Credit Card Hot Deals

[slaman]

I noticed that - I think that's my plan of action

One question, what's the difference between a Citibank dividend College and Regular card? Should I apply for the regular one now or stick with the college one to ensure I'm accepted... as far as I can see from their website, it's the same thing!

 

[RossMAN]

This is one of the greatest AT Hot Deals threads ever!

I'm not sure what the difference between the regular and college CitiBank Dividend cards is. If you are NOT a college student then I would apply for the regular. Just because it says college doesn't automatically mean it's easier to qualify for.

If you have zero US credit history and they are unable to access your Canadian history you're probably SOL either way. IF you are declined, I again encourage you to check out and apply for a SECURED credit card.

 

[tazmania99]

I think the new credit card I got recently offers a pretty good deal too, so I post it here for the others' comparison. I recently got a National City Master Gold card. One of the big benefits is National City Bank partners with PrimeCard Corp which offers an exclusive rebate program at houndreds of internet participating merchants including Officemax, Buy.com, 1-800-FLOWERS.com, etc, as well as the traditional B&M stores. The rebate can be as high as 20%. Certainly, the APR is the most we are concerned. Although National City Bank may not be a big card issuer, their rate is relatively comparative. They offer me 1.9% introductory rate, and 9.9% thereafter, no annual fee, no membership fee for the rebate program. Unlike the other cards, you don't need to wait one whole year to get your cash back from your rebate. In general the rebate money will be credited to your credit card account directly after 2~3 weeks.

If you are interested, check
here or here.

P.S. National City Bank also offers FirstAir Travel points rebate for each dollar you charge with their Gold cards.

 

[bit]

this national city gold card is very much like the chase Stockback MasterCard, and i noticed that the chase Stockback MasterCard gives you higher cash back, and with Stockback MasterCard you earn 1% back for every purchase you make - online or offline too.

 

[Otaking]

Well, I actually do own a Chase Stockback Mastercard, so I can vouch that it's indeed a very nice card.

What happens is that you're guaranteed at least 1% back on EVERY purchase, starting from your first $1 spent. For more % back as they say on their website (up to 12% back), you MUST go through the http://www.stockback.com portal and purchase online. This is great if you do any or all of your shopping online because that's what this credit card was targeted for. (I've talked to CSR about this, and you HAVE to go through the portal; I tried to maximize my savings by getting cashback from both ebates and stockback , but it didn't work, unfortunately. )

What's good about Stockback's cashback is that you can opt to leave it in a Money Market Fund (Merrill Lynch S&P 500 Index Fund) and gain interest to put it towards a house, car, anything you want. You can even put in more money if you want from any Bank account. (What a great idea, eh!? Why wait until the end of the year when all those other credit card companies send you your rebates to you when you can let the money EARN INTEREST during that year?)

Of course, you can always take the money out as cash anytime you want.

Anyways, Chase's Stockback card has been great so far, and the web interface is pretty good, although you have to sign up twice (First, to access your CC info, Second, for Chase's "BillPay" management if you want to pay online..although you can pay other bills this way as well - phone, electricity, etc).

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Otaking
Anyways, Chase's Stockback card has been great so far, and the web interface is pretty good, although you have to sign up twice (First, to access your CC info, Second, for Chase's "BillPay" management if you want to pay online..although you can pay other bills this way as well - phone, electricity, etc).

Thank you for the valuable info on Chase's Stockback MC, so far it looks good.

One question I have is, do they charge a monthly fee to use their BillPay service? CitiBank charges $5.95 a month.

Being able to CHARGE everything to my cc is a dream come true and you'll rack up perks like a mofo. Just charge your MORTGAGE payment, CAR payment, car insurance, water bill, phone bill, cell bill, electricity bill, etc.

 

[Otaking]

One question I have is, do they charge a monthly fee to use their BillPay service? CitiBank charges $5.95 a month.

Good god, RossMAN. I refreshed the page after I typed my post, and you had already responded.

Unfortunately, Chase does charge a $4.95/mo for paying bills OTHER than their Credit Card (Those are free, of course). They also offer a "Premium Plan" for $9.95 a month where you can schedule automatic payments and receive e-mail alerts on bills and other things. The best part of that plan is that they send you an annual CD-ROM that lists all your transactions, payments, and everything. It's a great way to track your money.

But it would be nice to get cashback on your utility bill, eh?

Oh, how's your Accord treatin ya'? I can't help but see your sig EVERYWHERE.

