The Historical Grapevine

12/28/99

Discover, Am. Express and Visa are allowing you to use their credit cards to pay taxes this year. WHAT IS THE BEST OUT OF THESE THREE FOR OVER 100,000 AND TO BE PAID OFF WHEN DO? WHO HAS THE BEST REBATE IN CASH BACK OR OVERALL BEST REBATE?

I have maxed out my GE Rewards for the year, have the AMEX Cash rebate card but it isn't accepted everywhere. Are there any cash rebate cards left other than Discover? Am also planning to travel next summer from DC to CA and thought maybe this would be the year to get an airline mileage rebate card but wonder which one I want or need when I don't know what airline I will be flying?

Today my wife got not $30 but $50 (!!!) cash back using her Discover card at Pavilions Supermarket in Southern California. This must be a brand new development, as Discover never allowed more than $30 cash back. Has anyone encountered such luck at any other stores nationwide?

I think the Southwest Airlines card is equivalent to a 1.5% rebate card. You get 1 credit for each $1000 charged. 16 credits equals a free round trip to anyplace SW flies. The trips are good for a year and are transferable. There is a probably illicit secondary market in Houston on Rapid Reward passes and they go for $250 up. The Rapid Reward passes are not restricted, have few black out dates, and really a very flexible way of travelling on SW if you can put up with their slightly "cattle-car" approach to efficiency. In addition, the first year's fee is waived and you get 2 credits the first time you use the card. We use to use Private Issue Discover whenever possible, but as you probably know they first imposed a $500 max rebate then reduced the 2% to 1%. Excellent site. We'll also check out Amex.

12/22/99

Happy Holidays from CreditCardGoodies! We will be taking a few days off, so there may be few updates until the year 2000 (OK, for a week or so - same thing ;-))!

I like your page, and am wondering if you know of a good site that compares the various points rewards systems of credit cards. I appreciate your help, and am glad that a site like yours exists.

In response to the poster of 11/19/99 who inquired about "instant" online approval, I have applied for a First USA card on line and been approved "instantly". I liked it so much, I tried applying for another :-) This did not work, I was told that my second application would be processed off-line, and I later received a letter stating that the application had been rejected because it was a duplicate.

You have posted the info about the Cybergold Visa $20 offer before, but now Cybergold has added the Discover Platinum card to the list:

http://Cybergold.com will give you $20 if you are approved for either of the two credit cards promoted on their website. The first is the Cybergold.com Visa, sponsored by MBNA bank. The second is the Discover Platinum Card (up to 1% cash back bonus, or up to 2% if you use it to buy stuff from selected merchants).

For details, go to http://www.cybergold.com/earn/financial1.html And check out http://geocities.com/signupmoney for more related sign-up offers.

12/14/99

Does the AMEX Optima cashback card start the year period with the anniversary date I join? EXXON M/C is best for me since I'm surrounded by competitive EXXON stations. 3% off your next months EXXON purchases. You only maximize with your gas station expenses. Other purchases are 1% as you stated.

Thanks for providing your site. Tried to find a provider/location to apply for the: G.E. Rewards Master Card Completely stumped, can't find a link that works.

Any advice on which small business credit card is best? I'd love a rebate of some sort, but don't know if they offer rebates for business cards? If not, I'd just like a name of a reputable credit card company that offers a card with good customer service. I recently received an offer from Capital One which sounded decent, but I'm wondering if there is anything better? Anyone had experience with Capital One?

That seems like alot of work for a 1000 air miles. Most stores i know will only return merchandise on the same card that it was purchased on. I think the true breakthrough for cash equivalents is finding those banks that you can open an account on a credit card. SFNB is a good example. You can open an account with up to $500 and have that earn a nice 6% till April 15, 2000

It may be a loophole, but it may also constitute fraud - I would check with your credit card user agreement. If the agreement says nothing about processing returns on another card (again, check both credit card agreements) then you're in the clear. I suspect Card B will catch on if you consistently have merchant credit generated positive balances.

I found AE's website and liked what I read about their "Platinum Cash Rebate Card" . Your favorite card, according to your site, sounds like the same card, but you were calling it by another name...? At any rate, AE pays an addition .5% "if you carry a balance during that billing month".... What I am wondering about is this: is the additional .5% applied to the carried balance only, or to the entire monthly charges (and carried balance)? Let me know what you know about this, and thanks...

12/13/99

Can somebody tell me if this hypothetical loophole will work: I purchase a $1000 item and charge it to Air Miles Rebate Card A. I then take the item back to store and return it, but have them credit Generic Credit Card B (which stores will do). Therefore, I now have a $1000 credit on the Generic account. I then call Generic and ask them to send me a check for the credit balance. When the check arrives, I pay off Air Miles Rebate Card A. When all is said and done, I have spent $0, but earned 1000 air miles points.

Does anybody know why the Gulf gas card is no longer available on Fleet's web site or at 800-FOR-GULF. For some reason, you must now obtain an application at a Gulf Gas station.

Wingspan.com offers a 5% cash rebate on all online purchases from certain merchants. This card is in fact put out by FirstUSA, as is the e-card mentioned, the same participating merchants and same deal. It looks like FirstUSA is cornering the market on cash rebate cards- I hope they don't shut them all down one day! If you do have any of their cards, they have a great online transaction and statement management. They will let you direct-debit your balance from your checking account, so why pay for online bill payment? Note on Giant Rebate VISA: FirstUSA took it over from Chevy Chase Bank. If you decide to close your account due to the lower rebate, you may ask FirstUSA to add the credit limit to another card you have with them,such as GE Rewards. Note on GE Rewards: When FirstUSA took them over they stopped issuing the rebate as a bank check and switched to an annual account credit. (If you needed the cash, you probably could request them to mail you a check for the positive balance on your account.)

