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 Yahoo Groups.

Click to subscribe to the Grapevine Mailing List!

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

3/31/2002

Re cash back from the GM card---not true! Their rebate is good only towards the purchase of GM cars. There is no cash back option. Happy Easter, anyway.

For the fella who hates Fleet because he did not get his rebate check after canceling. You have every right to be frustrated with them on not approving your charges BUT if you canceled the card, you give up the rebate. If you wanted your money, you should have kept the card but not used it til the anniversary then after you get your rebate, then cancel. All these folks who keep posting about credit card companies changing their programs and the disagreements you have with them should be grateful that they don't have message boards for every type of business. Should we start with waiters, then we could talk about retail merchants, how about a board to talk bad about getting tickets when we speed in a school zone. I charge a significant amount every month. I follow the rules, I send my payments in on time, I am polite to the phone girls AND SHAZAAM, I get thousands and thousands in rebates every year. If they flagged your account for unusual activity, you should be grateful. I have had this happen when I go on a trip out of town. Pick up your cel phone call the customer service center and tell them where you are and that the charges are OK. They will verify it's you and your on your way. This is not rocket science folks.

Can you please advise me on how to get a credit card with no credit?I have always paid cash.

I bank with Chevy Chase Bank and have used their PC-based Financial Manager-bill payer for several years. I think its a version of checkfree with a Chevy Chase brand. Unfortunately, Chevy Chase has decided to discontinue it in favor of web-based bill payer. As explained below, I don't like the web-based product and am looking for an alternative.

The only advantage I can see for web-based bill paying is that I can pay bills from anywhere. I can't think of why I would want to. The first obvious disadvantage is that the web-based system has no account register. Either you go back to a paper check book register or you have to use Quicken or Managing Your Money. After setting up Quicken, I discovered that you can't download a payment from the web to Quicken on your PC when you make the payment. All payments are scheduled in advance and the web-based application won't download a payment until it has been actually paid--a minimum of 5 days later. The PC-based software had no problem with dates in the future. Instead of everything in one place, now there are two user interfaces to master. With the web-based application all my account and payee data is on Chevy Chase's computer, while with the PC-based application a good amount of the data was on my PC.

I scouted around and found two other banks whose systems I am considering. I'd love to get comments on these systems or suggestions for alternatives. One is etrade, a Internet-only bank. It keeps the account register on line. The register is integrated with the bill payer; when you pay a bill it gets posted to the register. I assume there's a way to enter handwritten checks and deposits, but I haven't checked it out. The second alternative is Bank of America. They have two systems. The one I am interested in is "Bill paying through Quicken." I haven't been able to get a clear answer from Bank America yet, but I think that this steamy lets the consumer work completely in Quicken and that Quicken transmits payment instruction to Bank of America's computer. This uses the bill payment feature in Quicken, but work through Bank of America rather than Intuit. Intuit charges a monthly fee. The service is available for no direct charge from Bank of America if the consumer maintains a certain minimum balance.

Of these cash back credit cards, does anyone know of one that is flexible with their due date? I have the Farm Bureau Cash Back one and they are real sticklers about their due date. They tagged me with a $29 late fee a few months ago (which they waived). Now, they did it again and have to eat it (will only waive it once a year). I send my pymt about 5-7 days before which is usually plenty of time, but since 9/11 the mail may be slowed. Can anybody report on a good card that is flexible on this or am I pretty much screwed all around? (posted 3/29/02)

3/29/2002

Those of you thinking about getting a fleet credit card need to think twice. I was attending a seminar in Denver when I was notified by the regristrar that my credit card had been declined. I called Fleet and was notified that the $2000 expense was abnormal so they suspended my card. THANKS FOR TELLING ME!!! No one called or emailed me!! I had a number of bills that went unpaid not the least of which was my car insurance. Once I finally got everything corrected... I cancelled my card. They gave me a hard time saying that it was not in my best interest to do so.... Who is Fleet to tell me this?? So anyway, I have used this card all year so I expected my rebate check. I never get one. I call and they said that I forfeited my rebate. FLEET SUCKS!! I will never do business with Fleet again.

The popular Subaru MBNA program will be terminating in July of 2002. The announcement vaguely points to a new program to be unveiled sometime after July 31, 2002.

I just discovered that Fleet applies a finance charge at the closing of the billing cycle, which is ALWAYS at least 4 days before the actual bill is received. So it is impossible to avoid a finance charge by paying before the due date posted on the bill. This is, in fact, a very large Annual fee! I'm not sure when this practice was started. Do all cards do this now? Clearly this is to make money from even those of us who do pay our bills on time. Is this common practice? Am I the last to notice? How can I spread the word?

To the person talking about PayPal "bait and switch". PayPal does NOT "bait and switch". I have been using them for two years. Their user agreement clearly states limits for credit card transactions. And you are correct, their "default" for payments is a bank account but you can easily change your source of funds. It pays to read their user agreement before quickly pressing "I accept". I have been VERY satisfied with the service PayPal provides. They have changed terms SLIGHTLY over the years, but it hasn't hampered my ability to use their service free of charge.

Regarding GM card rebates. Since the car dealer can easily access your name against their credit card data base it seems any credit card rebate could very easily be offset by an increase in the offer to sell price. Buying a new auto is stressful enough with out the added "rebate factor". My method is to find out what the dealer "invoice" price is, deduct the hold backs, and factory dealer incentives and then make an offer of $500 to $1000 more as profit. Then I go home and wait for a phone call with a counter offer to which I say "no way". A week later they will call and say "bring a check and come get your damn car".

Here's a good article on foreign currency transactions: http://stage.bankrate.com/sam/news/cc/20010416b.asp Farm Bureau doesn't charge any fees (beyond the 1% by VISA). Fleet didn't last year, but with their cutting back lately, I'm not sure if it's still true.

I just saw a banner ad for, and applied for, the First USA Free Cash Rewards Platinum Visa (wow, that's a mouthful). Straight 1% cash back, every $25 earned. This works better for those, I think, on smaller budgets who can't accumulate enough to make the tiered 1.5% or 2% cards (i.e., AmEx, the older Fleet cash-back, Farm Bureau) worth their while. Anyone else have any experience with this one?

I am searching for information on a carnival cruise line credit card. Do you have any information? Thanks

3/25/2002

If you are looking for a credit card without 2% foreign exchange fee, check out capital one website www.capitalone.com. If you are looking for 5% discount on your Marshalls and TJMaxxx purchases apply at www.marshalls.com. The card is issued by Capital One also. Hope this helps

AOL CASH/Citibank C2it (same system-different names) online payments. Just wanted to let everyone know that I researched this online payment system. They offer "FREE" online credit card payments. GREAT! I thought. I called them to get details. Yes the service is free BUT they use a different MERCHANT CATEGORY CODE to bill your card than Yahoo Pay Direct or PayPal. I called my card and they said they would consider a transaction through them as a CASH ADVANCE. Luckily I called, the total interest charges would have been triple what I was going to be sending. AOL CASH/Citibank C2it use MERCHANT CATEGORY CODE 6021. Check with your credit card for how they treat this type of transaction. Online sellers - I would hesitate to offer this payment system unless you spell out the possible charges clearly. You could have a very angry customer once the cash advance charge hits their bill and they discover that they began paying interest on day 1. Very deceptive practice from Citibank if you ask me. They have a small print disclaimer similar to PayDirect and PayPal but I think changing the category code to a "quasi-cash" (Citi's term) one should make that information be put up in 50 Point type. "Warning: A $5 transaction with us may cost you $50 or more in interest and fees." Others input on this is appreciated.

