The Sun's Financial Diary » Credit card

CARD Act Aims To Finally Protect Consumers

David Dierking — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:51:06 +0000

Last year, President Obama finally pushed legislation through Congress that is aimed at protecting American consumers from the unscrupulous practices of credit card companies. This week, the new credit card law finally takes effect.

On Monday, February 22^nd, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (the CARD Act, for short) begins guarding credit card users from many of the common complaints levied against card companies such as being unfairly dinged with rate increases or charged exorbitant fees. It’s not a complete solution and there will be negatives for some cardholders but all in all this piece of legislation is a step in the right direction.

Consumers will immediately see a number of changes to their card agreements. The biggest change may come from card companies’ inability to make unannounced rate hikes. Issuers will no longer be able to make major rate increases on outstanding card balances and, additionally, must provide 45 days notice before making any type of significant change to your account. That includes increasing the rates on your line of credit, imposing additional fees to your account or changing the terms of the cardholder agreement. These changes are a big win for individuals who carry a credit card balance.

But not every practice has been reformed. There are some things that card issuers can still do. For example, there’s no cap on the interest rate charged to new customers (First Premier Bank made news recently with a 79.9% APR on its Premier Bankcard). Card issuers are also still allowed to reduce your credit line or close your account altogether without any type of notice. This has already taken place for many consumers and can be expected to continue.

So who comes out on the losing end with the CARD Act? That would be consumers who pay off their credit cards on time every month. Sounds a little unfair, right? People who pay off their full balance every month don’t incur late fees or interest charges in the first place so any rate changes associated with their cards are going to go largely unnoticed.

But credit card companies will be looking for ways to replace the lost revenue that came from fee and interest income. That lost revenue could be recovered in the form of higher annual fees, increased inactivity fees and lower rewards program benefits. It turns out that those who manage their credit card debt the best will be the ones who benefit the least. No good deed goes unpunished I suppose.

Let’s focus on the good though. Overall, the CARD Act is a positive step for the credit card industry. It won’t prevent every abusive practice but it undoubtedly puts consumers in a more advantageous position than they were in previously. Analysts have already been keeping an eye on card issuers to see if and to what degree they may try to find ways to circumvent the new law to their advantage. Many big issuers seem to be ready to comply with the spirit of the law but there will be others out there that will try to skirt the rules. Be sure to keep a close eye on your cardholder agreement to see exactly what your card issuer will and will not do.

And this isn’t an invitation to spend freely without consequence. If you pay late or pay less than the entire balance, you’ll still incur fees and interest charges. There’s no law that will protect you from that but for those of you who have gotten dinged from a card issuer in the past, the gray skies should be lifting this week.

Photo credit: TheTruthAbout…

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CARD Act Aims To Finally Protect Consumers

Get Citi Mobile iPhone App for Free

Sun — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:56:33 +0000

Are you a Citibank credit cardholder? If you are, then now you can access your Citi credit cards from your mobile device, such as BlackBerry, iPod Touch, or iPhone.

Citibank recently launched its mobile banking application, Citi Mobile, for iPhone which provides its customers with anywhere, anytime access to their credit card account information. Actually, Citibank was the first major U.S. bank to offer its customers a downloadable mobile banking app in 2007. With the new Citi Mobile app, Citi credit cardholders can quickly check account balances, available credit, details on recent transactions, and the date on which the next payment is due, helping prevent the accrual of fees from inadvertently late or missed payments.

Citi Mobile is available free on the Apple App Store and on iTunes. Credit card customers can simply download the application and sign on using the same User ID and Password they use to access their accounts online at CitiCards.com. Click here to find out more about Citi Mobile and what you can do with it.

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New Credit Card Legislation Goes into Effect in February 2010

Sun — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:40:00 +0000

Among many money related changes happening in 2010, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 is one of those that will have a big impact on our everyday life financially. Though the law itself won’t be in effect in July this year, some provisions will knick in as early as next month.

Recently, I started to receive mails from credit card issuers, such as Bank of America (I have UPromise card with them) and FIA (Fidelity 529 card), regarding the early changes and how they will affect my responsibilities. The letters both have very similar contents, including highlights of the new legislation which I repeat here:

Your rate for existing balances will no longer be raised for being a few days late with your payment. If your payment is received after your due date, you will still be charged a late payment fee.
Beginning February 13, 2010, you Annul Percentage Rates (APRs) on existing balances can only be raised if you do not make your minimum monthly payment within 60 days of the payment due date. In that instance, we can amend your agreement in order to raise your Annual Percentage Rates for all existing balances and future transactions. If your Annual Percentage Rates are increased because of this reason, your existing balances can return to the original Annual Percentage Rates if, for the next 6 months following the increase, you make your required payments by the due date. We can also increase your Annual Percentage Rates for future transactions if you are not 60 days late. We will always provide you with at least 45 days prior notice of any rate increase by sending you an amendment to your Account Agreement.
Any amounts you pay over the minimum payment will now be used to pay down balances with the highest Annual Percentage Rate.
For your convenience, your payment date will always fall on the same date of each month and will be at least 25 days from the closing date printed on your statement.

Among these changes, the one I like the most is item #3 that payment will be used for balances with the highest interest rate. Until the new rule takes effect in February, payments are always made toward balances with the lowest interest rates, which is designed by the credit card companies to charge more fees and get cardholders deeper into debit. I also like that now payment due day is the same date of each month. This will make managing bills easier because I know exact when I have to pay the bill every month.

Personally, these changes won’t affect me very much because, as I mentioned before, I have never had any trouble with payments or interest rates with credit card issuers as I paid every credit card bill in full on time. Doing so allows me to basically ignore credit card fee and interest rate adjustments made by issuers. Nevertheless , these are welcome changes that are long overdue and will benefit many cardholders.

Photo credit: roujo

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Chase Freedom Card 3% Cash Back Promotion

Sun — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:34:40 +0000

Are you using Chase Freedom Card? If you are, then you can earn 3% cash back for a limited time, but you have to enroll in the promotional program first.

From January to March 2010, Chase Freedom Card will offer cardholders 3% cash back when charging the card on Dining, Education, Childcare and Utilities, in addition to the rewards you earn from everyday shopping using the Freedom Card. To earn the additional cash back, you need to go to yourchasefreedom.com and enroll in the program.

Not a Chase Freedom Card holder? If you open an account today, you can take advantage of another Freedom Card promotion which will give you $50 bonus after the first purchase. See my previous post for details about the bonus offer.

