The re-Packaged Chase Freedom Visa Card Offer: 2012 Review(s)

One of the most popular cash back credit cards from Chase Bank has just been relaunched this week and it’s perks are still plentiful.

Over the last couple of years, the old Chase Freedom Visa (and MasterCard) came with a $200 sign up bonus – and they were flying off the shelves! Today however, Chase’s perks and rewards on this particular card are slightly restructured (and we believe for the better).

Make sure you receive the limited time $100 cash bonus. T get the Chase Freedom Card with the $100 sign up bonus use this link.

The largest swap of ‘perks’ from the old offer to the new one is the exchange of $100 in bonus money for a 15 month, 0% APR period on both new purchases AND balance transfers. So rather than earning a $200 bonus for signing up, you earn just a $100 bonus, but you also get a 0% intro APR for over a year. Depending on your own financial circumstance, this new promotional APR period could be quite beneficial.

2012 Perks and Rewards – Chase Freedom Visa Card:

1) $100 Cash Bonus after spending just $500 on the card.

More »

Barclaycard: First Crowd-Sourced Credit Card Driven by Online Community of Cardholders

For the first time ever a credit card company has built an online platform for cardholders to not only manage their money, but collaborate on desired card features and even put them to a vote before implementation.

A number of banks and credit unions have been exploring new “social” approaches of involving customer input for new product lines. And even though the new Barclayscard is still in beta, they have at least temporarily gotten the customer collaboration aspect of it right.

Basically current customers of Barclays got together though an online community and built their ideal credit card – something simple that is also a great deal. When the new card is released, it will feature one of the lowest interest rates on the market at 8% as well as no annul fee OR balance transfer fee. It will also have terms and conditions that are actually straight forward and short.

In our opinion, this card has the potential to make a strong run on the market for consumers with accumulated debt looking to trade in their current card with unfavorable rates for a new one.

The success of this card will lean on two primary features:

1) straight forward APR of 8%. Most balance transfer cards come with a promotional 0% APR period lasting between 6 and 12 months. This period is then generally followed by a standard APR of anywhere between 13-30% depending on credit history. While the barclays card doesn’t come with a tempting 0% APR term, it keeps the APR at less than half of what these cards typically charge for it’s entire life.

2) No balance transfer fee. This is where the upfront savings kick in. Rarely is there a balance transfer credit card on the market featuring a no balance transfer fee, and even when there is its almost always a promotional offer that is only available for a limited time. Having a card that continually waives the balance transfer fee will entice new customers with massive savings. The average balance transfer fee for a credit card ranges between 3% and 5% and must always be paid up front. To get a better idea of the potential savings here let’s assume you are transferring a debt of $5k to a balance transfer card with a balance transfer fee of 5%. This would cost you $250 upfront just to move your balance to the new card.

Barclaycard Ring MasterCard Featured Video:

If you’d like to request an invite to their beta program visit this link.

Top 5 Cash Back Credit Cards in 2012

We like to survey the top credit card offers during the first or second quarter of every year to see how the features, perks, terms and conditions have changed from the year prior. Beginning this month we will look into a variety of credit card categories and pick out the top offers as well as discuss year-over-year APR changes, new legality issues, and/or any other noteworthy news affecting the specific category of credit card.

Today’s publication covers the cash back credit card category and features the top offers on the market in 2012.

Since this time in 2011, no new laws have been set in place which directly affect these cards.

As of Q2 of last year a variety of promotional credit cards have cycled though our database but few have locked down the number 1 spot as long as the Chase Freedom Card. This card currently comes with a $200 bonus after spending just $500 with it and is our number 1 featured pick for this credit card category (up 1 spot since last year). Details below.

Chase Freedom® Visa – $200 Bonus Cash Back - Along with the cash bonus, card holders will be entitled to 5% cash back on a rotating set of categorical purchases. A few examples of purchases falling under the 5% cash back reward structure are home improvement, dining, travel, gas, etc. Purchases outside of the rewards categories will still garner 1% cash back regardless of what they are. You’ll need to have excellent credit to be eligible for the offer. Also keep in mind this card is noted as a limited time offer but has been extended on several occasions and is expected to remain available through (at least) the summer of 2012.