The Costco AMEX card does give you a certificate, but if you read the back of it you will see that it clearly states that it can be cashed at Costco. I did that, because I didn't want to give up the rebate on the portion of my purchase that would have been covered by the rebate. Customer service told me to have the cashier do it. They didn't know how but a supervisor showed them.

Regarding TJ Maxx/Marshalls, it's a new card from Capital One.

I do have the AX card and as I understand it pays only up to 1.5% unless you carry a balance which seems to negate the rebate idea. Fleet does pay 2% with no gimmicks but with $500 max. and Farm B. pays 2% and up to $700 so I can't see why you don't prefer Farm and seems to me that AX comes in last. Maybe there is something I am missing so please tell me.

With respect to foreign currency conversion fees, I believe that it is a function of the bank, although Visa, MasterCard, etc. do charge a small fee that applies to all their card irrespective of bank. The last time I checked, MBNA and Farm Bureau did not charge a fee on top of the Visa, MasterCard fee, but Citicorp did.

3/24/2002

Do all credit cards now charge a conversion fee for foreign transactions?? My Northwest Airline Visa charges a 1%+ additional fee on each and every foreign charge even if the charges were made on the same day.

I have a company doing $100K plus per month in sales, where my distributors are willing to accept VISA, MC or Discover. Is there a rewards / rebate program, or a list of the same where there is not a maximum / cap on monthly and yearly rewards? Thanks.

Thank you for a great site. Your opening paragraph is pretty much what I told my wife the position we are in since I became consumer debt free. Was calling around to credit card companies (two) and then hit your website.

My recent attempt to use a VISA card to pay for a $1300 purchase has uncovered an apparent new policy at PayPal in which they refuse to use the Credit Card for amounts over a certain threshold ($800??) and instead force the buyer to use their direct bank transfer service. The process starts with a message when attempting to pay that implies that the credit card transaction cannot go through and suggests that you add further "verification" by giving them bank account information and then reporting back the amounts of two deposits they make electronically to your account. After you go through this step, since they know they can successfully transfer money from your account, they establish direct transfer as the default method for ALL transactions ... and still, for transactions over the dollar threshold, they refuse to make a credit card transaction available as an option. I was able to effect payment by reducing the amounts below $300 and using five credit card transactions ... but it wasn't easy. My two e-mail questions to PayPal, asking what dollar limit they were using to deny credit card use, were ignored for four days, then I finally got an answer today: "In review of your account, at this time I see that you have been successful with sending your funds. We apologize for the inconvenience you may have encountered." It does appear that they do not wish to make a statement about this policy at this time. It looks like a classic bait-and-switch to me. Thousands of items on eBay have the PayPal logo with embedded VISA/Mastercard/AMEX logos. If they're going to refuse the cards they need to pull the logos!

Check out the Master Card offered by http://www.conoco.com

It has had a flat 1% rebate in the past with 3% on Conoco products, which should include Philips now. I can't tell if the current rebate has to be redeemed for Conoco purchases or not.

I was the person in January who complained about Fleet and their late fees + finance charge for an online payment made "on time", but not posted until three business days later. I wrote to two Fleet VPs and got the over $70 in charges credited to my account. Good. I also received my rebate check on time. Now that that's accomplished, I bid good riddance to Fleet and opened an account with Juniper. So far, so good. Their online payment service is outstanding in that you can make a payment up until 11 pm the date the bill is due. Plus, you can make a payment way ahead of time yet stipulate that you want the payment to be deducted on your due date. Very impressive. When I opened the account, somehow I neglected to indicate that I wanted a rebate account and was instead set up with a low APR account. I had an online chat with a CSR and it was fixed the next day, retroactively. Bottom line--I wholeheartedly recommend Juniper. Hopefully the tiered 2% rebate will continue....

Another post on the grapevine asked where he/she could find the issuer for a particular card. Here's a list of about 100 cards. Many more to be added soon: (click on an issuer to see their cards) http://www.expertcredit.com/expertcredit/vendors.asp BTW, the Western Union card is issued by Direct Merchants Bank. :)

This is a great site, however, I am looking for info. on Canadian cards. Do you know of any sites like yours that is Canadian?

Can anyone recommend a site where I can find the best deals on a mortgage loan for a house.THis will be the first house I have bought.I noticed that some of the long distance services adn credit card recommendations are about the best deals around and thought someone could mention a place where I could get a great rate on a first time homeowner mortgage.I do NOT have bad credit so I am not looking for a mortgage that has a higher rate to make up for poor credit.Any suggestions would greatly be

To the person inquiring about the Costco Amex card, the rebate is only in the form of a certificate redeemable purchases at Costco - the card does not give you cash back. I have received my certificates once a year in February.

Hello, I'm looking for a credit card where rebates are issued for shopping at TJ Maxx and Marshall's. I thought it was called Capital One, but I find no literature stating rebates. Thanks for your help.

Farm Bureau is best. The rest are junk. You get 2% when you charge 35000 over any period up to 3 years. You can speed that up by purchasing savings bonds online and cashing them in every six months.

3/19/2002

is there any site that lists the issuer of each bank's credit card? (for instance, who is the real issuer of Western Union's credit card?)

Hi All This is a great site! A few questions if any of you are good enough to answer: 1) Someone below said -- start quote For everyone's information: The GM MasterCard and the Costco American Express both have a CASH rebate of up to 1.5 % I have been using them exclusively for everything with complete payoff each month. Comes to about a grand a year. These are the only two cards that put there money where their mouth is. The rest are "junk" as far as consumer bennies are concerned. -- end quote I've checked the Amex website about the costco card and it states: "Here's how it works: you use your Card anywhere American Express is accepted and earn a cash rebate good for merchandise at any Costco warehouse. Your rebate accumulates, and each year you will receive a rebate by mid-February." This seems to directly contradict what was said above. Can anybody confirm/deny the following: Can Amex Costco cashback be used just like cash (not only at costco?). Is the rebate given monthly or annually? 2) I have the following requirements and can use your advice: My company buys approx $20,000 per month from vendors that take Amex and Visa. We want to get an additional discount by paying with a cashback Amex/Visa card (since the vendors wont offer us a cash discount- the idiots). We often run balances on our cards to help finance the business, which also means I dont want to have to wait all year for a rebate. So what I want is a card the offers: - no cap - the ability to get the rebates quickly Please help me: Which cards meeting this criteria offer the higher rebate %?

rei card-- 1% back no fees

The person who wrote about the Capital One Platinum Small Business Card that gives 1%-0 to 5000 and 2% after--I can't find any card they have that is even close. Please give me a place to find it.

