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Bad Credit Auto Loan Refinance - Bad Credit Auto Refinance Tips
Most people know that it is possible to refinance their homes
but did you know it is also possible to refinance your auto?
Indeed for many people who have high interest sub prime car
loans, refinancing their auto loans may be a wise decision....
Credit card basics
"Which bank's credit card do you have?", "what is its credit limit", "what type of card is it"...such questions are on everybody's lips today. The world seems to have been squeezed and wrapped into a credit card. Nowadays everybody speaks and grasps...
Finding The Best Credit Card
When you start your hunt for the best credit card what you're
really searching for is the best credit card for your particular
situation and needs. You may, for instance, be someone whe
travels a lot for business or pleasure. Travel credit...
Free Annual Credit Reports - Strategies to Avoid Imposter Websites
In a 2004 amendment to The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a
new system providing free credit reports was initiated. The
amendment requires each of the three national Credit Reporting
Agencies (CRAs), Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, to...
Fun with Credit Cards
For those of us who know how to use them properly, credit cards can actually be quite fun and lucrative. To those who do not know how to use them properly, I would say that you should stop reading this column right about now, or at least I would...
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Maximum Return On Your Credit Cards
There has been an explosion of credit cards that specialize in
certain benefits over the last five years; reward points, cash
back, 0% transfers, credit monitoring, discount gasoline,
money-market savings, etc. So how do you get the most return
from your card, particularly when their plans change?
(Presuming you never, ever carry a credit card balance -
interest charges and potential fees will more than consume any
side benefit that a card can offer.)
In the old days, the big benefit was airline miles. Let's see
how well that works out. The average airfare for a ticket that
was paid for with credit card airline miles is about $400. And
the average program requires 25,000 to 35,000 miles to be
credited a free ticket. Since miles are normally accrued
dollar-for-dollar, the average benefit is between 1 to 1.5% of
what you spend. More reference material for this article is
available at http://investing.real-solution-center.com.
Now we are starting to have something to compare. If you get an
offer for a 1% cash back credit card, you'd be slightly better
off getting the airline miles. But in my opinion, the many cards
offering up to 5% cash back are the best deal, as long the fine
print lines up. First, there are normally limitations on the
shops where the 5% applies. You want a card that applies the 5%
to where you spend the most of your monthly income. The credit
card industry calls these 'everyday purchases', such as
groceries, drug stores, and gasoline, but exclude warehouse
clubs. You should get a card with the widest number of retailers
where you commonly spend money. Or, get a specific-store card
for those large one-time purchases.
For example, if you are
buying new kitchen appliances from Sears, apply and use their
card for the purchase and you normally get 10% off. You can
cancel it later when it has a zero balance.
The next 5% cash back problem is an annual limit. Citi Dividend
credit card limits your annual earning to only $300. If you have
some big purchases, you may have spent $5,000 on your credit
card in the first month, and you've hit your cash back limit
already. So guess what, you are going to stop using that card
and start using a different 5% cash back card until you've used
up that limit as well. Use them up and move on. American Express
currently has a card called Blue Cash for bigger spenders. It
offers only 1% cash back until you spend $6,500, and then it
pays 5% cash back until you've spent $50,000. But there aren't
nearly as many AmEx merchants as Visa/Mastercard merchants.
(Again, AmEx and others may have exclusions like purchases at
warehouse clubs). You can compare dozens of credit cards from
directory websites like www.allstarcreditcards.com.
Getting the most from your card is like going into battle: you
can have a great plan in the beginning, but once cardholders
start exploiting loopholes and creating unintended consequences,
the card companies change their policies, it goes back and forth
continually. So read all the fine print before applying, and
squeeze some extra money from your credit card purchases this
year.
About the author:
Francis Kier has an MBA in finance and shares his two decades of
experience with investing and personal finance. More of his
articles are available at
http://investing.real-solution-center.com
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