After eliminating all other possibilities, the one remaining-no matter how unlikely-must be the truth.
Starting of a new quarter means a new set of categories for cash back. For January to March:
Discover – 5% cash back
Chase – 5% cash back
Fidelity – 4.5% cash back
Apparently every bank thinks gas is used the least often during the 1st quarter of the year. Fidelity is definitely the winner this round by having restaurants and groceries.
A bit sad my Fidelity credit card’s 3-month promotional 4.5% cash back (on anything) came to an end yesterday, but this new quarter’s extra cash back bonuses don’t look too shabby.
Discover:
Chase Freedom:
PenFed:
PenFed has 5% cash back on gas all year round. And of course I always have my fall-back cards which give me 2% on everything else.
For those who have an Advanta credit card, you might want to switch to a new card after June 10th, 2009 May 30th, 2009. Apparently they’re shutting their credit card business. According to their press release:
Since the securitizations will not be permitted to fund new receivables after June 10, the Company will shut down all credit card accounts to future use at that time. Neither Advanta Bank Corp. nor any other Advanta-related entity will fund activity on its balance sheet from the accounts. Therefore, the Company will not take any off-balance sheet receivables onto its balance sheet. Shutting down the accounts will not accelerate payments required from cardholders on existing balances.
Here’s a few other articles/threads that may interest you:
To my understanding, you won’t be able to make any new charges after 6/10 5/30, but you do NOT have to pay off your existing balance. Whatever terms/rates still apply for those who do carry a balance on the card.
If you’re looking for a replacement card for your business, I suggest the American Express SimplyCash Card (which I’ve blogged about here). Unfortunately, the cash back have since decreased a bit.
If you’re looking for a Visa/MasterCard, you may want to check out the Chase Freedom For Business. You get 3% back on the top 5 categories you purchase in and you even get a $50 sign up bonus. However, I believe there’s an annual cap on how many points you can accrue. Hope this helps!
Update: Looks like they bumped up the close date to 5/30. Here’s the copy of the email I just received:
Dear Customer,
Your Advanta Business Card account is funded by an independent trust which owns the balances you owe on your account and provides funding for new transactions. We expect the trust to stop funding activity on our accounts. The trust also restricts our flexibility to fund activity on your account. Unfortunately, as a result, effective May 30th all Advanta Business Credit Card accounts, including your account, will be closed.
This means that you will not be able to use your card or account for new transactions, including purchases, checks and balance transfers beginning on May 30th. We understand that you may have written checks on your account before May 30th and we will make every effort to honor those checks that are presented to us for payment by June 3rd. If you use your Advanta card to make automatic recurring bill payments, you will need to make alternative arrangements for those payments promptly.
It is important to understand that you are not required to pay your entire balance at this time. You may continue to pay down your account balance over time, as allowed under your Advanta Business Card Agreement.
You will not lose the rewards that you have earned. If you participate in a Cash Back program, you will receive a check for the amount of any accrued rewards more than $1.00 as long as you make the required minimum payments and your account remains in good standing. If you participate in a Business Rewards program, you will have at least 60 days to redeem your points as long as you make the required minimum payments and your account remains in good standing.
We deeply regret the impact this action will have on your business and very much wish it was not necessary.
We are committed to assist you through this process. Additional information will be available at www.advanta.com/notice. If you have any other questions or concerns, or if we can assist you in any other way, please feel free to contact our Customer Service Center. You can email us your questions 24 hours a day at www.advanta.com/secure or call us toll free at (800) 705-7255, Monday – Friday 8:00 am to 8:00 pm and Saturday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Time.
Sincerely,
John F. Moore
President, Advanta Bank Corp.
So a few weeks back, I was reading SlickDeals and apparently there’s a new credit card that may interest you folks: Household Bank Credit Card
Household Bank 2% Cash Back Cards
The Household Bank 2% Cash Back Cards are great for people who need to continue establishing credit with a brand they can trust. These cards offer 2% cash back on card purchases, value and built in benefits you can use every day and everywhere you shop.
It’s a credit card with 2% cash back on ALL purchases. Previously the winner was Fidelity Investments Rewards Card giving back 1.5% cash back on ALL purchases.
