I Heard It On The Grapevine!

GOOD NEWS!

You can now receive the daily grapevine updates via e-mail. This is a free subscription-only service currently hosted by egroups.

Click to subscribe to the Grapevine Mailing List!

ADD TO THE GRAPEVINE -- -->>Click HERE!<<--

9/23/2000

I have had a GE Reward cards since 1994 and pay off the balance every month. They have never charged me a $25 annual/maintenance fee. I have heard about it, but I have no idea how they select who to charge. We charge up to the $10,000 max, and then switch to another card. One side note: I hated the format of the previous bills where they would lump similar charges together and subtotal them. With First USA, charges are once again listed in chronological order.

I also have an old Fleet Card that provides a straight 1% cash rebate. It is a very good, solid card, although last year they had a massive problem in calculating 1% and sending out checks.

I really have it figured out. I have 3 sets of G E Rewards cards. I use the first set until I get my $140 rebate earned then go to the next set. Conoco has a 3% rebate on gas and it is the cheapest gas where I live so I buy all of my gas on it.

Fleet did the same thing to me last year. I was solicited for a lifetime 7.99% fixed rate, no annual fee card with the come on "Are you tired of having introductory rates expire?." Six month later, I got a letter saying an annual fee was being imposed. When I called to cancel, the rep blamed the new annual fee on the Federal Reserve raising interest rates! At least the Fed doesn't bait and switch. But like a sucker, I've signed up for their new rebate card. We'll see what happens.

I applied online for Nextcard...offering an introductory rate of 2.9%...I was approved, but did not realize they approved me for 9.9%!!! I transferred balances to that card which already had 9.9%....They will not change the rate...What a Scam!!!!

I just applied for the Fleet Platinum Master Card that someone mentioned (http://creditcards.fleet.com/fleetcom/home/). Their cash back offer is better than any card I know of except the FirstUSA Ca$h-In card (it is only available to a select few though). At $20K yearly purchases, FirstUSA Ca$h-In card would pay $370 rebate. At the same purchase level, the Fleet card would pay $340 rebate, only slightly worse. Anyway, I signed up for the Fleet card over the internet. After filling out the usual information, I clicked the apply button and within seconds, the web site reported that I was approved and gave me my card number and expiration date. This was the easiest card application ever! Hopefully dealing with this company runs as smoothly as the application

9/21/2000

What a rip off. I applied for the home MasterCard from fleet and the got approved online. After a few weeks of using it they imposed an annual fee so I canceled the card.

A few weeks later I checked the their web site and the still showed that it was a no annual fee card.

I called them and was told that it is indeed a no annual fee card but that it was only for new customers. i told the rep that i only had the card few a few weeks and was imposed the fee. she said, "right, after you got the card, you were no longer a new customer." i told her that it sounded like a bait and switch tactic but she defended the bank saying, "the bank can change it's terms as long as it notifies me." I asked to speak to her supervisor but she would not let me until I gave my SSI number, address and phone number. After all this she came back and told me no one was available to speak to me.

Nice bank, isn't it?

I called the Rhode Island banking commission and they said they could not help me because fleet is a national bank. I called a federal banking agency but they said fleet hadn't broken any laws. I was told to contact my congressmen and work to change the banking laws. Yeah right!

Fleet Bank (FleetBoston) is offering a MasterCard Platinum with a .5% up to $2000, 1% from $2000-$5000, and 2% cash back on purchases over $5000, $500 rebate maximum per year. Don't you think this is the best deal going?

I tried calling the number and jumped through a couple of hoops trying to submit an application for the Ca$h-In Card. In the end, I was told (again) that it is only available to a very select number of geographic locations, less than 1%, (as a market test) and that the applications are only mailed out to First USA card holders. So if you want a chance to get a market test Ca$h-In card, I guess you need to be holding a FirstUSA card, and hope that your zip code gets selected for the Ca$h-in lottery.

I have been using the Am Ex. Plat. Cash Rebate card. I exceeded the $5K limit two months after I received the card. They never increased my rebate to 1.5% from 0.5%. I called last billing cycle and they said they would look into it. The next billing cycle has come and they did not even list a reward for the last months purchases. I called again and they said that the reward would be totaled at the end of my Reward Year, "Not to worry". My account is always in good standing as I pay in full every month. As anybody ever has this happen? Does anyone have a different number to call and complain, as the 1800-964-8542 has been little help? Also, if they are going to not grant me my 1.5% I would like to know today, not 6 months from now. I could go to Private Issue and at least get 1.0%!! This adds up when you spend 5K per month!

According to First USA customer service advisor I spoke with, who was reading from a script, the Visa Ca$h-In Card is available only to First USA Bank or Banc One customers, and even then it's offered only by invitation -- you must respond to their solicitation to apply. Also, it is not possible to convert any existing FirstUSA credit card to a Ca$h-In card. The customer service advisor suggested that I could become a member of one of the banks offering the card, and then perhaps I would be "solicitated" (sic) by the bank. Anyone have any info on how these banks determine who's offered this card?

9/17/2000

I too am one of the 40k who had a zero balance on my First USA GE Rewards card in June. I did not get my rebate check. I've called about 5 times and get a different answer everytime. Hopefully, the check's in the mail. (I like the card much better before First USA took over).

After applying for the Las Vegas VISA card, I received a letter in the mail asking to send a copy of my social security card, and original utility bill. I will not send this information; I can get credit cards with rebates anywhere without this intrustion and nonsense...

I have a First USA Visa Ca$h-In Card. The number on the back of the card is 800-955-9900.

I used to have a GE rebate card but had to cancel it when they started charging an annual fee. Everyone else said the dropped the annual fee but every time I call, they still tell me there is an annual fee.

What I need is a Texaco card that pays more than the 2% that the Ca$h-In card pays. I haven't found that Texaco offers a Visa with a cash rebate.