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American Express Launched ZYNC Card for Young Adults

Sun — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:40:19 +0000

Early last week American Express introduced a new card called ZYNC, a card that aims at young consumers in their 20’s and 30’s who are looking for credit cards that offer flexible rewards program yet don’t cost a lot to own. Since it’s a charge card, not a credit card, the cardholder is required to pay the balance in full every month. As a result, there’s no interest charges like those imposed by card issuers when carrying a balance on the card. While the card can be used like a debit card, cardholders can still use the new ZYNC card to build credit history, one benefit you will not get from using debit cards.

But what else does the new ZYNC (what does ZNYC mean anyway?) offer? And why is the card good for young adult? With these questions and the help from Priya Kapoor from Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, I was able to get some questions about the ZYNC card answered by Jennie Platt, AMEX Spokesperson from the Zync Team.

Hope this interview can give you a better idea about the card and whether it’s the right card for you.

Q: What’s the reason for American Express to introduce the new ZYNC card?

A: ZYNC illustrates our ongoing commitment to Charge. It’s also a totally new way to design and launch a product. Because of that, we feel it will appeal to people in their 20’s and 30’s and provide them a great way to get involved with the American Express brand. We wanted to develop product that consumers could help design on the inside, not just the outside. Consumers today want a voice and want to make sure that voice is heard, so with ZYNC we are launching a card that is designed for and by the design target. We are allowing Cardmembers be a part of our design team and collaborate with us to build the future benefits of this card.

Q: Which consumer group does ZYNC target?

A: ZYNC is specifically designed for adults in their 20’s and 30’s, but will appeal a variety of ages based on their lifestyles.

Q: Does the card provide any extra incentive for consumers in their 20’s and 30’s?

A: Yes. Cardmembers have the opportunity to create and customize their Card, pick the benefits they want and tell us what else they want in the Card that we don’t yet offer. For example, during Beta, ZYNC Cardmembers can choose from four different groups of benefits we call “Packs,” and only pay for the Packs they want, based on their lifestyles. ZYNC will offer more Packs as the Card launches and evolves. Packs help Cardmembers save money through double bonus points, discounts and/or special offers on some of their favorite and/or frequent expenses, such as travel or going out.

The four Packs available today are:

ECO: for the eco-conscious
GO: for people who like to travel
CONNECT: for people who want to be rewarded for using their mobile phones
SOCIAL: for people who enjoy concerts or going out with friends

Q: How can young adults benefit from using the card?

A: ZYNC is a smarter way to pay. It’s a pay-in-full Charge Card, with no interest charges (on credit cards) or overdraft fees (on debit cards). ZYNC gives Cardmembers the online tools and services they need to track and manage their finances. Additionally, using ZYNC helps Cardmembers build a credit history, unlike using debit cards, which is a type of payment this target audience uses a lot without knowing the pitfalls.

Q: What are the main benefits of the card?

A: ZYNC comes with key features and benefits that Cardmembers expect from American Express such as the award-winning Membership Rewards program, purchase protections and 24/7 customer service. The Card also puts Cardmembers in the financial driver seat since it is a pay in full product and comes with many money management tools and alerts to help consumers take control of their finances and stay out of debt. Additionally, Cardmembers can add Packs, paying only for the Packs they want, to earn extra benefits such as Membership Rewards points and special offers based on their interests.

Q: How much does it cost to own the card in fees and interest rate?

A: ZYNC has an annual fee of just $25, that’s it, no interest, no hidden fees.

For the Packs, some will be free and some will come with a fee. Of the four Packs currently available, the ECO Pack is free while the GO, CONNECT and SOCIAL Packs are just $20 for the year. Cardmembers can add as many or as few as they want.

Q: Who is eligible for the ZYNC card? Any requirement on credit history?

A: Anyone 20 and older is eligible to apply for ZYNC. For approvals, we look at many different factors, such as credit bureau history and resources such as income, to help make a decision whether to approve an application.

Q: Is the card available to everyone now?

A: Yes. This is not a closed Beta, if someone wants to sign up for ZYNC they can visit ZYNC from American Express to apply.

Q: Finally, what does ZYNC mean? Does the new Card stand for anything?

A: We wanted a name that was as unique as the Card itself which is why we picked ZYNC and why we also spelled it differently. The “y” in ZYNC represents “you” and plays on the ZYNC theme of “create yours.”

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American Express Gift Card Holiday Promotion

Sun — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:06:56 +0000

The holiday is right around the corner and it’s time to prepare some holiday gifts for the kids’ school teachers. In the past, we always teamed with other parents to give the teacher one gift card with contributions from everybody in the group. This year, things are little different because we are relatively new and so far we were not contacted by any parent regarding gifts for teachers. So we need to do it alone.

The gifts we chose this year are American Express Gift Cards because

The card looks nicer;
The card doesn’t have monthly fee and it doesn’t lose any value;
There are holiday promotions to save on purchase and shopping.

The promotion we used is Get $5 Off on 2 or More Gift Cards with promotion code AFL5. In addition, AMEX is also offering free standard shipping ($5.95 value with promo code AFL420) during the holiday promotion period which runs from now to December 31, 2009. However, since we need to get the cards before this Friday, the standard shipping via USPS probably isn’t fast enough. Fortunately, AMEX has a complementary upgrade to express 2nd shipping for $5.95, the same as the cost of standard shipping.

We bought the gift cards in batches of 2 cards to save $5 on each order and used the complementary 2nd shipping at a total cost of 95 cents (each card also has a $3.95 purchase fee). Not too bad a deal. It could be even better if we purchase cards with larger value.

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Citi Student Credit Cards Special Holiday Promotion

Sun — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:06:45 +0000

Citibank is running a special holiday promotion for two of its student credit cards: the Citi Forward Card and the mtvU Card. From now till January 15, 2010, if you apply and are approved for either one of the two cards, you can receive extra rewards (in ThankYou Points) when using the card during the promotion period.

I have discussed both Citi Forward Card and mtvU Card before. From what I can see, the most distinctive feature that’s shared between these two cards that are designed for college students is both card reward cardholders for using the card wisely. For example, with the Forward Card, you get interest rate reduction when staying under credit limit and paying bill on time; with the mtvU Card, you can earn additional rewards points for maintaining a good grade. And both cards charge no annual fee.