Why Apply for a Cash Back Card?

A cash back card can be extremely beneficial to a responsible consumer. If you are diligent about timing your purchases so that they align with the 3-5% cash back system and you pay off your bill in full each month, one can earn hundreds of dollars back each year from their card. Even if the more rewarding categorical purchases are seldom made, the 1% catch-all  cash back system can still add up to significant savings throughout the course of a year.

The only way card issuers make money from these cards is when consumers spend more than they have. An APR of anywhere between 12-30% is generally associated with cash back offers, this can add up to significant revenue for the card issuer if un-payable debt is stacked up by the customer.

Another Credit Card Waiving the Balance Transfer Fee – Slate® from Chase

This is the first time we’ve seen the well known Slate Credit Card from Chase Bank waives it’s balance transfer fee – and depending on your own credit card debt, the savings from this promotion can be immense.

Apply Here for promotional Slate® from Chase Offer.

The balance transfer fee is the number one way card issuers make up front revenue when new applicants apply for and receive these products. Typically balance transfer fee’s range between 3 and 5 percent of the amount being transferred, so depending on the transferred sum, the lack of this fee has the potential to save consumers quite a bit of money.

These cards almost always come as promotional offers that stay available for a limited time only (usually during a short period following the holiday shopping season). This offer by Chase is no different. For a limited time Slate from Chase Bank is offering new customers the following:

1) 0% introductory rate for 15 months on both balance transfers and new purchases.

2) No Balance Transfer Fee (Limited Time Only)

3) No Annual Fee

We always like to reiterate the fact that even those these promotional offers tend to apply a 0% intro rate for both balance transfers AND new purchases, we heavily recommend refraining from wracking up additional balances from new purchases. The fundamental benefit of these particular credit card promotions is the combination of the lack of upfront fee as well as the 0% intro APR window – and you must take advantage of both to fully utilize the card.

For maximizing the benefit of one of these cards, you must come up with a strict plan to pay as much of the transferred balance down as you can before the 15 month zero percent APR window is up. If you fail to do so an APR of between 11.99% to 21.99% will await you (depending on your individual credit standing).

Example of Savings from No Balance Transfer Fee Credit Cards:

(For further reading see how much you can save from these cards.)

Example #1

Let’s say you have wracked up $5,000 in credit card debt and are receiving an unfavorable APR on this sum. Once you’ve applied for this offer, you can transfer the $5,000 sum and then have 15 months to pay it off without any adding any additional interest, plus you’ll save between $150 and $250 in up front payments (assuming an industry standard balance transfer fee of between 3% and 5%).

Example #2

If you’ve gone even further with your credit card debt and have wracked up a tab of $15,000, these up front savings really come in to play. In this hypothetical situation a total of between $450 and $750 will have been saved on balance transfer fee’s.

Compare this offer with the only other no balance transfer fee credit card currently on the market from Discover Bank or apply for the offer from Chase using the link at the top of this article.

How Much Can You Save From “No Balance Transfer Fee” Credit Cards?

For consumers bloated with debt from perhaps indulging in a little more holiday spending than they could immediately afford, a balance transfer credit card with a 0% APR program is often times a phenomenal tool available to alleviate this pain. Credit card companies know this all too well and typically, around this time of year, come out with these very enticing offers. But which balance transfer credit card allows consumers to save the most money while truly assisting them in eliminating or at least heavily alleviating their debt?

Your first option would be to find a card with an extended 0% intro APR option. The longest term we’ve ever come across has been a 21 month 0% APR card from both Discover and Citibank. Fortunately for consumers in the market for these types of cards there are several 21 month 0% APR cards still on the market. Visit our balance transfer credit card marketplace to compare all the features of these cards as well as any promotional offers.

Now on to our favorite type of balance transfer card – the no balance transfer fee credit card.