12/10/99

To the person asking about the Private Issue card. Cash that you receive over and beyond your charge amount at a grocery is calculated as a charge at Private Issue. In other words, they do not recognize cash given at the register as a cash advance. Therefore, it does count toward your rebate. Additionally, I would take advantage of it as often as you can - my experience has been that grocery stores don't allow you to do it for long. When my wife and I went grocery shopping, she would stand in one line with some groceries and me in the other, so that we could both get cash back from the register to maximize our rebates. Oh the lengths that we rebate card junkies will go to...

I think that a bunch of you are missing the point in you correspondence re credit cards that offer rebates or increased rebates on their card if one carries over a balance. There is an easy way to beat the syastem as follows: 1) Get 2 credit cards from the issuer e.g., one for and one for your wife. 2) Use the card in your name and when the statement cuts stop using that card and start using teh seconfd card. 3) When the statement arrives, pay 1 cent less than the amount due, hence carrying over a balance. 4) Continue to use card 2 until that statement cuts. 5) repeat the above process. SIMPLE!!!!

I believe you've mentioned this at some point, but the GE Rewards Mastercard is now administered by FirstUSA. 1-800-FIRSTUSA.

I also use Drivers Edge. But remember that there is a $500/year cap and that the rebate expires 3 years after it is earned. If you know what kind of car you want, using their card also makes sense since at least some have a rebate of 5%.

12/9/99

I found another great credit card website: http://www.eyeoncredit.com/ - it's really good, too.

I just tried getting the GE Rewards Mastercard by calling 800-437-3927. After going through the unnecessary menu stuff and then waiting for a customer account manager, it responds with, "this number no longer services this card. use the number on the back of you card for assistance," or something like that. Is there a new number for this card?

I just came up to the anniversary date on my Discover Private Issue card, earning $156 in the past year. But, as you point out, the new PI deal is not nearly as attractive. Now, I agree with you that cash is king, BUT, my Drivers Edge card is offering 2% rebate toward money off on a new car, which I will be buying in the next year or two. So that will be my card of choice. Another interesting point on the Discover card, it is the only card the grocery stores take on which they will give you cash over the amount of purchase. And I think that that cash advance counts toward the rebate totals. Let me know if I'm missing something by going with the Drivers Edge card. And keep up the good work, we have to get whatever we can out of these guys.

Does anyone know of rebate cards offered by MBNA, now that the Tower Records card is gone? Particularly ones that offer rebates on balance transfers or cash advance checks...

12/8/99

I am looking for any info on City Bank who is offering unsecured visa cards at 9.9% I recieved a call from them offering me this card, and I need to know if they are a real co., or if this is a scam. Any info that you have would be nice. They said they are also giving me a membership into the smart savers club with the card. Please share any info that you may have.

I found out today on my Fleet Bank Credit Card account that if you haven't use or made any transaction for 6 consecutive months, they will charge you $15 inactivity account fees. There is nowhere on their account agreement or on their website to mention except on the back of the card statement.

Right after I got my first job I got an Advanta card because it had a low intro rate, and I had a lot of debt from school. They screwed up my intro rate for the first three months - had it at 19%! Calls to them made no difference. It wasn't until I officially contested the finance charges in writing, citing the law that says once contested finance charges can't be applied until the issue is resolved, that they fixed it. Then Fleet bought Advanta, so I thought things would get better - but they got worse. I'd never been charged a late fee in my life. Granted I usually sent my bill in right before it was due, but a day late or so never mattered to other cards. Fleet charged me two in a row and hiked my rates. Their customer service is non-24 hour and sometimes their auto-answerer will just tell you to call back later. I can't imagine a worse card than Fleet!!

12/5/99

Snap.com will credit $20 to your credit card account the first time you use their online wallet. Nothing says you can't buy something small and then pocket the rest.

Thanks for the information on the Amex Optima card. However, after I applied for it, Amex sent me an "American Express Cash Rebate" card. It supposedly pays the same rate that you listed for the Optima card. The only catch that I was unaware of, was that the anniversary date isn't individualized for every account -- February is it. Since I received the card in the fall, I get the initial $5000 rate again -- a little earlier than I would have expected. But all in all, it still seems to be the best card rate out there.

A similar thing happened to me but mine was a regular First USA Platinum. They gave me an intro rate of 2.9% for 6 months and after 3 months hiked it in the teens, I called several times, sent letters, but all to no avail. Its one of the few times a credit card has pinged me with the interest but that was extremely dishonest. The lesson I learned was if you get an offer - make sure you keep that hard copy. You just might need it to prove your side.

You know those tons of unsolicited credit card offers you get in the mail? Like the crappy ones that DON'T offer all of these rebates the readers of this list like.

Well, I asked on a newsgroup how to stop those (without stopping ALL junk mail - as much as I hate email spam, there is sometimes useful stuff like coupons in junk physical mail), someone said I should check on the net for credit reporting agencies. Well, I found out about 1-888-5-OPT-OUT, and you can call up and be removed from the lists for 4 major credit reporting companies.

12/3/99

I don't know where to start with this, so I'll talk to you. First Card (from First USA Bank N.A., Wilmington, DE) has a big scam out. They offered me a 3.9% rate for one year. Then one month I didn't get my statement, but didn't notice this until the next month when they charged me a late fee. Then they hiked my interest up to 20% because I "missed" a payment. For three months I tried to fight it, but they didn't budge. I then transferred my balance elsewhere.

Two other people I personally know have also not received a statement at one time or another on this same bank and have had a variety of charges attached to their next statement.

I find this unique because I have dealt with many credit card issuers and this one was they only one who intentionally did not send me a statement.

I'm wondering if you have heard about this before from this particular bank and if you would have an idea of where I could go to formally complain.

