Information Center – News and Articles about Credit Cards
Ezpreapproval.com presents the Information Center — a new and improved credit card news service. We will inform you with up-to-date articles on credit cards for good credit, bad or no-credit history. Get information on best credit card deals for student credit cards, cash back credit cards and business credit cards. Learn about the top deals on credit cards with the lowest APR deals and other hot issues.
Credit Card Applications to Earn Best Travel Rewards
What are travel rewards and how do you find the best credit card travel rewards program? It's not as easy as it sounds. Calling the credit card companies yields different plans from each card. Searching the Internet delivers the same results. Each travel rewards program offers different plans, different rates, different restrictions and different APRs. So how are you expected to make the best choice? Easy...don't let the credit card companies tell you what you want. Decide for yourself.
The benefit of this plan is simple: since the market is so crowded, you will no doubt find a credit card travel rewards plan to suit your needs. The challenge though is to first decide what you want. Are you a frequent flier or a frequent buyer...or both? There are plans available no matter your needs.
Decide What Type of Credit Card Customer you are
The first thing you need to do is determine what kind of credit card customer you are. Are you a frequent flier or a frequent buyer?
- If you are a frequent buyer, you might want to look at travel rewards programs that aren't completely linked to your frequent flier miles. You should look for cash-back programs. These cards offer points for every purchase that you can later use towards airlines tickets and other travel-related expenses (hotel rewards programs, airline rewards programs, etc...). When searching for the best cash-back credit card deal, you should consider a few things: No annual fee cards, cash-back rebate cards, 0% intro APR. Also, consider applying for your credit card online. Quite a few credit card programs offer extra incentives when you do everything online.
- But what if you use your card primarily for airline tickets? In that case a frequent flier travel rewards program may get you the most bang for your buck. These programs offer points for every mile you travel. If you happen to be a person who travels a lot for business, this may be the best plan for you. You could conceivably accumulate travel rewards points at such an accelerated pace that you could pay for your yearly vacation.
The Meat of the Credit Card Deal
Now that you have the basics down, there are a few criteria you should consider when deciding which card and which credit card deal is best for you.
- 1) POINTS PER TICKET - This can get confusing if you don't pay attention. Each credit card company utilizes their own formula on how many points you need to accumulate before you can redeem an airline ticket. The best credit card deals offer points up front when signing up for the program. Some of the travel rewards programs offer double points for every ticket purchased. But most importantly, you need to know how many points you have to have before you can turn them in for a ticket. Most credit card companies require 25,000 points before you can redeem a ticket. If you do not travel this many miles a year, a frequent flier program may not be the plan for you. There are quite a few programs out there though. Just do your research.
- 2) ANNUAL FEES - Airline cards often include an annual fee and require you to spend a set amount of money before you can recoup the fee. These fees start at $75 a year and can go as high as $200 a year. Airline cards are also usually good for one airline. This can put a crimp in the style of the frequent flier who prefers to change things up periodically and travel with different airlines. On the other hand, many cash-back credit cards, as opposed to airline cards, deal with more than one airline and the annual fees on these cards are often much lower. Diner's Club is a good example of this type of plan. Diners Club has relationships with American Airlines, United, Southwest and 22 other airlines. If you don't travel by plane much, or prefer to change your carrier when the mood strikes you, this may be a better reward program for you.
- 3) TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS - Ah yes, the ever popular travel restriction clause...everyone's favorite little travel rewards wrinkle. While cash-back cards offer lower APRs, more airlines options and have smaller fees, many of these plans include travel restrictions. You may have your choice of airlines with the cash-back card, but you are often restricted to certain travel dates and locations. To avoid the pitfalls of getting stuck going to Hawaii when you wanted to go the Bahamas, you need to book well in advance. Airline cards offer no travel restrictions and no destination restrictions. So you need to weigh very carefully what you prefer: restricted choices in airlines or restrictive choices in where you travel.
There are times when even this information will not yield a definite winner. When choosing a credit card deal that offers the best travel rewards programs, you might also consider a few intangibles:
- Proximity to the airport - if you a re a frequent flier, make sure the credit card is from an airline that flies out of the closet airport to your base of operations. Also make sure that the commuter airlines the airline uses are part of the program.
- The economic health of the airline - This is simple. If the airline goes out of business, all of your frequent flier miles will likely disappear with them.
- And of course there are your own personal tastes. You may prefer the seats and the extra amenities of one airline over another. You should consider this in your choice.
Making Your Credit Card Choice
Finally, you'll need to make a choice. If you are still having trouble deciding which credit card company offers the best travel rewards program, make a pro/con list. When considering which credit card offers the best deal for your individual needs, consider these things: APR, annual fees, economic health of the airline, travel and destination restrictions and airlines participating in the frequent flier program (You will also come up with other variables specific to your needs). When you are done, tally the numbers. Whichever credit card has the most points, that's probably the plan for you.
Most credit tips say that the sooner you pay off your credit card balance - the less money you will lose on interest. On-time payments will favorably bound back on your credit score and payment history. This kind of advice is what we all are used to hear and read on the Web, in financial magazines, in tips columns. But does this financial behavior model really have a positive effect on your FICO score and credit report?
How can it be questioned, you ask? A perfectly disciplined plastic owner that pays off his or her balance before a lender could say Jack Robinson. Is not it any creditor's dream? No, it is not always so. Let's find out why a lender would want a different behavior model from a borrower and when this kind of paying down debts can weigh heavily against a cardholder.
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There are a number of embarrassing situations that are just a nightmare for cardholder. Feel no wallet in your pocket just before the cash register? See some unauthorized charges in your credit report? Loose you wallet with all your plastics in it? Very soon we are going to have no fear of these things, thanks to amazing technical progress.
Indivos Corp. which majors in computer hardware and software development has been working on an electronic system for making payments over a number of years. The thing about this system is that it enables transactions to be made by scanning customers' fingertips. A number of retailers have already expressed interest in testing the new system.
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Active credit card use is a sign of a society with well-developed market relationships. More and more people get involved in buying goods and services with plastics. Using virtual funds to make real purchases is very convenient. But this extended buying power has led Americans to a dangerous trend. Over 40% of American households, according to the USA Federal Reserve statistics, spend more money than they make.
In the average, every American of these 40% spends $1.2 per every $1 he or she earns. Plastics have changed people's spending habits. These plastic devices allow and encourage people to spend more and more money. Around 18% of all purchases made by Americans involve credit card use. About 24% of the purchases are made with other types of plastics.
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If you are determined to eliminate your credit card debts and you have good credit, getting a balance transfer card is a good idea. You can shift your credit card balances with high interest rate to a card with much lower rate or 0% APR at all. But there is one thing that can reduce your profit from this kind of a deal. It is balance transfer fee.
Most balance transfer cards come with a fee for a transfer. Not long ago you could easily find a plastic for balance transfers with no fee. However, due to the credit card market crisis and economy slowdown, lenders have pulled these deals from the market. And now it is rather hard for a customer to find a balance transfer card that comes with no fee. But there are some ways to negotiate a better balance transfer deal.
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