For the ongoing special promotion, you can earn bonus points that are equivalent to a $75 gift card from the Citi Forward Card:

Earn 1200 bonus points each of the first 3 billing periods your account is open when you pay on time and stay under your credit line
Earn up to 8,500 bonus points after you make $250 in purchases and sign up for Paperless Statements within 3 months of opening your account
Get a .25% Purchase APR reduction when you make a purchase, stay under your credit line and pay on time 3 billing periods in a row
Earn 100 points each billing period when you pay on time and stay under your credit line
Earn 5 reward points for every dollar you spend on dining, books, music and movies, and 1 point for any other spend5

The mtvU Card allows you to earn enough points for a $25 gift card during the promotion period:

Earn 1200 bonus points each of the first 3 billing periods your account is open when you pay on time and stay under your credit line
Earn up to 2,000 reward points twice a year for having a good GPA
Earn 25 points each billing period when you pay on time and stay under your credit line
Earn 5 reward points for every dollar you spend on dining, books, music and movies, plus 1 point for any other spend
Enjoy a 10% discount on music and entertainment products at shop.mtv.com

Rewards points earned from using the card can be redeemed for gift cards, travel, merchandise. If you qualify, you can get 0% APR on purchases for 6 months. Plus, both cards you also let you customize your due date and set credit limit alerts to you will not spend over your credit line, one condition to receive the extra benefit.

Interested? Find out more about this special offer at Citibank website.

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Citi Student Credit Cards Special Holiday Promotion

Citi mtvU Card: Getting Rewarded for Having a Good Grade

Sun — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:31:48 +0000

Are you a college student who are shopping for your first credit card?

If you are, Citibank has a credit card for you, which not only gives you generous cash back for items you are likely to shop very often, but also rewards you for having a good grade. The card is called Citi mtvU Platinum Select Visa Card. This card offers some quite unique benefits for college students, such as

250 to 2,000 reward points twice a year for having a good GPA
10% discount on music and entertainment products at shop.mtv.com
Access to exclusive mtvU experiences like free concert tickets, tickets to the mtvU Woodie Awards or VIP status at mtvU’s Spring Break.

The extra rewards for good GPA is what I see as making the mtvU card unique. As far as I know, there’s no other cards have the same offer. A good GPA is defined as 2.50 and above. Depending on your GPA, you will get (to get the bonus points, you will need to submit proof of your grade twice a year):

250 ThankYou Points for GPA 2.50 – 2.99
500 ThankYou Points for GPA 3.00 – 3.49
750 ThankYou Points for GPA 3.50 – 3.99
2,000 ThankYou Points for GPA 4.00

But that not all what it offers. The card also lets you earn rewards, in the form of ThanksYou Points, like other rewards credit card do, but in a more generous way. For example, the card gives you 5 reward points for every $1 you spend at restaurants, bookstores, record stores, movie theaters and video rental stores. With other credit cards, you are more likely to get 1% or 3% cash back for shopping in the same categories. In addition, you will also get

1 reward point for every $1 you spend on other purchases
25 reward points each month when you pay on time and stay under your credit limit (otherwise, there will be a $39 over-the-limit fee)

Actually, this card is quite similar to another college student card offer from Citibank. The Citi Forward Card for College Students also has 5% cash back on books, movies, and musics and at restaurants, with additional benefits for spending wisely and paying bill on time.

The Citi mtvU Platinum Select Visa Card has no annual fee. If you qualify, you can get 0% APR on purchase for the first seven months after opening the account.

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American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card 15,000 Points Promotion

Sun — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:23:20 +0000

Now you can earn Membership Rewards Points even faster with the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card. The new card allows you to buy the things you need and get rewarded with the things you want at the same time.

Membership Rewards

Here’s how it works. With the AMEX Premier Rewards Gold Card, you can earn points up to three times as fast. You can earn triple points on airfare and double points on gas and groceries, while continuing to earn points on all other purchases, such as double points on gas and groceries, and one point on every dollar spent on everything else. Best of all, rewards points have no expiration date, and there is no limit to the number of points you can earn.

For the Membership Rewards Points you earned, you can use them to redeem airline tickets to fly any airline, anytime with no seat restrictions or blackout dates. You can also book hotels, cruises and vacation packages. Use points to pay for your entire trip or a portion of it, and continue to earn points with your favorite frequent flyer and guest programs when you book. Points can also be redeemed for rewards from over 50 of the finest names in shopping and entertainment.

In addition, other membership benefits include:

Fraud Protection Guarantee
Return Protection
Extended Warranty
Purchase Protection
Baggage Insurance Plan
Emergency Check-In
Assured Reservations
Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance
Travel Accident Insurance

All of these come with an annul membership fee of $175. However, the fee for the first year is waived.

15,000 Bonus Points Promotion

Right now AMEX is running a promotion for the Premier Rewards Card which will give you 15,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $1,000 in your first 3 months after becoming a cardholder. The rewards points can be redeemed to up for $150 gift card. If you spend $30,000 per calendar year, you can get an additional 15,000 Membership Rewards bonus points.

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Citi PremierPass Card 1,500 ThankYou Points Promotion

Sun — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:33:28 +0000

Citi PremierPass Card, one of the best travel reward credit cards, is running a promotion to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the introduction of the card (I had the PremierPass for nearly 3 years).

From now till December 31, 2009, card members can earn up to 1,500 ThankYou points by simply using the card to make purchases in the next three months. Here’s how you can get the bonus points. For every month when you use PremierPass Card to make 5 purchases or more with at least $10 in each transaction, you earn 500 ThankYou points as bonus on top of the regular rewards you will receive when using the card (basically, you earn 2 points for every $1 spent at supermarkets, gas stations, drugstores, commuter transportation and parking merchants and 1 point for every $1 spent on other purchases).

Don’t have a Citi PremierPass Card? Apply for one now to receive up to 20,000 ThankYou points. More details on the bonus offer and how to earn and redeem ThankYou points can be found in my Citi PremierPass Card review post.

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Chase Amazon Visa Card Is Getting Better

Sun — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:55:23 +0000

I just received a letter from Amazon.com which informs me that my Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card is being upgraded to Amazon.com Rewards Visa Signature Card with Signature benefits.

