When it comes to travel, there’s no better credit card issuer to have than American Express.  The American Express rewards program comes with many different kinds of protections and services that no other credit card issuer can provide and arguably their best travel credit card is the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express.  And, as an added bonus to new cardholders, the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express is offering up to 25,000 bonus points, enough for multiple stays at a category 1 or 2 Starwood hotel.  10,000 bonus Starpoints are earned after your first purchases and 15,000 bonus Starpoints are earned after spending $15,000 within the first six months of card ownership.

Signing up for a credit card, simply for the intro offer or bonus can cause future problems if you don’t use your credit card responsibly later, so let’s take a look at the other reasons why the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express is a good deal.

• 2 Starpoints earned for every dollar spent at Starwood Hotels
• 1 Starpoint earned on all other purchases
• Annual fee of $45 waived during the first year of card ownership
• Gold level status if $30,000 is spent annually (Meaning you’ll earn Starpoints even faster)
• 2.9% intro APR on purchases for the first six months

The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express does require excellent credit, so applying for this card with anything less is not a smart idea.  If you are in the market for a travel rewards credit card and don’t mind paying a small annual fee for world class rewards and top notch customer service, take a look at the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express and their 25,000 bonus Starpoints offer.

Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card 25,000 Bonus Points Offer is a post from: PT Money: Personal Finance by PT.

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There are several reasons to take advantage of the many free prepaid credit cards available today. You may need a card for your child who is going off to college. By using these prepaid credit cards, you will be able to control the amount that they can spend. Another reason is that you may not want a bank account and/or might not qualify for (or want) a regular credit card. With the economy like it is, a lot of people have turned the prepaid card to help them control spending. Having your employer or the government send your check by direct deposit to your prepaid card is the best solution for many. Plus, prepaid credit cards are safer and more convenient than carrying around cash.

These free prepaid credit cards aren’t that complicated. You sign up, in most cases you are accepted immediately, without question. There is no credit check. Most cards do not have a sign up fee or an annual fee to use the service. In a lot of cases, the monthly fee can be avoided by making a certain amount of transactions. And since you are funding the card with your money, there is no payment to make. To fund the card, most people create a direct deposit from their employer or from a government source (Unemployment, Social Security, Medicare, Welfare, etc.). You can also typically reload prepaid credit cards at the grocery or drug store. Like any financial product, prepaid cards have their negatives. So make sure you read the terms and conditions and understand what you’re getting into. Here are the best free prepaid credit cards available today:

PT’s Pick for Best Free Prepaid Credit Card

The Mango™ MasterCard® Prepaid Card – This is easily one of the most attractive prepaid credit cards. The Mango™ MasterCard® Prepaid Card is free and it’s shipped out to you for free. You also get free direct deposit and a nice bonus for signing up ($20). What’s great about this card is that you can earn a super high-interest savings rate (5.10% APY) with their savings account too. You can check your balance by text message. You can send and receive money by phone. Refer your friends and family and you can earn some extra money.

The Mango™ MasterCard® Prepaid Card has a $0 activation fee, $0 fee the first month, and $0 fee each month after that when you load at least $500 on the card each month. The card is fully FDIC insured for your security. Of all the prepaid cards here, this one stand out for me as the best. The high-interest savings account has a big appeal. As does the $20 bonus and lack of fees.

Green Dot® Prepaid MasterCard® – This is probably my favorite card for the no-nonsense consumer. It’s very straight-forward. No extras. No fees if you use it right. Here’s how it works. You sign up online and pay no activation fee. There is no credit check. If you set up direct deposit, which is free, you get a nice $10 bonus. Monthly fees can be avoided as long as you have at least 30 purchases. Finally, the Green Dot® Prepaid MasterCard® has free online bill pay and ATM cash withdrawals at over 15,000 participating ATMs.

Upside Visa® Prepaid Card – This is another one of the more solid prepaid credit cards with low fees, a cash back rewards point program, and a back end system that acts a lot like a regular online checking account. By that I mean you can check all your account info online and you can send online checks. With the Upside Visa® Prepaid Card rewards program you can earn 2,000 points ($20 value) just for activating your card online and setting up direct deposit. You can also earn rewards by spending online. Has no credit check, no activation fee, free direct deposit, and you can reduce the monthly fee to only $.99 by loading $500 on the card each month.

