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By David on October 23rd, 2009
Money Quote Friday – Leader Among Men Edition.
Have a fantastic weekend…
Have a fantastic weekend…
By David on October 22nd, 2009
New Chase ‘Slate With Blueprint’ Credit Card 0% APR Offer.
I was curious when I first saw the ads on TV about what exactly Chase was doing with this new card, so I went looking. Seems the “Slate from Chase” card is a standard credit card with a few interesting features I had not seen before, such as separating out everyday purchases from big-ticket ones, meaning those everyday ones get paid in full each month, incurring no interest. You can then leave any more expensive items on the card (while paying interest, of course) and set a payoff date or monthly amount you want to pay towards it. I am a big advocate of never carrying a balance (except when you have a 0% offer to use), but at least with this card you can separate out smaller purchases from the bigger ones so you don’t have to pay interest on a tank of gas or something like that. With no annual fee and an introductory 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months, it may be something you are looking for, especially if you are looking to consolidate debt at 0% interest. (Which I highly recommend you do – there really is no need to carry debt when offers like this exist)
By David on October 22nd, 2009
Using Amex Reward Points For A Blu-Ray Player & A Television.
Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about cashing in my American Express points and closing the account? Well, I redeemed my first batch of reward points this morning for a $200 Dell gift certificate, which I promptly turned around and used to buy a new Samsung Blu-Ray DVD player. Since in 2 weeks when I move (I promise, I will get to the “why” soon) I am about to be without a TV and a DVD player, I decided that this would be a good use of some of the AMEX points I had accumulated. And because I planned carefully before I bought the DVD player, I did a few things to make sure I received the maximum benefit from my purchase:
1. Bought it through a Dell store link over at MyPoints, meaning I got 2 points for each dollar.
2. Used my Chase Amtrak card for the small balance, so I received more rail miles
I still have a lot of points left, and I plan on using some of them to get another $200 certificate to Dell to put towards a new television, which I will have delivered directly to my new home in Colorado (so I don’t have to move it with my other belongings). Makes sense, right?
Sometimes the reward points do come in handy, but I still plan on canceling the card before my renewal date in a few months, as I no longer want to pay annual fees to use a credit card. Luckily, I am getting back way more in rewards than I ever spent in annual fees, but that won’t be the case anymore as I don’t really use that card anymore. For people who really have a ton of expenses, reward cards like this one might be worth the fee, but for me, it isn’t anymore. Besides, all my recurring bills go on my Amtrak card so I can get free train travel, which is much more important to me than random electronics. But in this case, I needed a new DVD player and a new TV, so it made sense. See, reward credit cards are not all bad as long as you use them wisely!