I got the card in 2006 when I started to make more and more purchases at Amazon.com. I thought getting the card makes sense for the 3% cashback it offers for shopping at Amazon.com (actually, 3 points for every dollar spent and the bonus points can be redeemed for Amazon gift card). Three years later I still have the card, but I only use it at Amazon because rewards for shopping at other places with this card isn’t really that rewarding. With the upcoming upgrade, however, it seems that the card can get a little more usages.

The upgrade will come on October 1, 2009 automatically for existing cardholders. With the new Signature card, card members can enjoy one more newly added benefit: get 2 rewards points for gas, dining and drugstore purchases for every dollar spent, in addition to the usual cashbacks for shopping at Amazon.com (3%) and elsewhere (1%).

These days, I can pretty much get 1% rebate with any credit card that offers a rewards program, but not many will go above the 1% mark and it is becoming increasingly difficult to get good rewards from card issuers because of changes in credit card rules (I think the new law actually punishes people who are using their plastics responsibly). In this environment, I think 2% cashback, though limited to only gas station, restaurant, and drugstore purchases, is a pretty good offer.

With the above being said, I don’t think I will switch to the Amazon card any time soon. Right now, I am still getting 3% cashback from Chase Freedom card at gas stations and grocery stores. When shopping at other places, I use Fidelity 529 card which gives me 2% back on every purchase. As long as I still have these benefits, I will stick with them for my everyday purchases.

BTW, the 2% rebate isn’t the benefit the new card will start to offer. The Amazon.com Signature card will also become a card with no pre-set spending limit, which I am not sure whether it’s a good change or a bad one.

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AMEX To Raise Late Fee and Rates on My Cards

Sun — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:28:04 +0000

I usually don’t pay too much attention to mails credit card companies send to me because, being very careful with my credit, I have largely stayed out of trouble with credit card companies. Most of the time, I don’t even read those letters that come with account policy or agreement changes. They just don’t concern me since I always pay every bill in full on time.

Then last week, I received two letters containing price change from American Express for two cards I own: Costco TrueEarnings Card and Optima Platinum Card. Citing changes in the business and economic environment, AMEX says in the letters that it found it’s necessary to increase rates and fess on some of its products. Particularly beginning the bill cycle on October 1, 2009, it will raise APRs on purchases and cash advances and increase the late fee. Even though I don’t think these changes will affect how I use the cards (I never withdrew any cash using a credit card and was never late in making a payment), I decided to go through the letters carefully this time to see what will be changed, given how much talk there is on how credit card issuers are making changes on their policies when they still can.

Starting October 1, 2009, AMEX will change the standard APR for purchases to the Prime Rate plus 11.99%, which is 15.24% as of August 1. The APR for cash advances is increased to the Prime Rate plus 21.99%. Currently the APR for purchases on my cards is at 13.24%. The 2% increase actually isn’t too bad. However since I didn’t have any financial charge against me before, I thought I should be rewarded with a lowered APR for being a good customer, not a higher APR. As for the late fee, AMEX has decided to adopt fee structure that depends on the amount of balance instead of a flat fee. If the balance is below $250, the late fee will be $19; otherwise, the fee will be $39.

It’s no all bad news though. In the letter, AMEX also says it will eliminate the over-the-limit fee at the same time when the above price changes take effect.

At the end, AMEX didn’t forget to remind me that it’s important to keep my balance under my credit limit and pay my bill s on time to avoid late fee.

Well, we all know they are the obvious when handling credit cards. That’s what I have been doing for years and it’s why I don’t really care these price changes

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Citi Private Pass Offers $5 Tickets for Cardholders

Sun — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:35:29 +0000

Since I am a Citi cardholder, I occasionally get promotional offer from the bank, offers on credit card and banking products. Recently, they sent me a promotion for cheap concert tickets this summer through Citi Private Pass. I myself is not a fan of music, but I thought I’d pass this promotion along to those who might be interested.

In July and August, Citi card members, who hold either their credit cards or debit cards, can get different live concert for as low as $5 each. The tickets are offered through Citi Private Pass, a loyalty program that rewards Citi cardholders with discounts for special events. If you are a card member, you can buy $5 ticket to a bunch of different concerts through the end of August. The concerts are called Lawn Ticket concerts and have different types of music, from Depeche Mode to Nickleback, a great deal for music lovers in this tough economic environment.

Don’t have a Citi card? There are a few cards that Citi offers are quite attractive with good benefits, some already being discussed here, such as the Forward Card, Forward Card for College Students, and PremierPass Card. Once you get the card, just go to Citi Private Pass and purchase tickets to the concerts you like with promo code “CITI” followed by the first two digits of your Citi credit or debit card number.

You have until August 31st to enjoy those cheap concert tickets of the summer

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Discover Current Prepaid Card $5 off Promotion

Sun — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:05:09 +0000

Early this year, Discover introduced a new prepaid debit for teenagers, the Discover Current Card. Even though the Current card is designed specially for teens, it gives their parents a great deal of control on the way their children use the cards. The goal is by using this card, parents and teens can work together to set spending limits and establish responsible spending habits that will benefit the children for years to come.

Features of Current by Discover

Discover claims that the Current card is the only prepaid card that helps parents monitor their teens’ spending (I don’t know whether this is true or not). With the Current card, parents can set up spending limits and restrict what their children can shop and where they can shop. This gives teens freedom of using the card to shop while helping their parents maintain control of the spending.

Other benefits of the Current card include free direct deposit for parents and teens, as well as free deposits from any credit card or bank account. Once money is added, teens can use the card to make purchases online, over the phone and in stores. In addition, the card can even be used an ATM card for cash withdrawals. The card also offer $0 fraud liability guarantee.

The Current card, however, is not free. It has an annual membership fee of $50, or $5 a month. Other fees include $0.50 per ATM withdraw (the first four withdrawals are free though), $3 to replace a lost or stolen card, and $5 to receive a card statement by mail. Free card statements can be viewed online any time and there is no inactivity fee.

Current Promotion

Right now Discover is running a promotion for the Current Card. If you get a Current Card now, Discover will waive the membership fee for first month, a $5 value, when using the promo code BT709. This offer expires on May 30, 2010.

BTW, I had a post on Zecco promotion code for $200 bonus for their Forex trading account a couple of days ago. It turned out that only those who received the original email will get the bonus when all the conditions are met. I have updated the original post with this information. Apologize for the confusion!

