WalletHub Review: Free Daily TransUnion Credit Score and Report

Posted on June 10, 2016 // Leave a Comment

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Here’s a quick review of a new credit service called WalletHub. While the stated mission is to help improve your financial situation, at its core is a service that offers free credit score, free credit reports, and free credit monitoring. In exchange, it will use your personal data to show match you up with advertised offers like car loans, credit cards, and prepaid cards. Highlights:

  • Free non-FICO credit score, updated daily. Credit score model is the VantageScore 3.0, scale 300-850. Credit bureau is TransUnion.
  • Free daily access to full TransUnion credit report. You can take a look at your full TransUnion credit report on any day, but keep in mind that TransUnion only updates the data once a month.
  • Free daily credit monitoring. Since they are already checking your data every day, Wallethub will send you an e-mail alert if there any significant changes to your TransUnion credit report.

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The competition. As noted, this is not a FICO score but something called the VantageScore 3.0. These “FAKO” scores are still useful for tracking changes to your credit report information. However, competitor CreditKarma.com already offers the VantageScore 3.0 for both your TransUnion and Equifax credit reports. CreditKarma updates your score once a week, as opposed to WalletHub’s daily. Both offer daily credit monitoring based on TransUnion data.

Bottom line. For most people, I would say covering two out three credit bureaus by Credit Karma on a weekly frequency is better than the single bureau on a daily frequency. However, I know there are some folks that are meticulously rebuilding their credit and may appreciate daily score updates. The same folks may appreciate full TransUnion report access. I am satisfied with ongoing daily monitoring from Credit Karma and the free annual report mandated by the government. You could always use both if you are okay with providing both services your Social Security number and other personal information.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Card – 0% Intro APR for 18 Months, Cell Phone Protection, Free FICO Score

Posted on June 8, 2016 // Leave a Comment

The Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Card is a credit card that is best for those looking to transfer in balances from another issuer. It also offers a unique cell phone protection benefit with a low deductible, as well as a free FICO score. Here are the highlights:

  • 0% Intro APR for 18 months on purchases and balance transfers
  • Get up to $600 protection on your cell phone (subject to $25 deductible) against covered damage or theft when you pay your monthly cellular telephone bill with your Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card
  • Easy access to your FICO® Credit Score with Wells Fargo Online®
  • No annual fee.

There is a balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Due to its longer 0% Intro APR period of 18 months and 120-day window to make transfers, I have added this card to my list of Best No Fee 0% APR Balance Transfer Offers. I would compare this card against those options.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Free FICO Score For Everyone via CreditScoreCard, No Credit Card Required

Posted on May 22, 2016 // Leave a Comment

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Discover has rolled out a new service called Credit ScoreCard, which provides everyone access to their FICO score for no charge with no trials or credit card relationship required. (Well, free in exchange for right to market things to you based on your personal information.) Checking your own credit does not impact your credit score. This post provides updated information and instructions regarding this service.

FICO Score details.

  • FICO Score version: FICO Score 8, or FICO 08. This is the most widely used of the many FICO flavors. Score version is directly shown on the website.
  • Credit bureau: Experian
  • Update frequency: Either monthly or when you log in, whichever is longer.
  • Limitations: Available to everyone. You do not have to be a Discover cardholder.

Is this legit? The name is a little generic and perhaps even phishy-sounding, but you can view information at discover.com/free-credit-score, which links directly to creditscorecard.com/registration. The domain registry information matches that of Discover Financial Services.

How to get your score. Here’s a preview of the application and approval process:

  1. You must provide personal information, including Social Security Number. Name, address, etc. This is required for any service that checks your credit score. You do not need a Discover credit card.
  2. You must agree to their Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. Basically, they will give your free access to your credit score and other credit information, and they will also collect personal information to market Discover products and other services to you. Don’t miss this chart:

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  3. Identity verification questions. They will ask you some multiple choice questions based on your Experian credit report data in order to verify your identity. If you don’t pass this quiz, I would go over to AnnualCreditReport.com and get a copy of your report to scan for errors.
  4. Set your personal security questions. At this point, you are approved. You just need to set up the standard security questions like “Who was your 2nd grade teacher?”

