Entries Tagged 'Credit Cards' ↓

Discover Card is once again offering their 10% cashback promotion that normally runs during the holidays. Simply spend $100 at a participating mall on your Discover Card, bring the receipts to customer service, and receive a $10 gift card with a limit of five per account.

Terms & Conditions:

Get a $10 Discover® Gift Card when you make $100 in purchases with your Discover Card at a participating mall between 8/1/08–9/7/08, while supplies last. Original receipts and your Discover Card must be presented to a participating mall’s Customer Service by 9/7/08. Limit 5 Gift Cards per account, during the promotion period. See Gift Card terms and conditions for full details.

Spend $1000 in three months on the Discover Business card and a hundred dollars is yours for the taking. That’s the richest offer of its kind right now and one that you shouldn’t pass up if you think you have the spending to back it up. Read more about Discover Business’ $100 cashback bonus promotion.

From now until July 31st, get a 20% bonus on miles when you convert American Express Membership Rewards into Delta SkyMiles. To get this bonus you must first register for the offer and then transfer your Membership Rewards points into your SkyMiles account.

Link for promotion details

Bonus Information:

Members will receive a 20% mileage bonus on all points transferred during the offer period. The bonus award will be based on the total number of miles placed into your account as a result of all Membership Rewards point transfers between June 10 and July 31, 2008. Bonus miles will be posted up to 6 weeks from the promotion expiration date of July 31, 2008.

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The 157th Carnival of Personal Finance is also available!

Discover has released the details of their third quarter Get More promotional areas, which were listed as Gas Stations and Hotels:

Get going this summer and get 5% Cashback Bonus on up to $400 in gas and hotel purchases from July through September. [Source: Discover]

5% on $400 is only $20 but every little bit counts, it might be better to try one of these gas cashback cards instead.

Step one of getting rid of all that junk mail, that dangerous identity theft risk junk mail, is to opt out of it at OptOutPrescreen.com. That gets rid of unsolicited mailings from companies you don’t already do business with. However, if you have a pre-existing business relationship with a company, they can still send you mailings. That makes sense to me and seems perfectly fair.

However, one of the biggest identity theft risks (or theft risks in general) are those cash advance checks your credit card company sends you. Another risk is that credit card offer your bank sent you. In order to opt out of those, you need to call each company and request that you be removed from their marketing list!

Optoutprescreen is great, but it’s only step one. Don’t forget step two.

Building and maintaining a strong credit history is a must these days. In the past, only lenders cared about your credit score and your credit history. Now, everyone from landlords to employers are checking your credit history and using it as a proxy for reliability and trustworthiness. They believe that someone with a low credit score and a weak history is less trustworthy, which may or may not be true, so it’s important for you to build and maintain a strong credit score and history. This is best accomplished when you’re a student because you’re finally on your own.

The first step is to try to apply for a student credit card such as the Citi mtvU credit card. The Citi mtvU card isn’t just the non-student card with higher interest rates and more fees, it’s actually a tailored card with features a student would like like 5% cashback at bookstores, points for good grades and on-time payment. It also means that students are more likely to be accepted. If you try to get a regular consumer credit card, the rules are going to be more stringent.

If you don’t qualify for that card, consider getting a credit card from a store you shop at in the mall. These cards often have low limits and zero benefits (make sure you get a card with no annual fee!) but you’re looking to build credit, not get access to easy debt. If you can get the mtvU card, or some other student card, don’t bother with getting a store card.

Don’t sign up for a credit card at some random table at school. 95% of these tables are legitimate, but you always run the risk of giving out all that sensitive data to a complete stranger that you shouldn’t trust. That person could use that information to steal your identity. Not worth it.

Good luck!

Did you know that many credit cards offer a price protection program? Yep. If you notice that a particular item you’ve purchased has gone on sale or is cheaper somewhere else, you can contact your credit card company for a refund of the difference. Usually stores will not honor online prices and require the price to appear in print.

With Citi cards that have Citi Price Protection, you can get up to $250 per transaction if you notice a price drop within 60 days, with a maximum benefit of $1,000 a year.

With American Express, the program is called the Best Value Guarantee. Coverage is up to $250 per item, excluding taxes, shipping, and handling, for up to 60 days and up to $1,000 a year.

Other card issuers may also have similar programs.

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Also, be sure to check out this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance in which DMH article Don’t Quit Jobs for Less Than an 8% Raise was included.

Do you have one too many credit cards in your wallet or purse? Are there cards hidden away in your desk drawer never to be used again? Have you considered closing them entirely? Rather than close them, try to consolidate multiple cards into one card and preserve your total credit limit.

Your percent utilization, which is how much of your total credit you currently are using, is a component of your credit score. If you close a credit card, you reduce your total credit and increase your percent utilization - thus decreasing your credit score. While closing off cards may be good for other reasons, you can achieve those same goals by calling your issuer and asking them to consolidate your unwanted cards’ credit limits into the wanted cards.

Saves space, makes your credit more secure, gets rid of unnecessary credit cards and preserves your credit score.

The Preferred Rewards Gold Card from American Express has a promotion where you earn 10,000 Membership Rewards bonus points after your first purchase, which you can redeem for a $100 gift card.

• No annual fee for the first year - $125 Thereafter
• Earn 10,000 Membership Rewards® bonus points after your first purchase with the card - redeemable for a $100 gift card!
• No Pre-Set Spending Limit
• The Membership Rewards® program - Earn 1 Membership Rewards® point for virtually every dollar you spend. You can redeem points for your choice of truly exceptional travel, shopping, and entertainment rewards.
• Gold Card Events - exclusive access to tickets for select concerts, shows, major sporting events, and more in cities nationwide.
• Global Assist® Plus Hotline and many more benefits included.
• Express Approval. Get a decision in less than 60 seconds.

Here’s a slick trick courtesy of Credit Addict, hack your credit card signup bonus by turning off your popup blocker and “canceling” your application. Sometimes the credit card company will pop up a window that increases the bonus, sometimes doubling it from $50 to $100, and sometimes they will simply ask if you want them to email you an application. Skip the ones that offer to email you junk, just apply for the ones that boost the offer.

This won’t work with every single offer out there but I’m sure you’ll be able to find at least one on this list of $1200 credit card bonuses.