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optionsXpress Platinum Visa Card Offers 12-month 0% Balance Transfer

Sun — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:47:02 +0000

Nowadays, you won’t find many credit card issuers who are willing to give you 12 months of free loans (0% APR for 12 months) and even if there are card companies can give you 0% APR for 12 months, they usually charge at least 3% if you use the card to make balance transfer (the fee charged is 3% of the total amount transferred). In the environment that most banks only pay 2-% APY for their savings account, it doesn’t make too much sense if you do a balance transfer and put the money in a savings account.

optionsXpress, one of the brokers that I have an account with and have talked about a few time in the past, is currently offering 12-month 0% APR balance transfer for its optionsXpress Platinum Visa Card. Even though the card also charges 3% balance transfer fee, but the fee is caped at $75 ($5 minimum), which is good if you want to transfer a large amount.

The card has no annual membership fee and it basically rewards cardholders 1% for shopping with the card. Rewards are given as optionsXpress points (1 optionsXpress point for every dollar spent) and once you accumulate 1,500 points, you can redeem them for $15 that will credited to your optionsXpress account. Therefore, you must have an optionsXpress brokerage account in order to receive the rewards points. If you don’t have an optionsXpress investment account, then all your points will be forfeited. In addition, points will expire after 24 months if not redeemed.

While optionsXpress Visa is a good card for balance transfer if you want to move balances from high-rate cards to this card, it seems that it isn’t an attractive choice if you want to invest your rewards. If investing credit card cash back rewards is what you are thinking about, then there are better options out there.

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Chase Introduces Ultimate Rewards

Sun — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 15:05:58 +0000

A couple of days ago, I read an article on the Wall Street Journal about a new credit card rewards program Chase has just launched. The new program is called Ultimate Rewards, similar to Citibank’s ThankYou Network program and American Express’s Membership Rewards program. Basically, cardholders earn rewards points when using participating Chase credit cards to shop, 1 point for each dollar spent and 2 points for each dollar on airline flight. According to the WSJ story, right now there are only two cards eligible for the program, the Freedom card (new Freedom card has switched to rewards points a long time ago) and the Sapphire card, but Chase plans to expand program to include other cards.

Actually, what interested me the most isn’t the new rewards program, but what is mentioned in the story about possibly the fate of the Chase Freedom card rewards program that I have been enjoying for quite a well:

For Chase, the move is also a way to replace older versions of its Freedom card, some of which had offered richer cash-back rewards and bonus opportunities. Throughout the year, all Chase Freedom cardholders will be moved to the rewards program, where they will earn 1% cash back (or one point) for every dollar spent and 3% cash back (or three points) for every dollar spent in categories that change each quarter.

……

… However, some Chase Freedom cardholders who want to earn a fixed 3% bonus for spending in grocery, gas and fast-food categories, will soon pay a $30 annual fee. Chase’s Sapphire Preferred card — where users can transfer points to other travel reward programs — has a $95 annual fee.

Just last week, I said that I am lucky because I still haven’t got the letter from Chase about reducing the cashback from 3% to 1%. If what said above is true, then I guess there won’t be much time left for me to keep getting 3% back and I won’t pay $30 annual fee to use the card.

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Credit Cards That Let You Invest Cash Back

Sun — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:28:19 +0000

I have heard some rumors that Chase no longer gives 3% cash back to Freedom Card holders for shopping at gas stations and grocery stores. I haven’t got the notice from Chase myself yet and my latest statement on May 13 still shows 3% cash back for every $1 of eligible purchases made at gas stations, grocery stores and fast food restaurants. So I assume I can still enjoy the *generous* reward, for now. But if Chase is sending the letter to every cardholder, sooner or later I will get mine.

Of course, Chase won’t be alone in changing the terms (for example, Bank of America also plans to hike card interest rate next month) and what Chase did didn’t surprise me at all. After the CARD Act of 2009 was signed into law last week, more and more banks will adjust their practices, not to really protect their customers, but make up their losses from other areas. There are predictions that, under the new rule, card issuers will not only tighten the standard on credit card applications, but also cancel card reward programs and impose annual fees on cards that are currently free.

As for the Chase Freedom Card, if the cash back is slashed to just 1%, then I will abandon the card and start to use my Fidelity 529 College Rewards card exclusively because it gives me 2% cash back on every dollar spent, no category restriction and no cash back limit. It’s one of my favorite cash back rewards cards. Actually, if I can choose between cards that give me the rewards as cash and cards that let me invest the cash back, I will go with the latter. The reason is simple: $20 invested today could mean a lot more 5 or 10 years later. If I get the cash, I could just spend it without notice If you agree with my argument, then there are a few choices that let you invest your cash back from credit cards.

Fidelity Rewards American Express Cards

This program currently offers three cards from American Express, all allowing to earn 2% cash back on every dollar spent (when the program was first launched a few years ago, the cash back was only 1.5%) on any purchases and there’s no annual fee. The three cards are:

Fidelity Investment Rewards American Express Card: Rewards are invested in a Fidelity brokerage account;
Fidelity Retirement Rewards American Express Card: Rewards are invested in a Fidelity IRA account;
Fidelity Investments 529 College Rewards American Express Card: Rewards are invested in a Fidelity managed 529 account.

Besides, there’s no limit on how much rewards you can earn with these cards. The only requirement for these cards is that you need a Fidelity account so you can invest your rewards. Every time you earn $50 in rewards, the money will be automatically invested. If you don’t want to invest your cash back, you can also redeem for travel, gift certificate, or other items, but you can’t take out the cash.

Schwab Bank Invest First Visa Credit Card

The Schwab Invest First Visa Card is relatively new, but it generated quite some interests when the card was launched last December. Similar to the Fidelity Rewards cards, the Schwad card also let you earn 2% cash back on everything, but requires a Schwab brokerage account in order to get the cash back. This card has no annual fee and there’s no limit on how much cash back you can earn. However, one drawback of the card is that there’s no pre-set spending limit. When a credit card has no pre-set spending limit, the credit line on credit report will appear as zero, which may not be a good thing as far as your credit score is concerned.

UPromise Credit Card from Bank of America

The UPromise Credit Card is the most flexible card among cards mentioned here in terms of how you can get the rewards you earned. You can link the card to a UPromise 529 College Savings Account and invest the cash back if you choose to do so (I use this card to invest in my daughter’s 529 account), but unlike other cards, this is not required. Probably because a brokerage account is not necessary, the rebate from the UPromise card isn’t as good as cards listed above: You only get 1% rebate for most of your purchases and there are some categories that let you earn a little more.