MBNA's credit card information site provides up to the second transaction information. For example, if I make a purchase, immediately I can see the transaction online. I have found that most other sites do not show transactions until they are considered "posted". In the case of Chase, they don't even show your transactions. Are there any other CC companies whose online account access sites immediately show account transaction information?

I recieved my First USA CASH-n-CARD rebate (about $350) today; 3 days after the closing date for my year's rebate! Amazing. Thought It would take months from some of the comments here. Maybe they have learned there lessons from you guys?

11/29/99

Don't forget that the the non-cashback Amex Platinum Optima card provides additional services. Various forms of purchase protection, etc.. I personally prefer that to some cash back. Of course, the $300 a year non-optima card has a lot of features that I would never use, but if I was rich I might.

I have been using the GE Rewards card happily for several years and never paying finance charges, even though I always pay on time. I don't know anything about the $25 fee you mention on the website My only problem with the card is that I've recommended the card to a friend, but she says that it's impossible to get an application. Whenever one calls what seems to be the relevant 800 number, she gets transferred to another 800 number and so on. Any suggestions?

We pay our balance in full, and , without warning, First USA Platinum Mastercard did not send us a new card when ours expired 10/31. We are half way to a third plane ticket with rewards miles. Express mail, faxes, and zillions of phone calls have gotten no coherent response; they keep saying the card will be renewed, but when? And do we lose our 2.5 tickets because we are no longer holders of a valid card?

11/28/99

I thought you'd be interested in knowing that I also have a Citibank Dividend card. I thought it must be a remarkable secret, as I never met anyone else with one. I signed up in 1992, from a mail offer. I'm getting a flat 2% rebate, no tiers or caps until last year. At that time I got a letter to the effect that the yearly rebate will be capped to $300. Too bad! I charge everything on it, and if I have to carry a balance for a while, I transfer to a lower-interest card.

I recently signed up for and received the Amex Platinum Cash Back card. The disclosure says that rebates are paid in February. My question is, does the rebate schedule apply to a fixed year (Feb through Feb) or is it an anniversary of membership system? I am assuming that it is Feb to Feb, in which case I should use my straight 1% card until next February. I'd appreciate any info anyone has on this. FYI, although this is not the site for this topic, there are some great internet banking deals out there at the moment, like 5.25% APY money markets and 3% no fee interest checking. Check out the Motley Fool's online banking forum.

11/23/99

Kiplinger's Nov '99 issue has a couple things of interest for us Cardies. First is a lengthy article on Firs tUSA's customer service woes. Next was a b lurb on the death of rebate credit cards (Giant Food's card in particular).

Very good info on your cashback page. I'm not sure why you are "down" on 1% cards. Let's say I spend 10K per year on the card. Here are my rewards, according to the charts on your site: GE rewards: 140 (-25) = 115 AmEx: 95 Discover: 85 But with a straight 1% card, my reward amount is $100 -- very competitive with those others. Only GE actually beats it. If I spend over 11.5K per year, then the 1% card edges out even GE Rewards.

Bell South Mastercard is now serviced by USAFirstCard. I believe it was sold to them and GE no longer does the servicing. You do not give the Bell South rewards scale - this would be nice to have. You mention you carry a Discover Card but also mention the GE Rewards card. This is confusing since you state that GE started charging a $25 fee for accounts that pay balances in full every month.

True Value issues cobranded Visa and MC cards that give you money back on purchases and balance transfers. The only drawback is that the rebate checks they send you are made out to True Value and have a 90 day expiration. If anyone has received any of these checks and would be interested in converting them to cash instead of spending it on things they might not need at True Value, please drop me a note at efinkle@mailexcite.com. I'll give you 65 cents on the dollar if the checks have not expired.

11/19/99

I just applied for the e-card via online application, but my application was not "instantly" decided online, as advertised, and will be processed like a regular mail application..interesting, since I already have 2 accounts in excellent standing with FirstUSA!! The web site says they will respond by mail. I wonder if the allure of "instant online approval" is a hoax to simply encourage more people to apply for the card. If anyone here actually gets approved online, I'd be interested to hear about it!

I'm looking for the best air miles card in Canada. Preferrably with no fee. With my income I would easily qualify for a platinum card. Do you have any suggestions for me?

I have had a Chase credit card for several years. It pays a cash rebate and does not require any kind of entry fee or initial payment. I can't find anywhere on my statement the amount of rebate that is paid. I just know that recently I got my yearly check for the rebate of $168.00. that made me happy. every month my statement tells me how my rebate is building. I an now starting over with $9.43 so far. My math skills are not good enough to figure out the rate of rebate. Actually, I could, but I'm not interested in all the paper work. It is a Chase Visa Gold at PO Box 29082, Phoenis AZ 85038.

Does anyone know the details of the points rebate on Aria Visa? They seem to have a nice rewards program, but they don't mention if you accrue points with select merchants only or on all of your purchases.

11/14/99

My cash back credit card is Chase Visa. I don't see it ranked with your other recommendations. I pay nothing for the privilege of using it. Have you ever compared it to your other cards? My math skills are bad, so make it simple.

It seems that credit card companies are instigating new fees, taking away grace periods and rewards, and not returning phone calls. I just want to say something GOOD about a credit card company, for those who pay their balances in full each month and want a reward. I have used DiscoverCard ever since they started in 1986. The customer service representatives are OUTSTANDING,COURTEOUS, and PLEASANT to deal with. They also have the authority to make instant decisions, and have done so in my behalf, several times. Further, when they say they will call you back, they do, and quickly. The reward (cash-back) is always sent on time and is always correct. In those few instances where I should have received a cash-back bonus, and didn't, a call to the customer service number took care of it, and the rebate was credited instantly. The only drawback with Discover is that it is not as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard. However, they don't give you any BS, and this makes them worth it. I find them to be hassle-free, and recommend them to anyone looking to avoid headaches. They have the BEST customer service of any credit card I have used, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I also carry the GM Mastercard (because Discover is not as widely accepted), but Discover is my favorite.

