Archive for the 'Credit Cards' Category
I wouldn’t say my wife and I are well-traveled, but we do try and experience other cultures whenever we can. Given work constraints and Corporate America’s hatred of vacations (2 weeks a year??), we are lucky if we can manage one trip per year. However, I think we’ve worked out a pretty good system of managing money needs while abroad.
Travelers Checks?
I never buy travelers checks. You often have to pay a fee when you buy them, and then you might have to pay a fee for exchanging them to local currency. Or you’re searching all day for the American Express office. Less and less stores accept them for purchases, due to fraud and theft. If your signatures don’t exactly match, they give you grief. If you get them wet, they are useless and you have to replace them.
Most importantly: Any place that does take them will most likely accept credit cards, which are a better alternative (see below).
Best Credit Card For International Travel
Whenever possible, I use a credit card for making purchases while abroad. Hotels, transportation, sightseeing tickets, and so on. However, most credit cards are pretty expensive when it comes to foreign currency purchases. Visa and Mastercard charge a standard 1% “conversion” fee on top of the wholesale “interbank” exchange rate. Many major credit card issuers like Citi, Chase, and American Express charge you another 2%-3% on top of that. You’re losing up to 4% off the bat.
So what do I use? My favorite card, hands down, is the Capital One NoHassle Cash Rewards card. I have used this card from China to France with no issues at all. Capital One charges you only the interbank currency exchange rate. They pay the Visa/Mastercard 1% fee for you, and they don’t have any self-imposed surcharge. Finally, this specific card gives you 1% cash back on all purchases (2% for groceries/gas) and has no annual fee.
Net result: Not only do I get the best exchange rate possible, but I actually gain 1% cash back on my foreign purchases. It’s better than cash!
(I only use this card internationally. While in the US, I prefer these cash back credit cards.)
ATM Cards / Getting Cash
I used to worry about bringing some local currency with me, but it is usually expensive to get this done in the US. (Always compare their rates with the interbank rates at Oanda.com.) Nowadays, if you are arriving in a large international airport, there is hardly any chance they won’t have ATMs available. I do bring $100 in US $20 bills in my money belt as an added backup.
When it comes to getting cash in local currency from ATMs, there are also fees to be aware of. The local ATM may charge a fee, although bigger banks are less likely to. Your bank may also charge a fee for using a non-network foreign ATM. Finally, they may charge a surcharge for the currency exchange itself.
Because I use a credit card for most large purchases, I usually only need cash for restaurants and other small things. Therefore, I usually take out all the cash I expect to spend during my stay all at once, as it is no more than a few hundred dollars. Since I only have to pay these fees once, I don’t worry about them as much.
For example, on a $300 withdrawal using my normal WaMu Free Checking account, I will be charged a 3% in exchange fee + no ATM fees. I am okay with paying a one-time fee of $9 for this convenience. My backup card is with Bank of America, where it would have cost $8 total (1% + $5), though they do have some partner banks with no fees. I like sticking with big banks here.
A good comparison of all these card fees is located here.
Money Belt and Wallet
After experiencing firsthand how slick a professional pickpocket can be in an Italian train, I don’t go anywhere without my trusty money belt keeping everything hidden safely underneath my clothes. I usually put in my week’s worth of cash, my backup credit card, two ATM cards, emergency numbers, and my passport.
My wallet only holds a day’s worth of cash (~$40) and my primary credit card. I usually also have travel pants with zippered pockets. This way, if it gets stolen I am only out a small amount of money and one credit card.
Lost Your Credit Card While Traveling?
You can easily report your lost card to the major issuers while traveling internationally by calling these US numbers collect. Write them down and keep in your money belt, along with any credit card numbers.
- Visa: 410-581-9994
- Mastercard: 636-722-7111
- American Express: 336-393-1111
Posted in Banking, Credit Cards, Travel | 35 Comments »
One of the three major credit bureaus, TransUnion, lost a $75 million class-action lawsuit a while back, and the settlement involves offering up to 9 months of free credit monitoring service to anyone who has ever held a credit card or loan over the last 20 years (i.e. lots of people).
This includes unlimited daily access to your TransUnion credit report and credit score, as well as e-mail alerts when something changes. This is a good way to know when someone is pulling your credit report. There is also a “potential cash payment” option, but it doesn’t seem very tempting to me given the number of eligible claimants (small pie, millions of slices). Still, you can opt for 6 months of monitoring + possible cash.
