Citi Dividend Card Q3 2012 Categories

I had written before that I have a Citibank Dividend MasterCard. One of the benefits of this card is that it offers 5% cash back on rotating categories of merchants. The main problem I have with this arrangement is that I always forget which categories are currently offering 5% cash back when I am at the store. As a result, I often miss out on the bonus dividend dollars. In order to help me remember, I have decided to post the categories which change every three months here.

For Q3 2012, you will earn 5% for purchases from:

• Old Navy, Gap, Gap Outlet, Banana Republic and Banana Republic Factory Store
• Airlines
• Car Rentals

Note that "Q3 2012" means from July 1 - September 30, 2012. Also note that even if you have a Citi Dividend Card, the enrollment is not automatic. You have to login and sign up for this offer at the Citibank website.

Top Rewards Cards

To win over customers, banks around the world have initiated rewards cards for acknowledging customer loyalty. Banks earn customers' trust and yearly APRs, and in turn, customers earn cash back or rewards on their purchases. The only downside to this phenomenon is the overwhelming wealth of rewards card options from which there is to choose. So if you’re in the market for a new rewards credit card but don't know where to begin, below is a brief overview of the highest-rated cash back rewards cards currently available.

Discover Card Cashback Bonus
The Discover Card Cashback Bonus card offers an extended 0% introductory APR period of 15 months (compared to the typical one year), which also includes 0% balance transfers. This card is an excellent choice for big ticket purchases, as you can pay them off interest free over 15 months.

Following the first 15 months, the 10.99%-20.99% APR (depending on credit score) is very reasonable. Unfortunately, at this point, balance transfer fees come at 3%, so if you plan to use this card for the aforementioned big ticket purchase, you’ll want to pay off your debt by this point.

In terms of cash back, the Discover Card Cashback Bonus offers a generous 5% cashback on annually rotating categories. The downside: once you’ve hit a Discover-designated amount in a category, your returns drop to 1%.

According to a recent graduate of UC Santa Barbara, the Discover Card Cashback Bonus is a great starter card. "It was great when I was learning financial independence," he said. "I tended to overspend when I was first getting my financial bearings, but the consequences were limited because I could only spend $1000 at a time with zero APR."

Blue Cash American Express
Though the exact introductory offers change every so often, the Blue Cash American Express card typically comes with a start-up bonus, such as $100 cash back with your $1000 in purchases over the first 3 months.

After 12 months, APR is raised to 17.24%-22.24%, which is high, but shouldn’t be a problem if you pay off your bills on time. The card offers 3% cash back on groceries, 2% on gas and department store purchases, and 1% on everything else. Unlike Discover’s cash back card, there is no limit to your cash rewards. While this may seem like a benefit, it's American Express’s way of pushing you to spend more.

The card allows you to redeem your rewards as statement credit, gift cards, or a variety of merchandise. The card also automatically enrolls you in the Blue Savings Program, which offers you discounts on restaurants, car rentals, hotels, cruises, and much more.

Citi ThankYou Preferred Card
In addition to no annual fee, the Citi Thank You Preferred Card offers an introductory special of 25,000 bonus points (which equals $250 in gift cards) when you spend $2,000 during your first four months with the card.

The Citi ThankYou Preferred card works by allotting you 1 point for every dollar you spend. There is no limit to the points you can earn, and your points won't expire as long as you make one yearly purchase. The card allows you to earn extra points by signing up for an online account, opting for paperless billing, and shopping through their Bonus Center retailers, including Sears, The North Face, and Sephora. Every year, you will receive an anniversary bonus, which is calculated by your yearly ThankYou points. In the first year, you will earn 1% of your points, in the second, 2%, and so on. Like the Blue Cash, you can redeem your points as cash or as merchandise/travel expenses.

This is just a small sampling of some of the best rewards cards currently available. For a comprehensive overview of rewards credit cards and further rewards card comparisons, check out eCreditCards.com's rewards page.

About the Guest Author
Lynn Jackson blogs on a variety of financial and business-related topics. She wrote this particular post on behalf of SellMyGold.com.

How to Save Cash when Choosing a Credit Card Processing Company

As a small business owner, you understand the value of a dollar. Your business rises and falls on its profit margins. Anything that cuts into those margins – such as credit card processing fees – hurts your business.

Yet credit card processing fees are one of those areas that many small business owners just accept as a cost of doing business. They don't realize that they could be realizing significant savings by doing some shopping around and finding the company that best fits their business.