One more thing. There are a lot of unhappy customers since Bank of America took over the UPromise card from Citibank early this year because their payments were messed up during the transition. Otherwise, I still think this is a good option.

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What The CARD Act of 2009 Means to You

Sun — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:29:29 +0000

The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 yesterday. The House, already passed its own version of the bill last month, also voted 361 to 64 today to wrap up the legislation. Now the bill is sent to the President for his signature to become a law, which could happen before the Memorial Day weekend.

The CARD Act aims to protect consumers by preventing card issuers from hiking interest rates whenever they feel like to, charging fees that don’t make any sense, and allowing cardholders enough time to pay their bills every month. This video from New York Times explains quite well what the new credit bill means to consumers.

If you ask me whether I think this bill is a good idea or not, then my answer is yes, it is. However, I don’t see I can benefit much from this legislation personally because I have been following the simple rule in using credit cards since the first day I got my first card: Pay my bill in full on time every month. With this rule, I have never got into trouble with credit cards and enjoy a very good credit score. Credit card interest rate, which is the center piece of the new legislation, is never an issue to me, whether it’s 5% or 50%, because I haven’t paid a penny in credit card interests.

When using credit cards, what really bothers is credit card rewards program being downgraded, which unfortunately could be one of the consequences of the new CARD Act. Since now credit card issuers can no longer charge those fees (over the limit fee, pay bill over the phone fee, etc) they used to charge, they will have to find other legal ways to make up the shortfall in revenue, including adding annual fees to cards and canceling card rewards programs. If this indeed turns out to be the case, then I am afraid I don’t get any protection from the new rules. Instead, I become a victim of it

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What The CARD Act of 2009 Means to You

A Costco Reward Gift That’s Nice to Have

Sun — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:04:57 +0000

Last Friday we received a membership renewal letter from Costco. Together with the notice is a $64.86 reward gift check from Costco. As a Costco Executive Member, we are able to enjoy the 2% cashback for shopping at Costco and the reward check is what we have accumulated last year, which also means that in 2008, we spent roughly $3,200 at Costco.

We became a Costco member in 2004, starting as a Goldstar Member, because we were not sure how much we could spend every year at the warehouse store. A Costco Executive Membership, which requires $50 more to upgrade from Goldstar Membership, would be a waste if we only buy milk and bread every a couple of month. However, we spent a lot more than we originally thought shortly after our first daughter was born: Formulas, diapers, wipes, etc. None of those baby stuff is cheap. The number trips to Costco increased, so did the amount spent each time. In 2006, when I was told how much we had already spent in the past six months at the store, it became quite clear that an upgrade to Executive Membership makes sense. Since Executive Members get 2% cashback on every dollar spent at the store, we only need to spend $2,500 or more in a year to let the membership pays for itself.

So, is the Costco Executive Membership worth it?

For us, yes, it worth the exta $50 a year since the third consecutive year that we get a reward check that’s more than $50. In addition to the 2% cashback, we also enjoy a few other benefits as an Executive Member:

We use Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance through Costco to save on auto & home insurance;
I opened my ShareBuilder account through Costco and got some nice incentives;
When I was actively using ShareBuilder to buy stocks every month, I got 25% rebate on quarterly commissions;
Executive members also receive higher bonus to open an savings account at Capital One.

Of course, there are not the only benefits for Executive members. For example, Executive members also pay less monthly fee for Costco’s identity protection program and save 20% using Costco check printing service, etc., even though we don’t use any of these services right now.

Yes, that $50 a year is well spent for us

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Credit Cards with Sign up Bonus

Sun — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:11:29 +0000

A quick summary of credit cards that currently offer incentives:

Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express 25,000 Starpoints: Open a Starwood Preferred Guest Card and get up to 25,000 bonus Starpoints that can be redeemed for airline tickets, hotel stays, or room upgrade. $45 annual fee is waived for the first year. Find out more about Starwood Preferred Guest Card.
TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express $25 Bonus: Get $25 statement bonus after the first purchase with TrueEarnings Card. Plus earning 3% cash back for gasoline and restaurants, 2% for travel and 1% everywhere else. No annual fee. Find out more about TrueEarnings Card.
Platinum Delta Skymiles Card from American Express 20,000 Bonus Miles: Earn 20,000 bonus miles after first purchase with Platinum Delta Skymiles Card and another 2,5000 bonus miles for adding an additional cardmember. Annual fee is $95 and you get one companion Coach Class ticket each year upon renewal. Find out more about Delta Skymiles Card.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Card 10,000 Membership Rewards Points: Receive 10,000 Membership Rewards bonus points after spending $500 in the first 3 months. Plus earn double points on gasoline and groceries for the first year. $125 annual fee is waived for the first year. Find out more about AMEX Preferred Rewards Gold Card.
Discover More Card $50 Bonus: Get $50 bonus from Discover More Card after spending $500 in the first 3 months of membership. There’s no annual membership fee, plus you can earn 5% cashback on purchases on travel, home improvement stores, department stores, gas stations, groceries, and restaurants, etc. Find out more about Discover More Card.
Discover Escape Card 25,000 Bonus Miles: Receive 1,000 bonus miles every month in the first 25 months as long as you make a purchase with Discover Escape Card. Earn double miles with every dollar spent and there’s no limit on miles you can earn. Annual membership fee is $60. Find out more about Discover Escape Card.
Miles Card by Discover 12,000 Bonus Miles: Get up to 12,000 bonus miles in the first 12 months (1,000 miles per month as long as you make a purchase) with Miles from Discover Card. Earn double miles on the first $3,000 on travel or restaurant purchase and 1 mile for each dollar on other purchases. No annual fee. Find out more about Miels Card by Discover.
Citi PremierPass Card 20,000 ThankYou Points: Receive 20,000 ThankYou Points with Citi PremierPass Elite Level Card after spending $600 in the first 3 months after the account is opened. Earn 1 points for every mile flown and 2 points for every dollar at gas stations, supermarkets and drugstores and 1 point for every dollar spent elsewhere. Annual fee is $75. Find out more about Citi PremierPass Card.
Citi Forward Visa Card 11,000 ThankYou Points: Get 6,000 Thank Points after making $50 purchase and anther 5,000 point after signing up to receive statements electronically in the first 3 months. Earn 5 points on every dollar spent on books, movies, music, and at restaurants; 1 point for $1 on purchases elsewhere. Plus get up to 2% APR reduction for using the card responsibly. No annual fee. Find out more about Citi Forward Card.
Bank of America UPromise Card $25 Bonus: Open a UPromise Card account and get $25 bonus after the first purchase. Earn 1% cash back on all purchase and up to 10% on items sold at UPromise participating grocery and drug store items. No annual fee. Find out more about BofA UPromise Card.