From my research, those are the only three cards that will be free, or extremely close to free ($.99 a month). Here are some more prepaid credit cards. While not capable of fee-free use, their services may make up the difference:

READYdebit® Card – Just like with the other prepaid cards, you won’t experience a credit check upfront. With this card you get online bill pay service and free direct deposit. No deposits or prepayments are required to get your card now. All signature-based transactions are free. To activate the READYdebit® Card you’ll need to pay a small upfront fee, and you’ll pay a monthly fee of $4.95. The card also comes with a free Credit Builder service, which reports your online bill pay transactions to the credit bureaus. The card is also FDIC Insured.

Baby Phat Prepaid Visa® RushCard – The Rush Cards were a creation of Russell Simmons’ company UniRush. It only makes sense that one of his cards would feature the premium clothing designer Baby Phat, owned by Kimora Lee Simmons, Russell’s wife. The Rush cards offer you two different payment plans. This card is a pay-as-you-go plan. You pay a larger activation fee, but you only get charged monthly fees ($1.00) based on the number of transactions you complete. So if you only plan on using your card one or two times a month, then this is the card for you. The Baby Phat Prepaid Visa® RushCard comes with a boatload of extra services including: bill pay (for a fee), text alerts, prescription discounts, refer-a-friend program, and one the best websites I’ve seen for all the prepaid cards. Guaranteed approval, no credit check, and free direct deposit. Use the promo code “FREE” and get $5 upon activation.

ACE Pink Visa® Prepaid Debit Card – There are couple of interesting points about this card from the folks at ACE Cash Express. First, when you purchase the card for $9.95, a portion of that goes to breast cancer research. Secondly, because it’s connected with ACE Cash Express, you can get your paycheck or government check deposited onto the card 3 days early. The ACE Pink Visa® Prepaid Debit Card is FDIC Insured, has no direct deposit fees. And the monthly plan is similar to the RushCards. You can go on a monthly maintenance fee plan, or you can do the pay-as-you-go route. The monthly fee is $9.95.

NetSpend® MasterCard® Prepaid Debit Card – No credit check, overdraft fees or minimum balances. Access to online bill pay. A 5% APY savings account! Free direct deposit. Similar to the RushCard, you can do a pay-as-you-go option where you won’t pay a monthly fee, but you will face individual transaction fees. If you choose the monthly plan, you will pay $9.95 a month. There is also a card fulfillment fee of $9.95. Besides the savings account there is nothing special about the NetSpend® MasterCard® Prepaid Debit Card. But some may find it useful.

Prepaid Visa® Black Diamond RushCard – This is another RushCard, but instead of a pay-as-you-go plan, it’s a monthly plan. You pay a monthly fee of $9.95 and only pay a small activation fee. For transactions to be free, you’ll need to use the Prepaid Visa® Black Diamond RushCard like a credit card, non pin-based. Direct deposits are free, text alerts and balance checks are free. And the rest of the benefits mirror the Baby Phat card above.

AccountNow Prepaid Visa® Card – I really want to like this card. It comes pretty straight-forward with their fee structure. No activation or direct deposit fees. Only a monthly fee of $9.95. It has a $25 cash bonus when you set up direct deposit. That’s the biggest initial bonus on this list. The AccountNow Prepaid Visa® Card also has free bill pay, no credit check, and an iAdvance(SM) loan option.

Free Prepaid Credit Cards is a post from: PT Money: Personal Finance by PT.

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Finding enough credit to own and operate a small business can be difficult but luckily Citibank has launched a new offer to help small business owners start off on the right foot. For a limited time, all new cardholders of the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Visa® will receive 30,000 bonus miles just for signing up and making at least $750 worth of purchases within the first four months.

30,000 miles is enough for a round-trip domestic flight and if you continue to use your CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Visa®, you’ll earn 1 miles for every dollar you spend, which adds up fast on a small business credit card. The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Visa® bonus miles do not carry any blackout dates and can be used on all American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection® carriers. You’ll also find three additional features that make this card attractive:

• The annual fee of $75 is waived during the first year of card ownership
• You’ll have the ability to set credit limits on each of your employee’s credit cards
• A purchase APR of 15.24%

30,000 miles is as big as bonuses come these days and because this is a limited time promotion now is the time to take advantage.  To sign-up for the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Visa®, visit any link contained within this post.

CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Visa® 30,000 Bonus Miles is a post from: PT Money: Personal Finance by PT.

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I’m going to tell you right away, that I’m a big fan of Restaurant.com.  This website has introduced me to a bevy of restaurants in my area that were always too expensive for me to try out and when they offer $50 gift certificates for $4, it’s difficult not to buy 20 of them!

Now, Restaurant.com has teamed up with the Citi Forward Card to provide new account holders with a $200 gift certificate, which can be used to by restaurant gift certificates at Restaurant.com.  This means that you have the potential to save over $2,000 on restaurant meals,  provided you are approved for the Citi Forward Card.

If you’re unfamiliar with Citibank and/or the Citi Forward Card, it really is a great credit card to have.  What makes it unique is the rewards it offers, simply for paying your account on time and staying under your credit limit.  Cardmembers will receive up to a 2% APR reduction if they can maintain a perfect record with Citi (meaning no late payments or jumping your credit line for three months).  In addition, the Citi Forward Card comes with a 0% APR intro offer on balance transfers for 12 months and purchases for 7 months and offers 5x ThankYou points on all restaurant, book, movie and music purchases.

In order to take advantage of this limited time promotion, you must be approved for the Citi Forward Card and make $100 in purchases before 9/15/2010.  Visit the Citi Forward Card $200 Restaurant.com Promotion for more details.

Citi Forward Card $200 Restaurant.com Promo is a post from: PT Money: Personal Finance by PT.

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Chase continues to be hard at working in trying to obtain new credit card customers and they’ve now launched a 25,000 bonus point offer on their Chase Sapphire(SM) Preferred Card.  If you turn the 25,000 bonus points in for cash, you can get a $250 statement credit but if you use them to redeem a flight through Ultimate Rewards, you can get a ticket worth up to $312.50.  Not to worry if your flight is more expensive … you can simply pay the difference.  The catch, if you want to call it that, is that the new cardholder must spend at least $3,000 within the first three months.

The reason you can get a more expensive plane ticket is the Chase Sapphire(SM) Preferred Card offers a 25% increase in points when you redeem them through their Ultimate Rewards platform.  Plus, cardholders will also receive a 7% dividend at the end of the year, meaning you’ll receive even more points!  Every dollar spent is worth one rewards point.

The Chase Sapphire(SM) Preferred Card’s $85 annual fee is waived for the first year and the coolest feature of this card is the 24/7 live operator support you’ll receive.  No pushing buttons to connect to a human being, the number you are provided on the back of your Chase Sapphire(SM) Preferred Card leads straight to a customer service representative.

So if you’re looking to make a big purchase in the next few months or find yourself putting most of your daily purchases on one credit card AND have the excellent credit required to obtain this card and limited time bonus offer, consider the Chase Sapphire(SM) Preferred Card.

Chase Sapphire(SM) Preferred Card $250 Cash Bonus is a post from: PT Money: Personal Finance by PT.

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Small Business Credit Cards have always been a great way for start-up businesses to obtain the capital they need to open the doors of their dreams. When the economy took a tumble in 2008, some of the first products to be removed from the market were these very same small business credit cards that had helped so many for so long.

Advanta was the most well known small business credit card provider and not only did they stop allowing new customers access to credit cards but they close their doors entirely because their debt was just too much. Today, there are still a handful of issuers looking to lend a hand to small businesses and while the offers are not as lucrative as they once were, small business credit cards are a great start for any new business.

PT’s Pick For The Best Small Business Credit Card

Ink Cash(SM) Business Card – The Ink Cash(SM) Business Card from Chase is the best business card you can find online, bar none. The card comes with an excellent cash back offer of 1% on all purchases and 3% on all fuel, home improvement, dining and office supply purchases and the amount of cash back you can earn each year is unlimited. Plus, if you shop online through Chase Rewards Plus, you can earn up to 10% cash back.