I thought I should let you know about another cash back card. This is from Citibank and could be either a Visa or Mastercard. They don't actively advertise it but if you currently have a citibank card and try to cancel it, they will try to sell it to you. That's what happened to me. I was told that I will get flat 1% cash back upto a maximum of $300 per year. They don't stagger the rebate like other cards. Also there is no annual fee. They also send you a check automatically when your rebate balance reaches $100. So I stopped using my GE Rewards Master card when somebody does not accept Amex cashback. I use Citibank Visa instead. Hope this helps.

I would like to know if you are aware of any credit cards affiliated with cruise lines? I've got tons of air miles, but would like to earn some cruise miles.

But one thing I need I couldn't find; there is a card which offers I believe 5% rebate on web transactions with many online merchants which doesn't require dealing through a single marchant/source. I would appreciate any info you might have on this card(s).

See e-card.

11/12/99

Rarely do I feel the need to voice my opinion, but after reading that passage about the guy who had the beef with Nextcard, I couldn't help laughing so here I am. You could see the word ignorance, if thats not too harsh a word, spelled all over it . The average daily balance method is a fact of life with most credit cards you use, but most of them and this includes Nextcard, give you the option of avoiding finance charges by just paying your balance within the alotted grace period. To me, the Nextcard is not worth the hassle or the space in my wallet .The only way you get the rebate is *if you carry a balance* and that is just plain foolishness. I had a card like that once (the Associates 5% GTE card) and I found that I was paying more in finance charges than I was earning in rebates. I finally figured out that there is a way to manipulate their system but its not worth the hassle. (The average daily balance method is just a simple math formula - its simply the weighted average of your charges and payments and the way you skew this in your favor is by paying an equal amount as you charge, very near the time you charge, while at the same time maintaining a $1 or thereabouts balance. H-A-S-S-L-E!) My advice is drop the card like a hot potato. Same goes for the guy who has the beef with First USA not paying him his rebate. Personally, I think he doesn't understand First USA's rebate process, but regardless, I think he's just trying to find an outlet to vent his anger or this guy has nothing better to do. Come on, hire an attorney? Yah, go head and dish out what little change you scraped together in rebates hiring a lone attorney - only to fight against their army of attorneys. All too often this is what our litigious society resorts to. Instead of sueing them, why don't you just cancel the card? And when they ask you why you cancelled it, give them a piece of your mind. If enough people do this, believe me - they'll get the message. I had 4 PI's and 5 Discovers and I cancelled them all when they started their BS with PI lowering their rebate to "up to 1%" and Discover doing away with the grace period on balance transfers. I dropped them, I suggest you do the same.

Does anyone know what the term "Bust Out" means? Recently First USA froze all four of my accounts. I have been a long paying cardmember who always pays in full. I was earning over $25,000/points per month per card charging business expenses and never paid them a cent of interest. Maybe this is a term to identify money losing customers for First USA. The 800# rep could not help and referrred my to someone who did not return calls. Hope I get my points for this month or First USA will be hearing from my attorney re: possible class action lawsuit.

11/10/99

I was just curious in regard to the hapless NextCard user message. Not that I am excited about reaping rewards from keeping-a-balance-required cards, but... Suppose one guesses how much one will owe to a card next month, and pays a bit over half of the amount to the card a few days past due. In the next statement, daily balances will be CR for more than half of the days in the pay period. What will be the average daily balance, then? Not a sub-zero number, by any chance?

That is the way that most credit cards operate. They are not charging you interest on money that you don't owe them, they are charging interest on the money they loaned you throughout the month. If you pay your balance IN FULL during a 20 day grace fee, the credit card company waives the interest on the money that you borrowed. If you don't pay in full, then they don't waive the interest. It's as simple as that.

Check out http://www.pathfinder.com/money/depts/web_watch/archive/990929.html

Get a Visa Credit Card through Security First Network Bank and they will give you a $50 credit after your first purchase. Plus you get 3.9% intro APR for 6 months. Go to http://cards.sfnb.com/index.html for all the details. For more of these kinds of offers, check out Tucson Kid's Sign-Up Money page at http://geocities.com/signupmoney

I applied for Edvance Card from the Fleet from their site and it said that the card has 7.99% and get a $50 savings bond if you accumlate every$2500. The terms on their site state that the regular account has 11.99%.The Edvance only has the regular MasterCard and their is no Platinium Card. So the interesting rate will be 11.99% instead of 7.9%. How come it said the Edvance has the fixed 7.9%?

It upholds the old adage"If it's too good to be true it most likely is"..Whatever. I did apply for a card from City Bank but have not received the card or the documents explaining the rebate. In this case a rebate of 2% on any purchases also a 3.9% rebate on the purchase of any automobile. There was some mombo jumbo but I was in a hurry and left the decyphering to the reading of their application acceptance when I receive it.