EDIT: More info about Chase's Bill Management System, check out http://chase.presentment.com/

 

[Otaking]

TTT where this belongs

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Otaking

One question I have is, do they charge a monthly fee to use their BillPay service? CitiBank charges $5.95 a month.

Good god, RossMAN. I refreshed the page after I typed my post, and you had already responded.

Unfortunately, Chase does charge a $4.95/mo for paying bills OTHER than their Credit Card (Those are free, of course). They also offer a "Premium Plan" for $9.95 a month where you can schedule automatic payments and receive e-mail alerts on bills and other things. The best part of that plan is that they send you an annual CD-ROM that lists all your transactions, payments, and everything. It's a great way to track your money.

But it would be nice to get cashback on your utility bill, eh?

Oh, how's your Accord treatin ya'? I can't help but see your sig EVERYWHERE.

EDIT: More info about Chase's Bill Management System, check out http://chase.presentment.com/

Thanks for the indepth reply. Is this an awesome thread or what?

Do you get the free CD only with the premium $9.95 plan or can you get that with the ghetto $4.95 plan?

My Accord is great so far, going to the dealer to get a rubber mat for the trunk ($99) this weekend and learning all about how to break it in properly, learning about wax, washing, etc.

 

[Otaking]

Do you get the free CD only with the premium $9.95 plan or can you get that with the ghetto $4.95 plan?

I believe it's only with the $9.95 plan. But if you are able to find a credit card company that offers a free service to pay bills online, tell me.

You can't pay your bills with a credit card already? I can pay most of them (although I'd DEFINITELY love to pay rent with a CC!), but I still have to pay 34 cents to send it out, so I guess that's what you're really saving on by paying online.

 

[Wolverine88]

AYK, the AMEX blue BVG program was gone. So, get a AMEX gold card instead. the annual fee is $75. Just applied one on the phone and got approval immediately.

I called my blue card and mentioned that I wanna convert my current blue to gold.

I was told No way to do that, have to apply for a new card. FYI.

Now I have every major cc from all major banks. maybe it's time to cancel some. I use discover mostly. Used blue to get some heavy items.

 

[hotstuff2000]

First of all, I agree this is the best card for ANYONE out there, unless your charging 5 digits a year.
This is the only cash back card I know of that pays 1%. Not "up to 1%" but 1%.
I just received my Farm Bureau card in the mail today. I applied over a month ago.
They made me send in a copy of a utility bill TWICE (even though no utilities are in my name).
Then they took an extra two weeks after I was approved to send the card. Then today after receiving it, at 7 PM I tried to call customer service and they are "closed". Sorry, but 24/7 customer service is a requirement for me. I am cancelling the card today. Especially after the part that your points expire after 3 years, and it will take me more than that to earn enough to get 1% back. I get "free" cards in the mail periodically with no effort on my part. I can't believe they required me to mail in utility bills, especially since I have lived in this house for 20 years, and my credit is fine.

The Citi Dividend Platinum card appears to pay 1% as well, but you are only paid once you earn at least $100, which means you charged $10,000. The Stockback Card, on the other hand, pays you "within 75 days of the close of the billing cycle during which the purchase transaction occurred," according to their website. As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush....
Thumbs up on this card. For second place I would put AMEX for their pricematching. I will carry both cards and cancel everything else

Originally posted by: Otaking
What's good about Stockback's cashback is that you can opt to leave it in a Money Market Fund (Merrill Lynch S&P 500 Index Fund) and gain interest to put it towards a house, car, anything you want. You can even put in more money if you want from any Bank account. (What a great idea, eh!? Why wait until the end of the year when all those other credit card companies send you your rebates to you when you can let the money EARN INTEREST during that year?)

Of course, you can always take the money out as cash anytime you want.

Just to clarify, this is a money market fund, which is what most checking accounts are based on. It pays interest and is risk-free. It is NOT an S&P 500 Index Fund, which is a risky stock investment (The S&P 500, and its Index Funds are down 22% for the year). But the second part of the message is right on! Definately a plus to get your money back immediately!

