Credit card rewards are very valuable, but does that mean you have to pay taxes on them? If you did, how would each mile or point be valued? These are the questions that some people have every year when it comes time to submit their income to the IRS. Interest is also peaked by stories like this one in the Los Angeles Times that reveal that Citibank has been sending out 1099-INT forms to some of its savings and checking account customers who received American Airlines miles. In response, many people are concerned that their credit card rewards in the form of cash back, miles, and points may be taxable.

Cash Back

The IRS has always considered cash back rewards from a credit card to be a discount on the purchase price of goods and services. They view these rewards much like a coupon where the original price is marked down, and a lower price is paid. In all of those instances, the value of the discount is not reported as taxable income. Continue Reading »

When most people consider a travel rewards credit card they immediately think of one that earns frequent flier miles. Their next thought is often about the difficulty they will have booking award flights at the lowest mileage levels.

Sadly, most airlines have made it almost impossible to find multiple award seats to popular destinations anywhere near the peak season. Fortunately, members of American Airline’s AAdavantage frequent flyer program still have a reasonable chance of redeeming their miles for the flights they want. Via the Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage World MasterCard, American Airlines travelers can earn the miles they need to fulfill their award travel aspirations.

Citi AAdvantage Credit Card Overview

New Citi AAdvantage credit card applicants will earn 30,000 miles after making $750 worth of purchases within the first four months of opening an account. Customers can earn an additional 10,000 miles for spending $5,000 in the first six months card membership. Continue Reading »

Those who pay their credit card balances on time and in full each month  should be using a rewards credit card. Although many cardholders enjoy their rewards in the form of loyalty points such as frequent flier miles, cash back remains the most popular type of rewards card.

Unfortunately, while cash back rewards can seem like a simple concept, there are dozens of cash back reward cards being offered by nearly every bank.  Among all these cards are three basic types of cash back rewards.

Fixed Rate Cash Back Credit Cards

The simplest types of cash back credit cards are those that offer a fixed rate of return on all purchases. These cards typically offer between 1% and 2% cash back. Once cent per dollar spent is the most common rate of return, and it represents the minimum that any reward card holder should expect. Continue Reading »

December may be the time for shopping, but consumers will find that the best credit cards offering 0% balance transfers this month can provide significant long term savings. Many of these credit card offers also come with 0% interest rates on purchases that can reduce the cost of buying holiday gifts on credit.

Presently, the longest 0% APR credit card deals offer 0% interest rates lasting 21 months on both purchases and balance transfers. These credit cards can help consumers who would be racking up debt on high interest credit cards from having to pay a balance transfer fee down the road while saving them money on current balances.

Best 0% APR Credit Cards for Shoppers and Balance Carriers

Citibank presently offers a trio of 0% APR balance transfer credit cards that also offer 0% interest rates on purchases. The longest of these offers are available on the Citi Platinum Select and Citi Diamond Preferred cards. Both cards provide a 0% rate for 21 months. A third card, the Citi Dividend, offers a shorter 15 month 0% APR on balance transfers and purchases, but also provides a $100 cash back bonus to consumers who spend $500 within three months. Continue Reading »

Although consumers are typically more focused on spending money than saving money with balance transfers during this time of year, credit card companies continue to aggressively pursue new consumers with 0% balance transfer offers. This November, Chase unveiled a 0% APR no fee balance transfer version of Chase Slate. This is the first such offer made available by a major bank since February. Meanwhile, Citibank and Discover continue to offer 0% rates on balance transfers and/or purchases lasting up to 21 months.

Consequently, November is a good time for consumers to preemptively take advantage of 0% APR credit cards in the event the market deteriorates following the holiday season. Given the large number of cards offering 0% rates on purchases as well as balance transfers, utilizing this type of credit card now can also help eliminate the need to pay a 3% transfer fee on balances accrued during the holidays on high rate cards if a 0% card is needed down the road.

Average 0% Offer Durations & Fees in November

As a result of the introduction of the Chase Slate no fee balance transfer offer, average balance transfer fees fell to 3.1% this month, down from 3.26% in October. However, because the Slate card offers a relatively short introductory period that lasts either 6 or 12 months, the average length of 0% offers also declined slightly from 12.16 months to 12.08 months.

Compare November’s Best Balance Transfer Offers Continue Reading »

The battle to get to the top of consumer wallets during the holidays is beginning to heat up with the introduction of a new version of the Citi Diamond Preferred card, the Citi Diamond $200. While similar to the Chase Freedom $200 cash back offer in terms of upfront bonuses, this new limited time offer from Citibank differs in many significant ways, most notably in the 0% interest rate department, but also in the spending requirement needed to obtain the Diamond card’s $200 cash back bonus.

The Citi Diamond $200 Bonus Offer

The Citi Diamond Preferred $200 bonus offer provides consumers who make $500 in online purchases within three months of becoming a card member a statement credit for $200.  This differs from similar $200 credit card offers in two key ways. First, while $500 is typical as far as spending requirements go, the online purchase requirement differs from standard offers, which grant bonuses regardless of where money is spent.  The online spending element of this deal is a factor that should be weighed carefully by consumers, particularly those who expect to do the bulk of their holiday shopping off-line. Continue Reading »

Like Chase, which rolled out hefty sign-up bonuses on two versions of their Chase Sapphire Card, Citi is offering similarly sizable incentives to consumers who sign up for the Citi ThankYou Premier Rewards Card as well as the no fee Citi ThankYou Preferred Rewards card.

The current versions of Citi’s ThankYou cards are tailored to different types of consumers. The Premier Rewards card is geared towards heavy spenders while the no annual fee ThankYou Preferred cards are more aligned to the interests of regular credit card users.

The Citi ThankYou Premier Card

Citi’s Premier version of the ThankYou card comes with the largest sign-up incentive – 30,000 ThankYou Points that can be redeemed for $300 in gift cards as long as $1,500 is spent within three months. This is not quite as generous as the Chase Sapphire $500 promotion, but the spending required to obtain the bonus is 50% lower. Continue Reading »