What kind of information do you get? The score model is FICO Score 8, based on your Experian credit report. This is the same score model and credit bureau offered by American Express, and is within a few points for me (the check dates are slightly off). The other two major bureaus are TransUnion and Equifax. Note that Discover also offers their cardholders access to FICO Score 8 based on their TransUnion credit report. From their terms:

The FICO® Credit Score we provide is the FICO® Score 8. The score range is 300-850. FICO® Credit Scores are based on information on your credit report, and give you a snapshot of your credit report information at a very specific point in time. As the information in your report changes, your score may also change. According to FICO®, 83% of the population experiences changes to their score by up to 20 points month to month. FICO® Credit Scores as well as other credit scores are based on credit bureau information, and may be different from one credit bureau to the next.

You also get access to data points like Total Number of Accounts, Length of Credit (Oldest Account), Revolving Utilization Percentage, and Missed Number of Payments.

How often is it updated? As often as every 30 days, but only if you log in to the website. Many sites operate this way, as it reduces their costs of grabbing your score if you are no longer interested. Also, they want you to log in so that they can show you advertisements. From the terms:

Unless you cancel this authorization, we’ll pull fresh credit report information for you the later of every thirty days or the next time you log into your Credit Scorecard.

Screenshots. Here’s a peek at mine:

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Bottom line. CreditScoreCard by Discover is one of the first free services I’ve seen that offers a FICO Score without requiring you to be an affiliated credit cardholder. If you already have access to this score model and credit bureau combination through other means, you may not want another entity to have access to your personal data. If you don’t, you may find this a very reasonable way to get free access to your Experian FICO 8 score.

Related: Here is additional information about other major credit card issuers with free FICO programs:

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

John Oliver on Why The Credit Report Industry is Awful

Posted on April 18, 2016 // 2 Comments

John Oliver of HBO’s Last Week Tonight did a humorous monologue on why credit reporting bureaus are awful. Appropriately, it was last week and I finally got around to watching the 18-minute video tonight. Here is the full video link, embedded below:

Here’s the condensed version:

  • Your credit report can affect your ability to borrow (and thus buy a home), your ability to rent, the price you pay for all kinds of stuff, and even your ability to get a job. Sheesh, what else is there left?
  • 1 in 20 credit reports have errors that are significant enough to hurt your chances at the rather important things I just listed above. That’s 10 million Americans.
  • In an effort to show Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion how such errors can hurt both reputations and business, they created the three websites Equifacks.com, Experianne.com, and TramsOnion.com. (Warning: I left some of these unlinked because they may be considered NSFW.)

In general, I do not micromanage my credit score, but it is scary than an error outside your control could have such harmful effects on your day-to-day life. Perhaps this information will also motivate you to check your credit and consumer reports if you haven’t done so recently. There are also an increasing number of free and/or ad-supported sources of credit reports, credit monitoring, and credit scores. The bad news is that the error dispute process is still slow and complicated, and after you try patience and perseverance, you may need to lawyer up in order to get their attention.

Filed Under: Banking, Credit Cards, Insurance //

Free FICO Score from Bank of America Credit Cards

Posted on March 30, 2016 // 6 Comments

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This post provides updated information and instructions regarding the free FICO score that is available to Bank of America credit card holders. (Thanks to reader Andy for the tip.)

Background. Bank of America started rolling out free FICO scores to select cardholders in late 2015, with a stated plan of increased rollout by the end of first quarter of 2016 (March 31st, 2016).

FICO Score details.

How to find the score. You can find the free FICO score on your online account access. The free FICO program is currently not available on mobile apps or the mobile website.

After logging into your BofA.com account, you must opt-in by first going to the “Tools & Investing” tab and clicking on “Learn about credit scores”. Then click on the “Enroll Now” button and accept the terms of the free FICO program.