I did get one from Citco gas but they only rebate in the form of coupons an only at $10 increments.

So far I use the Exxon 3% rebate when I go to an Exxon. I'm also getting gas through priceline.com program by bidding on cheaper gas but then I have to go to the specific station that accepted my bid for the discount.

I had a zero balance in June on my GE Rewards card and still received my check so it didn't happen to everyone. Sorry your having problems

I gave up on first usa man;y months ago. tired of calling and geting the run around when i tried to clear out a charage that i obviiously did not make.

9/15/2000

Now get this interesting story: Whoever that did not have a June Statement (due to zero balance) for GE rebate card did not receive the rebate check for Yr. 2000. I have talked to three supervisors from 1st USA and getting nowhere. They said they have to wait to make sure "the check" was not cashed (what check??). I called them today and they said 40000 people have been "affected" and they are sending the check out today (9/15/2000) according to alphabetical order (!!). It will be another three weeks. This is the first and worse experience I had with 1st USA.I think it is more than a clerical error, there is a hidden message that we will make you suffer when you want rebate from us.

My list of sites to get the free cash advance/frequent flier miles: http://www.paypal.com (best one) http://www.payme.com (pretty good) http://www.payplace.com (not great) http://www.ecount.com (now charges $1 per) http://paydirect.yahoo.com (very good) http://www.emoneymail.com (not great) Anyone have any others?

"FirstUSA Cash$In" is still only available to selected customers as a market test, correct? If not, what is the contact information? If FirstUSA is available to anyone, it certainly beats AMEX Optima Cashback.

I looked at getting the First USA Visa Cash$In card in the past, but was repeatedly told that this card was a marketing test program, and available by "invitation only". Is this card now generally available? If so, do you know the toll-free number for signing up?

9/13/2000

We utilize rental cars quite frequently. Some credit cards have rental car insurance coverage i.e. bodily injury/property damage liability and /or collision as promotional features. Do you have information as to which ones have the best package; including those with a reasonable fee for service?

FYI Bell Atlantic has a card that offers 1% back towards BA services. Certain BA expenses charged to the card offer > 1%. Although this is only good for those covered by BA (Northeast US) it works out well. When the rebate hits $20 either a voucher is mailed out (can be used to pay phone bill) or the money is automatically applied to your phone bill, as I do. There's nothing to do and my phone bills are occasionally $20 less than expected. Contact #800-255-2255 (card is issued by Chase Manhattan Bank). Not sure if program will be affected by change to Verizon.

I was scanning your website to find a low interest rate card for my daughter. But I realized this site was better programmed for our needs. We charge every purchase, bill, donation, service, etc., possible and pay our bill off each month. I was surprised to find the First USA "Cash$In" Card not listed on your "Subjective Analysis" page. It offers 4 annual tiers: 1-1,000: .5%; 1,001-2,000: 1%; 2,001-3,000: 1.5%; and 3,001+: 2%. The rebate is paid annually and for 2 years now it has gone very smoothly. Our monthly credit limit is $20,000, which has been plenty, but supposedly you can get it up to $72,000. We've ditched it for the past 6 months and gone to The Platinum GM Card to accumulate $2,500 toward a new Cadillac, but we plan to return as soon as we hit our target. We used to do AMEX Platinum Skymiles, but lack of award seats and inconvenient black out dates have really turned us off. Please let us know how you would compare our Visa Cash$In Card to the AMEX Cashback Card. Thanks.

I think we'll stick with First USA until something better comes along. We'll check back periodically to see what you recommend. I would prefer that they all "stop the madness," lower prices on everything, and let us go back to paying cash...

9/11/2000

Opinion of WebMiles credit card: I received this credit card about two months ago. Here is my experience so far. 1. Meager line of credit and even though they say I would qualify for much more they won't change it till I've been with them for 9 months. 2. Someone from their credit line department called my office and asked how much I made. I told her. She said if I could fax her my latest paystub proving that they would increase my credit to the maximum allowed. I did. They didn't. What a waste of my time. 3. I pay my bills in full each month. I use online banking and the latest payment was wire transferred Sept. 1st. On Sept 8th I was checking out of the Westin Hotel in Ottawa and the card could not be authorized. It turned out they had not released my credit or applied the wire transfer that was over a week old. Their customer service said "we don't know why our system does this". Bottom line ... if you can't use a credit card to charge things then the card is pretty much worthless. I can't figure out if this is Webmiles or if it is Mastercard. Thank God I still use American Express or else I might be washing dishes in Ottawa right now. In either case I'd think twice before wasting your time with this company.

I got the Fleet Mastercard that was touted a couple of weeks ago on the grapevine. All sounds fine, except that when I check my balance online or over the phone they include a finance charge, which goes up daily. I have called twice and been informed that this is the way they do it, and when they print the statements, they subtract the finance charge before mailing the statement. That sounds weird, as if they expect everyone to owe a finance charge. Moreoever, they do not have a way to pay the balance due from a checking account other than mailing--Discover drafts on due date and GM Card now allow you to set a date in advance on which your checking account is drafted. I am a bit fearful about this card.

9/8/2000

I was told that payme.com's service is very slow. it takes a long time to send money to other payme users. comments? also, has anyone tried http://www.ecount.com/? it is similar as paypal. comments on it? also is it a way to consolidate the airline milage into one account? i have milage with AA, Canadian Air, TWA, Continental, Japan Air..... Thanks!

To the reader who had a sprint mastercard and was looking for other MBNA cards: I have a sprint MC as well.......try the following link to check out their other cards:

http://www.mbna.com/credit_index.html

9/4/2000

Someone requested a credit card for someone with little credit. try ARIA at http://www.aria.coma Usually you can get $1,000.00 instant approval if you have at least one trade referance reporting to the credit bureau only draw back is a $50.00 annual fee!