Register at the official settlement website. The deadline is coming up on September 24th, 2008. You don’t need to supply your full Social Security number (needs last 4 digits) or a credit card number, and you won’t be automatically signed up for any paid subscriptions after the free period.
More details in this Washington Post article. (Original post)
Posted in Credit Cards | 15 Comments »
If you have the Starwood American Express card, you can earn an extra 2,000 Starpoints if you visit this page, apply for additional cards for two new people, and make a purchase. Now, you don’t need to provide Social Security numbers and you don’t need to give the cards to these people (they just need to be age 15 or over). I just ordered new cards with Mom and Dad’s name. The additional cards are free, and have no annual fee. For some reason it worked in Internet Explorer but not Firefox for me. Via FW. The fine print:
1,000 bonus Starpoints will be awarded to your Starwood Preferred Guest Account 8-12 weeks after the first purchase on an approved Additional Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card submitted with this application. The Additional Cardmember must make their first purchase with the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card within one year of Card approval. Bonus offer applies to first 2 Additional Card added on this application only.
This card is still one of my favorite rewards credit cards, due to it’s flexibility in earning both frequent flier miles and hotel awards. If you sign up now, you can earn a free 10,000 Starpoints after your first purchase, good for either a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate or up to 3 hotel nights.
In addition to the usual 1 point per dollar spent, the current promotion also adds another additional 15,000 Starpoints if you spend $15,000 within the first 6 months. Altogether, if reach this $15,000 spending level, that gives you a total of 10,000 + 15,000 + 15,000 = 40,000 Starpoints. 40,000 Starpoints can be converted to 50,000 frequent flyer miles - good for either two standard free flight awards or one of those Anytime free flight awards. Going for the staycation? You can also get $400 in Amazon.com gift certificates instead.
Posted in Credit Cards | 12 Comments »
Here are a few more tidbits that may be of interest:
E-Rewards Signup Links
E-Rewards is a paid survey site that is only open via invitation. It is often linked to an airline, so that you can can redeem your rewards for frequent flier points. Here are two open links for Continental and Northwest airlines, must have a frequent flier account number. I am a member; they aren’t the best in my opinion, nor are they the worst. I get a lot of survey opportunities, but they don’t pay as well as others. More information about other paid surveys here.
$10 from Costco American Express Card
If you have a Costco American Express card, they are offering a promotion where you can earn a free $10 Costco Cash card for paying your wireless phone plan automatically with the card. This card is one of the better gas rebate credit cards.
9 Months of Free Credit Monitoring
One of the three major credit bureaus, TransUnion, apparently lost a class-action lawsuit and the settlement involves offering up to 9 months of free credit monitoring service to anyone who has ever held a credit card over the last 20 years (i.e. lots of people). This includes free access to your credit score in addition to the report, as well as e-mail alerts when something changes. There is also a “potential cash payment” option, but it doesn’t very tempting given the number of eligible claimants (small pie, millions of slices).
They are supposed to allow claims starting today, June 16th, on the official settlement website. You don’t need to supply your full Social Security number (needs last 4 digits) or a credit card number, and you won’t be automatically signed up for any paid subscriptions after the free period.
Posted in Bored Money, Credit Cards, Deals & Offers | 6 Comments »
Reader Chris sends in a way to turn credit into cash:
I just discovered a great way to turn credit into cash. This would be great to use with a 0% intro APR card and stick in the bank.
Circulating $1 Coin Direct Ship Rolls - John Quincy Adams
If you go to checkout these have free shipping. You can only order $500 at a time. I haven’t tried doing it multiple times, but in theory you could do it over and over again. I am planning to max out my card and just take these coins up to the bank when they come in, and just pay the minimum payment each month. I’ll then put the money in a money market to get maximum interest. Just thought you might be interested. Thanks again!
In addition to 0% intro APR cards, it may be easier to just buy them with one that offers cashback or other rebates. Are we finally ready for dollar coins in the US? I know $1 paper bills are wasteful, but I still hate carrying around heavy coins. I used to ask for Sacagawea $1 coins for bridge toll booths until I signed up for the electronic auto-debit system.
