The Historical Grapevine

9/27/99

Has anyone used the "double rebate" feature of Discover Platinum? Does it work well? For example, can you REALLY get twice the cash rebate (effectively a tiered 2%) by purchasing United Airlines tickets or paying for a Hyatt hotel stay with your rebate dollars? Or is it just some sort of coupon deal with so many hooks and blackout periods that it is valueless?

The Chevy chase card (Giant-VISA) was moved to First USA and the rebate will be dicontinued after Sept 30, 1999.

Visa and Promus Hotel Corp. offer the Promus Points Visa card, allowing guests to earn points for free stays at Doubletree Hotels & Guest Suites, Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites, Club Hotel by Doubletree, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites and Embassy Vacation Resorts. Earn three points per dollar charged at Promus properties and one point for purchases from other merchants.

Carhdolders receive a first-use bonus of 3,500 points, which is over half the number of points required for a free night's stay. Call 877-277-6687.

To the person that was funding new bank accounts with his visa/mc. Wouldn't most cards treat that as a cash advance & thus incur fees? What card did you use to fund those accounts you opened up?

9/26/99

[Editorial Note: We've been getting a lot of submissions to the grapevine asking for us to post their AllAdvantage referral links - which is a "paid to surf" site that is gaining popularity. At the present time, we feel it would be most fair to not post all the different referral IDs. That may change in the future.]

Second note - notice that there is now a Customize link on the left hand menu. This link will allow you to change the font sizes and colors of many of the main elements of this site. Feedback would be appreciated.

First of all, I noticed someone posted a message about the new Dilbert NextCard Visa. I have been in touch with Robin Walsh, who is over NextCard's affiliate program, and she informed me that there should be an affiliate program in place soon so that affiliates can promote this card. One very unique aspect of this card is the "No Fee/Reverse Fee" feature. With this feature, cardholders never pay any annual, late or over-the-limit fees. What's even more exciting is that cardholders who choose to pay their bill online get a .50 credit each month (in addition to saving a stamp)! The card also features NextCard's popular "Double Rewards" program. Robin said that affiliates can expect more opportunities to promote various NextCard affinity cards in the near future, including a card geared toward students!

Secondly, Providian has an attractive new Visa card called Aria, which I am sure that you have heard of (0% intro. APR and a rewards program through http://MyPoints.com/).

I also do not carry a monthly balance and your info is what I've been looking for. A frequent flier card with no annual fee!! (but not AMEX) Cashing in my GM Card Monday ($2703) before they start expiring the accrude amount. Then I need to find an airline miles card before I cancel it.

I found your site looking for info about rebate cards. I have a card that gives a quarterly 1% rebate check good at Giant Food (that I feel is as good a rebate as real cash).

The program will end any day!

I am writing for two reasons:

Giant food could not be found in your search, and I thought it was NEWS you could use.

Since it's inception, banks in this deal have changed a few times (when the first pulled out). It appears more consumers in this area don't carry a balance, so it has not been profitable. I think it is in the courts.

I hope you can recommend a rebate visa/mc card with no annual fee and a rebate of cash, food or even gasoline. I always pay in full.

In response to what someone wrote in about the Smithsonian card appearing to be a 1% cash back card since, after you spend $5,000, you get a $50 U.S. savings bond: Actually, this card is really a 0.5% cash back card since a $50 savings bond is worth $25 at the time of purchase. It will be worth $50 about 17 years later. You can get a free $50 savings bond from Bank One for getting a Platinum Visa card (issued through First USA). Check out http://www.bankone.com/personal/products/creditcard/ for details. And visit my website, http://geocities.com/signupmoney for more ways to get free money.

Some news: First PI sends a notice about cutting the grace period and now I receive one from Discover stating that they will be cutting their grace period as well. So for those balance transfer fiends that used to milk PI and Discover for thousands - the party is over. I promptly cancelled 8 PI's and Discovers. Discover and PI are no longer worth it. They're not true 1% rebate cards, they're tier system works out to less than 1%. Why mess with them when you can have some of the gem 1% rebate cards? i.e. the First USA Cards

Now, I think I've discovered the holy grail to all you rebate junkies. How would you like to purchase cash with your credit cards instead of having to buy something first for a lousy $30 bucks at a Safeway? ( you can tell I'm really peaved with PI and Discover) This past weekend I purchased $6000 in cash - it came in one color - green. Depending on your Visa or M/C this is $60 to $120. With a Sony Card - thats also a whole lot of points. This is how it works: when you open an account at www.sfnb.com you can fund your first $500 on you Visa/MC and its counted as a purchase!!!

Now once you open your initial checking account you can open a savings account and you guessed it - fund the initial $500 with a Visa/MC!! So if you have 5 family members thats 5x2x500 = $5000 bucks!! Now Wells Fargo's online banking also allows you to fund a checking and savings up to $500 each with a Visa/MC. Notice PI/Discover aren't in the picture :( However, with the Wells account it gets even sweeter if you signup through http://www.gomez.com/.