I've just been approved for a Next Card Credit Card. However, I noticed that the interest rate went from the introductory 12.99% to 16.99% in a flash the minute I declined the "picture card." Is this that important? 16.99% is still a lot lower than many.

I thought you may have heard of something that I can't seem to find but believe is out there. I thought I saw an ad for a mastercard that said you could pay your bills on line with the credit card. Now if there is such a service and the credit card offered cash back or flier miles ( my brother moved to australia and I would love to visit him) It would let me reach both of my objectives. Pay bills on line and get free miles. If you know of such a service I would truely appreciate hearing from you.

TD Waterhouse: I opened the brokerage account mainly for the 1% rebate credit card. However, they don't provide web nor automated telephone access for checking balance and transactions, unless you have other bank accounts with them. I cancelled both. PayPal: Yes, credit card payments to other PayPal users are treated as purchases, but I don't recommend doing what you have in mind. They would catch you and close your account without warning.

has anyone tried wells fargo's credit card? it has grace period on balance transfer. (Does anyone know other cards that have this benefits?) But I am not sure the reputation of wells fargo. http://wellsfargo.com/per/accounts/credit/cards/features/ also I was told chevy chase's visa card has 1% cash back without annul fee? how to apply? cannot find it online. thanks!

Got the Chevy Chase Cash Back in 1998. Used it some and Chevy Chase sold it First Card. I called in a few times and neither bank seemed to know what was going on. Finally got a CR to acknowledge that I was owed a rebate. Promised to send the check and I cancelled the card. I never got the check and forgot about it. Well now about 1-1/2 years later I get a statement with a credit (purchase rebate). So I call and ask for the check and cancel the card. Thought this was a little bizarre. Anyone else have this experience?

I currently have a Sprint card from MBNA and I would like to find a card through MBNA that offers cash back either directly or indirectly. Do you know of any? And is there a list of all MBNA affinity cards somewhere on the web that you've found? Please let me know.

I was using a similar service to PayPal, PayMe, to do the exact thing you mentioned. That is, sending money to my spouse's account using my credit card. After about five times of sending $500 to my spouse's account, PayMe sent me an E-mail saying that my payments looked suspicious and so they halted activity on my account. They also gave a number to call and talk to them if I wanted to explain how the payments were legitimate. As of yet, I haven't bothered calling them. I also have a PayPal account that I was planning on doing the same thing with. After my PayMe account was halted, I decided not to try the same with my PayPal account as I like using it to send money to people and don't want it halted as well.

Yes I've used PayPal. Yes it's treated as a credit card purchase rather than a cash advance. Yes I get 1% cash back. No there doesn't seem to be a catch to the idea of sending money to a spouse's account; maybe because no one's really abused it ... yet?

Question : Has anybody used paypal service to send some money to others? They charge for what I send to credit card if I do not have sufficient balance on paypal account. Can I use it to get more rebates on my credit card by sending some money to my spouse's account? Is there any catch?

Couple of "gotcha""s I ran into: (1) MBNA charges a "cash equivalency fee" per transaction w/PayPal. It has been a while, but I believe it was on the 2-4$ range; (2) Paypal has a maximum transaction limit, as well as a rolling 6-month $2000 maximum credit card charge.

Any money you send via PayPal sits in the recipient's PayPal account WITHOUT INTEREST until they spend it w/other PayPal customers, do a bank transfer, or request a check. I don't know how long the bank transfer takes, but a check request can take weeks.

Regarding PayPal... it is a good way to max out your credit card rebate. Read the PayPal terms of use though, they claim that you cannot exceed charging over $2000 in a 6 month period. Additionally, the terms of use also state that "You agree not to engage in behavior that could reasonably be construed as providing yourself a cash advance from your credit card, and agree not to assist users who engage in behavior that could reasonably be construed as providing themselves a cash advance from their credit cards."

I don't know if they have any means of actually monitoring this though.

I've tried the PayPal thing and it works great. No cash advance fees and you can withdrawal the money out right away. There's no catch. They make money off of the interest, on the money that sits in the account. You usually get your money in about a week. That's pretty good because you usually don't get your credit card bill until 3 weeks later. I send it to my husband's account. The only thing is that there is a limit. I believe it's $2,000 every 6 months. It use to be $5000. Oh well, it's still free money. I'm not really sure about PayMe and PayPlace. I know that they work the same way. On the PayPlace site, it doesn't list if there is a limit on how much money you can send. On the PayMe site, it doesn't say if you get a credit on your credit card or you get an actual check sent to you.

8/29/2000

I recently had one of my patients tell me about a card through Carnival Cruise Lines (actually goes through MBNA). It pays cruise dollars at the rate of 4% I think up to a maximum of $500 per year and $800 total per cruise. The dollars have to be used toward a cruise. Along the way you also accumulate a 2 level stateroom upgrade up to a level nine. It's not the same as cash, but since we cruise ( and usually Carnival because we have kids) it is the same as cash for us. I've only had the card a couple of months but I see the cruise dollars listed on my statement each month. I'd be interested to hear of any feedback out there from anyone who already has experience with this program.

We plan to use it till it maxes out, then because we buy GM vehicles (suburbans...Kids you know) we always max out our GM card (we have redeemed nearly $7000 over time with GM ) and then we go to a %1 card till we can start over.

Works for us and we get a fairly good average yield overall because of the 4% Carnival and the 5% GM part of it. Of course, as with any of these, you need to pay off monthly.

Well, besides the $500 limit, I guess there are two other disadvantages to the Fleet card: (1) The card is a calendar-year rebate card and it might be dead or "improved, for greater cardmember benefits" by the time January rolls around. (2) If you are already up to the 1.5 percent level with Optima, then you would need to spend >$12,000 on the fleet during the rest of the calendar year to catch up with and surpass Optima.