In addition great cash back offer, the Ink Cash(SM) Business Card comes with an intro APR of 0% on purchases and balance transfers for six months. There is no annual fee and no fee for adding more cardholders to the account. Excellent credit is needed to obtain the Ink Cash(SM) Business Card and with an APR of 11.24% variable, this card scores a top mark in every single category.

Capital One® Venture for Business(SM) – A close second for best small business credit card, the Capital One® Venture for Business(SM) is designed for business that need to travel. 10,000 bonus points can be earned after your first $1,000 in purchases within the first three months and another 5,000 bonus points for signing up at least one additional employee to use your card. Double miles are earned on ALL purchases with no tiers or restrictions to meet. Because it’s a Capital One Card, the Capital One® Venture For Business(SM) does not charge any foreign transaction fees, allowing you to use your card internationally for free. The first year’s annual fee is free but $59 thereafter and the purchase APR is 13.9& variable.

Ink(SM) with Ultimate Rewards(SM) – The Chase Ink with Ultimate Rewards is a great travel rewards card designed for small business owners with excellent credit. Every purchase earns 1 rewards point and all travel purchases made through the Chase online booking tool earns 2 rewards points. The card comes with an intro APR offer of 0% on purchases and balance transfers for the first six billing cycles and a purchase APR of 11.24%* thereafter. No annual fee is included in the Chase Ink(SM) with Ultimate Rewards(SM) and additional cards can be given at no cost.

Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN – As a consumer card, the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card is one of the best travel rewards credit cards around. As a business card, the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN is just as strong. The card includes 10,000 bonus Starpoints after your first purchase, one Starpoint for every dollar spent and 2 Starpoints for every $1 spent at Starwood hotels. The card carries no annual fee for the first year and $45 thereafter and has a purchase APR of 15.24%.

Capital One® Business Platinum with No Hassle Cash(SM) – The easiest cash back credit card to understand, the Capital One® Business Platinum with No Hassle Cash(SM) earns cardholders 1% cash back on all purchases. All additional employee cards carry no additional fee, and the card itself carries no annual fee. The Capital One® Business Platinum with No Hassle Cash(SM) also includes a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers until April of 2011 and because it’s a Capital One card, there is no foreign transaction fee. After the introductory offer, the card has an APR as low as 14.99% variable.

Ink(SM) Bold with Ultimate Rewards(SM) – Unlike the other cards on this list, the Ink(SM) Bold with Ultimate Rewards(SM) is a charge card, not a credit card. This means that when the statement in the mail comes, the entire balance is due. If you’re business spends a lot, you can earn 47,500 bonus points every year! 7,500 for your first $25,000 spent, 15,000 for your next $25,000 spent and another 25,000 for your next $50,000 spent. Yes that means you have to spend $100,000 a year to obtain these points but most businesses can find ways to do that. With another 5,000 bonus points given after your first purchase and no annual fee for the first year ($95 thereafter), the Ink(SM) Bold with Ultimate Rewards(SM) is the ultimate small business charge card.

True Earnings® Business Card from Costco and American Express – This card offers a great tiered cash back offer and if you spend in the right places, the cash back you earn might make this the best card on our list. 4% cash back on annual gasoline purchases (up to $6,000), 3% on restaurants, 2% on travel and 1% on everything else (including at Costco) is the breakdown you’ll find on the True Earnings® Business Card from Costco and American Express and if you pay your Costco membership each year, the card carries no annual fee. One last bonus you’ll find is a 0% intro APR offer for six months on purchases and a regular APR offer of 15.24%.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are authors alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

The Best Small Business Credit Cards is a post from: PT Money: Personal Finance by PT.

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If you love to travel like I do, one of the best things you can bring along on your adventures is a nice travel rewards credit card.  It’s safer and often more convenient than carrying cash. Plus, you get the added benefit of earning airline miles or other rewards just for spending on everyday items.

Some of the best travel rewards credit cards offer more than one point per dollar spent, come with bonuses, and make redeeming your points easy. Most of the cards below would make an excellent choice because they don’t place restrictions on which airlines you can use.

