Credit Cards
« Previous EntriesWatch Those Expiration Dates on Rebate Cards!
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009I made a boo boo.
AT&T mailed me one of those Visa Rebate Cards for my BlackBerry Curve. I think it was originally for $99 or so. I used the card a couple of months ago but still had a balance of $8.19. I tried using it again but got the remaining balance [...]
Darn. Discover’s Closing My Account Due to Inactivity
Saturday, June 6th, 2009From Discover:
Dear JLP:
At Discover® Card, we are committed to working with you to manage your credit needs. This includes periodic account reviews.
Our latest review of your account shows that it is not currently active. we are sorry to see tha tyou have not taken advantage of what Discover Card has to offer.
Due to [...]
Consider This Before You Sign Up for Credit Card Insurance
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009I read a short article about credit card insurance in today’s Wall Street Journal and thought it would be fun to run some numbers to find out how much such a program would cost.
For those of you who aren’t familiar, credit card insurance is an insurance that supposedly makes your credit card payments in the [...]
I Feel Special…I Got a Black Card Invitation
Monday, May 18th, 2009In today’s mail came a Visa Black Card invitation. I feel so special! (Please note the sarcasm in that statement.)
Here is what the letter said:
Dear Mr. JLP,
It is my pleasure to invite you to apply for the exclusive Black Card. Limited to only 1% of the U.S. residents, Black Card members are ensured [...]
Liz Pulliam Weston vs. Suze Orman - Who’s Right?
Friday, May 1st, 2009I saw Liz Pulliam Weston’s disagreement with Suze Orman’s advice that people who have no emergency fund (but have credit card debt) should pay minimums on their credit cards while they build up an e-fund.
Who’s right?
This is a very tricky situation for a couple of reasons:
1. People who have lots of credit card debt [...]
The Regulations Are Reasonable…The Thoughts That Go Along With Them Aren’t
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009Saw this in today’s Wall Street Journal and just had to mention it:
Policy Makers Take Aim at Credit-Card Practices
Credit-card companies are going to have to start adhering to the followin rules, which take effect in July 2010:
• Banks can’t treat payments as late unless consumers have a “reasonable amount of time” to make the payment; [...]
Do You Take Advantage of 0% Financing Offers?
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009Here’s today’s Question of the Day:
Do you take advantage of 0% Financing Offers?
I have in the past when I purchased a TV from Best Buy. I had the option of paying full price in cash or finance the product for two years at 0% interest. I had the money available to pay for [...]
Q&A With Visa About Debit Cards
Monday, December 22nd, 2008Note: AllFinancialMatters.com currently has an advertising relationship with Visa.
When did Visa first release its debit card? What was the genesis of the debit card?
Debit cards first appeared in the 1970’s, but they didn’t hit mainstream until 1995 with the launch of the Visa Check card. Today there are more than 800 million Visa [...]
Get 2% Deposited Into Your Schwab Investment Account
Thursday, December 4th, 2008I don’t usually write much about credit cards here but this is something kind of interesting.
Charles Schwab is offering an unlimited 2% cash back on their Invest First Visa Credit Card*. The 2% reward gets deposited directly into your Schwab One brokerage account. If you can charge most of what you [...]
Mark Cuban: Where to Put Your Money Right Now
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008Yesterday’s Houston Chronicle basically reprinted this October 15th blog post by Mark Cuban: Where to Put Your Money Right Now.
His main point is that it makes no sense to pay interest on debt that is greater than the return on your investments. I agree. However, I’m not sure I like the idea of [...]