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Credit Cards with Sign up Bonus

Consumer Friendly Credit Cards

Sun — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:46:56 +0000

The new credit card regulations that aim to rein in excessive, and sometimes abusive, practices by credit card companies won’t take effect until July 2010. Congress is proposing a new legislation that will further regulate the credit card industry, protect consumers, and, hopefully, speed up the implementation of the new rules passed by federal agencies early this year, if it becomes the law. But the gap between now and July 2010 is large and credit card companies, at the same time, are using the time to do what they want to their customers such as increase interest rates, lower credit limits, impose fees, and close accounts. However, if you don’t want to wait till next summer to get a credit card, there are a few choices available now that already comply with the new rules.

An article on SmartMoney.com yesterday listed four credit cards that are consumer friendly, cards that have “new favorable terms” and “the best perks for different types of spenders”. For the four cards in the article, each seems to have its own purpose, just like those mentioned in a CNBC On The Money article a few days ago. Following are four cards recommended by SmartMoney. Two of them, the Discover Motiva Card and the new Citi Forward Card, have already been covered here before.

Wells Fargo Platinum Card: The Wells Fargo Platinum Card belongs to the category of low rate card. The card was selected not only because of its 7.65% variable APR, but also because the bank always send statements to cardholders 25 days before the due date, giving them plenty of time to pay the bills. While the rate is low, you can enjoy it unless you have a Wells Fargo bank account.
Capital One Platinum Prestige: The Capital One Platinum Prestige Card is a card for balance transfer because it offers 12-month 0% APR introductory rate. However, at 3% balance transfer fee, I can hardly agree that the cost to transfer balance with this card is low. But the card doesn’t do double-cycle billing and give cardholders 25 days to pay their bills.
Discover Motiva: When the Discover Motiva Card was first introduced two years ago, I thought that the card encourages credit card debit because it rewards cardholders who has a balance on the card. It looks like that’s how the card is selected: Motiva is good for a person “who is not able to pay off the card in full when it arrives, and doesn’t want to dig into that natural debt hole that usually follows.”
Citi Forward: What I like the Citi Forward Card is that, on top of the 11,000 bonus points, it actually rewards card members with good behaviors (such as pay bill on time and stay under limit) by reducing their rates, up to 2%. There’s no other cards do that as far as I know. The card also has a generous rewards program as well, making it good to earn rewards.

Check them out to see if they are worth considering before the credit card industry comes clean with their behaviors.

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Discover Card $30,000 Paperless Statements Sweepstakes

Sun — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:21:45 +0000

Are you still receiving paper statements from your banks, credit card issuers, or phone companies?

Since I do transactions, such as checking account activities, paying bills, and transferring funds, I want to eliminate paper statements all together if I can because there’s nothing on the paper that I can’t find online. So there’s just no reason for me to receive and keep all those papers. Usually, companies encourage its customers to go paperless and offer electronic statement for free. While for many paperless statement is an option, it’s required for most reward checking accounts in order to receive the higher rate; also some companies, like Zecco for example, charge a fee if their customers choose to receive paper statements.

Right now, the only paper statements I am receiving are from mutual fund companies because some of them either don’t have online access for investors or there’s no such an option to switch to electronic files. All bills of my credit cards are electronic, including Discover card which recently launched $30,000 paperless statement sweepstakes to encourage its cardholders to with to the paperless method.

In addition to one grand prize of $15,o00, there are also three first prizes of $5,000 each. To enter the sweepstakes, all you need to do is log into your account and opt to receive electronic statements by providing your email address. Once you enrolled, you will receive one entry into the sweepstakes. Plus, you can

Get an automatic e-mail reminder 6–7 days before your credit card payment is due.
Continue to access up to 24 months of password-protected statements with the option to download a printable PDF.

Are you still getting paper statement from Discover? Sign up before 05/31/2009 to go paperless and get a chance to win as mush as $15,000 in cash

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Citi PremierPass Card 20,000 ThankYou Points Promotion

Sun — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:39:17 +0000

Over the past several years, I have acquired a couple of travel rewards credit cards, including AMEX Delta SkyMiles Card, Discover Miles Card, and Citi PremierPass Card. Though I don’t travel a lot, I’d like to have a card that gives better rewards for travel than a everyday card like the Fidelity 529 Card I am using. Of course, I don’t need that many cards for travel. So I gradually closed some cards that I no longer wanted and keep only the Citi PremierPass Card I got two years ago.

Currently, Citi PremierPass Card Elite Level is running a promotion with 20,000 ThankY0u points to new card members (10,000 points for basic level card). In order to receive the bonus points, you will have to spend at least $600 ($300 for basic level card) in the first 3 months after the account is opened.

Citi PremierPass Card Rewards Program

Citi PremierPass Card Elite Level is one of the best travel rewards credit cards that gives card holders the flexibility to choose how they want to be rewarded. With this card, you can not only earn ThankYou rewards points by spending on everyday purchases, but also earn miles by using the card to buy airline tickets, for yourself and for anybody else. Details of the card’s rewards program include:

Earn 1 point for every mile flown with any airline on tickets you buy for anyone with this card (For example, the trip to China I took last year is about 7,900 miles and I earned 15,800 TY Points for the round trip that’s 15,800 miles. If my wife and children had went with me together, then I would have earned those points from their trips as well.);
Earn 2 points for every dollar you spend at gas stations, supermarkets and drugstores, plus earn 1 point for every other dollar you spend on all other purchases;
Get a complimentary companion ticket when you buy a qualifying ticket;
Redeem points for flights on any airline with no blackout dates; discounts on hotel stays, retail gift cards and more through ThankYou Network rewards program;
Points never expire, as long as you make 1 purchase every 3 calendar years.

You will get all these benefits from PremierPass Card Elite Level with the price of $75 annual fee. With the Elite card, the maximum points you can earn in a calendar year is 200,000, of which 100,000 can be earned through miles flown. And to redeem points earned from fly miles, you must also earn the equal number of points from purchases.