Here are some screenshots from the website (click to enlarge):

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Here are screenshots of the actual score page (click to enlarge):

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Fine print:

You will be able to view up to a 12-month history of your FICO® Scores in Online Banking, starting when you enroll and for each month up to 12 months after enrollment. After 12 months the history display will re-start. Additionally, you will see two key factors affecting your most recent FICO® Score, except in limited circumstances where TransUnion does not provide us with both key factors. Customers with newly opened credit card accounts may not see their first FICO® Score in Online Banking for up to 60 days after enrollment. In certain circumstances, a FICO® Score may not be available from TransUnion for various reasons, e.g., having a limited credit history. If your Bank of America consumer credit card account(s) are closed by you or us, we reserve the right to end your participation in the FICO® Score Program. You can unenroll at any time by going to the Tools and Investing tab in Online Banking.

Here is additional information about other major credit card issuers with free FICO programs:

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Pay Taxes With Credit Card: Lowest Fee Rates and Limited-Time Promotions

Posted on March 21, 2016 // 16 Comments

1040clipWe all know that personal income tax filings are due soon, but so are the first round of quarterly estimated taxes for 2016. Many of us with freelance or side-gig income must makes these payments in order to avoid a tax penalty at the end of the year.

You can pay taxes with a credit card, but there is usually a convenience fee attached. So why would you bother?

  • You may wish to earn rewards for the purchase in the form of cash back, points, or miles. These rewards may be of greater value to you than the fee. (* See bottom of post for examples.)
  • You may want to pay off the balance more gradually, especially if you have a low interest rate offer like 0% for 12 months on purchases.

Here I’d like to keep track of the current rates for convenience fees, any limited-time promotions, as well as some credit card with rewards greater than the convenience fees.

Limited-time offer: 1.75% fee with Mastercard from Plastiq. I received an e-mail from Plastiq stating:

Taxes are due in less than a month, so make it easier on yourself by paying them through Plastiq. To make taxes even less painful, we’re offering a special promotion starting today. Get a 1.75% rate for all federal and state tax payments when you use your MasterCard!*

So get ahead of the game and pay your taxes now. This special rate will expire on April 18, 2016 a 5 p.m. PT, so sign in and take full advantage of this limited-time offer!

There is no landing page, but the offer is mentioned on their Twitter so I assume it is not targeted. You must initiate your purchase from this link, which ensures that you can only use the offer to pay federal or state taxes. The sub-categories include income taxes, payroll withholding taxes, self-employment taxes, business taxes, and more.

Standard convenience fee rates for 2016 start at 1.87%.

The IRS keeps a list of approved payment processors and updates it regularly. Here is the list, along with fees valid until December 31st, 2016. All of them accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.

Note that there is a frequency limit on how often you can make credit card payments. You can make credit card payments towards estimated taxes up to twice per quarter.

Screenshot:

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Are the fees tax-deductible? You may also want to take into consideration that the convenience fee may be tax-deductible or a business expense:

  • The fee is deductible for personal tax types as a miscellaneous itemized deduction. However, only those miscellaneous expenses that exceed 2% of adjusted gross income can be deducted. For more information, see IRS Publication 529.
  • For business tax types, the fee is a deductible business expense.

Personal experiences. I have used Plastiq to make credit card payments (though not tax payments yet), and I have used PayUSATax.com back when they were the cheapest option. Both experiences were positive with no issues. Your credit card statement will list this payment as “United States Treasury Tax Payment.” The convenience fee will be listed as “Tax Payment Convenience Fee” or something similar. Here’s what my statement looked like:

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Notably, I know of no reason why you would not just go with the cheapest available payment processor. If they are on the IRS list, they are all officially accepted by the IRS. In fact, in my testing I found the most expensive one to offer the worst in-browser user experience.

To avoid any headaches, I would take great care when making the payments to make sure they are properly designated, as the payments are not reversible or refundable by the processor.

