August 2008 Archives
Financial companies been a little shy about introducing new credit cards ever since their mortgage businesses went belly up, but now GE Money Bank is coming out with new gas rebate cards. If you sign up right now you could get $0.30 per gallon statement credits at Chevron or Texaco for the first 60 days. After that it'll be $0.10 per gallon, plus 3% in fuel credits at gas station convenience stores and 1% on all other purchases.
HOWEVER, there is an annual cap. You can only earn and redeem up to $300 in rebates a year and with a minimum APR of up to 20.49% you better not carry a balance.
If you live close to a Chevron or Texaco station and don't mind the $300 rewards limit, this might be a decent deal for you.
http://www.chevrontexacocards.com/
HOWEVER, there is an annual cap. You can only earn and redeem up to $300 in rebates a year and with a minimum APR of up to 20.49% you better not carry a balance.
If you live close to a Chevron or Texaco station and don't mind the $300 rewards limit, this might be a decent deal for you.
http://www.chevrontexacocards.com/
The Los Angeles Times has an interesting story about a reporter who was traveling in Northern Europe and was asked for a PIN code when trying to make a purchase with a credit card. It's how it works there: No code, no purchase.
European countries have been adopting a new technology called 'Chip&PIN' over the last couple of years, mainly to reduce fraud. Since most thieves have no way of obtaining your personal code, stolen cards are useless to them.
No US banks are issuing cards with chips and there are no plans to switch to the European standard, despite potential long-term savings. Most US cards will still work in Europe, as card readers there can read magnetic stripes, but make sure you ask your credit card company for a PIN code for your credit card. That way you won't be stuck using your debit card everywhere.
Source: Los Angeles Times
European countries have been adopting a new technology called 'Chip&PIN' over the last couple of years, mainly to reduce fraud. Since most thieves have no way of obtaining your personal code, stolen cards are useless to them.
No US banks are issuing cards with chips and there are no plans to switch to the European standard, despite potential long-term savings. Most US cards will still work in Europe, as card readers there can read magnetic stripes, but make sure you ask your credit card company for a PIN code for your credit card. That way you won't be stuck using your debit card everywhere.
Source: Los Angeles Times
Airlines are desperate these days. Every other week they seem to introduce new fees, so it really shouldn't come as a surprise that most major carriers are starting to cut back on their frequent flier programs.
Depending on how much money you spend, how often you fly and some other factors you may be better of with a cash back card.
Even if you decide to keep your airline card, it might be wise to lower your expectations.
Gauging the Worth of a Frequent-Flier Credit Card - NYT
Depending on how much money you spend, how often you fly and some other factors you may be better of with a cash back card.
Even if you decide to keep your airline card, it might be wise to lower your expectations.
Are fewer seats available for reasonable amounts of miles? Well, most major airlines are reducing the number of seats they fly, often by double-digit percentages. Flights are extremely crowded. But the airlines keep selling their miles to credit card companies and others that want to give them away to their own customers.