Somebody was asking about the Chrysler Rewards card. More info can be found here: http://www.chryslercreditcard.com/ and, here is the Rewards Catalog for it: https://www.chryslercreditcard.com/Daimler_Consumer/custserv/Chrysler_Rewards_Brochure.pdf

3/17/2002

To the poster who mentioned the non-renewal of the Amoco Visa card. I have 2 of these cards and the first one expired 2/02. I received a new card last month with an expiration date of 2/05. The rebate period on this card started over in February and I have charged $1,000 on it. I'm waiting for the March statement to make sure I still get the 2% rebate. The payment address has changed to Citibank's address in Nevada, and the statement comes out of a Citibank processing center in South Dakota. There was no mention of a change in the rebate program, just a change from Associates National Bank to Citibank. My second card in my wife's name expires 3/02 and I am waiting for a replacement card. We are in Minnesota.

I have been on maternity leave for the last 6 months and have racked my credit card up to 10.000. It's an MBNA card with a 9.5% interest rate. I would like to transfer the ballance to a no or low int. rate for 6mo. introductary offer. Can you suggest a good one?

I am considering the Farm Bureau Visa Card and am curious about whether I should become a "member" of the Farm Bureau. They say you get additional offers when you are a member. Anybody have experience?

Great site. Didn't have time to read through all the grapevine, but here is some info. FirstUSA went around gobbling up tons of credit card companies. Three of mine were United Mileageplus Visa, Chevy Chase Rewards Visa and GE Rewards Visa. United still gets you miles, but they stopped the cash back programs with Chevy and GE. I don't use any of them except United for travel purchases. They are pretty strict regarding late fees and such. I would rate them middle of the pack in Customer Service, but at the top regarding internet access and payment (and downloading into Quicken).

The card I mainly use now and didn't see was the Capital One Platinum Business card. I guess most people may not be able to apply, but if you run a small business from home you can get this card. They pay you 1% from 0 - $5,000 and 2% from there on out.

To the person regarding transferring balances with the Citibank offer, it sounds as if you requested a balance transfer over the phone. Typically when this is done, the bank mails a check to the creditor you want to pay off, so you may end up paying interest while the check is in the mail. The better thing to do is see if you can get some blank balance transfer checks (but make sure they're not regular cash advance checks) and send the check yourself (then you won't pay interest until the check clears).

In all the cases I know, you will pay interest from day 1 until the balance is paid off. You will not be charged interest once the balance is paid off. But since interest is charged in arrears, you may still see some residual interest charges on the following statement after you paid off the balance. This is just for interest on the money loaned to you, but which hadn't yet been billed.

3/13/02 Do any one know how TJMaxx card pay the reward (in cash, gift certidicate that you can only by at TJMaxx stores, etc..) and how often?

I sympathize with the poor guy that discovered the finance charges begin right away on the balance transfer date. I find these telephone jockeys are all over the place with their answers. They are just trying to do their job but it sometimes (not always) helps to know the lingo. The "grace period" is the time of the transfer to the payment due date in a given billing cycle. We used to be able to pay by the due date and enjoy the float. I don't know anyone doing that now. It's just not the same anymore.

Earn frequent flyer points by casting your vote for the best airline and hotel program at http://www.freddieawards.com

3/12/2002

I agree with the earlier comment that Prepaid phone cards are a little off-topic but with the credit card rebate programs drying-up, we need to diversify our search for deals. I manage a few accounts on Onsuite and I check their web site regularly. I have not had any trouble getting in since January. At that time I set-up the username and password to be automatically entered from my computer. I suspect the upper/lower case sensitivity may be a problem when I input it manually. I got a phone number off my credit card bill. Onesuite.com 213-426-6535

I just want to warn anyone who might be thinging about doing a transfer using your Citibank card. While I signed up for the 'special' no fee transfer, I did not realize that they begin accruing the finance charge on the day the transfer is posted to your account, and it is not dropped even if you pay your account in full. This was very deceiving to me. Another caveat is that the transfer posted to my account the same day it was requested but the money was not sent to my other account for another 7 business days.

For those of you who have a Amoco/Visa card, BP or the bank that was the issuers of these cards will not renew them when they expire - your best bet is to apply for the new BP.VISA card found in many BP or Amoco stores - it still has no fees and 3% on gas purchases.

Has anyone heard anything about a new Chrysler rewards card?

3/11/2002

The main advantage of L.L. Bean card is free shipping on L.L. Bean mail order. I keep one just for those orders.

Farm Bureau card. I received one and used it two months. They did not apply a payment and then hounded me for two weeks even though it was their fault. Finally it was straigtened out. That gives them a 50% failure rate and a sour taste in my mouth. Stick with American Express who has great customer service and a 1.5% rebate.

I have a new Visa card from Capital one. It is a new TJMaxx card. You get 5% cash back if use it in TJMaxx, AJ Wright, Home Goods, and Marshalls. Any place else its 1%. This card is better than the old one. The phone # is 1 877 534 6841. Or you can get an application at TJ Maxx.

I currently have an Amoco Visa card, issued by The Associates. I understand The Associates have been purchased/merged with Citibank, and Amoco has merged with BP. The new BP Visa card is issued by First USA. Anyone know what the plans are for the current users of Amoco Visa?

3/10/2002

First I can not find Fleet Mastercard Rewards card on Fleet's site. Second, I believe your saying of 2% rebate from Fleet card is valid IFFFFF you carry unpaid balance. I believe that if I do not carry a unpaid balance, the max rebate rate is 1%.

Hello - I just went to apply to the Fleet cash rewards program and it appears the terms have changed. If you don't finance a balence each month, the cash back rebate maxes out at 1%. http://cards.fleet.com/apply/learnmore_titan.asp

I'm looking for the best way for a student traveling in Europe this summer to be able to call home to the US from various European countries. Anybody researched this?

Great site that I check regularly!! Regarding the 3/2/02 posting about using the GM rebate credits. Thanks -- I am in the same situation, having the "old" card with $4500 accumulated. (I bought a demo Bonneville in '95 and had no problem getting an additional $2300 taken off for the GM rebate.) I had expected GM to limit the rebate amount to $3500 ($500 x 7 years) and have been surprised to see the amount continue to go up beyond that. It's great to know they will take off the full amount and not just $3500. I wish I knew a way to know what my actual limit will be. I am curious about how the contributor is able to get an additional 1K off? Would that be from another credit card (Drivers Edge??) that can be used on the same purchase?

A most interesting and time consuming (on your part!) web site. Thank you! After reading about the problems people have with the Fleet card, why is it still recommended? And most important, I have approached my mortgage lender (Wells Fargo) about paying with VISA, and the answer is "no". Who, where, what will accept a mortgage payment made with a credit card? It is an issue that I believe is up to the lender, not the credit card co. I imagine if I tried, it would placed as a cash advance, and subject to those fees. Any suggestions on how to make this $1500 payment turn into rewards for me??!