To open a TD Waterhouse account, you need to only deposit $1000. They'll send you a Visa ATM card and you can immediately take the $1000 out of your account using this card (that's what I did, but there is a limit on how much you can take out each day - you can also just request a check). Then apply for their 1% cash back Visa.

I've had my TD Waterhouse account for almost a year and I've always had about $5 in it. So you don't need to put up $2,000 to $5,000 like the previous person said. Principal savings accounts pay pretty poorly and you always have to keep $500 in the account, although it's true you will make a straight 1.25%.

Maybe the clincher is this: you can also get $75 for opening the TD Waterhouse account, (but then you'll have to keep the $1000 in the account for six months or forfeit this extra bonus). Click here:

http://www.gomez.com/deals/profile.cfm?topcat_id=3&product_id=50000277&ref_Vendor_Id=4377

http://signupmoney.com/

I live in Iowa and applied for the American Express Platinum Rebate Card after visiting your site and reading the information. I was turned down because they said their Consumer Credit Card accounts are not currently available to residents within the state of Iowa. Is this true and why? Is there anything like it that is available to Iowans?

8/27/2000

I had four credit lines from various banks (US Bank, CoreStates, etc.). Now they all belong to MBNA. Easy to manage, right? No, worse terms and higer interest rates! Eventually, we may just have a few banks monopolizing the credit card business? Scary!

To the TD Waterhouse query. If you don't spend enough to make the one percent rebate level, you probably don't want to put up $2,000 to $5,000 for opening a brokerage account. Try the Principal Visa. They pay 1.25% and deposit into a Principal savings account which you can open for $500. For everyone who is always looking for credit cards, try clicking through the Eye On Credit link at the top of the page. It has all major cards listed and allows you to click through to the information pages. This will give you much faster results than posting general questions on a board.

RE: I was wondering what your thoughts were on the TD Waterhouse Prime Card. I do not have one but you can supposedly get a 1% cash rebate on purchases credited to your TD Waterhouse brokerage account. It looks like this 1% applies regardless of the amount of your purchases. On their web page look under Products & Services and then Banking Services for some limited info. Please let me know if this is a good deal considering I usually don't spend enough on a credit card to get to the 1% "rebate level".

This is a straight 1% cash back card, regardless of purchase level. What happens every month is you'll get your Waterhouse brokerage statement and the rebate is listed in the "Investors Prime Credit Card Rebate Summary" section. I think what happens is that at the end of either the calendar year or after you've held the card for a year, the balance is transferred into your Waterhouse cash account (I've only had this card for a few months).

If you don't spend that much every year, Waterhouse is a great card. But if you spend more, check out the Fleet "up to 2%" MasterCard.

application: https://apply.fleetcards.com/offers/cashrebate_523X/fleetcc.ds?Offer=cashrebate_523X

details & conditions: https://apply.fleetcards.com/offers/cashrebate_523X/terms.html

It beats Discover Card for any amount you purchase, and it beats straight 1% cards after you spend $6,000 a year. For no annual fee, you'll get 0.5% on the 1st $2K, 1% on the next $3K, and 2% after that, capped at an annual rebate of $500 (the most you can get with this card, then, is $500 on $28,000 in purchases, for a rebate of about 1.78%). You can apply online and be approved in about a minute. You also get a 2.9% intro rate on balance transfers for those of you who like to play the balance transfer game (like me).

Check out more info like this at: http://signupmoney.com

In case there's anyone else out there like me, who thought they had not received their GE Rewards check for this year, look at the bottom of the statement you received in June! Iactually don't use the card much these days, since I have a Citibank Aadvantage card, but I had at the beginning of the year, and did have my ISP charges still going on the GE card but just glanced at the bill when it arrived. It turns out, they put the check on the bottom portion of the bill, where they usually put "thanks for being a customer" and which I had learned to ignore! Fortunately, I still have the statement and when I opened it up fully, there was the check!

For the person who asked about the 8000 bonus miles card from Citigroup -- it's the Diners Club card (and actually, at their web site http://www.citibank.com/dinersus/ they have an offer for up to 12,000 bonus miles, 1,000 per month if you use the card at least once that month. However, the catch is that the annual fee is $80, and Diners Club is not accepted in that many places in the US (certainly not compared to MC/Visa/Discover/AMEX).

8/23/2000

A little confused. On your Amex card what would be your total return be for say one month spending $1,000. Are you saying you receive back $25.00 which would = 300.00 per year.??

I have and like the MBNA carnival card. On this card we can make enough for 1 ticket. $500.00 to $800.00 and cruise very year or very other year. We've done this for 7 years in a roll and love it. If I'm not mistaken we get 3% of your purchases towards a ticket. With gas, food, AAA, ELE, Any bill I can put on it adds up to around $1500. per month,, which = $45.00. And that = $540.00 Per Year. It's a 2-year program so you can save for the max of $800.00 not bad for whatya have to spend anyway.

On the other side of the coin I tried Norhtwest Frequent Flyer Program and everything was going great tell I received a late payment from U.S.BANK. I had mailed my payment in 7 days ahead of due date. They socked me with $75.00 in charges. When I called and complained They said payments should be mailed 10 days ahead of due date. To make a long story short I threaten to drop the account. ( even with 25,000. air miles ) I WAS MAD.!! Figured they were holding the mail back so they could collect late fee's. Compare $2.00 AMT FEE'S to $75.00 LATE CHARGES. This is big business. "WITH BIG BUCKS" Anyway after a lot of complaining they drop the interest charge. It may have been the part when I mentioned that I was going to contact Northwest and tell them what a crappy partner they have.

Someone asked about Shell MC 5%/2% program on 7/16/00. Well, this program used to have a $70 annual rebate max if I remember correctly, but the program has been discontinued. A similar one is there from Amoco 3%/2% with $70 annual cap.