Gomez gives you $100 for opening a Wells Fargo account by becoming a gomez member first. Also, check out the other cool deals at gomez and remember to use the BT flip method to fund your accounts for ready cash. For those of you who don't know what the BT flip method is I'll be explaining how you can have ready interest free cash available up to several thousand dollars in my new web site. (When I get around to creating it:)) One caveat, however, to opening the accounts - actually several. Some banks like BofA treat it as a cash advance - ouch! So you don't want to use your Visa/MC there. Also, other banks you have to be careful of the maze of fees they charge i.e. account maintenance fee, check printing fee, transfer fee, wipe the booty fee, etc, etc. Also, there is a bureau similar to Experian for bank accounts. Its called checkfreax or something (ChexSystems) that monitors your bank account activity and like a credit report, if you have to many outstanding bank accounts it brings up red flags.

There you go, I just gave you a thousand dollars (actually I made $1400+ through gomez, sfnb, and the above methods I described. NO BS!! In one week. Ofcourse, they're are alot of details I've left but its not something a resonably intelligent person can't figure out on their own. I kid you not! You can make a $1000 plus tonight by visiting sfnb, gomez, discover brokerage, etrade, wells, and sleeping with 1stUSA. Now, I would like to ask two favors (1) I'd like to hear about more banks where you can purchase money (this is usually a side benefit of online banks only and a good list to start from would be by going to the smartmoney page and doing a search for banks online. What I'm proposing is that people try these different banks and report back on their experiences).

9/23/99

I thought I might mention that your Cash Rewards section says that gas cards are only good for up to $3.5K. Technically this is true, but the $3.5K (specifically $3571) generates a reward (1.96% untiered! (2% less not rewarding the gas) greater than the AMEX Cashback card until you charge $7000. If your gas card caps at $70. So you are better off, but only if you charge over $7000. For some people that might be important. Plus you get an additional reward if you charge the next $3429 ($7000-$3571) on some other card which gives a reward.

The good news about the Bellsouth MC being moved to First USA is that you can now enroll and check balance, make payments, review transactions, etc. This brings it up to par with Discover and Amex. https://cardmemberservices.firstusa.com/cmsonline/enrollment/cmsregistration.jhtml

RE: Is the AmEx Optima card accepted widely by most stores, chains etc? My guess is that it is not, and I don't want to add another card that I can't use much. Appreciate some feedback.

I have been using my AmEx Optima card for about four months now. I think that it is almost as widely accepted as Discover/Private Issue. I use AmEx at my grocery store, all gas stations, most retaurants. There are a few restaurants that take only Visa, but not as many as Visa's TV commercials would have you believe. I have been putting about $2200 a month on my AmEx, and I end up putting an additional $400 a month on my Phillips 66 Mastercard (straight 1% gas back) at places that don't take AmEx.

9/22/99

This isn't strictly a credit card deal, but it might find a place on your Freq. Flyer Page: Bank with CompuBank and earn ClickMiles (http://www.clickrewards.com)which can be redeemed for frequent flyer miles on 8 major airlines. They give you 500 ClickMiles for opening your first account with CompuBank, 750 ClickMiles for setting up a recurring direct debit/deposit transaction, and 1 ClickMile for every dollar spent on a qualified purchase using your CompuBank Check Card. So it's like getting a no annual fee freq. flyer card, but it's a Visa Check card, so you don't get the float. See http://www.compubank.com/rewards/about.cfm?10000 for more details Check out my website at http://www.geocities.com/signupmoney for more ways to get free money.

Here's info I gleaned in applying for Amex Corporate Optima Platinum cash-back card:

Number to call: 800-678-4269 (apply-by-phone Optima division -- ask for Corporate Platinum cash-back card)

Particulars:

no annual fee
$50,000 credit line
may add up to 9 additional cards to account
Tiered cash rebate schedule -- 0.5% first $5,000; 1% next $5,000, 2% over $10,000 -- credited each February

It appears the Percentage of the reward for the Discover Smithsonian Card is only 1% You must spend 5000 to get the 50 points required to receive one $50 Series EE bond. The bond matures in 5 years at face value ($50). 50/5000=.01 It isn't really any better than the tiered reward schedule for regular or Platinum Discover Cards. At least with those cards you don't have to wait 5 years to realize the entirety of the reward!

Another instant approval Visa Card called Dilbert NextCard Visa is on http://www.dilbert.com. This one earn you Dilbert merchanise bonus and had on-line account access.

RE: Is the AmEx Optima card accepted widely by most stores, chains etc? My guess is that it is not, and I don't want to add another card that I can't use much. Appreciate some feedback.

Well, one place that American Express is accepted that's important to me is Costco (used to be Price Club). Ok, I haven't shopped there in a while, but I do know that I can't use my Visa there. They only recently started taking American Express, and it's almost made me want to get an AmEx card with rebate just to use there!

