According to the survey report, the study asked 6,486 adult-aged U.S. consumers which companies they thought were most trustworthy and which did the best job safeguarding personal information. A total of 706 companies were named by consumers; 211 made the final list of most trusted companies.

There are many other big companies on the list. eBay Inc. was ranked NO. 2. IBM was ranked NO. 3 and Amazon.com was ranked NO. 4. Apple Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Facebook Inc. are all new on the list. Google, Countrywide Financial, Bank of American all dropped out of the top 20.

I’m supurised to not see Citi, Chase and Discover on the top 20. It’s very important for the credit card companies to proctect the privacy of their customers. I am glad to see the Charles Schwab, eLoan and US Bank are on the top 20. The full report of this survey can be found at truste.org.

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

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.

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.