I was wondering what your thoughts were on the TD Waterhouse Prime Card. I do not have one but you can supposedly get a 1% cash rebate on purchases credited to your TD Waterhouse brokerage account. It looks like this 1% applies regardless of the amount of your purchases. On their web page look under Products & Services and then Banking Services for some limited info. Please let me know if this is a good deal considering I usually don't spend enough on a credit card to get to the 1% "rebate level".

I'm looking for a card to balance transfere to at the lowest rate for the longest time.

For the person asking about the credit card that always pays cash, you might consider http://www.webcertficates.com/ that is a pseudo-credit card. You deposit cash but the seller thinks it is a credit card.

8/22/2000

Has anyone tried MBNA's Quantum card. I use a lot of cards and this one is a cut above the rest. Thier customer service is second to none and there are no over the limit or late fees to the card. It also provides a concierge service which has already served me nicely in my travels. I would recommend this card to anyone who uses a card frequently.

I have a non-airline specific card from Capital One called MilesOne Visa, $19 annual. Phone 800-955-7070 for more information. Round trips start at 18,000.

Fleet Platinum Cash Back: I applied online and was approved instantly, the cards came in only a few days. The rebate period begins on January 1. Can't pay online. Card has lots of other extras like car rental insurance, purchase assurance, extended warranties. Called customer service to ask a question but was told they were too busy and to call back later!

I heard an advertisement for a credit card that gives 8,000 bonus miles on issue and accummulates points towards any one of twenty different airlines. If you are aware of this offer I am interested. I thought it was Citigroup but could not find it on their site.

Where can you get a credit card with out much of a credit history the only reson I even need one is to buy things over the web or is their an other way to transfer money I've always paid cash for every thing home, cars the likes.

8/17/2000

Has any GM Employee been tricked by the GM Mastercard company into "upgrading" to a GM Platinum card, then trying to redeem your earned dollars, along with your GM employee discount on the purchase/lease of a new car????? This is a SCAM by GM and the credit card company. Has anyone been successful in appealing this? I am going to report the credit card company to my State Attorney General's Consumer Fraud Protection Division. I would really like to hear if others have been duped in the same way I was.

Regarding the comments on Shell MC, what difference does it make when you get your rebate? You can calculate your gas purchases and take 5% and check your statement to see if it is correct. When you earn it you simply take your rebate the following billing cycle. 5% is still 5% no matter when you take it! As far as I'm concerned, it's the best deal out there, if you need gas that is! Most other deals make you wait a year or only give you 1%,with a tier at that, or you have to fill out silly form to get your rebate.

Regarding the "reduction" in the Shell 5% rebate, I don't see anything wrong with it. If you spent $100 in Shell gas last month, they give you $5 in free gas. So you go to the gas station and spend that $5 in free gas. Why should they give you more rebate?

I have been using the Am Ex. Plat. Rebate Card for 6 months. I exceeded the $5000 annual number in two months. They have never raised my percent rebate above 0.5%. My account has been in good standing. I pay my bills in full on time every month. Has anyone else has this problem? I called, and they "are looking into problem!?". HELP!

Do you know of any credit cards that calculates their interest using the average daily balance EXCLUDING new purchases? I have seen this mentioned several times in articles but yet to see a name mentioned. Does such a card exist?! If so, please let me know. All of the cards that I have seen calculates their interest using average daily balance INCLUDING new purchases or the two- cycle method. Thanks.

I am sure the card agreement states something to that effect. If they did this and are holding back 5% on a $30 gas rebate, you are out $1.50. Small price to pay for free gas. In fact the rebate is a credit back of the purchase price for the shell gas. They should not pay rebates on a purchase they are paying for. I charge quite a bit a year and have never had a problem with my one dozen cards in getting a rebate or bonus posted to my accounts. If you call up to the customer service rep and complain about not getting a rebate on the free gas, she is human and will probably be less friendly than if I call up and ask her if my payment has cleared so I may begin charging again.

8/16/2000

They advertise that you get a 5% rebate on shell gasoline purchases, but they are a fraud!!!!!!! When they compute the rebate, they reduce your purchases by the amount of the rebate that you got the previous month and therefore substantially reduce the amount of actual rebate that you are given. They are cheating us!

I don't understand the hub bub about First USA. I charge hundreds of thousands a year with quite a bit of First USA cards. In the rare instance I have had a question, they are polite, responsive and return calls. Maybe I am just lucky or I keep my bookkeeping tight and make all my payments on time or early, but I just don't see the problems. If you have a First USA card, be polite when calling about a problem, mail your payments with plenty of time, watch your credit limit and allow enough time for your payment check to clear and all should be well.

In regards to the posting from 4/19/2000 - The US Postal Service will not accept credit cards to purchase money orders - cash only.

Sorry there wasn't a better answer - the idea was a very inventive way to accumulate awards if allowed.

8/13/2000

In response to a grapevine question re: auto-related cards other than GM. There are several, most notable is the Citibank Driver's Edge. It allows you to accumulate $$ as a percent of purchases, then you can apply them toward any vehicle purchase. Two problems: I don't know the $$ you accumulate as a percent of purchases, and I know it isn't as rich as the GM program. Good luck.

You should check out the Fleet Rebate Card. It earns 2% after $5k (from .5 to 1% up to $5k) up to a maximum of $500. The deal was the same for the Home Card although I noticed they dropped it to a flat 1%, same as the Edvance. It seams that the Fleet card should be first in your rotation. http://creditcards.fleet.com/fleetcom/apply/benefits1_reb.asp

If we sign up for the Diners Club card as advertised on Smart Flyer can we use the frequent flyer miles to purchase tickets on United Airlines to travel to France from the US?