PT’s Pick for the Best Travel Rewards Credit Card

Blue Sky from American Express® – The Blue Sky from American Express® card is a regular credit card. Not a charge card. It has an excellent travel rewards program. Both in how you earn the points and how they are redeemed. Let me explain. You earn 1 point per dollar spent on the Blue Sky from American Express®. However, 7,500 points can be redeemed for $100 in travel credit. Therefore, you really earn 1.33% rewards on your spending. In addition to this, when you book your travel, you don’t have to go through a travel agent. You can book the flight yourself through whatever means necessary. You just have to use the Blue Sky from American Express® to pay for the flight. When it hits your account, they will credit you the money for the flight based on the 7,500/$100 ratio.

The Blue Sky from American Express® has no annual fee, and comes with a nice promotional 0% interest rate on purchases for 6 months. Finally they have more travel perks to take advantage of: 20% off travel savings program, American Express traveler checks and their ticket savings center where you can get exclusive deals on shows and sporting events. I put this card in the number one spot because of the way the points are earned and the flexibility with which points are redeemed.

Chase Sapphire(SM) – Probably the coolest looking card of the bunch is the Chase Sapphire(SM). It offers the opportunity to earn 2 points per dollar spent through the Chase travel booking tool. Other spending earns 1 point. This card has no annual fee, which is nice. And it comes with an initial bonus of 10,000 points. Just use the card once. As you’ve seen in the commercials, with this card you get 24/7 dedicated service advisors to assist you in your travel needs. Points can be redeemed for more travel or other rewards. See my full Chase Sapphire(SM) review.

Citi® Gold/AAdvantage® World MasterCard® – If you fly exclusive to American Airlines, like me, then the Citi® Gold/AAdvantage® World MasterCard® will have an appeal. This card has one of the best bonuses around, 30,000 AAdtantage® bonus miles when you spend just $750 in the first 4 months. The card has an annual fee of only $50, and earns a standard 1 mile per dollar spent. Miles can be redeemed for flights on American Airlines, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection® without restriction.

Capital One® Venture(SM) Rewards Credit Card – Looking for a straight-forward, no-nonsense travel rewards card? This is it. You earn 2 points per dollar spent on anything, unlimited. Point then transfer over to rewards at a 1 to 1 ratio. The Capital One® Venture(SM) Rewards Credit Card has no annual fee for the first year. After that it’s $59. This is also one of the only cards that has no fees for foreign transactions. So when you are using it overseas there won’t be an extra fee for that, which as you know can range from 1% to 5% with other cards.

Chase Sapphire Preferred – With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you have the opportunity to earn more travel rewards. In addition to the rewards you earn above with the regular Chase Sapphire(SM), you get an annual 7% bonus on your reward points earned. Also, your points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel. This card has no annual fee for the first year (after that it’s $85). The Chase Sapphire Preferred comes with an initial bonus of 25,000 points (worth $250 or a flight valued at $312.50) when you spend $3,000 in the first three months.

Miles by Discover® Card – Not to be left out of the travel rewards credit card game, Discover® has two cards to offer. With the first, Miles by Discover® Card, you can earn 2 points per dollar for the first $3,000 in travel and restaurant spending each year. The rest of your spending earns 1 point per dollar. It has no annual fee and it comes with an opportunity to earn 12,000 bonus points in the first year if you spend $1,000 each month. Points can be redeemed for airfare, hotels, gift cards, cash, and more. The Miles by Discover® Card also comes with a balance transfer and purchase promotion: 0% for 6 months.

Escape by Discover® Card – If you want the opportunity to earn more travel rewards and don’t mind an annual fee of of $60, then Escape by Discover® Card might be a better option for you. With this card you earn a flat 2 points for every dollar you spend. No categories or limits to worry about. If you’re a bigger spender, definitely go with this card over the other Discover travel rewards card. Points can be redeemed for airfare, hotels, gift cards, cash, and more. The Escape by Discover® Card also comes with a balance transfer and purchase promotion: 0% for 6 months.

Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express – The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card, a true credit card, is considered a hotel card by some, but I think with the way the points transfer to the airline miles programs, it should be on par with the other travel rewards credit cards. With this card you earn 1 Starpoint with regular spending, and 2 Starpoints when you spend at the Starwood hotels and resorts. If you’re a Gold or Platinum level member with Starwood, then you can earn 5 Starpoints per dollar. Wow! Points are redeemed through the Starwood Preferred Guest® program, which has some nice point conversion rates for airfare. The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card has no annual fee the first year. After that it’s $45. Additionally, the card comes with an initial APR of 2.90% for the first 6 months. If you do a lot of spending at hotels, this is your card.