Of course I only recommend this as a fall back card for all those purchases that don’t qualify for 3-5% cash back and you’re only making 1-1.5% cash back on those purchases.
At first, I was like great deal, but who is Household Bank exactly. It appears that they’re own by HSBC, giving me a lot more assurance of this credit card company.
You can view more detailed terms and conditions:
You will receive 2% earnings redeemable for cash (with a maximum of $400 annually) on new net retail purchases charged to this credit card. Cash redemptions can be claimed in increments of $25 USD only. Upon approval, you will receive the Rewards Terms and Conditions.
$400 cash back annually equates to having to spend $20,000 to max out on their cash back, much more than enough. Unlike Advanta which has capped rewards to $60 annually, which I hit in a month or 2.
Unfortunately, they’re only starting me with a $2,000 credit limit. I’ve requested a credit limit increase immediately after applying, but I got a post card in the mail that said:
… we are unable to grand a credit limit increase at this time for the following reason(s):
THIS ACCOUNT HAS NOT BEEN ACTIVATED.
Guess I was a bit too impatient. I got my card and activated it today, and of course submitted a new credit limit increase request.
Not sure if you caught my recent entry on how Consumerist Banned Me From Commenting, but Consumerist just posted their The Consumerist Comments Code, which I’m not sure if I have a factor in causing or not.
The first point they make is: No junk comments:
Your comment should be a meaningful response to the issue raised in the post. Objections to an editor’s headlines or writing style should be emailed directly to the post’s author. Verboten: “Why is this on Consumerist?“, “tldr”, “Why did they even shop there in the first place?”, “This is a non-issue”, “Slow news day?” “Pwnd” “Yawn”, “First”, “People still ______” (use dialup, eat fast food, breathe air, and so forth), “Old news”, “lol”, “This is why I don’t shop there,” etc.
My comments aren’t exactly “Why is this on Consumerist?”. Usually I provide one or more reasons why it should not be on Consumerist.
What happens if I break these rules?
You may be banned. We might warn you in the comments. We also might not. If you ignore a warning, you will probably be banned. If you feel your ban is unwarranted, email your appeal to moderator@consumerist.com and we’ll see if we can work it out.
I find it quite useless to try to warn users inside the comment section. Often times I would post a comment and never return to see the story again. I wonder why they don’t just email the user giving him the warning.
Anyway, Consumerist recently posted this article: Risk-Based Pricing Is A Myth and I have long wondered a very similar question.
How exactly does increasing interest rates or charging late fees help you in getting money from someone who’s already late paying the bill? Logically, I’d try to make it easier for them so they actually can pay you.
As noted in the article, late fees and high interests rates don’t mitigate risk, they just make credit card companies filthy rich. I like the idea of how if you’re late on a payment or if your financial situation has changed (loss a job), decreasing your credit limit sounds like a good way to mitigate risk. If someone can’t ever make enough money to utilize their full credit line, I don’t see how increasing interest rates is going to make it work any better.
Though I do have to say, thanks to all you “high-risk” credit card holders, “low-risk” credit card users like myself can reap the benefit of rewards and cash back. For that, I thank you.
Some time earlier this week, we had a discussion over dinner about credit card with rewards. Chase Freedom was mentioned to be one of the better cards to use overall since it gives you 3% cash back on the top 3 categories on your bill. Today I saw this thread: Chase Freedom Credit Card Holders! 3% Rewards in TOP 5 w/ Chase checking account
The Chase Freedom credit card rewards 3% cash back or 3 points per $1 on the first $600 in purchases in the top 3 of 15 Everyday categories where you spend the most each month. Chase checking account customers will earn 3% cash back or 3 points per $1 on the first $600 in purchases in the top 5 of 15 Everyday categories. That’s 2 additional Everyday categories. If you are an existing Chase Freedom credit cardmember and a Chase checking customer, your account will be upgraded to these new benefits; a confirmation letter will be mailed when this takes place in June, 2008. To apply for Chase Freedom with the exclusive benefits for Chase checking customers, or to learn more including pricing and reward program terms, see a Chase branch banker. Restrictions apply. Subject to credit approval. Chase credit cards are issued by Chase Bank USA, N.A. There are 15 Everyday categories consisting of grocery stores (that are not affiliated with or departments of superstores, warehouse clubs or discount stores), gas & convenience stores, quick service payment/fast food restaurants, telecommunications, cable/satellite TV/Internet Service Providers, video rentals, department stores, dry cleaners, drug stores, movie theatres, local and suburban commuter passenger transportation (including ferries, bridges, tolls, parking garages, taxis/limos), pet supply stores and veterinary services, utilities, beauty shops (salons and spas), or gym/recreation memberships. Benefits will no longer apply if, at any time, the checking account is closed.