If you don’t want to pay the annual fee, there’s a basic level card with watered-down benefits:

Earn 1 point for every 3 miles flown with any airline on tickets you buy for anyone with this card;
Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all purchases;
Redeem points for flights on any airline with no blackout dates; discounts on hotel stays, retail gift cards and more through ThankYou Network rewards program;
Points never expire, as long as you make 1 purchase every 3 calendar years.

ThankYou Points Redemption

Rewards, including the account opening bonus, are earned as ThankYou points which can be redeemed through ThankYou Network, the unique rewards program for eligible Citi credit cards and Citi banking products. ThankYou points can be redeemed for a wide verity of products, gift cards, flight tickets, or hotel stays.

You can redeem 10,000 ThankYou points for $100 gift certificates at Macy’s, Sears, or Gap, etc,;
If you favor cash, then you can exchange 16,000 points for $100 cash rewards;
If you choose airline tickets, you can book any ticket or itinerary through Expedia.

If you fly a lot, then this card, the Elite Level card, can definitely help you accumulate ThankYou points faster because you earn one point for every mile flown and the bonus points they are offering now can give you a jump start.

I got the PremierPass Elite Level Card with no annual during a promotion. Otherwise, I probably won’t get and keep the card because I don’t like paying an annual fee to use a credit card.

BTW, Citi recently introduced a new Citi Forward card that also has a good promotion. Not exactly a travel card, but the benefits look good. Check it out.

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Random News: Best Toilet Paper, Bank of America Credit Card Rate Hikes, and (Vehicle) Size Does Matter

Sun — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 03:55:30 +0000

There’s an article on Consumer Reports website last week with the organization’s latest test results on toilet papers (which will also appear in the May issue of Consumer Report magazine). The article has some interesting findings that could affect which brand we will buy in the future.

We have been using Scott 1000-sheet single ply paper bought at Costco in our house for years. Though we don’t have much complain, it does seem that we are just, well, flushing money down the toilet. The CR test concluded that

At just 6 cents per 100 sheets, Scott 1000 delivered the most sheets for the lowest price. But because it was also the thinnest and wimpiest toilet roll we tested, you could wind up using more of this lower-scoring roll than you bargained for.

Next time when we shop toilet paper, we will have to check out one of CR’s best buys: Kirkland Signature.

In early February, Chase quietly started to impose an annual fee of $120 on some credit cards with a large amount of balance at a low rate. Even though Chase said that the fee only applies to those accounts that made a little progress in paying off the balance, the move provoked angry reactions from cardholders as well as consumer advocacy groups. Under pressure, Chase abandoned the plan and said it will refund card members the $10/month fee late last month.

However, Chase isn’t alone in punishing cardholders who don’t pay their balance in full every month. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bank of America plans boosts interest rates on credit cards carrying a balance. According to the Journal,

Starting with June account statements, any credit-card customer who carries a balance and has an interest rate below 10% will see his or her rate jump into double-digit territory.

Even though government agencies have passed new rules to regulate the credit card industry early this year, the stronger restrictions will take effect until July 2010. At the same time, credit card issuers seem to be on the rush to change the terms of credit cards when they still can at will.

Finally, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety today released a report on the matter of the size and weight of a car in a crush. The IIHS study found that, even though minicars, such as Honda Fit, Smart Fortwo, and Toyota Yaris, have many advantages (low price, fuel efficiency, etc) over larger cars, they performed poorly in front collision tests. They just don’t provide good protections to the passengers when colliding with midsize vehicles. After all, laws of physics still prevail

photo credit: otherthings

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Closed a Bunch of Credit Cards

Sun — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:04:13 +0000

After having been mostly in the credit card accumulation mode for years, it seems that the time to cut down my “holdings” has finally come. The main reason that I probably will never use some of the cards again because they don’t offer any reward that’s better than those cards I am actively using now. In addition, a few cards from Citi and Chase have been closed by the issuers due to inactivity for a long time. So instead of waiting for the banks to close the accounts for me, I think it’s better for me to do the cleaning myself. Cards that were closed recently include:

JC Penny MasterCard (opened in 2002 as a store card)
Lows MasterCard (opened in 2004 as a store card)
Bank of America AAA Visa Card (opened in 2002), WorldPoint MasterCard (opened in 2002)
Citi Driver’s Edge Card (opened in 2008)
Discover Miles Card (opened in 2006)
Chase Rewards MasterCard (opened in 2003)
Citi Dividend MasterCard (opened in 2004)

Some cards were opened years ago as store credit cards, but later they also become credit cards bearing MasterCard or Visa logo, others were opened for balance transfer only but never got canceled after the promotion was over. With nothing attractive to me now, there’s no reason for me to keep them. However, I didn’t just close the cards. For those I have other cards with the same issuers, I always asked for credit line consolidation to move credit limits to a surviving card. This way, I won’t lose the overall available credit after closing the accounts and the credit utilization ratio (total balance divides total credit) will not increase. For those store cards, I just closed them because the credit lines are very low anyway (usually a couple of thousands).

After closing the above accounts, the total number of credit cards I own have reached a reasonable number and each of them has its own purpose:

American Express: Optima Card (opened in 1998, $10,000 CL, oldest card, not actively using), TrueEarningots Card (opened in 1998, $29,200 CL, for shopping at Costco);
Bank of America: UPromise MasterCard (opened in 2002, $46,700 CL, for shopping online through UPromise);
Chase: Amazon Visa Card (opened 2006, $11,000 CL, for shopping at Amazon.com to earn 3% cashback), Freedom Visa Card (opened in 2007, $49,150 CL, for shopping at grocery stores and gas stations to earn 3% cashback), Sony Visa Card (opened in 2000, $6,000 CL, old card, not actively using);
Citi: PremierPass MasterCard (opened in 2007, $35,500 CL, for travel);
Discover: Discover Card (opened in 1999, $11,300 CL, old card, not actively using);
FIA: Fidelity 529 College Rewards MasterCard (opened in 2006, $7,400 CL, for shopping elsewhere to earn 2% cashback).

As you can see, I am careful not to close those old accounts which have a big role in determining the length of my credit history, even though I am not actively using them (I don’t however have to use them at least once every year or two to prevent them from being closed by the issuers). By keeping some old cards and preserving credit limits, I am trying to minimize the negative impact on my credit score.

Have you voluntarily closed any credit cards lately? If so, anythng special have you done so it won’t hurt your score?

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Closed a Bunch of Credit Cards