Just a note of thanks to whoever gave the advice on credit unions. Having received yet another rejection letter yesterday (this time from Diners Club), finding a solution posted on your site was the exactly the lift I needed. I shall recommend your site far and wide.

From one very grateful kiwi!

I use Private Issue as my main credit card, but need a Cash Rewards credit card for most of my charges outside of this country. I'm trying to find a Platinum Visa card with no annual fee and the most Cash Rewards. It would have to have a minimum of $25,000 line of credit, which my other cards have. American Express has a good Platinum Rebate Card but it is not as acceptable as Visa. First USA Bank is terrible, being less than honest. Chevy Chase Bank used to have a Cash Rewards program that was excellent, but since they merged with First USA they are under the same management and no longer issue Cash Rewards Cards. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you.

I HAVE to pass this on.

My experiences with First USA Bank and their VISA card were so horrific that I finally went to the OCC.

I will make it short.

They ruined my credit through idiocy.
I received a Platinum VISA w/ $5k limit June 99. With almost $3000.00 left as credit (I had actually sent them a $3,000.00 check because I was traveling, so I do NOT mean their credit to me, I mean hard dollars belonging to me), they closed my account in mid-July.
When I phoned, and phoned and phoned and phoned, I was called a "fraud" many times, they hung up on me, etc.
What was most upsetting was that

I figured out the problem the next month (my account statement had one number on it and my card had another-it was a mix-up). They NEVER discovered this, so finally in November 99, I phoned them and TOLD them. They sent back my check with no apologies and no interest.
one OF THE IDIOTS BEGAN TO READ TO ME FROM MY SCREEN AND THIS IS WHAT I LEARNED:

the ACCOUNT NUMBERS WERE STILL MIXED UP
THEY READ THE ENTIRE BEGINNING HALF OF A RELATIVE'S SSAN, ANOTHER RELATIVE'S ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, ETC. PRIVACY ISSUE?

So, I called the BBB. They said that it was so serious a situation because it was related to a bank that I should report it to the Comptroller of the Currency. Having been in the US Army for 26 years, I knew how to take notes down to every cough and wheeze and sneeze. I sent it all to them. They have investigated. The First USA Bank fed them some lies although they could not weasel out of others which were simply on file and no one but I knew the OCC was coming.

First USA Bank is truly frightening. I got a lot of private info on other people. I'm sure the world knows about me. One of my relatives, on hearing about this, said, "oh, they were so awful I cut up their card and threw it away". I said, "Why didn't you SAY something?" Well, you know.

Here I am, with 10 retina operations, a removed lens and an infected cornea and MS to beat the band, but I continue to pursue it and advise the feds. More people should. What stories we would hear!!!!

If I can help anyone shy away from First USA, I am doing my duty as a poor slob citizen who is lied to by these guys constantly.

Please keep me anonymous but I'd love to hear anything more (Just found out they cozied up to VISA NextCARD. I applied (heh), was accepted! Then, BOOM! I was advised that something was wrong and I had to go back. Guess what? There was no back button. This brought great humour to my otherwise nasty, unfulfilling, just divorced day-I'm still grinning).

BTW, I needed my VISA card for the first time in July 2000 since Jul 99 (well, Nov 99 when they reopened my account). I got a thank you letter for using the card. Then I needed to move $3,000.00 to another bank. They immediately (on the phone!) raised my limit to $10,000.00. Thought they had me? I had miss-calculated. So, I paid them off three days later. I'll bet they had a fit.

8/06/2000

Are there any new new credit which offer rewards or any new schemes. I have not seen any in many ,many mo.

If selling wholesale from our website and taking visa and master card, can we legally charge an extra 3% to cover the credit card company charges.

What credit card can I get that will give me Delta frequent flyer points (other points or awards are ok too) but it must be a Visa.?

My wife and I charge about 1k a month on our visa card. We pay the card off every month. We are looking for a card that offers air miles, hotels etc. We both have perfect and make 120k a year. I think we could qualify for most any card. please email me back with a credit card company suggestions.

I currently am carrying a $7500 balance on a Visa that does not issue miles. I would like to open another account, transfer this balance and receive points on this transfer. Do you know of a company who will allow for this?

8/04/2000

I recd an offer on a Program from Credit Card co(Associates Bank) where one gets discounts on mercahndise from select partiicipating stores .. discounts as much as 20%!.. I am skeptical what is the catch?

For the foreigner who can't get a credit card with a US credit history: join a credit union. Today, many are "member-based" by geographic location or a broad enough affiliation that you can qualify. You can talk to a live human being with a sympathetic ear to set your credit line. After a few months with the CU's Visa or Mastercard you have the credit history you seek to get a card with benefits. Most credit union issuers of credit cards have also chosen not to add the 3-5% surcharge that Visa or Mastercard issuers have lately been adding to foreign transactions (which overwhelms any advantage from cash back or frequent flyer mileage).

Do the rebates that the GM card gives you on the purchase of a new GM car lower your luxury tax? In other words...if a new corvette costs you 50,000 your luxury tax would be 5% on $12,000. (because the tax is on any amount over 38,000) But If you have a $5000 rebate due to you from the card, do you only owe the luxury tax on only $7,000? (50,000-5,000= 45,000 then 45,000-38,000= $7,000.

I'd like to know if there is a way to charge cash, bonds, stocks, gold or raw diamonds to your diners club card? Foreign or domestic?

7/28/2000

Are you aware of any credit card that allows you to earn miles for every $ spent AND allows you to transfer those miles to individuals that are not "family" members. As an example, our sales team members earn individual points from the airline, i.e., United, etc. Because this is a "company" expense, we believe we should get a return, similar to what AMEX does but they do not allow transfer of miles to non-family members. We are open to perhaps getting $ versus miles but feeling is that the benefits of an upgrade are higher with miles. Can you steer me to the right place. Thanks for your help.