Here are some ways to save money when you’re choosing your credit card processing company:

1. Start by identifying your transaction profile. One of the most important factors in getting the best deal on credit card processing is understanding what type of transactions you’re likely to have. Rates can vary significantly for a company that processes 10,000 credit card transactions a month versus a company that processes less than 100. In addition to volume, your average transaction amount will matter, as well. If most of your transactions are under $10, you need a different type of plan than the small business whose transactions average over $200.
2. Identify how you'll accept credit card payments. A small business with a brick-and-mortar store that runs physical credit cards through a machine has different needs than a small online business that only uses web-based transactions. Some credit card processing companies have plans that are more geared toward businesses that swipe cards, while other processing companies are better for online transactions.
3. Ask about all of the applicable rates and fees. Some credit card processors will only have a per-transaction fee that you’ll pay whenever someone buys something. Others will have a standard monthly fee, usually along with a reduced transaction fee. Here again, whether or not you’re going to physically be processing cards can have an impact on this; most of the time, a credit card processor will want to lease or sell you equipment in order to process your transactions.
4. Check out the credit card processor's reviews and chargeback rates. In addition to the fees that a processor will charge you for transactions, you need to be aware of some other factors. Customer service is important, for example; after all, this company could be responsible for thousands of dollars of your business. You need a company with a decent reputation. Beyond that, however, some credit card processors seem to have a higher rate of chargebacks or account freezes. Make sure you do some legwork, and hear from some of the processor’s existing customers before you make a final decision.
5. Make sure you understand all of the applicable laws and terms of your contract. There are a number of rules you need to follow when processing credit card transactions. Some have to do with security, some have to do with Visa or MasterCard policies, and others have to do with your credit card processor. Violating any of those terms or laws could cost you thousands of dollars in the long run.

Don’t leave your business' well-being to chance by putting it in the hands of a credit card processing company that isn't right for you. Follow these tips to make sure you get the service that best fits your business' needs.

About the Guest Author
Emma Vasar is a finance expert whose passion for helping small business owners lead to the creation of MerchantAccount.net. You can learn more about choosing the best credit card processor here!

Pay for Your Gas with Cash

While it may be difficult to fork over $50 for a tank of gas, sneering at the gas attendant won’t have any effect on rising prices. Station owners are barely turning out profits, as they are losing most of their proceeds to nasty credit card swipe fees. You may have noticed that many gas stations are starting to offer lower cash prices than credit card prices. While you may think this is merely to inconvenience you, you might want to consider taking heed of these discounts. By paying with cash or debit card, you are benefiting both yourself and these small business owners.

Recent Findings
Recent data from the Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) has revealed, as gas prices increase, station owners lose more money, since credit card swipe fees are based on purchase percentages. This means, while we pay more and gas stations lose more, big banks collect big.

According to The Oil Price Information Service, in order to be competitive in the gas industry, gas providers typically lose about 2 cents per gallon per quarter. While these small business owners are losing, big banks are earning approximately 2-3 percent of each credit card purchase of gas, via swipe fees. So whenever gas prices go up, banks bring in higher profits without any additional effort. This comes to an added seven to ten cents per gallon for the consumer. "They (big banks) want to convince the public that gas stations are sitting on a windfall," said Lyle Beckwith, senior vice president of government relations at the National Association of Convenience Stores and MPC member. "In fact, many didn't even turn a profit last quarter in this hyper-competitive business."

The Loophole
The Federal Reserve may have made some efforts to thwart greedy bank practices by instituting a cap on high debit card fees, but they still have some cracks to fill. As the Federal Reserve's law did not include any mention of credit card swipe fees, many banks are replenishing their debit card fee losses with even higher credit card swipe fees (which are oftentimes hidden fees). It is crucial for the government to recognize this loophole before big banks run both our gas stations and our wallets dry.

Swipe Fee Statistics
The highest cost for gas retailers is labor, the second highest is hidden swipe fees. These fees, initiated by Visa, MasterCard, and other major banks, generally take approximately $2 out of every $100 spent on credit cards. As Americans, we are especially susceptible to this practice, as US consumers pay the highest swipe fees worldwide.

The price of gas increased 80% from 2004 to 2011. The price of credit card fees went up 180%. Of interesting note, during this time, the cost of providing electronic swipe transactions decreased considerably.

So the next time you complain about rising gas prices, don't blame the gas station owners. Remember, gas stations are small and often family-run businesses. According to Robert Fisher, who co-owns several Chevron gas stations and convenience stores, across Arizona, Oregon, and Washington, with his father, brother, and sister, "There have been times in the past month when I've been losing money for every gallon of gas I sell… It’s a very tough industry." So the next time you fill up, consider the Robert Fishers of the world over the big banks. Pay with cash or debit card to avoid hidden fees for you and the retailer.

Disclaimer
This is a guest post. The opinion expressed is that of the sponsor.

How Much Do You Make?