The method of using the Fleet as a second resort does not make sense since the pay off is only good once you bust $8,000. It should either be usd as the exclusive card until you max it, then turn to the Amex, or use the Amex and another card (like the GE) as a secondary.

Fleet has the worst customer service possible, and the rudest CSRs I have ever met. It's not worth the hassle for their 2% rebate card, especially now since I've heard they're switching it over to 1% with tiers worse than Discover.

A couple of things...I've seen some posts below that say that Fleet has changed their rebate tiers. Is this for new customers only and present cardholders will not be affected? I talked to a customer service rep today and was told my rebate tier is the same as last year. Also, has anyone ever had any problems with the Farm Bureau card?

I thought we were all about credit card stuff, but if people are writing about long distance cards, the ONLY way to go is to get Costco's 575 minute MCI prepaid card for $20. That works out to less than 3.5 cents a minute. It works all the time, and you can "reload" it with your credit card. Why do anything else?

Hi Everyone. I love this website, but I also found another site that has a great cash back calculator -- you enter how much you spend each year, and then it will calculate how much you can earn with each of the cash back cards - American Express, First USA, Fleet, yada, yada....Anyways, you can get to the calculator by clicking on this page: http://www.eyeoncredit.com/cash_back/index.html Hope that helps!

Great web site!

A friend introduced me to phone cards from Costco and Sam's Club. Their rates are 2.9 cents to 3.9 cents per minute, depending on when you buy them and the rates when you add money. I bought one for $20 and then add money to it via phone using a credit card. I have memorized the 800 number and the PIN and now am free to use it wherever I am - from friends' houses, pay phones, my office for personal calls, etc. My long distance bills are now non-existent! My daughter has memorized the number and PIN also. (The only drawback is that you are charged for 1 minute whether the call connects or not - but at 3.9 cents a minute, that's no great loss.)

I havent had any trouble getting thru to another number using onesuite.com but I have occasionally had trouble with logging on. For a while all I got were tracking numbers from the support team but still couldnt log on.Finally I wrote to feedback@onesuite.com and got the log on problems fixed. So far everytime I log on lately I get to my account.It is the best long distance deal I have found thus far.Anyone know of any better?

looks like LL Bean card has changed and does not give cash back, only 'coupon dollars' for use on LLBean purchases.

For the person looking for the Toys R Us card, you need to go to the chase web site, http://creditcardsatchase.com/portal/index.jsp?pageID=homepage Another card to consider if you have kids (or grandkids) is the Citi UPromise Card. It gives a straight 1% and is capped at $300. The money is deposited into a UPromise account. Upromise is an college savings affinity program with many other big name corporate sponsors (AT&T, Staples, AOL, MCDonalds, Mobil, Toys R Us, etc.). The contributions from these companies are then transfered to a 529 college savings plan. Current tax law allows withdrawls from 529 accounts to be completely TAX FREE if used for higher education.

3/3/2002

I don't disagree with anything said thus far. The OneSuite's rates are great and the web site is poor but has anyone had telephone service trouble? I have not. My pin is recognized with the "Quick Dial" I only have to dial the 800 number and then my party's number. I have not run a stop watch on my calls but the time is reasonable, if not exact. I am sure I am billed for any fraction of a minute, as if it were a whole minute, but so what? No monthly fee and great rates. AT&T doesn't come close to this! I use this on both homes and if someone uses my vacation home, I don't have to worry about any surprises on my bill. I don't leave the 800 OneSuite number and so it's safe unless the guests happen to try it. I could always turn it off. If someone is willing to pay 4.5 cents domestic for top-notch web service and telephone support, I highly recommend Dynasky.com

Hi - sometimes too much information can be a bad thing - answer this simple question: If I spend about $15K a year on my credit card, what's my best choice for a cash back card? I looked at the Farbers Beurea, but from what I understand you don't earn money unless you reach on of the teirs, and then until you reach the next one you're not earning anything, so I don't like that system. thanks for the resource!!

I must be using the "GOOD" onesuite.com. I have been using it for a few months thanks to your web site and have had no problems logging on the web site or getting feed back from their customer service system. I had some confusion about using it while traveling to Hawaii (you can't) and have trouble using the zip dial from some phones at work, but, overall it is an excellant service and I can't find anything that beats the price or convience when making long distance calls away from home. Thanks for the money saving tips.

Sony card & AMEX cash both great. Both have great CustServ & pay as promised. Sony offers discounts up to 5% on Sony products no matter where or how you buy as long as you charge to card.

3/2/2002

I am using Onesuite and I have had the same problems getting into their web site. I have not had trouble with their telphone service. Have you? I am thinking the log-in trouble is the case sensitivity they have on sign-in. I might be screwing that up, but I am usually OK with that. It may be the site crashes and that is their standard reply and you cannot log-in. Dynasky.com is another service with the exact same web site and service. Their rate is 4.5 cents per minute but their website and service is very reliable. Do you use the "quick dial" option? It's very handy.

To the person inquiring as to whether or not they should carry both a VISA and MASTERCARD. I would suggest having one of each and not two of the same for the following reason. If you go to make a purchase, and the VISA network is down or the merchant has trouble connecting, then you can always use your MASTERCARD and vice versa. However, if you have two VISAs, you're out of luck and unable to complete your transaction.

Somebody talked about the Chase Retail Rewards program. I called them to sign up for 5% cash rebate at Walmart, etc. and they told me that the program was recently discontinued for new customers. They said those already signed up will continue to receive the benefit. I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

Well, the GM card worked. I have been accumulating cash for about 7 years, and had almost $5000 in credits ($4882.35). I've had the card for a while, in the beginning you could accumulate more than 500/year. Their "new" version of the card limits the amount you can get (as a function of vehicle), the original had no such limit. Well, they were good to their word. I bought a $15K car (Prizm, a Toyota Corolla in a GM shell), with $2K rebate from GM, and another $5K back from GM credit card. Now all I have to do is collect the other $1K in rcredits from the citibank card. Not bad, a brand new car at less than half price , and that price was invoice:)

Regarding onesuite.com,( a very reasonable prepaid long distance service) I finally got someone at the support team to remedy log on problems. It appears to be the best long distance deal I have found thus far.

I do NOT recommend onesuite.com for long distance service.You rarely can log on and so you rarely get opportunities to check your call history to see if you are being charged for minutes used when getting a busy signal or no answer.There is no phone number to contact them.They only have a support email which they never answer.They just keep sending you tracking numbers but never any solution or remedy as to how to log on to your account to see what your calling history is.So really it isnt the cheapest long distance after all since opportunities to check your calling history are next to impossible to view.

In response to the request "had any experience with the Chase Retail Rewards program" in the 2/26 Grapevine ...