For more details, visit Chase Exclusives.
Do note, there is a cap on the amount of 3% rewards you get per month (currently capped at $600, which translates to $18 worth of 3% rewards). After which, all remaining purchases will be rewarded at the 1% tier for the remainder of the month. That equates to $7,200 in purchases eligible at the 3% tier which translates to a maximum of $216 of cash back per year.
If you want to try out the Chase Freedom credit card, currently there’s a $100 sign up bonus: Chase Freedom Application
If you want to try out Chase checking account, currently there’s a $125 sign up bonus: Chase Checking Application (requires you to be logged into any Chase account)
I’ve mentioned this card before, but didn’t really have a reason to get it before since I had my Advanta card. However, due to the fact that Advanta has changed its term in limiting the amount of rewards you can get per year, the Advanta card has basically become useless to me:
Cash Back rewards are also earned on Bonus Qualifying purchases, which include purchases in the following categories: “gasoline and diesel fuel,” “computers, computer supplies, electronics and office supplies,” “online advertising services,” and “utilities and telecommunications.” Cash Back rewards on Bonus Qualifying purchases are earned as follows: 5% on up to $1,200 in annual purchases; 1% on purchases in excess of $1,200.
That means the 5% rewards bracket only adds up to $60 in rewards a year and everything after that you only receive 1%. The nice thing about the Advanta card is the fact it’s a Mastercard so it’s accepted practically everywhere (Costco being the main retailer I purchase from that doesn’t accept either Visa or Mastercard). I haven’t used my Advanta card in quite some time, but it’s still associated with my utilities (Comcast Cable and High Speed Internet and garbage collection). Otherwise, I’ve basically stopped using it on office supplies and electronics.
Anyway, I was reading some thread about Costco gas today and someone had asked if the Executive membership gets 2% cash back on gas also and I told them that the terms specifically exclude gas from the extra 2% back. However that got me thinking. I’m currently only getting 1% cash back on Costco gas with my American Express Costco TrueEarnings card. Costco gas accepts any type of American Express credit card and SimplyCash has 5% cash back on gas, office supplies and wireless services with no annual cash back limit. Of course American Express is also not widely accepted, but all the gas stations, office supplies stores, and wireless services that I use all accept American Express.
Cash Rebate: There is no limit to the amount of cash rewards you can earn. You will receive the Rebate in the form of a credit to your Account (net of credits for purchases). The credit will appear on the second billing statement following the billing statement in which the qualifying Purchase(s) appeared, based on the following structure: You will receive a Rebate of 5% for purchases of wireless telephone services, automobile gasoline(effective December 01, 2007, any individual Purchase transaction in excess of 75 gallons or equivalent dollar value will not be deemed to be a Purchase of automobile gasoline), and office supplies and equipment not purchased at warehouse clubs, superstores or supermarkets (“5% Purchase(s)”). You will receive a Rebate of 1% for all other purchases. To receive the Rebate, your account must be active and in good standing.
Important: You will receive a 5% Rebate only if the merchant submits the Charge for your 5% Purchase under the appropriate merchant code, industry code and required service or product identifier established by us with/for the merchant. For example, if a general merchandise retailer sells office supplies, and the retailer processes your Card transaction as a general merchandise charge instead of an office supply charge, you will receive a Rebate of 1%, not a Rebate of 5%. You will not receive a Rebate for balances transferred from other accounts, purchases of American Express Travelers Cheques or American Express Gift Cheques, fees, Finance Charges, Cash Advances and similar means of accessing your Card Account. Additional terms and conditions apply.
Therefore I’ve decided to apply for one. I’m hoping Costco gas counts as gas and not a regular Costco purchase since those only get 1% cash back. Looking at my previous statements, they do distinguish:
If you’re interested, you should apply for the American Express SimplyCash Business Card.