Posted in Credit Cards | 30 Comments »
The new promotion from the Discover Business Card has some nice features… First, you can earn a $100 Cashback Bonus when you make $1000 in purchases within 3 months after your account is opened. You can get 5% back on office supplies, 2% on gas, up to 1% on all other purchases.
On top of that, it has 0% APR for 12 months for both purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. Since the purchases are also at 0%, there is no hurry to pay that initial $1,000 off. For balance transfers, there is 3% fee for each balance transfer, with a minimum of $5 and a maximum of $75. This is not bad in the current credit card environment. Even if you do not have a higher interest balance to transfer here, this might be worth making some free money off of, especially since the $100 incentive basically negates the balance transfer fee and then some.
Another interesting feature is the advertised “Fee-free Purchasechecks that earn Cashback Bonus®. to pay merchants who don’t accept credit cards”. I was excited by the prospect of earning rewards by simply writing a check, but then I saw this in the fine print: “APR for PurchaseCheck Purchases: 13.99%”. Ouch.
As with all these business cards, individuals can apply as sole proprietors by simply using their name as the business name. You just need to put your Social Security number as requested, and leave the Federal Tax ID blank for this application (it will use your SSN). More details here. More $100 bonuses listed here.
Posted in Credit Cards, Deals & Offers | 11 Comments »
I think the two most effective ways for most people to reduce gas costs is to simply (1) consciously attempt to drive less and (2) use a credit card that offer rebates on gas purchases. Getting 5% back is like saving nearly 20 cents per gallon (more in some places), much easier than to looking for a gas station with a lower price by a few cents or sweating profusely with no air conditioning on. Here are some good ones…
Discover Open Road
The Discover Open Road Card offers a 5% back on gas from any station and auto maintenance purchases on your first $100 spent each billing period, and up to 1% tiered on all other purchases. No annual fee.
BP Visa Card
The BP Visa Card from Chase offers 5% back on BP gas, 2% rebates on restaurant and travel, and 1% back on everything else. You also get double rebates for the first 60 days as a sign-up bonus… that’s 10% back on gas, 4% on restaurant and travel, and 2% on everything else. No annual fee.
PenFed Platinum Rewards
The PenFed Platinum Rewards card offers 5% back on gas purchases paid at the pump, 2% back at the supermarket, and 1.25% on all other purchases. No annual fee. To apply you must first join the Pentagon Federal credit union, where you must either have the appropriate military affiliation or join the National Military Family Association (NMFA) for a fee.
Chase Freedom Visa
The Chase Freedom Visa Card actually offers a 3% cashback rebate on your top 3 “Everyday Spending Categories” (on the first $600 of purchases each month), where gas and groceries are two popular options. In addition, if you wait and redeem $200 in rewards, you can get a $250 check. This makes it up to 3.75% back on gas. No annual fee. In addition, there is currently a $50 sign-up bonus after your first purchase.
Business Cards
Here are some business cards with good cash back. Most individuals (sole proprietors) can simply use their Social Security number for the Business Tax ID number, and their name as the business name if asked.
American Express SimplyCash
The American Express SimplyCash Business Card offers 5% cash back on gas bought anywhere. 5% back on office supplies and your wireless telephone bill as well, and 1% back on everything else. No annual fee.
American Express Costco TrueEarnings
The TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express offers 5% back on gas bought anywhere, including at Costco gas stations. You also get 3% on all restaurants, 2% on travel, and 1% on everything else. No annual fee. (The regular (non-business) version of the card gets 3% back on gas, 3% on restaurants, 2% on travel, and 1% on everything else.)
Posted in Credit Cards, Deals & Offers | 36 Comments »
Here’s an updated list of companies willing to pay you to try out their services. None of these listed require a credit check. See links for more info.
RevolutionMoneyExchange $25 Bonus. Offer extended to May 15th, so get in by then if you haven’t already. Just sign-up with this PayPal alternative and grab your $25. You don’t even have to make a deposit or buy anything. More details here.
eBates $10 Bonus (+$18 possible). eBates offers rebates on online store purchases. After your first transactoin, you’ll get a $10 bonus. Just sign-up with your e-mail and you’ll see the $10 in your account. One suggestion: sign-up for a free trial of Netflix through eBates and get another $18, and they’ll send you $28 during their next cycle. (Looks like you have to become a paying member, cheapest plan is $4.99/month.) Just remember to cancel in time. More details here.