We have used our Chase Platinum VISA for over a year at Wal-Mart and have had no problems getting our 5% credit. The 5% is applied on every statement as a credit against each purchase we make, so it doesn't accumulate. For every purchase, there is a separate row labeled "Chase Rewards - Savings" with an entry in the "Credits" column equal to 5% of the total purchase INCLUDING sales tax. Sometimes you have to figure out which credits go with which charges on the statement because there may be 3 lines of charges and then 3 lines of credits, but each credit has always been correct, and EVERY charge we have made has had the 5% credit entry. Of course if you return something, then you see an entry equivalent to 5% in the "Charges" column. We came out much ahead last year even after paying the $25.

I was somewhat disappointed to find out that I couldn't use the card to get 5% off when purchasing at Wal-Mart's web site. I have not contacted Chase to inquire why.

The hardest part for us is remembering to USE the card when we shop at Wal-Mart rather than our Fleet 2% Titanium VISA card, which we use for practically everything else we buy. We are so used to pulling out the Fleet card, that we have forgotten more than once to use the 5% Chase card.

Hi, I just got the American Express Cash Back Card and a Sony Card from Citi. Does anyone else has these cards and if it is worth it? I thought long and hard and decided to try these out. Will appreciate any feedback. Thank you.

2/26/2002

I have tried onesuite.com as suggested by someone on here. I havent found a long distance deal any lower than onesuite.com. What I dont like about it and what may cause me to quit using it is I can hardly ever log on using the user name and password that I set up when first using onesuite. I constantly have to email them about log on problems.It has been difficult to recharge the minutes when I can hardly ever log on.The other downfall is all minutes must be used within 6 months unless recharged or you lose the minutes. Anyone else had problems with logging on to onesuite.com?

In answer to 2/20/2002 question regarding use of cash back card to purchase savings bonds: I recently used my Farm Bureau card to purchase $30,000 in I bonds. I then "cased in" 35,000 points and there was a $700 credit on my next statement. Thought there might be a problem getting my credit limit raised to $35,000 but there wasn't -- faxed Farm Bureau the financial info they needed and got the credit increase in just a few days. It does take a little time buying $30,000 in I Bonds because you can only buy $1,000 at a time -- so you have to log off and then log on to the site 30 times.

To the person looking for a Mastercard to complement the FarmBureau Visa: I am wondering if it is necessary to have an MC at all. Has anyone ever been in an instance where MC was accepted where Visa was not? (I have seen the reverse in Japan many times -- I could use Visa but not MC). I just got my $500 from Fleet and am thinking of cancelling the card now and sticking with what I think are the best two: FarmBureau's 2% Visa and REI's (now managed by US Bank) straight 1% Visa for backup. Should I be keeping the Fleet card as well? (I still seem to be "grandfathered" with the more favorable original rebate schedule.)

Great site!! Keep up the good work. My question is, Have any of the Grapevine readers had any experience with the Chase Retail Rewards program? This is a program with Chase that pays back 5% on purchases made from selected retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Target to name a few. It costs $25 a year to participate, with a $250.00 cap on reward per year. Anyone out there have any experience with this program? Thanks!!

2/24/2002

Is there a way to apply for the MBNA Select Rewards credit card online? If not, is there a phone number to apply?

Our TjMax card is discontinuing cash back, am looking for another card that still offers a 1% rebate check. If not 1% what is next best? Thank You.

Just got a call today from Juniper. Telemarketer offered 2% cash back with a $500 annual cap. I asked if it was a tier system or a straight 2%. She asked her supervisor and then said "straight". I agreed and then after taking my information she read me the canned legalese. In it said "....0.25% for the first $1000 spent, 0.50% for the ....." I stopped her right there but she couldn't understand how that sentence made a liar out of her. I spoke to the supervisor who denied she told her anything. Then I called Juniper itself who seemed to care. We'll see. I'm still on their call list. Discover also runs this con game but theirs is even worse in that you have to shop at certain places to double the rebate - a rebate which never equals the 1% they claim. Watch out for these. As far as I know, the only one offering a soldid 2% on all purchases is still Farm Bureau. I'd like to get a Mastercard that is like Farm's Visa if anyone knows of one.

Does anybody know how the new Carnival Rebate card works. You get 1 point for every dollar spent. But what can you buy with the points? Does it beat 2% cash from Farm Breau?

Chase has this new Stockback card (http://www.stockback.com) where you earn 1% cash towards purchases and up to 11% back at certain merchants (of which there are MANY). The rebate is invested into the stockback mutual fund. In my view I found it to be overly complicated considering what you return and there are various little charges mentioned in the fund's prospectus if you want to cash out of the fund. Has anyone tried this new card yet?

I also got my rebate from Fleet and see no reason to switch at this time. The only way i would switch would be if a sweet deal like the former Verizon setup were offered again.

2/20/2002

Is anyone aware of any drawbacks with using credit card to purchase savings bonds on the government web site? I think someone mentioned before that it's a great way to max out on your rebate credit card, but just wanted to see if there was any downside.

I am looking to find a site or number where I can apply for the chase toysrus visa card. When I clicked on that link on your site it took me to the toy store but couldn't find out how to apply for the card .

How do you make mortgage payments using your credit card?

Well, Fleet came through as promised this year. A letter earlier said the rebate checks would be sent out Feb 15, and I received mine Feb 15. I surmised they are going to change the rebate tiers for everyone sometime, even old customers, so I left them and went to Farm Bureau the beginning of Jan.

2/17/2002

I recently read your analysis and went to the Fleet website to apply for the Fleet Cash Back card. In reading the fine print before applying, it appears the only way you can get the 2% is by carrying a balance. All the same tiers apply except that $5,999.99 and over is just 1%. It does not have the $7,999 and over 2% tier. Am I looking at the right card or do you know if they changed the rules?

For everyone's information: The GM Mastercard and the Costco American Express both have a CASH rebate of up to 1.5 % I have been using them exclusively for everything with complete payoff each month. Comes to about a grand a year. These are the only two cards that put there money where their mouth is. The rest are "junk" as far as consumer bennies are concerned. I think Discover screwed up when they messed around with their rebate system and also when they left Costco.

I am overwhelmed with different credit card offers that i am reading about. We have At&t we py in full monthly but I finding out we could e getting cah back besides other offers. what do you think about stock back mastercard through i believe chase.

2/10/2002

Nice website. With the new shorter grace periods and higher late fees, guess what is top of my list? I have an obscenely high credit limit, yet if I'm out of town and a day late, my costs explode astronomically.(I usually carry no balance, and pay off large charges within a few months). So, No annual fee, high rate and long grace, low penalty is my wish. Any info? Thanks.

Many credit cards offer online payments...if they don't then bank online...you should eliminate all stamps by now :)

I stopped using Discover because I could no longer get cash back at the supermarket. Up to that time, Pathmark, and only Pathmark, was set up to offer up to $30 at check out. That was discontinued so I no longer use the card. I didn't realize how they changed their rewards program. I have AOL's VISA which has gotten me months free - four just recently. If anybody out there owns a Subaru, their card is great for me. I accumulate checks toward car repairs, accessories, and new car in $100. increments and the checks are good for about four years. I also discontinued using the Chase VISA because they discontinued their association with Verizon. It paid a lot of telephone bills!