On 11/1/99 I noticed a querie about a First USA Visa card that offered tiered cash-back rewards. I currently use that card and I am having problems receiving my cash rebate. The customer service representatives keep telling us 8 - 10 weeks but we haven't seen a rebate check. Is there someone we can contact to find out our rights when a company has a program and doesn't deliver what it promises? I noticed on 11/9/99 a great warning about Next Card. The information is much appreciated but I am as frustrated as the individual that gave it because I don't know who to turn to for help. Do I contact a lawyer or is there a place that I can go to for free advice? I find that these credit card companies tend to swindle a lot of their "victims." I think I will return to my Discover card to avoid the headaches.

had an account for my business with Chevy Chase Bank and enjoyed up to 180,000 per year max flier points with a dollar earned for every dollar spent. Unfortunately, First U.S.A. bought out the company in March 1999. That is when the rip-off began. I realized after using my new card that the miles were not accruing as they used to with Chevy Chase. I called First USA numerous times and was reassured that due to the changeover there were some "glitches" but it would "be handled" within days. Little did I know until now that my max had been dropped, without any notice, from 180,000 to 60,000 per calandar year and my monthly max, from 15,000 to 10,000 per month. I have asked to see any written notice that was sent to me notifying me of any changes in the value point structure and instead received a generic letter stating " Please accept our apologies for any inconveniences this matter may have caused." The problem is that I have charged and paid off each month approximately $170,000 worth of office expenses, and would like to know what my options are on recuping flier points with this company. I am considering legal action but realize that may be more money wasted. I realize they are a big company and I am only one customer, however in my business, we take care of our customers and that is why we are successfull. Could you please e-mail me and let me know what my chances are or plan of attack should be. I would greatly appreciate it. In summary, if I had been notified, I would have stopped at 60,000 and simply just acquired another card. Is it legal for companies to change these policies without notifying the consumer? What rights does any customer in this position have? Thank you in advance for your time.

I am troubled to find that this "average daily balance" thing is an industry standard, but in light of that method of computing finance charges, the real "string" attached to NextCard's rewards program is the requirement to carry a balance to receive any rewards points. That effectively ensures that you will be paying for your own rewards through finance charges, even if you pay your balance down to $1 each month. I agree with you that the best thing to do is avoid cards with such gimmicks and stick to cards where there is no annual fee and there is no need to carry a balance (cash rewards are obviously the best as well, but I still wouldn't mind plane tickets or something else I know I'd use so long as the monetary equivalent was still competitive with the 1.5% you mentioned for Amex).

For what it's worth, my discussions with the folks at CardRatings.com (and their discussions about my e-mail with a NextCard rep) should result in a warning of some kind being added to the CardRatings.com website about the details of NextCard's system being something to look at closely before choosing to enroll. The NextCard rep acknowledged that their rewards program makes no sense for patrons, like myself, who ordinarily pay off their balance each month and would only be carrying a balance on NextCard for the purpose of meeting the requirement to collect rewards points. For people like me, NextCard's system is a complete disaster! But I can see how customers who were going to carry a balance anyway (and thereby incur significant finance charges) might benefit from NextCard's Double Points program compared to some other single points cards. These people would be paying finance charges no matter what card they used, so they might as well be using a card that more quickly allows them to offset those finance charges through rewards by going for NextCard's Double Points program instead of a single points program somewhere else. But that is where NextCard's advantages for the public end in my mind. Their Single Points program has the same problem for people like me who normally pay off their bills each month (unless you go for the $39 annual fee option, which only gives single points but allows you to avoid the requirement to carry a balance; that is still not a sensible option, though, when there are other cards available with the equivalent of single points and no annual fee).

So, since there are many consumers like myself out there looking for good rewards programs but who do NOT ordinarily carry balances, I recommend that you continue to avoid directly steering consumers toward NextCard on your site. Obviously, in a perfect consumer world, NextCard would simply revoke the pesky requirement that their patrons carry a balance to receive any reward points, since it appears that there still would be many patrons who would carry a balance anyway. But I assume that NextCard realizes that I am not alone in representing consumers who would NOT ordinarily carry a balance, and they would not want to risk giving rewards without the certainty of also collecting finance charges from each patron to offset the "rewards" being provided. But as it stands, it is precisely my population of consumers who need to be warned to STAY FAR, FAR AWAY FROM NEXTCARD!

11/9/99

I noticed that you have an ad for NextCard on your site, and I wanted to alert you a serious problem I've had with NextCard that I think many people would be interested to know. A couple months ago, I came across the CardRatings.com website and took to heart their strong endorsement of NextCard as their pick for the best overall rewards card (the CardRatings.com folks claim to use NextCard themselves). The big allure to NextCard is its "double rewards" program, whereby you are credited two rewards points for every one dollar you spend if you are willing to open your account with a $2,500 balance transfer. The only trick seemed to be that you only get rewards points for purchases made during months when you carry a balance rather than paying off your bill in full. The folks at CardRatings.com, however, assured me that the requirement of carrying a balance was not a big deal (in terms of finance charge liability) because you could carry a balance of as a low as $1 and still collect your full double rewards points for the month.

That all sounded great, but what they did NOT tell me was that NextCard does not calculate monthly finance charges based on the amount of money that you fail to pay at the end of the month. Instead, for any month during which you fail to pay off your bill in full (which, as I said, is a requirement for getting any rewards points at all for your purchases that month), NextCard computes the "average daily balance" for your account during that previous month and charges you monthly interest based on that figure. Thus, even if you pay off $1,999 for a month when your statement was $2,000 (and thereby carry a balance of only $1 to the next month), NextCard will still take the average amount of money owed on your account over the entire billing cycle (which could easily come out, as it did with me, to something above $1,000) and then charge you interest on that "average daily balance" rather than on the $1 that you haven't yet paid off (in my case, that interest came out to over $8 for one month). I can scarcely believe that this is even legal, given that NextCard is, in effect, charging you interest on money you don't owe them! As I said, you may only owe them a grand total of $1, but they could be charging you interest based on a fictitious sum called the "average daily balance" that is far, far in excess of your actual outstanding debt. That to me is theft, plain and simple. I owe them $1, and they charge me $8 in interest for the month! It's a total racket! You cannot get any rewards points without carrying a balance, but if you carry any balance at all, they are going to charge you interest on a fictitious sum of money large enough to dwarf any possible monetary value associated with the rewards points you received for that month.