The new Kroger Visa card from US Bank (in North Dakota) awards "points" for dollars spent. Each $1 spent at Kroger awards you 2 points; other purchases give a 1 point/dollar spent. Each 2,000 points give you $200 off a Carvnival cruise, but to get $50 off in groceries costs you 6,000 points. If very few (<20%) of your points are awarded for Kroger purchases, and taking into account there are no points given when you 'redeem' your certificates, along with the extra 1,000 points needed for $50, the effective rebate rate is a hair under 1%. On the plus side, rewards are given throughout the year, and for me, it is as good as cash. Just disappointed that the 2% on Kroger purchases don't roll through as an addition to the 1% on other purchases.

9/21/99

Is the AmEx Optima card accepted widely by most stores, chains etc? My guess is that it is not, and I don't want to add another card that I can't use much. Appreciate some feedback.

Have spent some time on your page and found it very helpful. Did you research into the gold cards (since they still offer the CDW coverage for car rentals) that also offer cash rebates and have a low or no annual fee?

Does anyone know of a card that is better than Discover for cash rebate (greater than 1%) if you pay balance off monthly. Also, any cards available with free Balance Transfer offers (w/ grace period and no other charges)? First USA used to do it in the past, but they changed their program a few years ago!

An observation: Recently I moved to another state, and because my favorite card (Bell Atlantic Visa) was regional, I had to shop for another. It blows my mind how inconvenient this has been! I had assumed that credit card companies are waiting for you on every corner, wanting to sign you up. I receive credit card offers in the mail every day, but am having a heck of a time getting literature on cards that I want. I have been through a maze of phone calls, sometimes having to call 3 or 4 different phone numbers in order to get information on a particular card. Many web sites -- including yours -- give phone numbers to get more info, yet you must have an account number or you can't enter the system. Once, a customer service agent didn't even know about their card that was featured in a Money article. Argh! Why are they making this so difficult? Are they trying to thwart the "Reward Reapers"?

I finally got my first $25 check for my First USA Platinum VISA. It is a straight 1% rebate with no cap. For every $2500 you spend, you could either select a 1% break on the interest of 1% cash back. The cash back can be in the form of a $25 gift certificate or a $25 check. You have to ask for this program. As I understand it, they didn't offer it to everybody.

What do you think of the new Discover Smithsonian Card? How does it stack up against the other cash reward cards? http://www.smithsoniancard.com/

9/20/99

I have a Direct Rewards Visa from Direct Merchants Bank. It has no annual fee and a graduated cash back plan which I am too lazy to look up right now, but it caps out at $125 reward at $10,000 in purchases. I just thought you might want to know since you're only getting $115 from your GE mastercard.

FYI. You can also apply on-line for both the American Express Cash Rebate Card or the American Express Platinum Cash Rebate Card.

American Express Cash Rebate Card http://home1.americanexpress.com/apply/optima/cash_back/docs/page1b0.asp

American Express Platinum Cash Rebate Card http://home1.americanexpress.com/apply/optima/cash_back_plat/docs/page1b0.a sp

Both offer the same terms : No Annual Fee and up to 2% rebate if you carry any balance.

I was wondering if anyone at received the promised $100 dollars that was promised from Wingspan --- i signed up immediately and was approved but no $100 bucks.

Here is the rebate structure for a couple more cards, in case anyone's interested. 1. Chase Cash Builder Standard or Platinum (mentioned recently by someone else on the grapevine; thanks for the tip): .25% 0-$2,000 .50% $2,000-4,000 .75% 4,000-6,000 1% $6,000 and up (up to 2% if you revolve balance of $500, but I didn't ask for details on this since I don't want to revolve a balance!) max cashback per year $500 given by check at end of calendar year This can be a Visa or MasterCard. I was told that you have to apply by phone if you did not receive a solicitation in the mail. 2. WesBanco Classic or Gold (Visa or MC) $1-2,000 .25% 2,000-5,000 .5% 5,000-10,000 .75% Rebate credited to Dec. statement, or sent as a check if there is no balance on the card. The rebate structure is not so great but there are some other terms that are better than most, at least for the time being: Cash advance translaction fee of 1.5% or $5, whichever is LESS; no extra fee for foreign currency; late payment fee 5% of payment (min $1, max $5) overlimit fee 2% of credit limit, max $10 The creditor is Infibank of Atlanta GA, a bank that is only one year old and about which I know nothing, either good or bad. The WesBanco phone number is 800-328-3369; website at http://www.wesbanco.com

9/18/99

To all credit card users dealing in foreign currencies. I have done I little bit of research and the findings are as follows: Foreign currency transaction fees(excluding fees charges made by MC or Visa): First USA(incl. GE Rewards): 2-3% Citibank(incl ATT Universal Card): 3% Quicken(Travellers Bank): 1.5% Chase Manhattan(incl. Shell): 2% Marriott Gold Card: 2% Amex: 2% (no MC or VISA charges) MBNA: none all of these are on top of Visa and MC charges of 1%. Hence, the best deal for foreign currency transaction is MBNA followed by AMEX. First USA instigated this charges and I have henced closed all my First USA accounts. I have also stopped using Shell MC after the announcement. Let me know if there are other credit cards that do not charge for foreign currencies.