That is the question that everybody would like to know the answer to, but nobody wants to ask. I mentioned before how readers are innately curious about other people's net worth. I think this is because of people's natural curiosity -- wanting to assess how one is doing compared to others. When you read new blog or meet somebody new, do you ever wonder how much they make?

So, how much do you make? I have asked this question before, and I'm asking again. Since I write an anonymous personal finance blog, that gives me the unique luxury of being able to ask the question without personally offending anybody.

So the last time I asked, I received a few responses such as these:

married female, 30 years old (husband is 30 years old). both of us completely self made professionals with degrees from state schools. rental income is approximately $60,000. combined household income is approximately $200,000.

Male, Married,Age 29 and 28, both MSEE, both work for the same company, combined salary 240k. Networth 273k.

Male, 41, divorced. $145k AGI Net worth is low due to student loan debt load but 401k is maxed and I'm killing the loan too.

married Male, 42 275K + 50K options. Retail, networth 1.4MM wife unemployed, 1 child

Now, do you care to add your own comment on how much do you make?

Note: Anonymous comments are welcome. (I want to assure you that Blogger does not collect Email addresses or any other personal information, if you select "Anonymous" on the comment form.) See also the annual income poll in the sidebar of my blog.

PFS

Alternatives For Someone With Bad Credit

First and foremost, the United States is in one of the worst recessions we have seen since the Great Depression. Therefore, banks and other creditors are making it increasingly difficult for everyday people to obtain credit and purchasing power. With the dollar depreciating each and every year and inflation rising at alarming rates, it's no surprise that, in the near future, there will only be a few people who have access to credit at low APR rates. With that said, how does a person find a loan if they have bad credit? Furthermore, how does a person get out of the debt they are in, fix their credit, and get their credit back on track?

If you need an emergency loan, you need to ask yourself this question: Is this loan a necessity or a "want"? Many people often times find themselves in situations where they are desperate for a solution to their financial woes, and believe it or not, many of them look for loan sharks. Illegal ones at that. A website by the name of The Loan Shark Guide helps people learn the difference between legal lenders, and illegal lenders who will rip you off. The site is in the middle of an upgrade and looks rather ugly, but in the coming weeks/months the site will get a complete makeover, with the ability to help folks search for loans that fit their needs.

This brings up another conundrum, however.

Some will argue that payday loans and debt consolidation loans are the worst loan programs that a person could ever get into. While there are many payday loan companies out there that charge insane APR, the resolution lies in finding the right type of payday loan. You have to compare loan providers in order to make an informed decision. The best thing to do if you find yourself in an emergency financial situation, however, is to borrow from family or friends first. Payday loans, and other high interest loans, should be a last resort. If you know of an illegal lender, you can report them here.

Disclaimer
This is a sponsored post. The opinion expressed is that of the sponsor. PFStock.com does not specifically recommend or endorse any product or service mentioned above.

More on Discover Cashover

I recently noticed some renewed interest in my post about getting cash back at supermarkets when using Discover. Basically this post was about using the Discover Card in supermarkets, and then choosing cash back as an option during checkout. Usually, you can only request cash back when you pay with an ATM or debit card. Discover Card is the only credit card I know of that offers this, and they call this checkout option getting "cash over". For me, the cashover feature works like an interest-free loan because I pay off the card every month. Readers were interested in knowing if there was a list of all the participating stores. That list can be found on the Discover website (URL: www.Discover.com/cashatcheckout ).

But for the convenience of PFStock readers, I have decided to publish the whole list here. These are the stores where you can use your Discover it™ Card when you check out and get cash over:

ACME
Albertson's
Army & Air Force Exchange Service
Baker's
Big Y
bigg's
bloom
Bristol Farms
Carr's
Coborn's
Cub Foods
Dillons
Dollar General
Dominick's
Family Fare Supermarkets
Farm Fresh
Food 4 Less
Food Lion
Fred Meyer
Fry's Food Stores
Garden Street Market
Gelson's
Genuardi's
Gerbes
GetGo
Giant Eagle
Giant-Landover
Glen's Markets
Haggen's
Hannaford
Heinen's
Hilander
Hornbacher's
Jay C
Jerry's
Jewel-Osco
King Soopers
Kroger
Kum & Go
Lucky
Lunds & Byerly's
Meijer
Owen's
Pavilions
Pay Less
Quality Food Centers
Ralphs
Randalls
Safeway
Sam's Club
Shaw's & Star
Shop 'n Save
Shoppers
Smith's
Sunflower Farmers Market
SuperValu
Sweetbay
Tom Thumb
Turkey Hill
Vons
Walmart
Winn-Dixie

If you don't have a Discover Card yet, I suggest that you apply for one in order to take advantage of this deal. One particularly popular credit card is the Discover it™ Card because it offers cash back on purchases, year round. Plus there are no fees and other bonuses.



PFS