27 Apr
Posted by Shannon Reyes as Credit Cards
The American Express Blue Cash family delivers rewards for everyday purchases. The Blue Cash Everyday and Blue Cash Preferred give, respectively, 6% and 3% on groceries, 3% and 2% on gas and department stores, and 1% everything else. The Preferred comes with an annual fee of $75, but we believe that the additional rewards for the Preferred outweight the annual fee for typical households.
But why should we care about these two cards when there are a number of credit cards out there promising 5% cash back on all kinds of different categories?
The Blue Cash cards differ from most of these rewards credit cards in that they have no spending threshold, rewards cap, or rotating bonus categories. We weren’t blown away by the complexity of the old Blue Cash, but the newcomers have done away with many of the old card’s hurdles.
When a loved one passes on, financial burden can increase the family’s hardship and suffering. With so many life expenses ranging from mortgages to car loans to credit card debt, student loans, and everything in between, it’s a common worry to think about the future of large debts and whether or not that debt is inherited. Before worrying too much over inheriting debt, it is important to understand what actually happens when a loved one passes on and leaves a large debt behind.
So what happens when someone with a large amount of credit card debt dies? Is the debt left behind for their families or surviving spouse to pay off? Is the debt forgiven? Is it settled somehow, along with the funeral arrangements?
The answer is, it really depends.
“Whether you inherit debt or not depends on the state you are in ,” says Assistant Professor Mitzi Lauderdale from the Undergraduate Program Director in the Division of Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University.
24 Apr
Posted by Shannon Reyes as Credit Cards
Almost all airlines offer rewards and loyalty programs, so why can’t travel agencies have their own? Expedia certainly thinks it’s worthwhile: they recently launched the Expedia Rewards program that allows you to earn travel rewards points when you book through the travel site.
Expedia’s rewards program allows customers to earn anywhere from 1 to 4 points per dollar spent. You earn one point when you book a flight, hotel stay, or car rental, but the more services you purchase, the faster your points accrue. For example, booking a flight AND hotel will earn you two points per dollar spent on the plane-ticket-plus-hotel combination. You earn four points when you book your flight, hotel, car, and activities from Expedia – basically, you’re earning quadruple points for pretty much everything you do on your trip.
That’s not all.
Countless small business credit card offers are just waiting for the next business account to open. You may have even received these specialized small business offers in the mail. Building business credit can be very important for the future of your company. Just like a good personal credit history, a strong business credit history shows your creditworthiness and also gives credence to your business as a legitimate company.
When you have your own company, you may have to juggle business credit cards, business lines of credit, and small business loans to keep your company moving forward. Your credit behavior with these forms of borrowing for business can help you to build strong business credit if you play your cards right. One thing to remember when working to build corporate credit is the importance of separating your personal credit and spending from your business credit and spending.
With all kinds of special promotions available, rewards programs offered, and different store and brand affiliations, it’s no wonder people are tempted to add more credit cards to their wallets. From Visa to MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, the choices for credit card issuers and offers go on and on. It can be challenging to select the perfect card for your needs, so sometimes accepting more than one credit card offer gives an easy solution. But when it comes down to it, how many credit cards is too many?
“There are two ways to look at this, depending on your objective,” says Gail Cunningham, Vice President of Public Relations at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. “A person really only needs two general purpose credit cards. One is the card where they charge their everyday purchases and pay off the balance in full at the end of the month.