For the GrapeVine: I recently applied for the Aria Visa card online, it seemed like a good deal with instant online approval, 0% interest on balance xfers for 3 months, and MyPoints earned for each dollar spent. About 2 weeks later I get a call from someone saying they are from Providian and they need me to give them my name, address, and SSN so they can verify my recent application. I refuse to give this out over the phone to a stranger. After not getting my Aria card, I call and find out Providian owns Aria and that since I wouldn't give my private info over the phone my application is canceled. Whats more they can't reopen the application, I just have to wait 60 days and reapply. Not helpful at all, claimed their way of doing business is great. I don't recommend this card to anyone.

My new website is at http://geocities.com/signupmoney. It deals with a few credit card offers, and also ways to get money by opening brokerage accounts, bank accounts, etc. One example dealing with credit cards your readers might like is to apply for the Cybergold Visa. You get $20 just to open the account and a 3.9% into rate. The details are at https://ads.cybergold.com/advertiser/mbna/index3.dyn.

Regarding the new 2% fee transaction fee charged by Citibank, when I heard about this and was about to leave for a foreign trip I checked with both Citibank and MBNA. Citibank confirmed the increase in fees, but MBNA said that the standard fee had not changed. Bottom line, had a great trip and MBNA got the business.

The Bellsouth Mastercard has now been taken over (from GE) by First USA. They promise no changes.

9/17/99

Even though there seems to be a lot of bashing of First USA on several fronts, I would like to report a positive experience. I was lucky enough to receive the "invitation" for the CashIn, uncapped 2% rebate card. Initially, I had problems getting my account set up and First USA did foul up my rebate amount. However, these problems were corrected, and I received my rebate check, in the correct amount, in less than three weeks after my card anniversary date. Perhaps there's some hope!

Is it my imagination, or are grace periods suddenly collapsing toward the nanosecond level? I returned from a 2 week vacation on Aug 27 to find a Seafirst Mastercard bill due the 29th; my payment mailed the 27th was credited the 31st, so I paid interest for the first time in ages. "That's a Gotcha," I thought, "you win this one." Today I receive my Amex bill: (1) Closed the 11th, (2) Postmarked the 16th (received the 17th), (3) Due the 1st. If it's due a mere 20 days after closing date, 2 weeks after mailing date, what do travellers do? I suppose convenience users will all have to record all transactions and send *estimated* payments even before we receive the bill.

Re: the AmEx Corporate Cash Back Card with the 2% rebate --- thank you for supplying the phone number. The people at that number referred me to 800-541-2639. When I called this number and asked to apply for the card, I was transferred to another number, where the representative asked me where I had heard about 1-800-SUCCESS (I hadn't ;-). Bottom line is calling either of these numbers should get you to people who will take your application. I am a small business owner and had no problems with the questions they asked. The representative confirmed an uncapped 2% rebate on everything over $10K in purchases.

RE: Chase Manhattan Bank has a number of co-branded credit cards that give cash back rebates. However, they raecently have changed the terms on these cards that make them a bad deal to use outside the United States. The new terms state: "For each transaction in a foreign currency, we will charge a foreign transaction fee of two percent (2%) of the converted transaction amount. ..." What a rip-off.

I have seen this on other cards. Do you have information as to which cards have added this gouge?

9/16/99

The best card I have seen for cash rewards is from CapitalOne. I received a pre-approved offer from them for a "Platinum Cash Rewards Business VISA Card". I got the card and it has a straight 1% for the first $5000 in charges a year and straight 2% with no cap for charges after that. The reward is paid yearly on the anniversary date of the card. Also, this is a cash reward, not some kind of points or inflated merchandise. I received my card almost half a year ago. I am not sure if you can get this card by calling them or if it is by invite only.

All of Discover's cards no longer have a grace period for balance transfers. @#$%&!!!

I just received an "invitation" in the mail for Fleet Bank's "Fleet Titanium MasterCard." This card, among other things, advertises a 9.99% FIXED APR and a "Up to 2% Cash Rebate." Apparently, it is a tiered approach with a $500 cap. But there is no mention in the information about the tier structure. I called the 800 number, but the people on the other end referred me to another 800 number, and then another, and so on. I have submitted an email asking the appropriate questions. Has anyone else received this offer? Any information?

I have just found about a new card from FLEET - called the "Home Platinum Mastercard", which pays a rebate on a tiered-level of upto 2 % and a maximum rebate of upto $ 500 a year, directly to your mortgage company. This would be good for Homeowners, who spend susbstantial amount on credit cards and ususally pay-off monthly balances.

Chase Manhattan Bank has a number of co-branded credit cards that give cash back rebates. However, they raecently have changed the terms on these cards that make them a bad deal to use outside the United States. The new terms state: "For each transaction in a foreign currency, we will charge a foreign transaction fee of two percent (2%) of the converted transaction amount. ..." What a rip-off.