These types of cards are always promotional offers that never last more than a few weeks. And we generally see them come around right after the new year. There is one still available through the end of this month in which we covered in an earlier article. However, for those that may have missed the offer it can be found using the link below (or read our review here).

Discover More “No Balance Transfer Fee” Credit Card

Here are some quick highlights of the card:

1) No Balance Transfer Fee. (Only if you sign up before Jan 31.)

2) 0% Intro APR on both balance transfers and purchases for 12 months.

3) 5% cash back in a rotating set of everyday type categories (gas, groceries, etc).

4) 20% cash back when you shop online through the Discover website.

No let’s further examine how valuable these “no balance transfer fee” cards really are and how much you can potentially save by transferring your existing debt to one of them.

First, the average balance transfer fee is between 3% and 5% for ALL balance transfer credit cards. Discover Bank is the only credit card issuer that we’ve seen waive this fee. Ever.

If you bank with a credit union and have an existing balance with another credit card outside of your credit union, you may want to see if they can provide a similar card as well if you’d prefer not to open a Discover Card, but we find it unlikely they have a similar offer.

Potential Savings with Discover Bank’s No Balance Transfer Fee Credit Card:

Assuming you have $1,000 in credit card debt and transfer it to a 0% APR balance transfer card you would be saving $50 assuming a 5% balance transfer fee.

5% x $1,000 = $50 in savings

Now assume you have $5,000 in credit card debt and transferred it over to a 0% APR card. Your savings would then be a much more substantial $250 (again assuming a 5% BT fee).

5% x $5,000 = $250 in savings

Now let’s go further and assume you have a whopping $15,000 in credit card debt and need to transfer it immediately to a 0% APR card because you’re likely getting smothered with interest charges. In this more extreme example you would be saving an incredible $750 (assuming 5% BT fee).

5% x $15,000 = $750 in savings

When obtaining one of these cards it’s absolutely crucial that you budget your monthly payments so that the debt you’ve transferred can be fully paid off before the 0% intro APR period is over otherwise you will likely be hit with an APR between 10.99% and 19.99% depending on your credit standing. And although they allow the 0% APR to cover new purchases as well, we would highly recommend never using the card for purchases only as a tool to recover from suffocating credit card debt.

When ‘no balance transfer fee credit card promotions’ become available they never last long, so if you’ve wracked up somewhat of a high credit card debt and are stuck with an unfavorable APR, now is the time to transfer your balance and take advantage of the potential savings.

You can Apply for the Discover More “No Balance Transfer Fee” Credit Card using this link.

– Offer Available Through January 2012 Only –

Discover Bank’s “No Balance Transfer Fee” Credit Card is Back!

One of the most popular promotional offers by Discover Bank is back once again!

The Discover More “No Balance Transfer Fee” Credit Card usually surfaces around this time each year to help relieve consumers of any debt they may have racked up from Holiday spending.

The purpose of balance transfer credit cards is relatively straight forward – you’ll get a promotional 0% APR period (usually 6 months to 12 months) in which you can transfer over debt from another card and pay it off before the zero interest period is over. However, the big kicker with these cards is that they almost always come with a one time balance transfer fee of between 3% and 5% depending on which card you choose. In fact, this is the only balance transfer credit card promotion we’ve seen that waives this fee.

The savings from a “no balance transfer fee” credit card is immense.

For example, let’s say you’ve got $5,000 in credit card debt that is accompanied with an unfavorable interest rate from your current bank. You then decide to apply for a 0% intro APR balance transfer credit card and transfer the entire $5,000 over to your new card. This card imposes a standard 5% up front balance transfer fee. That would mean you would need to cough up $250 right off the bat in exchange for a 12 month 0% APR period.

Given the above scenario you can see how beneficial these no balance transfer fee cards from Discover Bank can be especially if you’re dealing with more credit card debt then mentioned in our hypothetical situation.

