MyCardBlog

I just received my new issue of Money magazine (January 2008). I found a very interesting article as “The Future of Your Money Is Here”. In this article, they introduce some websites which they think may bring a virtual world of speed, simplicity, and intelligence to your financial life. It’s really nice. As we all know the number of sites that waste your time and give bad advice is expanding, and there is no standard measurement to judge whether this website is worthwhile or not. Money magazine has tested some websites and consulted experts and users to create an easy-to-follow guide to where to go and what to do once you get there.

PERSONAL FINANCE:

TO TRACK ALL YOUR MONEY IN ONE PLACE
Moneycenter.yodlee.com

TO IMPROVE YOUR BOTTOM LINE
Cnnmoney.com, ConsumerismCommentary.com, GetRichSlowly.org

TO EXCHANGE IDEAS
SavingAdvice.com

CARS

NARROW THE FIELD
ConsumerReports.org

SEE WHAT OTHERS THINK
Edmunds.com

GET THE BEST PRICE
CarDeals.org

INVESTING

TO GET IDEAS
Pimco.com, LeggMason.com, Efficientfrontier.com

TO TEST YOUR IDEAS
Diehards.org

YOUR CAREER

TO STAY IN TOUCH
Facebook.com

TO MEET NEW PEOPLE
Linkedin.com

SHOPPPING

TO HUNT FOR BARGAINS
Slickdeals.net, FatWallet.com

TO FIND BUYER REVIEWS
Amazon.com

TO COMPARE PRICES
Pricegrabber.com

REAL ESTATE

TO CHECK OUT REAL ESTATE
Trukia.com, Zillow.com

TO GET THE NEIBORHOOD SCOOP
Outside.in

TO LOOK UP SCHOOL INFORMATION
GreatSchools.net

TO GET THE LAY OF THE LAND
Maps.Live.com, Maps.Google.com, Walkscore.com

COLLEGE

TO START THE SEARCH
Nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator

TO GET THE DIRT
CollegeConfidential.com

TO TOUR BY VIDEO
CampusTours.com

I agree what they have summarized. But of course different people have different opinions even on the same thing. So I’d like to hear more voices from you. Please feel free to add some wonderful website you visit daily.

The best blog about credit card and banking bonus—-www.mycardblog.com.

I know most of us have a good credit score and many of us are taking advantage of the credit score to make some free money. However, some of my readers are afraid of lowering the credit score if he/she applies for too many credit cards. It’s true that credit inquiries (hard pulls) will temporarily lower your credit score. But the influence will be not so obvious after 6 months or so. I would say credit score is nothing if you’re not using it. If you are not going to buy a house (or apply for a mortgage) in the next two years (Credit inquiries will disappear from your credit report after 24 months.), you are free to use your credit. Credit inquiries will slightly influence your mortgage rate but not influence the auto loan (as long as your credit score is 700+).

This post is to tell you how to get a free trip to Europe or Asia by redeeming Citi ThankYou Points for an airline ticket. You can redeem your ThankYou points for an airline ticket because ThankYou Network provides Fixed Flight Travel option:

Eligible Citi cardmembers can also take advantage of our fixed flights option for air travel by calling one of our ThankYou Network Travel Specialists. You can count on getting a ticket for the date you want to fly. Note: please book 14 days in advance and plan for a Saturday overnight stay. Tickets are subjected to availability.

Account or the following Card Accounts are eligible for fixed flight airline tickets at fixed ThankYou Point amounts: Citi PremierPass Card, Citi PremierPass Card – Elite Level, Citi PremierPass Card – Smith Barney Elite Level, Citi PremierPass / Expedia.com Card, Citi PremierPass / Expedia.com Card – Elite Level, Citi Professional Card with ThankYou Network, CitiBusiness PremierPass Card, CitiBusiness Card with ThankYou Network, Citi Chairman Card and Citi Chairman American Express Card. This list is subject to change without notice. Fixed flight option Travel Rewards are only available when you call the ThankYou Service Center (800-842-6596). Agents will work to offer you the best deal on available flights – you are not required to select the fixed flight option.

According to the ThankYou Network, if you have 60,000 ThankYou points, you can redeem them for a free airline ticket to Asia and Europe. (Only 25,000 ThankYou points are needed for flights anywhere in the continental US and Alaska at any time of year.)