I've had my CitiBank Dividend's Card for 3 years now. Agreeing that "cash is king" it replaced all other rebate cards (except gas -- 4%on the BP Visa was too tempting). Deal is 1% on all purchases, max $300/year, they send you a check when balance over $100 (so gratification is definately delayed). Last rebate card was Fleet EDvance card (still available)- 1% back on all purchases and when you hit $25 they sent you a $50 savings bond. BUT, with $100 I can buy my own savings bonds. info on citibank dividend's card at www.citibank.com/us/cards/cardserv/divplat/

Chase offers a card that will give 1% cash back on all purchases (no tiers) and more if you use a select group of online and brick & mortar retailers. The new twist is that these proceeds get deposited into either a cash account or brokerage account with Merryl Lynch. Here's a link: http://www.stockback.com/index.jsp

can you provide me with more information on ASTA Travel Plus by Bank One

I just found another credit card that seems better than the old tj Maxx card. You get 5% when you buy things at Marchells, TJ Maxx, Homegoods and A.J.Wright and 1% at any other place that you use it at.

2/4/2002

Is there a better deal now? I learned on here a few months ago about OneSuite.com, allowing us to have 2.9 cents per minute long distance with no monthly fees by signing up on their web site and buying time with their credit card. Who has heard of a lower rate with no extra fees, and so forth?

Just got a letter (1/31/02) from Discover. They're changing their cashback bonus program. Well, at least for me they are. :-( Effective April Fools, 2002. The Good news: You can request a check on the web or by phone after you have accrued $20. You can still get double the value from their partners. The bonus is still up to 1%. The Questionable news: Now the bonus structure is as follows: .25% first $1500 in purchases AND CERTAIN WAREHOUSE CLUB/DISCOUNT STORES PURCHASES WILL BE AT .25% (Probably Sams and Costco) .50% second $1500 in purchases during the year 1.0% the part in excess of $3000 during the year -No rights to pull out cash less than $20 or other than $20 increments. -After 36 months of inactivity, cash in $20 increments will be paid out to cardmember. If less than $20, cash is forfeited. -No longer display on the bill the 'amount of qualified purchases accrued' for this billing cycle or to date.

I cannot find the 12.99% $0 fee offer you show on American Express/Delta Skymiles. When I click on it I get a 14.74% APR and a fee of $85.00. How do I find your offer?

I just received the latest word from Discover Card, which is modifying the rebate terms. Effective 4/1/02, rebate checks will no longer be automatically issued on your anniversary. Instead, the rebate will be deposited into a Cashback Bonus Account. You can withdraw from this account, but withdrawals must be made in increments of $20. Discover says that “cardmembers have no right to accrued amounts of less than $20 or amounts within the $20 increments.” I think they also changed the rebate amounts to as follows: .25% for first $1500; .50% for next $1500; 1% after $3000. Basically, it means that we’ll have to spend at least $3875 to earn the first $20 rebate.

1/27/2002

Thanks for the webpage. Lots of great info. One small point to consider is that with the Discover, you can pay only, so that you save another 12 X .34 = $4.08 per year on stamps or $4.44 if the postage goes up. Of course, this is small in the overall picture, but for the other cards that don't have electronic payments, you might consider subtracting postage from the overall cash received back.

I applied from your Web site link to Fleet, wound up sending me out their "normal" Visa Platinium (no cash rebate). I called they can't do anything. Closed that account. Baclk to Fleet Web site, now their Cash back is at a maximum of 1% unless you carry a balance (@ 13.99%) Also Fleet offer no Cash Back cards on 800 call ins, "only on internet". Think Fleet needs to come off your alternate/back-up card list. What is your latest on Farm Bureau?

Hello, I stumbled upon you website, and I think you've done a great job! I've also got a credit-card site, but it's geared more towards finding low rate, or rewards cards. I've got a real-life full-time job in addition, so it's been a slow process filling my site with content, but it's getting there... Something I'm trying to do to differeniate my site from others is to add a useful review for the more "popular" cards. Ideally, I'd review them all, but the time requirements for that forces me to concentrate on the "big name" cards for now. Take a look at my site, I would appreciate your feedback, and potentially swap links! Good job! http://www.expertcredit.com/

Recently I applied for American Express and Fleet Visa because I agreed with your analysis. Yesterday I received an offer for Citibak Mastercard with FULL 1% cash back. My brain cannot calculate if this is better than American Express or Fleet. Please give me your advice. Thank you.

I have been notified that my TJX Visa from People's Bank is being upgraded to a new cash back MasterCard. From the (brief) information I have received, it appears to be a 1% flat cash back card payable monthly in $15 increments.

can anyone comment on the amaco or bp multi-card it gives various travel discounts on food and lodgeing, has a yearly fee of about $40.00

Now that People's Bank is discontinuing the TJX VISA, I've done some shopping around. I pay the balance in full monthly, so I want no annual fee -- interest rate doesn't matter -- and some rewards. I just got a Mastercard w/ cash rewards from Juniper Bank. In the past 3 years, my VISA purchases have totalled approx. $24K per year. Although I will have to wait until the end of the year for the cash rebate, it'll be $80 - $100 more than the TJX rebate coupons totalled for the year -- and can be spent anywhere (although we never had a problem spending at TJ's and Marshall's, 2 favorite stores.) I think I made out all right!

Has anyone had any experience using MBNA select rewards? It appears to be a really good deal. You can get a plane ticket in the continental US for 25000 points ($1 per point). You can get a rental car for a day for 2500 points and a one night hotel stay for 5000 points. This has no annual fee. It just seems a bit too good to be true. Is there a catch?

I've just gotten a good news letter from TJ Maxx! They will have a new program with Capital One to replace the one that is finished with People's Bank. The letter states the rebates will be the same - 5% on store purchases & 1% all other. Does anyone know if there's a yearly fee?

over 12 months ago the Quicken credit card switched to being handled by citigroup. Please update your site

If you have received a number of offers recently for a new credit card offering balance transfers with 0% interest for 12 months and thrown it away, there is a better alternative. I have just accepted one with a credit limit of $15,000. I had the maximum $ transferred to an existing credit card. Once received, I requested the credit balance refunded. Easy way for a 12 month interest free loan. Only kicker is that one must pay a minimum of 2% of the account balance monthly. There is also was a $40 charge for the balance transfer which is minimal compared to the interest one can earn on $15,000 for 12 months. It is as easy as it sounds.

I too have a Tjmaxx card and am looking to replace it with somehthing that will give rewards other than miles ( we don't fly). Have any suggestions????

I just reached my $35,000 tier and called Farm Bureau and they quickly and politely processed a $700 credit to my account for my rebate. It has not shown up on my online statement yet, but I have no reason to doubt that it will work as advertised. It feels very nice to get so much back. The more you buy, the more you rebate... However, I'm still trying to figure out how come I'm $34,300 behind on the deal.

Fleet Bank card only gives 2% back on the balances carried to the next month.Otherwise is only 1%.Stingy! Another thing-all programs change very frequently and sometimes best deals are not advertised widely.