Sears offers a free discount card good on its tools called the Craftsman Club. To join send in your name, complete mailing address, and phone number to: The Craftsman Club Attn: E4-150B,333 Beverly Road, Hoffman Estates IL 60179-0001 or call 1-800-682-8691

I am looking for a corporate credit card that would be either in the companies name or 1 individuals name at the company. We want to have the card allow us to earn air miles. Preferably on United. Is there such a card out there for corporate?

I have a specific problem rather than a recommendation I'm afraid, and I'd be grateful if you could post it on your grapevine to see if anyone else has had the same trouble and has any suggestions. I moved here from New Zealand six months ago, and am finding it almost impossible to obtain a credit card. I've applied for several, and they all come back with a rejection on the grounds of "insufficient credit history" (Capital One; Webmiles; Bank One). This really annoys me, as I owned my own house in New Zealand and have operated hire purchase accounts and a NZ bank Visa card with a high credit limit for almost ten years - paying off my balance every month. America is notorious for being uninterested in the rest of the world, but I find it impossible to believe that no credit cards in America can run an international credit check. My original objective had been a frequent flyer card of some description, but I'm starting to get desperate and would be glad for any information your users have on "alien-friendly" credit card companies.

I have purchased savings bonds thru a government web site. address in http://www.savingsbonds.gov. you can buy old ones E or others using a credit cards or auto deduction.

7/27/2000

Do you know any credit cards that offer car rebates except GM and Subaru? I don't like GM cars, and Subaru just made it's program much worse.

Do you know of a card that offers magazine subscriptions (like People, etc>) as incentive? I think I read about one somewhere but I can't remember...

One of the visitors to your site wanted to know where they could apply for the Subaru Credit Card. You can only apply over the phone by calling MBNA at 1-800-932-2775.

I used to have the American Express Frequent Flyer Credit card with Delta/Swiss Air but found out that many merchants will not use that card. No now I have the VISA/U.S. Airways credit card. However, the Platinum card costs $125 a year. We usually fly to Europe, Michigan and Connecticut. Have heard there are credit cards offering frequent flyer miles with a lower annual charge. Can you help me on this?

On May 14 and May 16, readers indicated that they have purchased savings bonds using their credit cards. I am having difficulty locating a place where I may do the same. Information regarding places to purchase US Savings Bonds by credit card would be most appreciated.

7/21/2000

I'm looking for a card that has these qualities 1.balance transfer could act like a purchase and give you 25 days free time to pay it off. 1.no annual fee 2.balance transfer 3.bonus points 4.low apr .....for as long as I can get it

7/20/2000

I am looking for a card that offers goodies on Hotels and Car Rentals.(Visa or Master card) Can you please help??

7/18/2000

How do I apply for the Subaru's Credit card?

Hey, Loved your site. I have good credit. I was looking for a short term low interest loan. The highly recommend american express platenium card cash back rewards card will hopefully do. uncertain if the vender will take american express. Anywys any recommendation on M/C or Visa will be helpfull too.

We called to cancel our GM card and were told that the money available can be used on other things than a new car. They are sending a brochure.

7/16/2000

FYI: Discover Private Issue is now limited to 1% and U. S. West no longer offers a 1& rebate.

My Shell MasterCard gives back 5% on Shell gas and 1% on other things. Do they have a different program for 5%/2%? Mine used to be 5%/2%, but that was changed a long time ago.

To those who were asking about the Shell Mastercard, you get a 5% rebate on Shell gas purchases, and a 1% rebate towards Shell gas on any other purchase. The total rebate is credited each month. There is no limit on the amount of free gas you can earn. There is a $20 annual fee, which is waived as long as you make at least 9 Shell gas purchases each year. I think this is a great card for people like me who spend less than $10k per year on credit card purchases and don't spend enough to get to the higher spending tiers that make the American Express or Discover cards worthwhile. I have had this card for 6 months and I have already gotten back more than I got in a yearly refund from Discover. Of course, this assumes that you have a lot of Shell gas stations which are convenient to you and the price of their gas is competitive with other local stations. You can call 1-800-FREE-GAS or pick up a brochure at a Shell station.

7/12/2000

I didn't see any mention of the Walden visa on your site & thought I'd pass along the information. You have to be a Waldenbooks Preferred Reader in order to get the card. In addition to the $5 for every $100 you spend at Walden, you get $5 for every $500 you charge on the credit card, all in Waldenbooks gift certificates. This card was very nice to have last year when I was driving 120 miles a day to work - I received approximately $30 in gift certificates from the credit card alone. No annual fee for the credit card ($10 for the Walden preferred reader card, which is separate). It is from First USA, which many people don't like, but I haven't had any serious problems with them. (But I still keep a close eye on them). Keep up the good work.

We are sad to report the death of the 5%, $700/year, $3,500 max Subaru rebate program (I knew it will not last). Now it is a 3%, $500/year, $2,000 max offer used toward purchase/lease Subaru vehicle, products, and service. I hate it when they reduce the rebate and claim that to be "some exciting changes"!!

Thanks for the information. I pay off my cards every month, and currently have the GM card. I am thinking of changing because I may not want to buy a GM car and don't want to be tied to one type of purchase. Your web site is most informative - thank you.

The webmiles card has a $25 fee attached. They do not disclose this fee until the very end of the application procedure. This means that you have to fill out all the information before they mention a fee. I find this very offensive since the fee will automatically disqualify them from my consideration and I'm sure many other people's consideration. It is almost fraudulent and at least rude to keep the fees a secret and not disclose them up front. I would never sign on with a credit card company that operated in that way.

Subaru's MasterCard has reduced their rebate from 5% to 3%. Rebates will be automatically given as coupons in increments of $100 that are good for car purchase, parts, and service.

7/10/2000

I am looking for a credit card that gives free airline tickets as a promotion. Do you know of one?