American Express® Premier Gold Card – The only true charge card in the bunch, I had to throw in the American Express® Premier Gold Card. Being a charge card, you don’t pay any interest because you pay it off each month. And you don’t have a pre-set spending limit to hold you back. It has some sweet travel rewards for the frequent flier. With the American Express® Premier Rewards card you earn 3 points per dollar spent on airfare, 2 points on gas and groceries, and 1 point on everything else. Redeeming the rewards is a bit tricky through the American Express Membership Rewards program. I suggest you visit the MR list of airlines to see how the points will convert. The annual fee is waived in the first year, and after that it’s $175. You have the opportunity to earn 15,000 bonus points each year when you spend $30,000 on the card.

PenFed Premium Travel Rewards American Express® Card – PenFed rolls out another excellent reward card here. If you are a member of the Pentagon Federal Credit Union (not that difficult to become a member) then you can take advantage of this card. You will earn 5 points for each dollar you spend on airfare. And through the end of 2010 you will earn 3 points on hotels and dining. You also get 24/7 concierge service and exclusive travel upgrades and offers. Redeem your points on any airline. No black-out dates or restrictions. Comes with an initial bonus of 20,000 points when you spend $650 in the first three months. The PenFed Premium Travel Rewards American Express® Card also has an annual fee of $50. Be sure you factor that in when decided whether to use this card.

The Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards is a post from: PT Money: Personal Finance by PT.

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The Credit Card ACT of 2009 has made life more difficult for students looking to apply for a credit card.  Previously, if you were a college student, there was no age limit on whether or not you could obtain a credit card.  In an effort to protect students from the dangers of credit cards, Congress passed a law requiring all students under the age of 21 to have a parental cosigner OR show sufficient income when applying for a credit card.

As a result of the Credit Card ACT of 2009, credit card rewards and offers have suffered a bit and this has certainly filtered through to college student credit cards.  Still, there are a good number of solid student credit card offers represented below.  If you own a student credit card you feel deserves to be on this list, let us know and we’ll gladly add it.

PT’s Pick for Best College Student Credit Card

Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa Card for College Students – The Citi® Dividend Platinum Select Visa® Card for College Students is our best overall college student credit card.  The card sports a 0% intro APR on purchases for seven months, only requires good credit to be approved and carries no annual fee.  As with all Citibank student credit cards, the Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa Card for College Students does NOT require a cosigner.

Perhaps the greatest feature on the Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa Card for College Students is it’s cash back potential.  Cardholders earn 5% cash back at supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, convenience stores and utilities for the first six months (1% cash back thereafter).  1% cash back can be earned on ALL other purchases and if you’re unable to pay off your credit card in full each month, the after intro APR is a respectable 12.99% – 21.99%.

Discover® Student Card – The Discover® Student Card is our second best option, offering college students a 0% intro offer on purchases for six months.  The cash back opportunity on the Discover® Student Card is similar to the Discover® Student More Card in that 5% cash back can be earned on rotating categories throughout the year.  Otherwise, you’ll earn 0.25% cash back on your first $3,000 in annual purchases, then 1% cash back thereafter.  The Discover® Student Card requires fair credit to be approved and carries no annual fee.

Citi Forward® Card for College Students – The only credit card that rewards good behavior, the Citi Forward® Card for College Students offers up to a 2% APR reduction on your credit card if you make a purchase, keep your balance under your credit limit and pay on time for three months in a row.  In addition, the Citi Forward® Card for College Students offers a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 12 months and a 0% intro APR on purchases for seven months with 8,500 bonus Thank-You points after you make $250 worth of purchases within the first three months.  The Citi Forward® Card for College Students does not have an annual fee and 100 Thank-You points are earned each month you pay your credit card on time and stay under your credit limit.