Has anyone had good or bad experience with the Juniper Platinum Cash Rebate Credit Card? I'm deciding between that and the Fleet Titanium Cash Rebate Visa Card & would love to hear your opinions! I pay my full balance monthly & want to maximize my cash back with a reliable card. thanks

It looks like Fleet no longer offers the same Cash Rebate card anymore. Now, they only offer a tiered return capping at 1%, and double that if you carry a balance... http://cards.fleet.com/apply/default.asp#

1/20/2002

Capital One Miles One Visa program is changing: "Due to changes in the travel industry and higher than anticipated servicing costs, we will be modifying the current reward redemption levels... As a result, a higher number of miles will be required for free airline tickets at certain redemption levels." It now takes 20,000 miles (vs. 18,000) to fly in your zone. And it takes 5,000 MORE than the original tier to fly anywhere in the Western hemisphere.

Thanks for the site & info. I've had a TJX Visa for a few years, which gives 1% back of all purchases in the form of gift certificates to Marshalls & T.J.Maxx (my wife's favorite stores, and I buy my clothes there whenever possible, too), awarded in $15 increments, so you don't have to wait for year-end to cash in. Additionally, the reward is 5% on purchases at those stores. As good as this card is, it's not as good as the VISA I had prior, which at year's end gave gift certificates for our regular supermarket equal to 2% of all purchases! That one only lasted about 1-1/2 years... They probably figured out the cost. At any rate, the TJX rewards will be discontinued within the month, so I'm shopping around: whatever I can land in rewards is better than nothing. I do pay the balance each month, so I know I want a card w/o an annual fee, but I hadn't considered all of the other factors you brought up online. Thanks again for the leads (and I did check some of the sponsors!)

I was just notified by Fleet that my account was going to be canceled and I would be issues a MBNA card? I was on their 1% cash back on all purchases program, had it for the last 3 years. Never had a balance so i guess they thought I was not a good customer. Searching for a new one...

Regarding Fleet's online payment service, beware! My experience has been that payments post to my Fleet account on the second business day after I enter in the request (and my bank account is debited on the second day as well). Fleet's Terms of Service is quite clear to allow 3 business days for payments to post and to avoid late fees. Although I've so far been successful with allowing 2 days, I'm probably playing with fire, and that Fleet will conveniently take 3 days one time, then hit me with a late fee + interest!

I use the People's Bank card that earns certificates for TJMax, Marshalls and Home Goods. They are ending this offer. Know of a similar offer? I would like one with rewards towards something like clothes stores, phone bills, gas, etc.

1/16/2002

I have just been notified by FIRST USA Bank that as of 2/02 the manner in which AOL reward points are awarded on Balance Transfers is changing. You can only get up to maximum of 5000 points per year. I used to use this account by making balance transfers to it and as long as I had $2200 pass thru it every month I received FREE AOL service by cashing in my reward points every month. Looks like they caught up to wise people like me.

The second change I have been notified about is that Peoples Bank is discontinued its rewards program with TJMax and Marshalls. (These are discount clothing stores in the northeast) Bumber!

To add to the confusion on Fleet Platinum MCs, my Fleet account was cancelled after someone got ahold of the number and was making fraudulent charges. The insert with the replacement card I just received (Jan '02) continues the original conditions, not the more recent limited ones some contributors have been noting on this site.

nifty new offer from AmEx: balance transfers at just under 6% for the life of the loan, NO TRANSFER FEE, and they raise your credit limit dollar for dollar for the amount of each balance transfer. Seems to me to be a good way to get your credit limit up in a hurry (max $10k). Since I was looking to increase my limit substantially, I am taking them up on the offer - thus far it works as advertised. Plan to pay off entire balance transfer amount in less than 30 days - there is no grace period, and the transferred amount does not qualify for rebates.

I am a Fleet Visa cardholder and have been for over a year. I was drawn to their Platinum Rebate Visa card because they gave a 2% rebate after so many thousands of dollars of annual charges. Since I pay off my card in full every month, interest rates are meaningless so I decided to go with the Fleet card. Everything was fine until I began to use their electronic payment service on their webpage, www.fleet.com. As far as I know, Fleet is unique among banks that have an electronic payment feature in that they require three business days for a payment to post to my account. I have used Discover's webpage in the past; they post the same day if the payment is made by 2 pm Eastern, otherwise it posts the next business day. Other leading banks have the same policy, I believe. Anyway, I had 2 payments that were made online 3 or 4 days before they were due, but because of the 3 business day delay, my payment was received "late" and I was assessed a $35 late fee as well as nearly $40 in finance charges, even though my payment was posted before the statement was mailed to me. This has happened to me twice. The first time I called customer service and complained, and they removed both charges. The second time was my most recent statement. Rather than call customer service, I am going to send a letter of complaint to Fleet's CEO, Charles Gifford, as well as to Fleet's head of credit card services, Bradford Warner. I feel very strongly that the sole reason for Fleet's three business day delay is to maximize fee income from well-intentioned customers with good credit and that there is absolutely no technological reason why online payments cannot or should not be posted in a more rapid manner. Don't get me wrong--I knew about the delay upfront and I have only myself to blame. I just think that Fleet's consumer unfriendly policies should be out-ed and exposed for what they really are.

1/12/2002

I just got my Farm Bureau card. We'll see how good this card is. They gave me a tenth of the credit line my MBNA platinum gave me, but of course my MBNA doesn't give me anything back. Also, Farm Bureau's toll free line talks about how the card was mentioned in the January issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. I went and found the link. It is a small blurb: Credit Cards That Pay You If you prefer a cash rebate, the no-fee Farm Bureau Bank Visa (800-492-3276) offers the biggest payoff. You receive one point for every dollar spent and redeem points in increments of 5,000. The value escalates as you redeem more points: You get just $25 for 5,000 points but receive $700 for 35,000 points.

Beware! First USA has ended grace period on most accounts. The change in terms is hidden on the back of my GE and Bank 1 statements. Under grace period type A at the end; There is no grace period for ... balance transfers.

Hi I have just been looking at your site and found it very interesting.

I only have one card but I'm shopping around for another just in case I need it. The master card that I have right now pays me back in cash once a year. It will pay 1% on all credit card purchases right from the start, it is an REI card and is serviced by Bank of America. I'm not sure if it has a cap on it or not, I know I have gotten back as much as $600 which was 1% of my annual statement.

I used to have a First USA card but had problems with them and dropped them. I had been with them for about 3 or 4 years and the last year they didn't send me my rebate. I made numerous calls to the only number that they will give you but could never get to talk to anyone but the person on the other end who could only fill out a request and send it to another dept. to ask for my rebate. It took me about 3 months before I finally got it and I immediately cut up their card.

One thing I've always been looking for in a card is the number of days that it will allow you to use liability insurance when you rent a car. Most of the ones I've seen will only let you do it for 14 consecutive days which is a nuisance if you need the car longer. I used to have an AT&T card that allowed 30 days but I no longer have their card. Would you know of any cards that allow 30 days liability insurance.