 

[hotstuff2000]

The quote didn't really clarify the post I was talking about. I am of course referring to the Chase Stockback Card

 

[hotstuff2000]

Boy am I shocked.. I just applied for the Stockback card, and it DOES invest your rewards in an S&P 500 Index Fund! I just assumed it the wrong part of "interest bearing S&P 500 Index Fund" was wrong.. This is indeed a stock mutual fund. It does NOT pay interest, and CAN LOSE MONEY (as I mentioned its down over 20% for the year). Very strange to me that they would not pick a money market fund, but no matter, you can select a non-interest bearing cash account, and you can remove funds from either account at any time. I personally am picking the cash, because of the fees with the mutual fund.

 

[Otaking]

hotstuff2000: Good idea, I'm changing to cash back.

 

[slaman]

Hrm, I didn't realize you could get cash back immediately with the Stockback card... now I've already applied for this stupid citibank (which denied me the first time because the fools didn't check Canadian credit history like they told me they would)

I'll give them a call today and hopefully be approved...

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

I can't seem to find the answer to this in any recent postings....

I need EITHER a checking account with preferably a check card or a credit card. I will be going away to colelge next week. I have had a Capital One Visa Buxx card for a year or so, but the program is being ended right now. My problem is finding a card I can get. I have no intentions of charging anything more than I have, so therefore a check card would also work. I can't seem to find any cards I can get w/o and credit hostory. I just want a plain and simple card, no cash back, points, etc, just a plain card. Are there any left out there?

 

[Otaking]

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts
I can't seem to find the answer to this in any recent postings....

I need EITHER a checking account with preferably a check card or a credit card. I will be going away to colelge next week. I have had a Capital One Visa Buxx card for a year or so, but the program is being ended right now. My problem is finding a card I can get. I have no intentions of charging anything more than I have, so therefore a check card would also work. I can't seem to find any cards I can get w/o and credit hostory. I just want a plain and simple card, no cash back, points, etc, just a plain card. Are there any left out there?

I currently use Bank of America as my immediate checking account. I think they have some kind of deal with UT-Austin, so it's really convenient that they have ATMs all over campus. Bank of America gives me a free checkcard which works as an ATM card, and I have absolutely no bonuses or anything with the account.

I would look for convenience at whichever college you're going to, as it helps to have ATMs everywhere. You may want to just wait until you get to the college to open up a checking account. Who knows, maybe they have some sort of University Federal Credit Union which'll usually give you interest on your account too.

 

[EvanGeliSt]

Currrently using Chase Mastercard for shell. It's giving 1% rebate on all purchases and 5% on shell gas. For those of you out there who use shell frequently, this might be a good deal. Tried considering Discover but if you look closely at their "2%" rebates, it's like 0.5% on the first $500 and so forth. Tried another card, Visa Associates and the rebates weren't there either. Can't recall what their policy was but i just closed my account after finding out the truth ........

AMEX Blue is a pretty decent card for students. I know a lot of students using it right now......

 

[AznRyda]

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts
I can't seem to find the answer to this in any recent postings....

I need EITHER a checking account with preferably a check card or a credit card. I will be going away to colelge next week. I have had a Capital One Visa Buxx card for a year or so, but the program is being ended right now. My problem is finding a card I can get. I have no intentions of charging anything more than I have, so therefore a check card would also work. I can't seem to find any cards I can get w/o and credit hostory. I just want a plain and simple card, no cash back, points, etc, just a plain card. Are there any left out there?

Like Otaking said, you should try going to Bank of America. When you apply for a student checking account, they mail you a visa check card within the week.

 

[udonoogen]

im getting 2% in rebates toward a new car from citibank driver's edge for college students. granted the most i could ever earn is $500 over a three year period, i don't anticipate spending $25000 over a three year period, although i could see how it could be done. i think i got a little over 20 bucks so far. maybe i can buy a nice rearview mirror or something with the extra money made. =)

 

[Aar0n]

recently, i've found that BofA is offering free online billpayer. A very convenient feature, whether you have a credit or check card!

 

[MitzEclipse]

Originally posted by: Aar0n
recently, i've found that BofA is offering free online billpayer. A very convenient feature, whether you have a credit or check card!

I think this feature is only free for 3 months...

 

[Platinum]

I think this First USA card beats the Citibank card.

This pays 1% (NOT up to) on everything. And you can redeem it when you hit $25, unlike Citibank which is $100. There is a cap of $60,000 per calendar year though.

 

[DPOverLord]

After reading this I am still confused as to what card to get. I love HSBCS Internet banking online so I have there Credit/DEbit cards.
However, I would love to get flyer miles, cash back, and more gas So... what do yall think for those. Since I am completely lost after reading all of that