Discover More “No Balance Transfer Fee” Credit Card Details (Limited Time Promotion):

• Limited Time Offer – $0 Balance Transfer Fee!
• 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months, then the variable standard purchase APR of 10.99% – 19.99%
• 5% Cash back Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply
• Up to 20% Cash back Bonus at popular retailers when you shop online through Discover.com
• Discover is ranked 1 in customer loyalty–15 years in a row! (2011 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index report)
• 24/7 access to a U.S.-based Account Manager within 60 seconds
• Great rewards with no annual fee, no rewards redemption fee, and no additional card fee
• Click apply to view rates, fees, rewards, limitations and other important information

  Apply Now!

- Offer Expires on January 31, 2012 -

Credit Cards with Holiday Cash Bonus Promotions Ending Shortly

There’s never a lack of holiday promotions from credit card issuers this time of year and now is about the time they begin to dwindle.

If you’re a last minute shopper like myself, then luckily you’re still eligible to nab one of these cash bonus credit card offers but you’ll have to move fast. However, if you’re one of those people that like to take advantage of the post-holiday discounts many retail stores offer knowing consumers’ wallets (and credit limits) will be packed with funds from returned ugly socks, sweaters, and the like, then you may still want to consider one of these cash bonus credit cards to supplement the upcoming discounts.

Below are Credit Cards Offering Holiday Cash Bonuses for Signing-Up:

1) Get $150 Cash Back Bonus From Discover – Discover is one of our favorite cards for both cash back incentives and balance transfers, however, in our recollection they rarely dabble in the cash bonus realm until the Holiday’s roll around. Currently (and until December 30th) you can nab a $150 bonus after spending $1,000 in 90 days. (Our original report of this offer can be found here). Use the link above before the exp. date to get the offer and to read all the additional terms, conditions of features of the card. The above link will be removed Friday at 2:30pm CST and the cash bonus will no longer be on the table.

Just as a quick glimpse of the features of this card – It’s 5% cash back program on regular purchases and generous 0% balance transfer offer usually keep it amongst the most popular offers on the market. Just remember to factor in the up-front, one-time balance transfer fee that will be imposed before deciding on whether to transfer an existing card balance over to this one. The main drawback of the card being that it’s not widely accepted outside the United States and you may even have trouble using it in obscure shops or locations within the US as well.

2) Chase Freedom® Visa – $200 Bonus Cash Back – This offer, quite frankly, has been one of the best we’ve seen in a while in the cash bonus space and has surprisingly stayed on the market for a relatively long time when compared to other similar offers from competing card issuers. It’s “limited time offer” threat – if you will – has always been looming around since it’s inception but we haven’t received word of it being removed anytime in the immediate future, however, we do have a hunch it may be either taken off the market or the bonus may be reduced in the coming months following the New Year. It has an extremely similar reward structure to that of the Discover offer above, but the requirements to earn the $200 bonus are far less stringent. You can earn the $200 bonus after spending just $500 with the card! Pretty solid return on investment eh? So again, if you’ve got some last minute shopping to do or plan on taking advantage of the post-holiday blues discounts this extra 200 bucks Chase is throwing in your pocket could probably lend a helping hand!

Walmart MoneyCard – Reloadable Prepaid Mastercard with $10 Bonus

Here’s a rather enticing bonus offer. Usually prepaid cards don’t come with cash bonuses, however, for a limited time the Walmart MoneyCard comes with a $10 bonus when you set up a direct deposit and deposit at least $250 into the account. These are pretty lax requirements to earn a $10 bonus when compared to other credit card cash bonuses.

The Walmart MoneyCard is a fairly standard prepaid option. You can sign up in just 60 seconds and it requires no credit check. You can also open one of these without a bank account and they impose zero overdraft fees.

If you’re looking to rebuild your credit with this card you may be tough out of luck though. The Walmart MoneyCard does not report to the three major credit bureaus like these rebuilding credit cards do.

It’s widely accepted (wherever MasterCard is accepted) and can be used to purchase items, pay bills and withdrawal cash. If you’d like to view your account balance or have any additional questions or concerns you may call them 24/7 or log-in to your account on their website.