I'm going to look into the Am2 an Express card that you recommend maybe that might have it.

Concerning the GM rebate card AUTHORIZED USER redemption. It has been my personal experience that you can make anyone an authorized user. The four people I have shared my rebates with did not live with me. I just called, asked that they be added, free of charge, and they were. In fact, 2 times we purchased the very same day they were added! The users card is sent to your address and then you may destroy it and remove them from your account. My users did not even see my account number. I went with them to the dealership to redeem the rebate. The last time I did this the dealer cut the 2 checks right there:$750 each. Just make sure your user is trustworthy.

1/9/2002

Can you help me find a credit card with a no or low annual fee that builds airline miles with more than one airline?

Coming March 1, Discover is slightly changing their "tiers" on which they pay less than 1 percent so that you will get back $3.75 less on the first $3000 (instead of losing $15 compared to a straight one percent card you will lose $18.75). Also, they are adding Wal-Mart to the warehouse clubs that they only give you .25% back on. But they are going to permit you to get your rebate during the year in $20 increments instead of waiting until the end.

A couple of months ago Clark said his credit card has one and a half percent rebate. I can only find a card with one percent. Anyone know which card he uses? (No annual fee, and don't care about interest because carry no balance.)

Dell Visa - First USA made good on the Dell Visa mix up. If you had a Dell Visa, check with First USA before redeeming. So many folks have posted horror stories on First USA, but I just don't see it. In this case, there was a mix up, they politely researched it and fixed it, I never had to yell or curse, what more can you ask for a CC company.

Does anyone have any feedback about the Juniper 2% Cashback MasterCard? They cap at $500, but their tiers are much better than AMEX. Tier A - For the first $1,000 of Purchases in a Reward Year the multiplier is .25% (.0025). Tier B - For the next $1,000 of Purchases in a Reward Year the multiplier is .50% (.005). Tier C - For the next $8,000 of Purchases in a Reward Year the multiplier is 1.0% (.01). Tier D - For purchases in excess of $10,000 the multiplier is 2.0% (.02).

Concerning the GM rebate card. Anyone who is an AUTHORIZED USER on the card can redeem rebate points toward a GM vehicle. Also that person must "live" in your household. Your "friend" can pay you a fee, and be added to your card -- without giving him the actual card (or the account #). Then, after he purchases a car, close the account.

1/7/2002

PayPal offers a debit card that will give you a 1.5% rebate on "PayPal Fees". This sounds like a good deal if you are a frequent eBayer, but my question is this: Can you get the 1.5% rebate without the PayPal fees? In other words, I want to fund the account with a simple transfer from a checking account (no fee charged by PayPal), collect the money market interest, and then withdrawl funds as needed using the debit card. If this strategy works, it would essentially be like a 1.5% cash rebate. I would appreciate any feedback that anyone has to offer about this PayPal debit card. Thanks, and BTW I've been visiting this site for a few years now and I think its great. Keep up the good work.

Are GM MasterCard redemption allowances transferrable to an individual whose name is not on the card?

I have seen people write about credit cards with rewards to a specific company, including Carnival Cruise Line. My wife, 3 kids (ages 2, 2, and 1), and I just completed a cruise with Carnival and it was the worst vacation ever. The major problems were: 1) They would not even attempt to get us a table that would accomodate 3 high chairs 2) They would not allow our girls (2 years olds are ok) into Camp Carnival and would not discuss it with us. We needed to find them to discuss it and clear up the mess. 3) They did not provide a crib for the infant even though it was specified in the reservation. I thought I would write since this is a risk with any credit card where the benefits are specific to one company (i.e. frequent flyer mileage, GM, Carnival, etc.). When you get around to redeeming your rebate, they may not have the best product, prices, etc. These cards may be suitable for people who are loyal to a specific company. I personally prefer my rebates in dollars.

I used to check this site all the time before I had a baby..almost 3 yrs. ago. In those good ol days I had a Tower MC and my Dividend Miles Visa..I used the Visa for everything for the FF miles and then paid the monthly bill with the no transaction fee Tower convenience checks, sending in the payment first so the Tower check would be covered and hence, no interest fee. I used to get hundreds of dollars of Tower certificates..I know it was too good to last, but is there anything like that out there? Ahh, those were the days, my friend......signed, Nostalgic

Are there any cards out there that don't charge "late charge" penalty in addition to interest on balance?

1/2/2002

Someone recommended the Associates Student Visa card because it has a 3% rebate. Turns out you only get a rebate when you carry a balance. This is a terrible deal.

http://www.eyeoncredit.com/students/associatesCashBackStudent.htm Bad points are buried as second- and third-to-last on that page: - You must carry a balance from month-to-month in order to receive the Cash Rebate - reward capped at $100/year ($20/month) If you're carrying a balance on your card, you're going to be paying more in interest than you're getting in the rebate.

DELL VISA - If you had a Dell Visa and converted to another card after they close the Dell program, you may have problems. First USA is being very nice but it looks like that if they changed your account number after the Dell program stopped you will have to work it through on getting your credit. I have $2,200 on the line so I am going to be politely patient for a few days while they work it out. If you have Dell Dollars, call First USA to make sure they still exist.

To the person interested in the Associates Student Visa. I was offered and approved for this credit card just a few short months after I turned 18, so I am sure they will approve you. The only downside to it is, the 3% cash back is only when you carry a balance, but it is still a good card to start with I think, because they are very understanding when you call them, and you can make payments online very easily.

1/1/2002

Farm Bureau charged me a late fee of $29 when my payment was made on time and they posted it somewhere. I have never had this happen to any credit card payment. It will get straightened out but I have had to get a copy of the check and in the meantime they call and remind me of my late payment. Take your business elsewhere. I like American Express.

I'm in the process of upgrading to Quicken 2002 and was wondering if anyone is currently using the Quicken Platinum card TravelerMiles program and can give me any feedback...pros, cons, etc. We put about 20,000 a year on credit cards and use airlines for domestic travel 4 to 5 times a year. The TravelerMiles program costs $39/year. For me, the advantage of downloading transactions directly into Quicken is pretty valuable....but I don't want to get locked in to something where the rebates are difficult to obtain, use, etc. Thanks for any info...

If you add funds to your PayPal account with your American Express Cash Rebate card, does American Express treat the transaction as a purchase or cash advance?

Well, just perusin the site, and I have a card that might be for you. I got to UCLA and I've been handed offers for this card before. Its called the Associates Student Visa and I swear it offers somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 percent cash back, no annual fee, no minimum spending. Problem is, I have no credit history (I've been using a Visa check card for the past couple years). I was wondering if you could clue me into a card that simply has no annual fee and approves first timers. All I want is to build my credit so I can move on to bigger and better things. By the way, I don't know if the Associates Student Visa limits ownership to students (the name seems to imply that) but its a great deal for those that can get it.

Pulaski bank has a $50 fee for just a stinking gold card.

Please continue to the grapevine archive of this continuing Saga!