Prosper $25 Bonus. Peer-to-peer lending means you get to earn interest by lending to people you choose. Make a loan of $50, and you’ll receive a $25 bonus on top of your interest rate. More details here.
ING Direct $25 Bonus. One of the earliest online-only savings accounts, ING Direct will pay you $25 immediately if your initial deposit is at least $250. The account currently earns 3.0% APY.
ShareBuilder $50 Bonus. If you open an account with this brokerage and make any one trade, you will earn $50. In the application, say you are responding to a promotion and use the promo code “50GO28“. More info based on a previous similar offer.
I have applied and received all of the bonuses above successfully except for the Prosper one, as I had signed up before the promotion started. You can also get $100 all at once by applying for one of these credit cards, although applying will require a credit check (and some spending restraint, I suppose).
Posted in Banking, Credit Cards, Deals & Offers | 16 Comments »
If you have a Citibank credit card and are collecting ThankYou points, you are probably familiar with the various gift cards available at approximately a 1 point to 1 cent ratio, or 10,000 points = $100 gift card. You may even be familiar with the Fixed Point redemption option for travel. This not-so-publicized option allows you to redeem 20,000 ThankYou points for any domestic coach flight up to $400 in value (per Expedia.com). That’s nearly twice the value, with no blackout dates, no seat availability issues, no 14-day advance booking requirement. You do have to pay the taxes and fees, however, which can be up to $50 if there are multiple stops. (For details see the FAQ, click on Travel Rewards.)
It’s actually quite nice, and I have booked a ticket before this way before. The problem is, they have been gradually restricting which credit cards are eligible to redeem this options. The list went from virtually all Citi cards to the sad, lonely list below:
As of April 15, 2008, ThankYou Members with Smith Barney Accounts, Citibank Accounts, Expedia® Accounts and the following Card Accounts are eligible for Fixed Flight options: Citi PremierPass® Cards – Elite Level and Citi® ChairmanSM Cards. All ThankYou Members can book variably priced Travel Rewards online.
This only left me with either gift cards or the variable point flight option, which is not horrible but much worse in comparison. Essentially one point = 1 cent, so 20,000 ThankYou points would only cover a $200 ticket on Expedia.com. Double-checking, I see that one way to qualify for the fixed point redemption is to have or open up a bank account at Citibank, specifically the “Citibank Account” which has a minimum balance of $6,000 across your accounts.
However, there is another easier way. I missed the Expedia Account part! What did that mean? Surely this was some sort of special account, and not just that simple free account that tracks my itineraries at Expedia? Well, it was. But merging your Expedia account to your existing ThankYou account was very tricky, until I stumbled across this post at the FlyerTalk forums. Here is my simplified version, which worked great for me:
1. Create a new Expedia account. Unless you really use your Expedia account, this makes it easy. When you are signing up, do not enter your existing ThankYou account number. Have them generate a new one, and write it down.
2. Now log into your ThankYou Network account that you wish to redeem points from. From the menu bars at the top, click on My Account » My Sponsor Accounts » Add a Sponsor Account. Type in your new ThankYou account number from above, and confirm. You should now have merged the two accounts together, with this result:
Voila… now you have an Expedia Account as a sponsor account, and the fixed point redemption option is available to you. I just hope this window stays open long enough for me to use it again.
More Ways To Get ThankYou Points
- CitiBusiness Card with ThankYou Network is offering 10,000 ThankYou Points after your first $250 in purchases. Also earns rewards on purchases. No annual fee.
- Citi PremierPass Card is offering 10,000 ThankYou Points after your first $300 in purchases made within 3 months of account opening. No annual fee.
Posted in Credit Cards, Deals & Offers | 24 Comments »
Here’s another solid all-around rewards credit card that is much better than all those generic 1% back cards out there. The TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express offers the following:
- 3% cash back on gasoline (any, including Costco gas)
- 3% cash back at all restaurants
- 2% cash back on travel (airline, lodging, car rental, cruise line, travel agency and tour operators)
- 1% cash back on everything else, including Costco
I’m pretty sure this is also better than their previous offer, I don’t remember there being a gas rebate before (I might be wrong). If eating out and gas are your biggest expenses after housing (like us on many months), then this looks pretty good. There is also no limit on the cash back you can earn. Might go nicely with the 2% cash back from Executive memberships.