I was investigating several of the links from your site, and went to Getsmart.com. I plugged in my info, and got two responses back, Aria and AmExp. I know Aria's affiliation w/Providian, but I just wanted to see what kind of rate I could get. So, I started to enter my info in, and low and behold I noticed that the link was not secure. I thought it odd as I got the "notice" prior to entering the app section that I was entering a "secured area". I went back to Getsmart (even though you can't "back-out" of Aria's site using the back button), and tried it again. The same thing happened. I got the note "You are requesting information from a secured site....", but I did not in fact get a secure link. I think there is some bad script between Getsmart and Aria's site. When you go straight to Aria's site, the link in the app section is secure. Seeing as Getsmart is a link from your site, I thought you should know about this and perhaps have more "power" to get something done about it.

PS-As a side note, I have spoken with 2 banks whom have pulled their cards from Getsmart due to poor sign-up numbers.

On the American Express home page I have not been able to find the Corporate Optima Cash Back card rebating 2% above $10,000 annual purchases described in your 10/12/00 update. Would appreciate any additional info.

I pulled up your site last in 1997 and picked up the advice on Private Issue, which has been good to me. Now I'm going to check into the Am Optima.

I am extremely disappointed in the transfer from GE Rewards to First USA Bank. There was absolutely no notification. In fact, I nearly tossed out the statement since I wasn't expecting anything from First USA. My GE Reward charges were posted to a new card number. I hadn't even received the new card! I immediately called customer service and was told they were only mailing out new cards on the anniversary date! I requested new cards immediately and received them. However, there was no activation information with them. In the past three weeks, my Platinum card has been flagged a number of times for the merchant to call and reverify. This never happened with GE, and I don't like the suspicions of the merchants. Upon a serious discussion with First USA, they told me the account gets flagged for unusual purchases and they need a purchase history on me. Obviously, they have my six year account history! I'm getting tired of this treatment and in all cases possible, I just put the charge that was flagged, onto my Private Issue. Has anyone else had problems with this transfer?

This is a reply to the 9/15 person inquiring about my previous post on the Amex card:

Further info on the Amex Corporate Cash Back Card. The customer service number is 1-800-678-0745. It is part of American Express Small Business Services. To apply, they transferred me to another person.

9/15/99

I tried to apply for the GE Rewards MasterCard, but the rep told me that I have to apply for the card first, then when I received the card, I have to call them to enroll in the rewards plan of my choice. Does it really work that way? Has anyone done this before? Why can't I specify my rewards plan when I apply?

I'm trying to find out what company offers the TravelPlus Visa Classic. Can you help me? I found this offer thru CreditChoise:Travel but this particular site won't open. I'm trying to find a credit card company who will offer airline points for any airline.

Can you help me find it?

To the gentleman who on 09/10/99 posted the info about the regular Travelers Visa earning points faster than the Quicken version of their card, can you please post who or were and how to contact Travelers on this?. When I called customer service, I was firmly told that this was not true and that both cards were "equal"

9/14/99

To the person who wrote in about their AmEx Corporate Optima Cash Back card with a 2% uncapped rebate: can you please supply a phone number or other info on how to apply for this card? I called customer service for my personal AmEx Optima Cash Back card and they deny the 2% card exists. The AmEx web site doesn't mention it either.

When GE first announced the annual fee, I called them and asked if there was a way around the fee. They told me if I upgrade to a Gold Card, the fee will be waived. I have more recently upgraded to the Platinum card, and have never been charged the annual fee. I'm surprised more people have not done the same.

9/13/99

A note from the webmaster - coming in the next few weeks, you'll be able to customize creditcardgoodies.com with your own colors and font sizes... stay tuned!

I got a FirstUSA card by trying Priceline.com, didn't even get the price I wanted, but they sent me the card.

The card agreement doesn't say anything about grace period and the phone line is busy. Somebody should find out for sure and warn people if necessary.

They are giving cheap gifts which can be easily offset by finance charges if there are no grace periods

While it's not _cash_ back, the Sony Card seems to fit some of these requirements, as long as you appreciate Sony merchandise. I carry no balance but still get the Sony points.

If by "registration" you mean sign up for the card, you can do that.. There's a link from www.sony.com for the Sony Card, and I signed up for it (after a reference on alt.video.dvd). Now I use my credit card for a LOT more things just to ring up Sony Points! (And within the past two weeks I bought Sony 300 CD changer and Sony receiver, both of which rack up 3X points.)

Have you noticed the site http://www.EyeOnCredit.com/? They are new and will provide you with some competition, as they are entirely devoted to credit cards that offer rewards.

9/12/99

I am looking for a VISA card with no annual fee that returns a percentage back to me, when I don't carry a balance. I've loked around a good deal, but what I am finding on my own is, shall we say, uninspiring. The higher the cash back rebate, the better. On-line account availability would be a big plus. On-line registration would be a plus. A low interest rate would be gravy, but it is not essential.

I learned about the Amex Platinum Cash Back card on your web site months ago and have been using it religiously all summer. Having maxed out a Bellsouth M/C rebate, I am very pleased with the card, and the access to the info on the Amex web page.

