Using Credit Cards to Save
Author: Board Monitor
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 9:22 am
Post subject: Using Credit Cards to Save
Great article on MSN Money yesterday by Liz Weston about using credit card rebate programs to save:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/creditcardsmarts/P134119.asp
Thoughts? Comments?
I am proud to say that www.CardRatings.com is mentioned in the article.
_________________
Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
http://www.cardratings.com
(501) 663-0314
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Author: Leeb
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 9:31 am
Post subject: Using Credit Cards to Save
I saw that article yesterday! I'm enrolled in the BoA Keep the Change program - for now. I'm only doing it for one year only so that I can reap the benefits of BoA matching my saving for the first three months (you don't get the matching funds until you've been in the program for a year). After that, I'm closing my savings account with them altogether. As for the AMEX One...I think it's a rip-off. You might as well just get the Citi Dividend card with no annual fee or even the AMEX Blue Cash card and deposit the cash back (up to 5%, not just 1%) into ING, since it offers the same high yield percentage rate (3.5%) as the AMEX ONE account would.
Author: Polonius
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 10:48 am
Post subject: Using Credit Cards to Save
It IS a good article. I think she should have emphasized a point (which admitedly she made)--namely, that these contorted rewards specialty cards for the most part offer less in real rewards than other general rewards cards. Their only real benefit is for those without the discipline to put the rewards money into those retirement accounts or 529 plans or whatever themselves. So these cards do that for you automatically. Big deal.
I disagree about the comments on the Bank of America Keep The Change promotion. I just signed up for that one myself. I got $50 cash for opening a BofA checking account. That's a plus she didn't mention right there. Her negatives are that the careless spender could overdraw his/her checking account. Well, sure--but isn't that always true for any checking account? And although she's right that the benefits go way down after the first three months (when contributions are matched 100% by the bank), that's still $250 in my pocket.
I've never used a debit card in my life before. But somehow, this month, I'm paying my cable bill, Dish Network bill, and likely some other bills with my BofA debit card. Somehow, not really sure why, those payments are all for $1.01 or $2.01 and I make them a dozen times per day using an easy macro I wrote. Since 99 cents of each transaction gets swept into my savings account, after 275 transactions B of A will pay me $250 in a year or so. After those transactions, somehow my urge to use this debit card will cease completely. Go figure!
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 9:22 am
Post subject: Using Credit Cards to Save
Great article on MSN Money yesterday by Liz Weston about using credit card rebate programs to save:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/creditcardsmarts/P134119.asp
Thoughts? Comments?
I am proud to say that www.CardRatings.com is mentioned in the article.
_________________
Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
http://www.cardratings.com
(501) 663-0314
CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. Please visit CardRatings.com to view the best rated credit cards!
Author: Leeb
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 9:31 am
Post subject: Using Credit Cards to Save
I saw that article yesterday! I'm enrolled in the BoA Keep the Change program - for now. I'm only doing it for one year only so that I can reap the benefits of BoA matching my saving for the first three months (you don't get the matching funds until you've been in the program for a year). After that, I'm closing my savings account with them altogether. As for the AMEX One...I think it's a rip-off. You might as well just get the Citi Dividend card with no annual fee or even the AMEX Blue Cash card and deposit the cash back (up to 5%, not just 1%) into ING, since it offers the same high yield percentage rate (3.5%) as the AMEX ONE account would.
Author: Polonius
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 10:48 am
Post subject: Using Credit Cards to Save
It IS a good article. I think she should have emphasized a point (which admitedly she made)--namely, that these contorted rewards specialty cards for the most part offer less in real rewards than other general rewards cards. Their only real benefit is for those without the discipline to put the rewards money into those retirement accounts or 529 plans or whatever themselves. So these cards do that for you automatically. Big deal.
I disagree about the comments on the Bank of America Keep The Change promotion. I just signed up for that one myself. I got $50 cash for opening a BofA checking account. That's a plus she didn't mention right there. Her negatives are that the careless spender could overdraw his/her checking account. Well, sure--but isn't that always true for any checking account? And although she's right that the benefits go way down after the first three months (when contributions are matched 100% by the bank), that's still $250 in my pocket.
I've never used a debit card in my life before. But somehow, this month, I'm paying my cable bill, Dish Network bill, and likely some other bills with my BofA debit card. Somehow, not really sure why, those payments are all for $1.01 or $2.01 and I make them a dozen times per day using an easy macro I wrote. Since 99 cents of each transaction gets swept into my savings account, after 275 transactions B of A will pay me $250 in a year or so. After those transactions, somehow my urge to use this debit card will cease completely. Go figure!
posted by CardRatings.com at 12:54 PM
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