So the goal is to get enough ThankYou points (You should have one of the above mentioned cards which are eligible to use the fixed flight travel option.) Here are some recommendations for you:

• CitiBusiness Card with ThankYou Network (10,000 ThankYou Points—see this post)
  
• Citi Professional Card with ThankYou Network (15,000 ThankYou Points—see this post)
• Citi PremierPass Card-Elite Level (20,000 ThankYou Points)
• Citi PremierPass Card (10,000 ThankYou Points)
• CitiBusiness PremierPass Card (15,000 ThankYou Points)

Other methods to earn ThankYou points:

Use Citi checking/saving account and debit card (Citi Bank will send about 300 ThankYou points every month. If you use all of the banking services provided by Citi Bank, you may get up to 800 points per month.) You can also use other credit cards like Citi mtvU card and Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards card to earn ThankYou points.

So remember, if you have a decent credit score with solid credit history, you can do a ThankYou Points AOR to get enough points for a free trip to Europe or Asia.

I have 12 credit cards from the following credit card issuers: BOA, Citi, Chase, AMEX, Discover, National City, WaMu, University of Illinois Credit Union and HSBC. To be a smart credit card user, I just selectively use some of them. Here I’d like to share my experience with you.

1). National City Everyday Rewards Visa Card-up to 4% cash back on everyday purchase. You can get 4% cash back at gas stations and 2% cash back at restaurants. This is my first credit card in US. I definitely will keep it all my life. It will automatically send out a check once you reach $100 in rewards. I usually use it at restaurants and gas stations.

2). Chase Freedom Visa Card-3% cash back on the first $600 of purchases in your top 3 Everyday Spending Categories and a 1% rebate on all other purchases. Right now, they also offer $100 sign-up bonus after first purchase (officially you can only get $50). I use this card to pay my cell phone and cable/internet bills. I also use this card at Meijier (a supermarket similar to Wal-Mart from where you can’t get 3% cash back). You can get a check when you have $50 in rewards, or you can get a $250 check once you reach $200 in rewards. It seems you can make 3.75% and 1.25% cash back if you can wait to reach $200 in rewards. (This is what I’m planning to do.)

3). Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Card-1 point per $1 spent. You can get 10,000 bonus points after first purchase which will let you get 3 free night stays at SPG hotels. If you can spend $15,000 in the first 6 months, you can get additional 15,000 points. You can start to redeem a free night stay at SPG hotels for as low as 2,000 points. The other feature of this card is you can transfer the points to miles mostly on 1:1 basis plus bonus points. For examples, 20,000 points can be redeemed as 25,000 miles. The points can be redeemed as almost any airline miles. The annual fee for the first year is waived, and is $45 per year if you’d like to keep it.

4). Household Bank Platinum MasterCard -2% cash back on everything. I have nothing to say about this card. It’s just wonderful! You can request the cash back check for every $25.

5). Discover Open Road Card-5% cash back on the first $100 of purchase for gas and auto maintenance per month. It’s good that I never spend more than $100 at gas stations and have a 4% cash back card as a backup.

If you have any ideas, please let me know.

I have a post about the promotion from Chase Rewards Plus. Today when I carefully look through the merchants listed at that site, I got a new find.

www.giftcertificates.com is listed as a merchant. And you will earn 5% cash back for any purchases through the link at Chase Rewards Plus. My idea is if you buy the gift cards or gift certificates through the link at Chase Rewards Plus you can get 5% cash back. And then you can use the gift cards or gift certificates as cash at most merchants. In this way you can save more.

At giftcertificates.com you can buy gift cards or gift certificates from a variety of merchants like BestBuy, Staples, TigerDirect, Macy’s TJMaxx, CVS, Foot Locker, Bon*Ton, SAKS Fifth Avenue, Dillard’s and so on……..As we know, most of credit cards can’t give you 5% cash back at the above merchants (Citi CashReturns Card). However, in this way, you can earn 5% cash back even though you don’t have the CashReturns card. Plus you can still get 1% cash back from Chase Freedom.

Today I noticed that the giftcertificates.com is offering 10% off on orders $100+. It’s super hot!!! Use the promotion code: HOLIDAY2 at checkout to get the 10% off. You have to pay the shipping fees which are about $2.95 for USPS Regular Mail. Take the advantage of this offer, and the promotion will end on Dec. 9th. If you use the link from Chase Rewards Plus, you can get about 15% cash back!