I also had a Corporate Optima Platinum Card (no fee) to use for my self employed business. A few weeks ago I boldly called Amex and asked it I could have a Cash Back card for my company and they surprised me by saying YES. The Corporate Optima Cash Back Card has a different rebate schedule than the personal card, but goes to 2% above $10,000/year. As it is a "small business" card, the credit history used to obtain the card is the personal history of the applicant. I am contimplating using it for my personal charges as well as the rebate will be higher. Here is the schedule.

CORPORATE CASH BACK	PERSONAL CASH BACK
.5% from $0 to $5,000	.25% from $0 to $2,000
1.0% from $5,001 to $10,000	.50% from $2,001 to $5,000
2.0% above $10,000	1.50% above $5,000

The breakeven comparison of the two cards is above $14,000 in annual charges the Corporate card rebate becomes and stays higher.

Thanks for the great information.

I read about the 3 cards that you like to use (am ex optima, discover and the telephone card). I was curious to know your thoughts about the Waterhouse straight 1% cashback visa card. Don't you think that this card is a better deal than the others or am I missing something? Any insight would help me. Thanks

9/10/99

Re: the guy who got the ASPCA card with the intro rate of 9.9% (not very good, it's often as low as 2.9% to start) and then went up to 19.9%. Sorry, but this is not one that you can blame on First USA. I am almost positive that they tell you when you get the card that the intro rate is just for 6 months, and after that you'll be hit by their normal rate.

Just to let you know, I've called to get information on the following credit cards for ff miles, and they are not offered anymore:

Merchants Miles (American Airlines) from Merchants Bank phone # 630-896-9000.
Stop & Shop Rewards from Bank of NY (issued by Chase Manhattan Bank) phone # 800-846-5843.

You may want to post this info next time you update your great site!

Visit http://www.cardratings.com/.

Here's some things I have found in the last few weeks:

The miles program for any Travelers card is the same except if you get the Quicken card. It takes more miles with the Quicken card to get deals. You're better off with their regular Travelers Visa.
All Chevy Chase cards are now FirstUSA (ugh!). The Value Miles program is not as good as the old Chevy Chase program. Also, I would love to give you my horror stories about FirstUSA and why I cancelled two accounts, but there's not enough time in the day.
You show TravelMax for MBNA. That's just one of two programs and it is not that good (I called twice and each time the rep didn't even now about the program - they both had to get a manager). There's different ways to earn points, but the big one is you get only 1 point for every 3 dollars spent. A US flight is 12,000 points ($36,000).
I'm looking at Capitol One's MilesOne Platinum. Have you heard anything good or bad about it?

Have a good one..

You should send an email to upper level management about your dissatisfaction. You should include in that email that you have this credit card service site and that you will keep on posting negative reports about them written the people who email you about their bad experiences with Amex.

I recently applied for GE reward card which is called as "GE logo mastercard by FUSA". Because I read about their 'maintenance fee', I called their customer service center and asked about it. I called 10 times and talked with 10 different people. They really don't know about their policy on the maintenance fee for those not paying any finance charges. Does anybody have some information about his issue? They claimed I don't have to apy any maintenance fee or annual fee as long as I pay off full amount each month.

I am really sorry for Peter's unfortunate experience. By the way, This is for AmEx card holders. AmEx has upgraded their site for days. I was not able to access to my account information until today. When I called the customer service yesterday, somebody told me they had finished their upgrading already. Unfortunately, some accounts still have a problem so they still have the same "We are sorry" page. I gave them my account information and it took about 24 hours to fix the problem with my account.

If you still have the problem, call 1-800-AXP-1234 and tell them to have your account fixed. God Bless.

P.S. I don't work for AmEx. :-

Does anyone know the email site for wingspan still hadn;t got any reply in regards to the $100.00 promised for the first 10,000 sign ups ---- I was approved and called several times --- but no money or credit to my account --- has anyone received the promised $100.00

9/9/99

Time to put the PI card out of its misery. Round II. Ok they decreased the rebate to a lowly 1% and now they've sent me an account update notice saying that they are eliminating the grace period on balance transfers! I think a ways back there was some misinfo on whether the bt's had a grace period or not and I think some people thought they had nixed the grace but I didn't take it into heed and continued to do several hundreds of thousands more in free BTs but this notice drives the stake. Although, I've seen instances where the grace has remained regardless of the notices sent, I'm going to wait and see what other people on this site come up with. Everything is supposed to already be effective Sept. 1, 1999. This is a direct passage from the notice: "We are eliminating the grace period for cash advances and balance transfers. Periodic finance charges will be imposed on new cash advances and balance transfers beginning with the date the transaction occurs. Accordingly, we are amending the first sentence in Subsection (1) Current Billing Period by deleting the phrase "cash advances and balance transfers."

Ouch! However, I haven't received any notices (yet) on the Discover card which still has a grace on BT.