When I called NextCard customer service, I got all kinds of verbal run-around that did not make their finance charge system clear. Ultimately, after several minutes of frustration, it took me asking a very specific hypothetical like the one I gave above before the representative finally clarified how the system works.

I have already contacted the folks at CardRatings.com to express my disappointment in their endorsement of NextCard, which apparently gives CardRatings.com referral credit for steering people to NextCard. But since I noticed that you too have an ad for NextCard on your site (though you don't seem to specifically endorse the card anywhere that I saw), I wanted to warn you about my experience and also ask whether you know something I don't that remedies this problem with NextCard billing practice. It seems to me like a lose-lose situation for the consumer, if what you're after is rewards, because you're going to MORE than pay for your "rewards" through exorbitant monthly finance charges, even if you pay off everything but $1 each month.

I would appreciate any thoughts you may have on this.

Question: About six months ago I received an offer from Fleet Mastercard. It said that I'd get 7.9%, no annual fee, and a $50 savings bond with every $2500 spent (equivalent to 1% back). I joined, but when I called to ask about when I should expect my savings bonds to be sent, I was told that it was a different 12.9% card that offered savings bonds. I am sure of what the offer was (it was a one card offer, not take your pick of perks). I unfortunately had thrown away my mailing. As is the case with these offers, I am sure that thousands of others have received this same offer. Have you heard anything about this promo. by Fleet Mastercard? Do you think that I am mistaken?

11/5/99

I was wondering if you had any comments on the Amex Blue Card they are trying to get their existing customers to sign up for. Why would I want this new Blue card rather than an Optima card?

I'm a big cash-rebate card fan and did not know American Express Optima Existed at an uncapped 1.5% rebate.. Good news for me. I charge well in excess of $100,000 a year (mostly business related) and switch between Discover and my money back Visa card issued by my credit union. Do you have any insights as to privately issued Visa's/Mastercards? San Diego County Credit Unions (SDCCU.COM) offers a Visa with a low interest rate of 11.9 (or around there) and the cash back reward is 1% up to $500 based on the calendar year with NO ramp up. It's great, 1% from day 1!!. If you time your purchases and payments right, you can sit on balances for up to 50+ days and still earn your 1% every year. The money appears in you savings account the 1st business day of the next year, without fail. I've managed to max this rebate program 3 years in a row heading into my fourth. I do use it sparingly (for instance when the vendor does not accept Discover) as to not max the benefits too fast. Do you know of any other credit unions having deals like these or with better rebates. Your comments appreciated.

11/1/99

A tip from http://CardRatings.com/...The Citibank Driver's Edge Platinum card has an offer that deserves consideration! From now until Dec. 31,1999, applicants will receive an amazing 3.9% intro. rate on balance transfers. The rate remains in effect until Sept. 30, 2000! Earn rebates toward purchasing any new or used card (any make/model). Rebates can also be used for cash back bonuses (if you are not in the market for a car)! No annual fee. 1-800-611-1362.

Hi, I've been using a First USA Visa card that offers a tiered cash rebate of up to 2% per year. But I don't know how much First USA is promoting it. In fact, I expect them to cut or drop it soon. Have you heard of this type of card?

10/30/99

Response to "Do you have any advice for me?":

I found nextcard.com to be very responsive, and my situation is very similar to yours. Also, in the early 90's, when my finances were rather dire, my college alumni association offered me a lower interest mbna card. Once you get one low interest card, you can start playing musical visa to get your other cards to lower your rate.

I've been looking into the Merrill Lynch CMA (cash management account). It offers a linked VISA with a "very generous" (according to a friend who's been using it for a while) reward points system, with lots of extra-points promotionals and bonuses; the points are redeemable for everything from airline tickets to Barnes & Noble gift certificates to stock trade commission fees. The VISA is actually a check card, in the sense that it debits your account -- but the money is only taken out once a month, so that you benefit from the float. (They actually advertise that in so many words.) Your account itself can be invested in money markets, funds, stocks, bonds, etc. -- and you can essentially use it as your primary checking/savings account as well, with online bill paying, ATM access, etc. -- while earning good interest on whatever money you're not using at the moment. According to the literature, they offer some interesting mortgage options to account holders too. The catch is that you need $20,000 to open the account (or at least you used to; the printed info packet and website don't tell all, and I'm planning to meet with a real person next week). Website is http://www.shopmerrill.com for the Visa, http://www.plan.ml.com for general info about the CMA and Merrill Online.

I would like some info on the programs out there that notify all your creditors in case of theft of your credit card. Am Ex says that for $45 for 3 years they will automatically notify all my creditors. Is there a better way?? I carry 3 cards and if my wallet was stolen while I was out of town, I'd be in a fix. Thank for any info.

Correction to a current posting--the $39 annual fee for GM card is in addition to the $500 that one can earn, so that one can actually acccumulate $539 per year for seven years! The annual fee is 100% creditable to the auto, as the writer suggests, but does not count toward the limit.

10/28/99

Anyway, I am a GM Card user. My fee is $39/year. The fee, unlike other purchases on the card, pays 100% toward the annual $500 limit. As I said, it is an annual fee.

I called GE on 10/27/99 to get a credit card and they have sold their credit card business. It's on their web address. Thought you should know. Thanks for the great info you've posted on this website.

Great web page. I called about the Summit card and they said it no longer exists as 4/99. The number to Amalgamated is invalid and they have no website and no 800#. Generic (NonAirline Run) Programs Summit Miles Summit Bank $0.00 (888) 8SUMMIT AmalgaMiles AmalgamatedBank $0.00 (800) 662-0860 This link goes to a different bank which does not have the card anymore. FirstAir First of America Varies (800) 8359373 Do you have any other information about these programs or other airline cards that have very low or no annual fee? Thanks.