The words “hard pull” and “soft pull” often pop up when people discuss about credit report, credit history, or credit inquiries. Actually, they are not official terms used by credit experts. Both “Hard pull” and “soft pull” are referred to credit check performed by a third party who wants to check your credit history.

“Hard pull” usually refers to a credit inquiry that is initiated by you, and it does affect your credit score in a short time period. This usually happens when you want to apply for a credit. For example, when you apply for a credit card or a loan or a wireless service, the credit lenders might want to check your credit history based on which they will determine whether or not to approve your requests. Hard pulls are on your credit report and visible to other creditors.

“Soft pull” usually happens when creditors want to send you pre-approved credit applications, or when they want to verify the accuracy of the information you provide. Of course, when you check your own credit history, the inquiries are “soft”. Soft pulls are actually on your credit report but they are only visible by you. So they won’t affect your credit score.

Too many hard pulls on one’s credit report can be harmful, and can result in higher loan or insurance rates. It will be a reason for your creditors to refuse your credit request.

My rule is “I must have at least $100 incentive for each hard pull.”

The following is a list of banks or other kind of credit lenders that DO pull hard credit inquiries.

Ameriprise Insurance (division of American Express) – for car insurance quote

AmTrust for a CD account and Money Market Account

AT&T Wireless

Bank of America for a checking account

Bank of America for a CD account opened online

Bank of America for savings account

Bank of New York for a checking account and a savings account

Brookline Bank for a checking account

Brown & Co. for every account

Charles Schwab Bank for opening new checking and investor account

Charter One Bank for a checking account

Chase Manhattan Bank for a checking account

Cingular Wireless

Citibank for opening a 6-month CD

Citibank for a checking and savings account

Citibank pulls hard inquiry for opening e-Savings account

Comcast cable TV and HIS

Countrywide (stopped pulling sometime in 2007)

Direct TV

Dish Network

Dollar RENT A CAR

Everbank for a Money Market Account, as well as for a checking one

Ebank for a checking account

GMAC Bank for their MM savings account

ING Direct – When you open Electric Orange checking account. No hard pull for opening Orange Savings account.

Johnson & Johnson by Yale & Associates on Experian- for employment purpose

Marquette National Bank — checking, savings, CD and safe deposit box

NASA Federal Credit Union – when applying for membership

National1St Credit Union – When opening an account/CD

Pentagon Federal Credit Union for membership and a new account

Presidential Bank for a checking account

Principal Bank for a checking account, also pulls for money market account

Scottrade for a new account

Sprint for a new line

State Farm Auto Insurance for getting an auto insurance quote

Suntrust for opening of a checking account

T-Mobile for cell phone service

Time Warner Cable for new service

TD Waterhouse/Ameritrade hard pull on an existing customer to open IRA

UFBDirect.com for a High Yield Money Market Saving account

US Bank (online / phone only. soft pull when opening in branch) for a checking/saving account

Verizon for landline, DSL, or VoIP. Also for new cellphone account

Wachovia for opening a checking account

Wells Fargo—whatever you do with them—a hard pull

Banks that DO NOT pull hard credit inquiries.

Chase Bank

Countrywide Bank FSB

FNBO Direct

LaSalle Bank

PNC Bank for opening a free checking account

Washington Mutual

U.S. Bank (in-branch visits only)

CapitalOne high yield Market Money account

When I was shopping at Staples.Com this evening, I found a great software for us. Staples is offering Microsoft Money Deluxe 2008 free after rebate. You can see “Special Buy—free after rebate savings.” (click here) It’s a great deal! I strongly recommend Microsoft Money to everyone who cares about their finances. It’s a nice software for you to track all your bank/credit card accounts. It also provides tools to improve your credit. Features are including:

• Designed to manage your personal accounts – banking, credit and investment finances
• Allows you to manage your bills using multiple online accounts
• Includes the tools you need to help improve your financial outlook
• 3 years free technical support

Although we can find a lot of personal finance websites like Mint.com, Yodlee.com, Geezeo.com, Banzai.com and Wesabe.com to manage the account online, we may not trust them a lot. A personal finance tool is a must for us. Microsoft Money is a well known personal finance software developed by Microsoft. Even if you only use it for keeping track of your bank/credit card accounts, it’s worth the money!