Two things have just happened with Discover Card Private Issue. This info is mostly for balance transfer fiends like myself. First there is no longer a grace period for balance transfers like there is for purchases. I got a notice in the mail saying that as of 9/1/99, the grace period would be gone. Also, it used to be that when you transferred a balance to PI, they'd take their sweet time about putting it on your account. It would not appear until the other credit card company actually cashed the check. Now, it appears within a day or two. So you have to start paying interest right away on a transaction that has not even taken place, yet. As I see it now, the only reason to keep the PI card is for the cash at the grocery store.

The difference between the co-branded cards 1% rebate vs. the "true" cash back cards is that the 1% gained in rebate is NOT tiered. I get 1% back immediately on my Exxon card. (Yes, I will always need gasoline, so I don't mind spending it at Exxon).

I have a spreadsheet which compares the various cards including the GE Rewards and American Express. your strategy of using the AE first and the GE as a second card is a good idea, providing you can put at least $6,000 on it within a year, otherwise, there are other Visa/MC cash back cards which are better.

Also, I don't have to wait a year for my money. I get whatever discount the following month. The American Express card is still your best bet over $12k. Some credit unions offer a Visa or MasterCard that gives cash back with the SAME tier system as Discover! I've seen some of the Visa brand cash back credit cards go under the "ScoreCard" moniker.

I can top your story of American Express' incompetence. In a recent call to AmEx to check something I discovered that since 1/1/99, all my membership rewards points have been credited to someone else's account. They even gave me the name and address of the person. They gave new meaning to "customer comes last" by telling me they could not return my points to me until they conducted an investigation which takes 6-8 weeks. I reminded them that I'm paying $40/yr for this program but they couldn't care less. Even a child would know to credit the points back to the customer first and then investigate to their heart's content

I'm surprised to hear about the problems you've had with your American Express card. I've got their Optima cashback platinum card, and -- other than the fact that it's not as widely accpepted as Visa and Mastercard -- I've been delighted with their services.

The web-based interface they offer for reviewing accounts is one of the best I've seen. I like the ability to download transactions to Quicken. I also like the way they provide a separate accounting of card usage for me and my wife.

Although the phone-pay option is not as convenient as an automatic EFT monthly payment method would be, it works just fine. The one occassion that I've had to interface with their customer service folks was about a $100+ finance charge for a payment that I had admittedly phoned-in one day late. They agreed to remove the charge.

I've been so impressed with their services, I've just added a card for my college-bound daughter.

Here's the answer to cruise version posted few days ago. Carnival is the only one I know about. MBNA handles that so service is not bad. They have no fee Platinum (1-800-789-6701) card and regular (1-800-421-2110) card with $25 annual fee, they always waived it for me. The deal is good: 4% flat rebate for Carnival cruises accepted anywhere. You redeem in $800 or $500 or $150 certificates. $150 can be used as 2 class upgrade. Limitations: up to $500 rebate per year, points will expire after 2 years, can use up to $800 + upgrade per cabin.

I've seen another deal at http://www.freeride.com.

They seem to offer Visa with 2% flat rebate usable in large list of retailers. Word of caution: this company is an Internet tulip, they are giving away the shop. Use them but beware: one morning you will wake up but Freeride will not

Here's hoping that when my Quicken 2000 (for Macintosh -- a little caveat :) ) arrives in the mail that it works with Discover! Even being able to download the statement and import it into Quicken would be nice, actually.

I remembered seeing something a while ago and so I looked it up for you. Regarding AMEX, you're in Presidential company:

http://www.cardweb.com/cardtrak/news/1999/march/2a.html

I applied for an ASPCA credit card offered by First Usa. The card rates was for 9.9% fixed rate and after the first 6 month intro period they changed to a Variable rate of 19.9%. When I called their customer service they said that they routinely do this to get people to transfer their balances then jack up the rates. I also am sending this message to all businesses that provide specialized cards from First Usa.

Thank you. I've visited since 1997, I think, and will use your site for going to Amazon, etc.

Thanks - pass the word! Peter ;-)

9/7/99

Merrill Lynch has announced that its CMA Visa Signature Debit Card, which earns points towards various purchases, can now be used to pay for brokerage and account fees at Merrill Lynch at a rate of 1.5% rebate. For example, 3000 points are worth $45. Each dollar of purchases earns at least one point--some special promotions earn more. The MINIMUM in a year that can be used for this type of redemption is 3000 points. They claim that the American Express "cash for points" program offers only .5% rebate with a MAXIMUM of $300 per year. The debit card is charged on the 4th Wednesday of each month and the card allows access to ATM's, with supposedly reduced or no fee (that has been changing of late, so that I am not sure what the fee is). However, I think the GM Mastercard is still the best deal around, if you are planning to buy a GM car, since it pays 5% on annual purchases to $10,000, and if you have a GM Gold card, the $39 annual fee is totally rebated as well. Of course, if you are charging more than $10,000 per year or you don't want a new GM car at least every seven years you need something else.

Note that you can now download transactions direct from Discover and PrivateIssue into Quicken - see the respective sites for details on how to do it. It does require Quicken99 or Quicken2000.