Capital One® Student Rewards – The Capital One® Student Rewards Card is the good and evil of credit cards all in one.  While the card does not carry an introductory offer, it does have 2% cash back on restaurants, entertainment, cell phone bills and books and 1% cash back on everything else.  The Capital One® Student Rewards Card only requires fair credit for approval, does not have an annual fee BUT with a 24.9% APR on purchases, keeping a balance month to month is not recommended.  This card is excellent for the student that plans to make small purchases and can pay off their balance every month.

Orchard Bank Classic MasterCard – Not your typical college student credit card, the Orchard Bank Classic MasterCard is a regular credit card, designed for people with poor credit.  Students sometimes have no or poor credit because of student loans taken out in their name so if you find it difficult to be approved for another card on this list, the Orchard Bank Classic MasterCard is your best option.  The downside to being approved for this card is that there is an annual fee, between $0 and $79 and the APR is very high.

Citi® mtvU™ Platinum Select Visa® for College Students – The Citi® mtvU™ Platinum Select Visa® for College Students has the brand to attract students as well as a solid offer.  Currently, the card offers a 0% APR intro rate on purchases for seven months and also offers up-to 2000 bonus Thank-You points for maintaining a good GPA.  Five Thank-You points can be earned at restaurants, bookstores, record stores, movie theaters and video rental stores with one Thank-You point earned on all other purchases.  The Citi® mtvU™ Platinum Select Visa® for College Students carries no annual fee.

The Best Credit Cards for College Students is a post from: PT Money: Personal Finance by PT.

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Chase just upped the ante on their top notch cash back card. They are offering $100 bonus cash back after you make a certain amount of purchases in your first three months. I can only speculate that Chase has felt pressure recently by the Discover More $75 bonus offer and the now expired Citi Diamond Preferred $100 bonus. It’s a similar bonus on an almost identical reward card when you compare it to the Discover More card. Anyway, here are the exact details on the offer:

• Earn $100 Bonus Cash Back after you make $799 in purchases in your first three months
• No Annual Fee
• 5% cash back offers in popular categories like gas, home improvement and department stores
• Full 1% Cash Back on everything else with no spending tiers
• Your cash back rewards never expire
• Sign up for the Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back

As you know, the Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back is one of the best cash back credit cards available today. It’s the rewards card I carry in my wallet. And with this bonus offer it just became that much more competitive. I only wish I could take advantage of it.  Sign up for the Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back today.

Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back is a post from: PT Money: Personal Finance by PT.

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Some savvy consumers only use credit cards to enjoy the cash back. No need for travel rewards or other perks. They just want a percentage back on their purchases. And they want this percentage back to come in the form of a cash back check whenever they want. It wasn’t long ago that the best cash back credit cards were going unused. Now, many consumers are playing the cash back game.

I cash in at least $200 annually in rewards from cash back credit cards and I never pay a dime in credit card interest. So how do you find the best cash back card? Well, it really depends on a few factors: how you earn the points, access and thresholds, as well as any fees or interest charges that might negate the use of the card.

In the below list of cash back credit cards, I’ve tried my best to consider all the factors above and give you a thorough review of each of the cards.

PT’s Pick for Best Cash Back Card

Blue Cash from American Express – Blue Cash is a regular credit card, not a charge card. And it offers one of the most attractive cash back rewards programs out there. For the first $6,500 in spending, you will earn 0.5% on general purchases and 1% on “everyday purchases.” Every dollar spent above $6,500 will earn 1.25% on general purchases and a nice 5% on “everyday purchases.” Everyday purchases include gas, groceries, and drugstore purchases. American Express wants this to be your #1 credit card and use it on everything. If you do, they will reward you with a lot of cash back. The card has no annual fee.

For the typical credit card cash back chaser, I think this is the best card. Most people going for cash back want to get as many cash back rewards as possible and will use their rewards credit card for everything. Since most people spend far more than $6,500 in annual expenses, I think this card produces the most value for the largest group of people. Plus, there are no fees or hoops to jump through to trip you up. Of course, everyone’s situation is unique. How you spend your money and what groups you’re a member of may have an affect on what card is best for you. I suggest you at least browse the other card choices below.