Just recently I got my AE Optima credit card. Because I am new customer, I am offered 0% apr for the first 6 months. Only trouble is, it is strictly for purchases, not balance transfers or cash advances. I do see this as a good opportunity to invest if I could take advantage of it, but how can I? Any good ideas?

10/23/99

Just a question: Have *all* the credit card companies eliminated the 30 day grace period between the bill due date and when a late charge is levied. Isn't the interest rate enough compensation when the occasional mail delay posts the bill up a day or two late (or at times it seems it takes the companies a few days to post it after receiving it.) It would seem that some bank out there would take advantage on all the resentment over the "gotcha"s and keep some of the reasonable standards of the recent past.

I don't necessarily have any comments, but I am looking for some advice. I currently have 3 credit cards ranging in balances of 4-7 thousand $ each and have been turned down for other credit cards because I am too close too my limit and have had one or two deliquent payments. My interest is incredibly high. Do you have any advice for me?

10/19/99

I have a CapitalOne Platinum VISA that earns flyer miles (MilesOne program) and has a fixed 9.9% rate. There is a $19 annual fee, but the flyer miles are not airline-specific, no blackout dates, and no seat restrictions. They also gave me a $15k cap. They recently sent an alternative offer to cash in MilesOne points for a variety of different products - this might be attractive to someone who may or may not get a chance to travel. They have a web site at http://www.capitalone.com/index4.html. I haven't had the card long, but it seems like a decent deal.

If FirstUSA is handling GE Rewards card accounts similar to the way Discover Card handles their accounts, you probably won't be able to get a second card. I have 2 Discover Card accounts but my husband is the primary on one and we have a joint account for the other. Technically, I could get a third but I would have to be the primary on that account. Total, it is possible to have 3 accounts this way. You may want to try this with GE Rewards, but simply getting a second account with you as the primary may prove impossible as they probably flag them as duplicate accounts.

10/18/99

I have used the Carnival Card and had absolutely no problem redeeming the vouchers. You first call up MBNA, they send you the voucher in about 2 weeks, then you make a reservation on Carnival and send the voucher to them. I maxed out the Carnival card for this year, but I will start using it again as soon as possible.

I have had a Platinum Cash-In Card for about a year and a half. I received my rebate check about a month after my anniversary date ($528) this is definitely the best deal since the Private Issue, actually a better deal because its a Visa and widely accepted. Don't take chances with late payments (to First USA), I love the on-line payments they offer on their website. Two other excellent sites (I have nothing to with either one) are: Tucson Kids site http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/Highrise/3696/index.html This one is good too http://www.amazing-bargains.com/new.html

Also bad news for Yahoo card holders, Amazon.com dropped out of the Yahoo rewards program. Bigtime bummer, our days of rebates a numbered.

Anyone having a great experience with an on-line (Internet) banking provider? I would prefer a financial institution that also interfaces with Quicken.

10/16/99

I have a First USA Visa Card that is labeled as "Cash-In Card" Platinum. The cash rebates for this card are similar to the Private issue card before they changed the tier system. I have had this card for a year and my rebate came due but they said it would take 8 - 10 weeks for my rebate to arrive. Is this common?

Thanks for maintaining such an informative page for those of us who pay in full each month. How about this? Since GE Rewards has a rebate cap couldn't you open a second account and just use the other after the first one maxed out?

Has anyone had any experience using MBNA's Carnival Cruise Line visa? They offer 4% rebate towards any Carnival cruises, up to $500/year with a 2 year expiration. I would like to know if anyone has redeemed rebate for a cruise and if the process was trouble-free or not.

10/11/99

Also, in your last email update, someone wrote:

Both First USA and Discover Card allow balance transfers without a trasaction fee and no interest charge after a grace period if the balance is paid in full.

This is not true - Discover recently eliminated the grace period for balance transfers. (I think this has already been posted to your website anyway).

I like your site,but would like to know which cards give a rebate or reward for balance transfers?

Are you aware of a card offerred by CitiBank with a 2% cash rebate capped @ $300/year or $15,000 in purchases. I was unable to locate information about it. Thanks.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a replacement card for the MBNA Tower Records card? Does anyone have a current MBNA program that awards points for balance transfers? If so, our Tower cards could be converted to that program by calling customer service.

I have been in the rebate juggling business for a while now, but lately I have been too busy with work to keep up with it all. What I am looking for now is the best rebate deal that will ALSO let me download my transactions into Quicken. Nextcard lets you download but gives no perks if you don't carry a balance. I have a couple of decent Chase cards (1% cash back, and the Shell card) and Chase has OXF capability to work directly will Quicken, but you have to have a bank account with them, which I'd prefer to avoid. I would welcome any info you have about this, on your site or by email.

Amex Cashback? DiscoverCard?

I'm looking for a good Visa or Mastercard that offers free downloading of statements directly into Microsoft Money. I'm not talking about just a bank having a web page on which you can look at statements and then manually download statements from the web to Money or Quicken. I'm talking about a newer technology that allows Microsoft Money to download the statements directly over the Internet without accessing a web page. American Express and Discover Card have offered this service for about a year (although DC is not yet compatible with Money 2000), however, I am not aware of what bank cards offer this same service - at least for free. Unfortunately, the Microsoft Money web page is out-of-date and quite vague about which specific technology is available at different financial institutions - it only indicates that a bank is "online". Also, many banks have strings attached for getting online statements, e.g., require you to have a checking account with them or pay an additional fee. Of course, I want a card with no annual fee, and while I'm in the market for a new credit card, I thought I might as well get one that has a decent cashback/rewards program (although this is secondary). Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

http://www.quickencard.com/?