Certainly sounds like it's a horrendous experience! I must say one of the things I like about AMEX that I haven't seen other sites do (FirstUSA or Discover, for example) is allow you to download information about your transactions into Quicken with all the Quicken category information already inputted. And their statements are very detailed. Without those things, I probably would've dropped the card by now too. They still don't allow monthly payments to be drawn automatically from a bank account. That said, if United Airlines' Milage Plus First Card starts allowing me to do something similar, I'll switch in a flash.

It's my site - so I get my rant on American Express. What is the deal? They are plain incompetent. Suddenly today, they start denying my card again. When I call, they can't say why. They claim to fix it. Three hours later, it's denied again. After another 30 minutes on the phone, it's "fixed" again.

When I ask why, the only answer I can get out of them is "computer error". I'm about one more screwup away from cutting up my card and sending it back - the rebate isn't worth all the ridiculous hassles they make me go through --- Peter

Just a reminder to those who trade online: for those who have brokerage accounts with Waterhouse, their affiliated bank offers a MasterCard or Visa with 1% cash back. No tiers, 1% on everything, payable annually in January to your securities account. My experience with the firm has been very positive

I mentioned a AAA Rewards card program a while back and I have some new information.

PNC Bank used to handle AAA Credit Cards in my area (OHIO, KY, INDIANA) This was recently sold to MBNA. With this transition, no new applications to the "Member Select Rewards" program are being permitted. Evidently the rewards program still exists for those lucky enough to already have enrolled. There is no plan to provide a comparable rewards program under the MBNA management of the new credit card accounts.

AAA Financial Services : 1-800-6807-2224
Credit Card Services : 1-800-523-7666

Example Reward Structure for the "Member Select Rewards" program :

16,000 = 1 Domestic Airline Round-trip Ticket within the 48 contiguous United States on Continental or United Airlines.

30,000 = 2 Domestic Airline Round-trip Tickets within the 48 contiguous United States on Continental or United Airlines.

I had been keeping my ears and eyes open for frequent flier programs that I knew existed but didn't know where to start. You saved me a lot of footwork! Just to let you know that I called Amalgamated Bank about their AmalgaMiles Program and they were not aware of such a program. The number that is listed on your web page is for the automated banking center. The customer service number is 1-800-620-8600. I also called Bank of New York about the Stop and Shop Rewards Program and they said that Chase Bank took over this program. Their number is 1-800-441-7681

Just spoke with Chase customer service. Starting on 16 Sept they will be offering Cash Builder Platinum VISA - 1% cash back or 2% cash back if you revolve a balance of $500.

You can find out about the Wal-Mart card at www.chase.com. However, as far as I can tell, it is not a cashback card, nor does it have any kind of rebate

WalMart's card does not offer a rebate. Their idea of a "great deal" is a "low interest rate". I guess most of their customers carry a balance on their cards.

9/6/99

I was curious if walmart offered a card and went to: http://www.walmart.com

there is a window on the home page "how may we help you" and one of the items is: chase mastercard but I cant get to the link it points to, which may be my problem.

Would you investigate and see if theres a valid offer currently or in the future, in the mill ? I would prefer a walmart card to shell card as I dont really want to have to redeem cashback at shell...

Continental's One Pass Program is now with Chase. They can be reached at 1-800-323-6252

If anyone's interested, I called Discover recently to ask exactly who their Platinum Partners are (the merchants with whom you can get Double Cashback). They gave me the following list, which seemed rather short to me; however, they did say that they are adding to the list all the time.

United Airlines
Blockbuster
Hyatt
RandMcNally
Alamo
1-800-FLOWERS
Samsonite
Footlocker

9/2/99

Residents of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee can check out the Centura CashMax card (www.centura.com or 1-800-CENTURA). It gives .5% cash back for purchases from $1 to $4,999, then 1% from $5,000 on up. The rebate is given on your anniversary date. It can be a Visa or MasterCard. I am not a resident of the above states and was not able to apply for the card, so I have no personal experience with it; just sharing what I learned on the website and on the phone

Do you know of a credit card that helps you earn a free cruise (carnival cruise lines)

Regarding the National Bank of Commerce Cashback Visa: I called the bank the other day (number supplied in getsmart.com) and they said that the card was only available to people in Nebraska unless you applied online, and that the website had been closed down. I saw on another website that getsmart.com had been purchased by Providian in Feb. 99, who was then hit by a class action lawsuit in May 99. I don't know if this has anything to do with the website being "closed down," and you can still get to the application on the website, but I decided not to mess with it

Many thanks for posting my inquiry. By the way, your web site is fantastic! I have been a Giant Food Inc. visa card holder since its inception. You posted the Washington Post article about the end of the program a couple of days ago.

I have gotten used to rebate from my credit card use (although like most Giant visa cardholders apparently I paid my bill off every month) and didn't know where to go to find something else.

Then, I stumbled onto your web site. I was thrilled to learn that there are others who like to bargain hunt their credit cards.

On 9/1 I received a letter from Wingspan dated 8/30. The bottom of the letter has a place to sign to claim the $100. BTW - I applied & was accepted on the last or next to last day of the promotion.

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