Discover® More Card – $75 Cashback Bonus – Some cash back credit cards only allow you to earn rewards at a base percentage of 1%. Not the Discover® More Card – $75 Cashback Bonus. With this card, you are allowed to earn rewards up to 5% in certain categories. The categories changes from quarter to quarter and include things like travel, groceries, home improvements, and gasoline. This card also comes with a very nice initial balance transfer offer, as well as a great initial cash back bonus of $75 after a certain amount of spending. There is no annual fee.

Chase Freedom® Visa – $50 Bonus Cash Back – This card definitely catches your eye because of the 5% cash back you can earn based on rotating categories, like gas, travel, home improvement, dining, and groceries among many others. The categories change each quarter and the rewards you can earn at 5% are subject to a maximum. You also earn 1% cash back on everything else, and it comes with no annual fee and a cash back bonus of $50 when you make your first purchase. This is actually the cash back card that I currently use. However, I’m not a big fan of the opt-in rotating categories. Therefore, I can’t give this card the top spot. See my full Chase Freedom® Visa – $50 Bonus Cash Back review.

Citi Dividend Platinum Select Card – If you need a nice cash back rewards card coupled with one of the best balance transfer offer on the market, then this is your card. The Citi Dividend Platinum Select Card has a 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers for 15 months. After that, the APR will be 12.99%-20.99% based on your creditworthiness*. You can earn 5% cash back at restaurants and on car rentals and hotels from 7/1/10 to 9/30/10. Enrollment required each quarter. You also earn a full 1% cash back on eligible purchases and cash advances. You can even earn extra cash back on popular, rotating categories each quarter. This card has no annual fee.

Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards – You’ve seen the commercials. Capital One prides themselves on being the no hassle reward company. And they have a pretty decent program for earning those rewards. They offer 3% cash back on gas at the pump and at major grocery stores, and 1% back on everything else. This is after $6,000 in spending. My only issue with this card is the annual fee of $39. This would negate some of the cash back you’d be earning. Head’s up international travelers. This card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees for international use. That’s an instant savings of 1% on all your spending overseas.

TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express – If you are already a Costco member heavy user of the warehouse, then there is no question which is the best cash back card for you. This is it. As a Costco member, you are already paying your annual membership, so you’ll avoid the annual fee ($50). And the rewards you can earn are excellent. You can earn 3% cash back on gasoline (up to $3,000), 3% cash back on restaurants, 2% cash back on travel, and 1% on everything else. I don’t know about you, but gas and dining out are two of my biggest expenses, making this card an excellent choice. The only reason it’s not my top pick is because of the tie in to Costco’s membership. The card comes with a $25 statement credit after your first purchase. See more at my TrueEarnings review.

PenFed Platinum Cashback Rewards – The Pentagon Federal Credit Union has a nice cash back card for their members. It offers 2% cash back for supermarket purchases, 5% cash back for gas paid at the pump, and 1% cash back on everything else. They also have the occasional promotional category similar to other cards. In addition to those benefits, the card comes with a nice initial balance transfer rate. The only reason this isn’t my top pick is that you have to jump through the hoop of becoming a PenFed member if you aren’t already associated with the military in some way. This extra step and membership fee ($20) brings the value of the card down a bit in my mind. Although, I have a hard time saying a card that offers those cash back percentages is not the best.

Amazon Rewards Visa Card from Chase – With this card, you earn 3 cash back points for spending at Amazon.com, 2 points for each dollar spent at gas stations, restaurants, and drug stores. Every other dollar earns 1 point. The points can be converted to cash at the 5000 point level. No annual fee, no points expiration, plus you get an instant $30 cash back. If you do a lot of purchasing on Amazon, then you should definitely consider using this card.

Cash Back from a Debit Card

PerkStreet Financial(SM) Visa® Debit Card – While it’s not a true credit card, the PerkStreet Financial(SM) Visa® Debit Card is a great way to get cash back rewards without using credit. PerkStreet offers a standard 2% cash back on everything as long as you maintain a balance of $5,000 in your checking account. Also, you have the opportunity to earn 5% cash back in rotating categories. The checking account is free and they have a bunch of free ATMs. Nice alternative to the traditional cash back credit card. See more at my PerkStreet 5% review.

The Best Cash Back Credit Cards is a post from: PT Money: Personal Finance by PT.

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