Many Americans are obsessed with finding a good deal, especially during the holiday season. The desire to save money manifests itself in all sorts of ways, including the frenzy that surrounds Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Not to be left out, major credit card issuers are offering their own holiday specials on reward card redemptions. This year, Chase is offering a variety of discounts to members of it Ultimate Rewards program.

What Chase Is Offering

Chase has several holiday promotions that many of its cardholders can take advantage of.  Throughout the holidays, Chase credit card rewards card-holders can earn up to 10 extra Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent at featured merchants in the Ultimate Rewards mall. Other promotions occur only on a single day where purchases can receive as many as 20 bonus points per dollar or even more. Continue Reading »

It has gotten difficult to watch TV and not see a Chase Freedom rewards card commercial. The recent marketing onslaught, which shows consumers opting for the largest cash back credit card getting pummeled by quarters, is a not so subtle attack on Discover. Nevertheless, it does highlight the key differences between the Chase Freedom card and competing cash back cards that advertise, but fail to deliver in the cash back rewards arena.

Chase Freedom Cash Back Rewards Overview

The Chase Freedom card’s cash back rewards program is among the best available and Chase backs this up by offering applicants massive sign up bonuses. At present, the Chase Freedom $200 promo is the largest, but there is also a Freedom card with a $100 bonus as well as a third version with a $50 bonus. While the promotional bonuses attached to these offers vary, the underlying Freedom rewards program is the same. Card-holder’s earn 1% cash back on all purchases, plus 5% cash back on up to $1,500 of purchases in categories that rotate four times a year. Apart from the limits on Freedom’s 5% cash back reward categories, there is no annual limit on cash back earnings. 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 »

Many people truly understand how credit card interest is calculated. When they do learn how their purchases incur interest, it often strikes them as unfair. Chase Blueprint, which is available on a number of their most popular credit cards including Chase Freedom, Chase Sapphire and Chase Slate, aims to help consumers better manage credit card debt by giving them more vision into and control over interest expenses.

How Credit Cards Normally Work

When a customer first charges items to a credit card, interest payments can be avoided by paying the entire balance in full and on time. Technically, interest is being incurred, but it is forgiven when the full balance is paid off during the grace period; the time before the due date.

However, if a customer fails to pay the complete balance, even by one cent, that customer will owe interest on each purchase from the day of the transaction. From then on, interest continues to accrue on all new and existing purchases on the account until they are completely paid off. Only then is the customer eligible to re-establish an interest free grace period on his or her purchases. Continue Reading »

Discover has joined the ranks of Chase and Citibank by introducing a new version of the Discover More Card that offers a $150 cash back bonus. Like similar cash back credit card offers, the Discover $150 cash back credit card offer requires consumers to meet a spending threshold in order to obtain the advertised bonus.

Discover $150 Offer Details

New applicants who apply and are approved for the Discover $150 promotion are required to spend $1,000 within 90 days of becoming a card-member. This spending requirement is relatively high compared to what is required on the Chase Freedom $200 cash back offer as well as the Citi Dividend $100 offer, both of which only require $500 of spending during a similarly sized 90 day time horizon. While this higher spending requirement should be a deterrent for consumers who wouldn’t ordinarily spend $1000 over a 90 day period, the fact that this $150 cash back offer coincides with the holiday season may make reaching this threshold more realistic than it would otherwise be during other parts of the year. Continue Reading »

While Chase Slate is best known for its innovative BluePrint money management tools, consumers searching for balance transfer credit cards will now have a nice financial perk to give Chase Blueprint a try, as the Chase Slate card is now offering a no fee balance transfer promotion with a 0% APR lasting up to 12 months.

At present, most credit card companies are charging 3% balance transfer fees, so consumers who are wary about paying credit card fees will find that Chase Slate is the only major credit card offering the combination of an above average 0% introductory period on balance transfers and charging no balance transfer fees.

Savings from the Chase Slate No Fee Balance Transfer Fee Offer

Before the credit crisis, a number of credit card companies offered no fee balance transfers. Companies that did charge balance transfer fees tended to limit the maximum amount to $75 per transaction. After the crisis, balance transfer fees jumped. While most have come down to the 3% range, the old $75 maximum no longer applies. Consequently, consumers seeking 0% balance transfers are typically required to spend about $30 for every $1,000 transferred. While this is often a pittance compared to what can be saved by doing a balance transfer, balance transfer fees do add up. Continue Reading »