There is no annual fee, but you must have a Costco membership to apply. (The TrueEarnings card can also replace your Costco Membership Card. ) Regarding getting the cash back:
“Rebate is awarded annually in the form of an in-store coupon redeemable for cash or merchandise at any U.S. Costco Warehouse.”
Why not cash in the coupon, and then charge your Costco purchase to get another 1% back? 
Business Version
If you have a business, or I guess a Costco Business membership, you should get the Business TrueEarnings American Express card because it offers a higher 5% back on gas in addition the same 3% on restaurants, 2% on travel, and 1% on everything else. Leave the “Business Tax ID” space blank, and they will treat you as a sole proprietorship.
p.s. I got a Wii
While roaming Costco tonight, a lady stacking 8 Wii’s in her cart caught my eye. She seemed pretty excited, but calmed down after I pointed out it was only 1 per person. I grabbed one (figured why not?) from the huge pallet, but I came home to find out the resale values aren’t all that great anymore. So if you want a Wii, Costco might have some.
Update 9/10/08: You can also get a $25 statement credit after your first purchase. That’s a half-year of membership for free! 
Posted in Credit Cards, Deals & Offers | 36 Comments »
With my new fat mortgage, I’m considering whether to also take out a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELoC). This is not a home equity loan where you take out a lump sum at a fixed rate, but is a line of credit usually at a variable rate. I think of it as a credit card that is secured by my house (!). I don’t plan on actually using it, but I think it might nice to have around as long as the upfront costs to me are minimal. Here’s why:
Safety Net / Emergency Funds
Although having adequate emergency funds in cash is always preferable, it is nice to know that you have a HELOC as a backup in case of prolonged job loss or health problems. It’s always better to line up credit ahead of time while you have good credit rather than when you are already desperate. Using a HELOC can be preferable over paying sky-high credit card interest or falling behind bills (late fees, damaged credit score). Ironically, you might even use it to temporarily keep current on your mortgage to avoid penalties or even foreclosure. Let’s hope not.
Cheap and Flexible
The nice thing about a HELOC with no fees is that if you don’t take any money out, you don’t pay anything. And because the money is secured by your home, this assurance makes your interest rate relatively low. The rate is usually close to the WSJ Prime rate, which is currently 6% APR. On top of that, your interest paid might even be tax-deductible.
The interest is accrued daily, which makes it good for quick loans. So if you do need to take out $10,000 on short notice and you don’t have the cash on hand, using a HELOC might be the most economical way to do it. At 6%, your interest owed on $10,000 is only $1.64 a a day. Of course, for many folks this convenience might just provide too much temptation. All debt can turn into a double-edged sword. Know thyself, is all I can say.
Tool for Credit Card Profit Games
Here’s a trick to go along with making money with 0% balance transfers that is a good example of that flexibility. With certain credit card issuers it can be difficult to turn your balance transfer into cash in your pocket, especially when you have no existing balances. But here’s an example of how to use your HELOC to extract $10,000:
- Request a balance transfer from your 0% APR credit card for $10,000 directly to your HELOC. Since this is loan they won’t mind at all.
- Shortly before the balance transfer is scheduled to arrive, write a check for $10,000 from the HELOC to your interest-bearing bank account. Now you have created a temporary $10,000 debt at 6% and $10,000 bank balance earning ~4% (minus some possible lost days of interest).
- When the balance transfer payment arrives a fews days to a week later, your HELOC debt will be paid off.
- A week’s worth of interest at 6% APR ion $10,000 is only $11.50. And that is partially countered by interest earned in your savings account.
- Voila! For around ten bucks, you now have $10,000 at 0% APR in your bank account to do as you wish.
Finding a HELOC - What To Look Out For
Now, I don’t want a home equity line if it’s going to cost me a bundle. Here’s a quick rundown of important factors when looking for a HELOC, based on an article by the Mortgage Professor.
- Introductory rate and period. Temporary teaser rate to suck you in.
- Margin. This is usually how your non-teaser interest rate is determined, relative to the Prime rate.
- Minimum draw. How long can you take money out?
- Required average balance. Do you have to take some money out?