A friend who uses your site regularly recommended I contact you about a new card that we offer. It's called the WebMiles credit card (http://www.webmilescard.com) You earn 1 mile per dollar spent and when you buy from a webmiles partner (see http://www.webmilescard.com) you can earn up to an additional 5 miles per dollar spent. WebMiles work on any airline and there are no restrictions with the program.

I am looking for the Chevy Chase Cash rebate card that is on the graph. I can charge my son's college tuition and fees which will be about $30,000 and I can use MasterCard or Visa. I am looking for the best cash back I can get on these. I have to work fast as tuition is due Aug. 1st. Thanks for your help.

How do you apply for the Shell card?

I don't know about "Ford" but General Motors has a card that gives credit towards a new card purchase. We used it a lot and had quite a bit of money to apply but unfortunately switched to Honda. I don't think there's an annual fee. The number on the back of my card to call (24 hours) is 1 800 947-1000 There is a number for outside the USA 1 757 523-3880

7/9/2000

I closed my MBNA TWA mileage card today be- cause they would not rebate the $50 annual fee. Since we spend over $3000 a month (paid off monthly) we figure they are getting enough from the merchant and we did not have to pay an annual fee. They would not relent so we cancelled.

Ford use to have a card that you got points towards an auto. Does anyone know if this is still available and if not would like a recommendation for a card that gives something back preferably mileage or cash.

No one seems to mention the Shell Card. It gives 5% rebate on shell gas and 2% rebate on everything else to be applied to shell gas purchases. Everybody needs gas.

I have to take issue with this site's strong preference for cash rebates. While cash is certainly more flexible, it may not be your best option, depending on your spending habits. I'm mostly a regional traveller. I accumulate 2-3 hotel stays per week and I fly about 5 times per year, often bringing my wife along. We don't always plan our vacations far in advance, but we're usually rather flexible in terms of what day we leave and return. When airline fares are very low (around $200 or so), we usually pay the fare and take the points from the airline and the credit card. When air fares are high (more like $500+), we'll use points. The key point is that airline (and to a lesser extent, hotel) points are worth a variable amount of money. There is some debate as to the actual value of a point, but a penny is a good round number that's reasonably accurate. Whatever value you choose to place on a point, it can vary quite substantially. A domestic ticket may cost $200 or it may cost $1000, depending on distance, advance purchase, competition, and many other factors. If the ticket requires 25,000 points, then you're only getting 80 cents of value from your points while the $1000 ticket is yielding four dollars per point! Even if you have to spend 35,000 points to get the $1000 ticket, you're still getting over $2.85/point. Even if you're only getting 1 point per dollar on your credit card, that last scenario is still 2.85%. My other point is that, with my spending habits, points allow me to make much better use of my limited FF miles. By increasing the flow of points, I'm saving myself from wasting large numbers of points. Having several thousand points in my FF account and a few thousand in my wife's account doesn't do us any good. They're just wasted points for people who don't fly all the time, so I'm not only earning points with an affinity or other point-earning card, but I'm also saving my FF miles from being wasted. Another way to help in this area is by staying in hotel chains that allow you to earn FF miles in the airline program of your choice. People who fly every week often have more miles than they know what to do with (even with a few kids) so the last thing they need is more miles through a credit card and the same goes for hotel points. They might use 25,000 points on a $180 ticket without thinking twice about how much value they're getting for their points. For these people, cash (even if it's only 1% cash back) is a better option and all the analysis on this site is perfect for determining which card to choose. For people with few business/travel expenses, then the best bet is a card with a flat % rebate (like many gas cards) because ramping up through lower rebate brackets (AmEx Cash Rebate, Discover) will kill your return. Personally, I like the gas cards because I do a lot of business travel by car and will spend several thousand dollars a year on gas, so getting 3-5% "cash" back on that is fairly substantial. Unless you don't drive or simply take public transportation 90% of the time, I don't understand why anyone would question that free gas is just as valuable than the cash equivalent. Obviously, you should pick a gas card that has at least a fair number of stations where you live.

Do you have a credit card for people with bad credit who reside in canada? If so I would like to apply and get my credit fixed.

6/28/2000

I'm looking for information about affinity card programs for a report I'm preparing on the subject. Do you have, or do you know where I might find, the answers to these questions?

What percentage charge an annual fee for the cards, and what is the average fee?
Do companies pay for listings or ads on the cards?
How many such listings or ads per card?
How much per card per month or year do the sponsors pay for the listings or ads?

"I'm looking for a 1%( no tiers) cash rebate card to fill in where they don't accept American Express and I would like to stay away from First USA!! Any suggestions I live in Connecticut. Thanks"

I was looking for exactly the same thing (including the aversion to First USA) and found the answer in CITGO Visa.

They rebate 1% of purchases, and the rebate is deducted from every monthly bill. The card is issued by Associates National Bank (Delaware), whose customer service number is 1-800-241-8356.

My only problem with CITGO is that they imposed an absurdly low credit limit ($5000) for a person with my income, and refuse to review that limit until six months after the card was issued. So I'm holding on to my [patooie] First USA Visa card (credit limit $18,300) until CITGO Visa comes to its senses.

I use a Phillips 66 Mastercard that pays a straight 1% (no tiers) gas back (2% at Phillips stations). Since I buy gas every week, I consider gas back, as good as cash back. This card also has an advantage over other cash back cards in that I can recoup my rebate the next month after it is posted. I just buy gas at any Phillips 66 station and my rebate is automatically applied to the purchase (no check to cash, no waiting for my anniversary date). That's the card I use to fill in where they don't take American Express.

I see someone else (Historical Grapevine 8/12/99) has the same problem I have with FCC National/Fccs pulling their credit when I have never applied to them on paper or online.. could you email me contact information for this institution if you have it available?

Please continue to the grapevine archive of this continuing Saga!