While the credit card market is replete with offers for travel rewards, many cardholders still prefer the value, convenience, and simplicity of cash back rewards. Nevertheless, April saw the expiration of a pair of limited time, cash back sign up bonus offers. Both the Freedom card from Chase and the Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa Card saw their sign up bonuses decrease from $200 to $100.  The fact that both of these major card issuers are cutting their cash back sign up bonuses in half on their leading products can only point towards lower sign up bonuses across the board.

Yet beyond the initial sign up bonus, the Citi card still has a lot to offer. For example, there is no quarterly limit on 5% cash back earnings within bonus categories of spending, unlike the Chase Freedom and the Discover More cards. Continue Reading »

If an observer follows a market for long enough, eventually a pattern emerges. Competitors repeatedly try to outbid each other in their efforts to acquire a scarce commodity. Ultimately, the increased offers cannot be sustained and the market collapses. This can take the form of a minor correction or it can resemble a bubble bursting. Unfortunately for some credit card applicants, the market for sign up bonuses appears to be going through just such a phase.

For example, one of the hot cards of 2011 – Chase Sapphire Preferred – has just seen its fantastic sign up bonus reduced from 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points to 40,000. In the past, this sign up bonus was worth $500 in gift cards, statement credits, or other rewards. Others redeemed these points for 50,000 frequent flier miles or hotel points, or $625 worth of airfare. Now, only $500 worth of airfare can be redeemed from the initial sign up bonus of 40,000 Ultimate Reward points. Continue Reading »

Summer is just around the corner and many are just starting to plan their vacations. Since summer is a peak travel season, it is a great time to use credit card rewards rather than pay cash. For those who need a new credit card to accumulate enough points or miles for a trip, there is minimal time to waste before applying due to the time typically involved in obtaining rewards.

Earning Credit Card Rewards For Travel

While many travel rewards cards seem to offer instant gratification, it can actually take weeks or months before applicants can realize their rewards. First, credit card users must weigh the various offers for different products on the market. For example, Delta offers many versions of its SkyMiles credit card from American Express, each with different features, benefits, and costs. Once a card is chosen and an application is completed, customers may be granted instant approval or they may have to wait up to ten days for a decision. Even when instant approval is granted, cardholders must then wait up to two weeks to receive their card in the mail. Continue Reading »

Group buying programs have become one of the biggest hits among the latest generation of online companies. By partnering with merchants, these companies can sell coupons which can save consumers a tremendous amount of money. Although featured businesses may even end up selling their goods and services at a loss, most use this technique to increase publicity while gaining broad exposure to a wider customer base. LivingSocial, one of the leading companies in the area has just teamed up with Chase bank, one of the largest reward credit card issuers. Their LivingSocial Visa offers tremendous discounts on LivingSocial purchases, bonus points on dining, and rewards for all other purchases.

How The Living Social Credit Card Works

For each dollar spent on LivingSocial purchases, cardholders will receive five points. Continue Reading »

After a rocky start to 2012, a number of credit card companies have at least temporarily ceased tinkering with the lengths and fees of balance transfer offers. Consequently, May 2012′s best balance transfer cards are essentially the same as April’s.

As in April, the Chase Slate card remains the sole no fee balance transfer credit card on the market. This feature, combined with the Slate card’s 15 month 0% introductory rate, helped this offer hold onto the best balance transfer crown for a third month in a row.

The Chase Slate offer is closely followed by a pair of Citibank offers that continue to offer the longest 0% rates on balance transfers and purchases on the market.

May’s Best Offers

As mentioned above, Chase Slate remains the indisputable champ of the balance transfer world. Continue Reading »

Recently, Consumer Reports asked the question, “Can gas-credit-card rewards ease your pain at the pump?”  The article points out many of that many of the gas cards available do not offer significant savings above that of other cards that are not affiliated with gas stations. In fact, other cards that offer bonus cash back for purchases at gasoline retailers can be just as effective while eliminating the need to manage an extra credit card account.

For example, they looked at the Shell card which offers 5 cents back per gallon as a statement credit. While this might have been a decent offer back when a gallon of gas sold for less than two dollars, the value of this discount declines as the price of gasoline rises. Today, nearly any card that that offers more than 1% in cash back is superior to the Shell card. Continue Reading »

American Express was once known primarily for their Green card. Then came products colored Gold, Platinum, Plum, and even Clear. Yet perhaps their biggest color coded offering is their Blue cards. American Express offers its Blue Cash Everyday and Blue Cash Preferred cards that feature cash back bonuses for everyday purchases. Competing against these cards are their Blue Sky and Blue Sky Preferred cards that offer bonuses for travel related spending that can be redeemed for statement credits towards new travel purchases.

The Cash Back Cards: Blue Cash Everyday and Blue Cash Preferred

These two cards offer cash back bonus rates that are unequalled by its competitors. Blue Cash Preferred customers earn 6% cash back at supermarkets and 3% cash back at gas stations and department stores, with 1% back on all other purchases. There is a $75 annual fee for the Preferred version of this card. Continue Reading »