- Upfront lender fees. These days, you should be able to eliminate these.
- Upfront third party fees. Harder to get waived, but try.
- Annual fee. Just say no, again. Sometimes only waived for first year.
- Cancellation fee. Many have these, I guess so you don’t bail and go to another bank. This is especially the case if they waive all the upfront costs above, since they are losing money on you so far. As long as you can keep your balance at $0 with no fees, just keep it open and don’t use it.
I see a lot of competition out there now that rates are low, so definitely shop around. As a data point, I just saw a special offer from Bank of America for a no closing cost, no application fee, no annual fee HELOC. Don’t forget to try your local credit unions as well.
Posted in Credit Cards, Real Estate | 43 Comments »
I keep seeing the American Express Blue Cash card winning “Best Best Cash-Rebate Card” from financial magazines like Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. A few people have asked about it, so here’s my quick review. What does “up to 5% cash back” really mean anyhow? Let’s dig up the fine print on the bottom of the application:
^”Everyday Purchases” are Eligible Purchases made at U.S. supermarkets, gas stations and drugstores, in each case that are not departments of superstores or warehouse clubs.
Until you spend at least $6,500 total on the card, you receive 1% on grocery/gas/drugstore purchases, and 0.5% on everything else. After you reach that point, you start earning the full 5% on grocery/gas/drugs and 1.5% on everything else. Your first $6,500 in spending is not retroactively boosted, only the amount over that threshold gets the 5%/1.5% rate.
5%/1.5% is pretty solid, but you have to first absorb that initial hit in the beginning. $6,500 a year is $540 a month, so if you don’t spend more than that each month then you’ll never even reach the happy tier. If you do charge more, the question then becomes - what is your actual average cashback percentage when everything is taken into account? I ran the numbers and here is the graph:
I kept things simple by keeping each category isolated from the other, so the 5% for “everyday” purchases only kicks in after $6,500 in “everyday” purchases. This isn’t a good approximation for most people, because in reality, the $6,500 limit will be hit by a combination of both “everyday” and “all else” purchases, so your actual cashback return for groceries and such should rise much earlier than shown in the graph. Once it does kick in, you get to 3%+ cash back in that category pretty quickly.
The “all other” graph rises much more gradually. In this category, you’ll need around $2,000 per month in spending to achieve an overall 1.25% back. $5,000 per month will get you to 1.4% overall back.
Quick Conclusions
If you (1) charge at least $1,000 per month regularly with the occasional spike for one-time purchases, (2) prefer simplicity and only want to use one card for all your expenses, and (3) don’t ever carry a balance or pay credit card interest, then I can agree that this is a pretty good card. The more you usually spend, the better your rewards percentage. (Obviously, don’t spend more just to get a few % back.) Most people who own this card report to me that they are pretty happy with it.
In addition, if you spend a lot on gas/groceries/drugstores and have enough total purchases to get past the $6,500 marker early in the year, you can do quite well with this card. But if you are a light spender, you will probably be better off with a card with no tiers.
Posted in Credit Cards, General | 27 Comments »
The big McMansion picture in my last post reminded me that I had to finish watching Maxed Out, a film about the credit card industry. You can watch it for free (albeit in low quality) on Google Video [90 minutes long]. The very first scene includes a real estate agent selling homes with crazy stuff like elevators, two dishwashers, and wine caves.
My Twisted Review
The purpose of the film was to “raise awareness of how credit and lending issues are affecting society.” I think this is a admirable purpose. However, as someone who is familiar with credit card companies and all their practices, my primary thought on this film was “duh”. Please watch out for large amounts of sarcasm and cynicism ahead.
Gasp! Credit card companies target the stupid, the poor, the rich, and everyone in between. They charge huge fees and enormous interest rates if you pay late. They will even offer credit to those who just filed bankruptcy recently, because they know (1) they can’t file bankruptcy again for several years and (2) they are already shown an inability to handle their spending. You could be dead or fictional and still be receiving card applications in the mail.
However, too often in the movie I heard phrases like “Yeah, I did sign it without reading…” or “I figured if they offered me money, it meant I could handle it” or “I never talked my kids about credit cards before sending them off to college” or “I know, I know, I should have read the fine print”. Don’t make it so easy for them, please…
Read the rest of this entry…
Posted in Credit Cards | 47 Comments »
Yes, there’s AnnualCreditReport.com for free credit reports. But what about your credit score? I’ve mentioned a couple of these before, but here is a compilation of five different ways to grab that credit score for free without the hassle of annoying trial offers. I repeat: No free trials, no credit card number required, nothing to cancel.