A kind reminder: American Express “My Wishlist” will be launched today at 11 am. American Express cards issued by Citi and Bank of America can also participate in “My Wishlist”. For more information please go to www.amexnetwork.com/mywishlist.

Here are some credit cards with $100 (cash or gift card) as sign-up bonus. Miles cards are excluded since we can’t redeem them as gift cards or cash. As you might have seen from the previous earning reports from David and Linglin, these sign-up bonuses are really great offers.They have brought XXX free buffets for me. Some of them also have great benefits. Next time, you might have to refer this post before you apply for a new credit card.

Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express: 10,000 bonus points can be redeemed as free stays at Starwood hotels (2,000 minimum points for a night stay.); or you can redeem them as $100 store gift cards. Although they increase the annual fee from $30 to $45, I am still using this card a lot. (No annual fee for the first year.) Furthermore, you can transfer the Starpoints to AA mileages or UA mileages. When you want to transfer the Starpoints to mileages, you will get extra mileage bonus. It’s a great card! I hope this card will bring some free stays in the future. You might also be interested in business version.

Citi Professional Card with ThankYou Network: 10,000 ThankYou Points after $250 in purchases, redeemable for a$100 gift card. Like Chase Freedom, this card gives you 3% back at restaurants, gas stations, card rentals and certain office suppliers. This is really good. However, you might need good credit history to get this card. There is a trick to get $150! When you enter the application page, you can click the backward button to quit the application page. Then there is a small window pop up to let you get extra 5,000 ThankYou Points. In this way, you can get 15,000 ThankYou points! You must enter the application page through citicards.com. Otherwise, the window will not appear. This is the best sign-up offer we can get right now.

Citi Platinum American Express Card: You will get 15,000 ThankYou Points after $300 spending with this card. First year annual fee is waived! Most importantly, you can get 5 ThankYou Points at supermarkets, drug stores, and gas stations. You can keep this card for one year. During this time, this is a great card.

Citi PremierPass Card-Elite Level: You can get 20,000 ThankYou points which can be redeemed as $200 gift cards. However, you have to pay $75 annual fee. This card comes with no pre-set spending limit.

Citi PremierPass Card: This is not an Elite Level card. There is no annual fee associated with this card. You will get 10,000 ThankYou Points after $100 purchase. You can also get 0% APR on balance transfer up to 15 months. The great benefit you can get from this card is you can match the miles you flied to redeem they for ThankYou Points. This is great!

There are other American Express version PremierPass cards. You can find out at the citicards.com. Also CitiBusiness Card with ThankYou Point is also providing 10,000 ThankYou Points as sign-up bonus. (No annual fee!)

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Card: You will get 10,000 Membership Rewards bonus points after first purchase. After the $250 Business Gold Rewards Card has gone, this is the only gold card offers great sign-up offer.

Chase Freedom: Although they offer $50 sign-up bonus at chase.com, there is a $100 sign-up offer if you follow this link. Chase Freedom is my favorite card right now.

Maybe I will miss some great cards. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. At the same time, before you apply for a credit card, please read this great post.

I believe a lot of friends have got money from credit card issuers or major US banks in the form of sign-up bonus. I have disclosed my earning report two days ago. Linglin left a comment at this post. Here she is giving out some more details together with some missed bonuses. As you will find out later, the total earning for her is about $900. (Much more than mine!)

BOA Iowa Card (University of Iowa Worldpoints Platinum Plus Master Credit Card): $250 (have to spend $250 to qualify for this offer, expired now);

Fidelity: $200 (they have found the trick?);

Chase Freedom Visa Signature Card: $100 (You can find a link here in this post to get $100 other than $50 as advertised in the chase.com.);

Citi Ultimate Savings Account: $100;

American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express: 10,000 bonus points can be redeemed as $100 gift card;

ING: $25 sign-up bonus referred by a friend;

HSBC: $75 sign-up bonus for opening a checking account there;

Amboy Premium Saving Account: $25 sign-up bonus referred by a fiend;

Wachovia Free Checking: $25 I refer a friend to open a checking account there, both of us got $25 (they have a $50 sign-up bonus right now);

Total amount is around $900.

The news from Money Board at mitbbs.com and advice from cardoffer are gratefully acknowledged—Linglin.