Get the Card Here —> Walmart MoneyCard(SM) MasterCard® Prepaid Card

Our Take:

Prepaid cards are a valuable tool for those who can’t obtain checking accounts or credit cards. They allow for a safe place to keep cash while providing easy access to it. They do not, however, provide any sort of perks that usually come with popular cash back or frequent flier credit cards – and even some checking accounts. The fact that this card comes with an, albeit small, cash bonus makes it an enticing offer in the prepaid space. The cash bonus is only available for a limited time.

Two Rewarding Credit Card Promotions from American Express

Two American Express credit cards are currently featuring some lucrative rewards for new card holders.

The Delta SkyMiles Card is featuring 30,000 bonus miles after opening the card and spending $500 within 3 months AND the Blue Cash Everyday Card is featuring a $100 cash back bonus after spending $1,000 within 3 months.

Apply for the Delta SkyMiles Card with 30,000 Bonus Miles Here. 60 second approval process.

Apply for the Blue Cash Everyday Card with $100 Cash Back Bonus Here. 60 second approval process.

Both cards are fairly popular in their respective category. The Delta SkyMiles Card ranks as one of the top airline miles cards, while the Blue Cash Everyday Card is rated as one of the best cash back credit cards.

Complete Set of Features for Delta SkyMiles Card:

- Limited Time 30,000 bonus miles (already enough for one free flight) after spending just $500 with the card in 3 months. This amounts to a pretty substantial bonus. Most cards in this category require more spending on the new card before issuing such large amounts of bonus miles.

- Check your first bag free when flying with Delta Airlines for up to 8 people.

- Get 2 for 1 on miles to dollars spent on all Delta purchases and 1 mile for every other dollar spent elsewhere. The overall point reward structure with this card is trailing some of the other top offers. (One is featuring 5% cash back and a $150 Sign-up Bonus!).

- Get priority boarding and save 20% on in-flight purchases.

- $95 annual fee waived for first year.

Complete Set of Features for Blue Cash Everyday Card:

- Limited time $100 cash back bonus after spending $1,000 with the card in 3 months. This cash back offer requires a little more investment on the card holders behalf before the cash bonus is dropped into the account. Spending $1000 to get $100 back, while a nice return, still falls far short of the best offer (by Chase Bank) in the cash back category which features a $200 bonus after spending just $500!)

- 0% intro APR for 12 months.

- No rotating rewards program. Rewards structure is as follows: 3% cash back at supermarkets, 2% cash back at gas stations and department stores, and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

- No annual fee.

$75 Statement Credit for New Chase Slate Card Holders!

Attention: This offer has ended. Visit our credit card section for updated promotions and offers.

Here come the holiday credit card offers!

Last week we noted that the popular Discover More Card is featuring a $150 cash bonus after spending $1,000 with the card (only available through November). And this week’s best holiday credit card special comes from Chase.

Currently the Chase Slate Mastercard is providing new card holders with a $75 statement credit after opening the card and spending $300 on it within the first 3 months. As with other holiday geared credit card offers this one also comes with a 0% APR on purchases for a whopping 15 months!

Apply for the card and get the $75 statement credit here!

Credit cards regularly come out with 0% APR intro periods to persuade consumers to spend, perhaps a little more than they can legitimately afford, during the holiday shopping season. So while this 0% APR for 15 months is a noteworthy feature of the card, we’d still like to remind you to keep your spending in check and always know what your current balance is before pulling it out of your wallet. After the intro period is over you’ll incur a standard APR of between 11.99% – 21.99% depending on your credit worthiness.

If you’ve read our review of the Chase Slate Mastercard, then you’re probably familiar with the Chase Blueprint feature. For those that are unfamiliar with this element of the card, it’s an online management tool that allows you to effectively manage your spending and borrowing. With the feature you can customize your payment plans, create financial goals and monitor their progress. There are no fees associated with this card nor the blueprint program.

Additional Features of Chase Slate Credit Card:

- 0% intro APR on balance transfers.

- 3% balance transfer fee.

- No annual fee.