Washington Mutual Credit Card
Formerly Providian, WaMu credit cards will show your your FICO score free of charge when you log into your account. It is based on your Transunion credit report, and is updated once a month. I believe is is for all of their credit cards, but I may be mistaken. The catch is that if you don’t already have a credit card with them, you’ll have to apply for one which will ding your credit score - something that’s worth $100 or more to me!
Prosper Person-to-Person Lending
Prosper Lending provides a free credit grade for prospective borrowers, based on your Experian credit data. Details here. Also of note is the $25 bonus for new members once a loan is funded as either a borrower or lender.
LendingClub Person-to-Person Lending
Similar to Prosper, if you start an application to become a borrower at LendingClub they will check your credit on your behalf to find out what rate they will charge you. Instead of a numerical score, you will get a grade like “A2″ or “B3″. Then you can use this key to determine your FICO range. For example, A2 would indicate a score range of 747-769. It is also based on your Transunion credit report.
You’ll also be able to find out what kind of interest rate you might get on a personal, unsecured loan. This is based strongly on your FICO score, but is also adjusted due other factors like employment status. If this is less than what you can currently get on your existing debt, you might consider consolidating your debt at LendingClub. Otherwise, it can just satisfy your curiosity. New lenders and borrowers can earn a $25 bonus for joining by using this referral link (not just the home page).
(Note: If you are currently a lender, you must set up a separate account (new e-mail address) to become a borrower. This is not unethical or “getting around their system”, I asked and this is simply how their system is set up right now.)
E-Loan Mortgage
Supposedly this is to help you shop for mortgage rates, but E-Loan also sells a variety of credit score products as well. See this link at E-Loan and scroll to the bottom for Free Credit Score (Credit Score Only) which doesn’t require any trials. It not a FICO-brand score, but is the CreditXpert score and is based on your Experian credit bureau information. But keep in mind this is good for one-time only, so you might want to save it for later.
CreditKarma
Currently based on your TransUnion data, CreditKarma offers a daily look at your credit score. The catch is that it’s not a FICO or any other major brand of score (at least that is known), but with this service you can track changes from month-to-month. Details here.
You will need to provide your personal information and Social Security number to these companies, naturally, so be comfortable with that. Unless otherwise noted, none of these methods by themselves will affect your credit score as you are requesting them for yourself. However, if you do take out a loan or take some other additional action, a hard inquiry which will affect your score may result.
Posted in Credit Cards | 31 Comments »
Back in February, I received a mailing about a class-action lawsuit claiming that Visa, MasterCard, their member banks, and Diners Club conspired to set and conceal markups and fees, typically of 1-3%, on foreign transactions. It appears that the settlement amounts have been agreed upon. Here are some selected excerpts from the official settlement website and FAQ.
Am I a member of the settlement class?
Those persons who made a foreign transaction using a Visa-, MasterCard-, or Diners Club- branded credit, charge or debit/ATM card between February 1, 1996 and November 8, 2006 are members of the Settlement Damages Class.
How do I complete the claim form?
You need to complete and submit a claim form prior to the deadline, either on-line at www.ccfsettlement.com/claim, or by mailing or faxing in the form.
Option 1 is an Easy Refund of $25 and is recommended if you travel outside of the U.S. for less than one week or had foreign transactions of less than $2,500 using your eligible cards during the class period.
Option 2 is a Total Estimation Refund that is based on typical spending during travel and answers to the few questions listed on the claim form. This option is recommended if you traveled outside the U. S. for more than one week or had foreign transactions of more than $2,500.
Option 3 is the Annual Estimated Refund option. It is recommended if you had extensive foreign travel or foreign transactions and are willing to provide year-by-year information.
Seems like a pretty huge settlement class! You don’t even need to have gone anywhere, maybe you just bought something online in a foreign currency. If you choose the simple $25 option, you will need to provide your name, address, credit card number, issuing bank, and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. This site has been reported in various new outlets, so I believe it to be legitimate. Also, thanks to the readers who reminded me about this.
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