10/10/99

I currently work for a credit card company. I am a "financial service advisor" a fancy title for someone who answers the 1-800 and helps cardmembers with " you name it". It can be a very stressful job but also nice when I can help someone and they appreciate it. My tip for people and I don't think it can be stated enough is ALWAYS but ALWAYS read the fine print, that's where the important information is written.

Both First USA and Discover Card allow balance transfers without a trasaction fee and no interest charge after a grace period if the balance is paid in full. Could you direct me to other credit cards that offer the same thing?

10/6/99

It is with a deep sense of loss that I inform you that yesterday I was notified by MBNA bank that they are terminating their relationship with Tower Records, and the co-branded Mastercard will be discontinued 10/31/99.

Please observe a moment of silence, then pass this on to others who may be affected.

A little kindness can get you everywhere. My payment to Advanta (the Edvance credit card with a savings bond rebate) arrived two days late. I was socked with a $29.00 late fee and a $95.42 interest charged. I called the customer rep and asked for the date they received the payment and asked for the postmark date. I explained to the rep that since having the card (for about two years) I have never had a late payment and always pay in full, and then I suggested that there must have been a mistake beyond my control with this one. She put me on hold for a few minutes and came back and said that as a "one time courtesy" the late fee and entire interest would be refunded. Whoo-hoo Advanta!!

10/4/99

Regarding the WingSpan promotion from a couple months ago: I received a $100 credit to my credit card on Sep 24.

Get an Amex Blue card with a 0% intro APR for 6 months. Then sign up with Net@Bank for a 5.12% savings account ($100 minimum). Pay the minimum on the Amex, and send what you would have normally paid to netbank in their postage paid envelopes. Pay it all off after 180 days. That's a decent rate of return.

Have you seen http://www.eyeoncredit.com/ ? They show you a lot of great cards all categorized by type.... freq flyer, gasoline, etc. It's pretty cool.

10/2/99

I love your site good info. I just wanted to ask a Question. 1. Those little checks that the card co. gives you if I was to buy a car with is that considered a cash advance or a purchase? or if i write it out to pay off my mom is that a cash advance or a purchase?

Regarding yesterday's post asking about paying big ticket stuff like mortgage: Yeah, how DO you do that? I have used air miles to buy last-minute, ~$1000 tickets, but in general they are worth about 1-1.4% (25,000 miles for a ~$250-350 ticket); The "any airline" ones are worth less because of their restrictions ($15 booking fee, must take lowest cost routing, 3 week advance purchase required, Saturday night stayover required, change fee, lose all unused points and certificates the minute you cancel the card, etc.) and there's that nasty annual fee. I fly United and am hoping the Platinum Discover will be an effective "up to 2%" card for that. (I like to think of it as a "flat 2% card with a $30 annual fee" in terms of miles redemption). They pruport to download to Quicken; as does AmEx (& Optima). Find me one that downloads to QuickBooks!! The *BEST* cashback card may be the CapitalOne no-fee tiered 2% with web access and Quicken download. It is available only by solicitation, so the above choices will have to do for the rest of us.

Can you please explain how I can pay my mortgage with my credit card. I definitely have not heard of this before!! I appreciate your response.

9/29/99

Does anyone know who the merchants are that are involved with Citibank's Aadvantage retail bonus program? I got a thing about it in the mail, it said to call to enroll so I did but the person knew nothing about who was in it. However, this month I got my statement and I got several hundred extra miles, so SOMEWHERE I shopped must have been a participating merchant!

Also on the topic of Citibank.. I had applied for the Sony MC from Citibank, and got a rejection notice (actually a "we could not verify your information" notice). I had this a couple of months ago when I applied for the AA card -- I have a fraud alert on my file because a few years ago someone stole one of my CC numbers, they are supposed to call to verify my information. Well, it turns out that Citibank doesn't leave messages when calling, so they called my house and work numbers, got answering machines/phonemail, and sent me a LETTER saying that they could not verify my information so they were rejecting my application. And even more amazing -- they do not include a phone number on the letter!!! Well, I went through this the last time and got it straightened out, but today when I called I got some woman who said that there were some numbers in my fraud alert that I told Transunion to verify, and I had to tell her what the numbers were before she would let my application proceed! She would not give me any clue as to what they were, and in the end she told me that I had to call Transunion (and naturally gave me the wrong number, just to make life more interesting). I called TU, they told me that the only numbers in the file were my phone numbers that I told them to call me at when an application was being processed. So, I called Citibank back again, got a more reasonable person this time who was able to take some phone numbers from me and sent my application back on its merry way (hopefully). But what bozos they have there! I better get that hand held Jeopardy game they were offering when I signed up (I do not see the offer on the Sony or Citibank sites anymore).

I was wondering if anyone has received the $100.00 promised by Wingspan Visa....I was approved instantly and have not received as of this date the promised $100.00 If anyone has any information or has received the promised rebate. Please advise.

I came looking for info on airmile cards but after reading your info... decided to do the cash back thing. I agree with you, you can always buy a ticket with the cash but not the other way around! Anyway, I had a question... You mentioned somewhere to pay the mortgage if you can on your card to help build up the cashback. How can you pay for big things on your card, like a mortgage or other loans? This will really help in adding up the cashback stuff... but I am not sure on how to go about it. I doubt my mortgage lender will want to pay the extra percentage to allow me to pay on a CC. Or am I just missing something? Also, do you know of a good cash back card that also allows you to download info? Like the Quicken card does? This way I will have one big bill, but it will be itemized easily in my Quicken program. Thanks for any help!

9/28/99

Regarding to Promus Points Platinium Visa is issued by Travelers Bank. The first six billing cycles is 0% and thereafter is 6.9%.

Regarding to Dilbert NextCard Visa,if you're currently a NextCard Visa they won't let you have a Dilbert NextCard Visa.

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