Specific credit card examples. The following cards currently have the ability to offer cash back rewards equal or greater than 1.75%, meaning you can actually make money by paying your taxes with them. Please read my card-specific reviews for details.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Taxes //

New JetBlue Card Review from Barclaycard

Posted on March 20, 2016 // Leave a Comment

JetBlue has announced two new consumer credit cards – the JetBlue Card (no annual fee) and the JetBlue Plus card ($99 annual fee). These are both issued by Barclaycard, as JetBlue recently ended its credit card relationship with American Express. Are they worth getting? Here’s my brief review of the card highlights and the value proposition breakdown.

Had the JetBlue Card from American Express? You do not need to apply again. Your AmEx card will automatically be replaced with the new JetBlue Rewards MasterCard, issued by Barclaycard, in late March 2016. The JetBlue Rewards MasterCard is slightly different that either card described below and is only available to grandfathered users. It has a $40 annual fee, but you can also request your card to be converted to one of the cards below.

Highlights of the new JetBlue card: (This offer is now EXPIRED)

  • 10,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days
  • Earn 3 points per $1 spent on JetBlue purchases, 2 points per $1 at restaurants and grocery stores and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
  • No blackout dates on JetBlue-operated flights & redeem for any seat, any time on JetBlue flights. Points required for an Award Flight will vary based on the published base fare at the time of booking
  • Points awarded in your TrueBlue account don’t expire
  • Earn and share points together with Family Pooling
  • 50% savings on eligible inflight purchases including cocktails, food and movies.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • Chip-card technology & $0 Fraud Liability protection

JBE_JB3_card_rCMY_Fee_BluePlus_WE_500x315Highlights of the new JetBlue Plus card:

  • Earn 30,000 bonus points after $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days
  • Earn 6 points per $1 on JetBlue purchases, 2 points per $1 at restaurants and grocery stores and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
  • No blackout dates on JetBlue-operated flights & redeem for any seat, any time on JetBlue flights. – Points required for an Award Flight will vary based on the published base fare at the time of booking.
  • Points awarded in your TrueBlue account don’t expire.
  • Earn and share points together with Family Pooling
  • Earn 5,000 bonus points every year after your account anniversary
  • 50% savings on eligible inflight purchases including cocktails, food and movies & your first checked bag is free on JetBlue-operated flights
  • Enjoy Mosaic benefits for one year after you spend $50,000 or more on purchases after your anniversary date
  • Get 10% of your points back every time you redeem to use toward your next redemption
  • Get a $100 statement credit after you purchase a JetBlue Getaways vacation package of $100 or more with your JetBlue Plus Card.

What are the TrueBlue points rewards worth? You earn JetBlue TrueBlue points on your purchases, which are best redeemed for JetBlue flights. There are some other options like newspaper or magazine subscriptions, but I won’t cover them here.

  • JetBlue TrueBlue works on a revenue-based system. You can book any flight without blackout dates, but the points required depends on the current cash cost of the flight. This is different than a chart-based system, for example might require 25,000 points for any flight within the 48 contiguous states (subject to blackout dates and availability).
  • A reasonable estimate of value is 1 points = 1.4 cents towards a Blue, Blue Plus, or Blue Flex fare. The exact value may vary, but that is the average that I found and the variance is low. Ex. 10,000 points would cover $140 in airfare. See calculation example below.
  • The value of a free checked bag is $15 to $25 one-way, per person. Depending on fare level, JetBlue now charges for checked bags. If you buy it separately on a base fare, a checked bag will cost $20 one-way upfront or $25 one-way at the ticket counter. If you buy the Blue Plus fare which includes one checked bag, that usually costs $15 more one-way. At $30 to $50 roundtrip, the value of the free checked bag feature can add up quickly if you travel as a family or group.
  • Families can share and pool points together, with no transfer fees.
  • TrueBlue points don’t expire.

Every 10,000 points can be redeemed for $140 in airfare. This means 2X points back on restaurants and groceries can be redeemed for 2.8% back in the form of TrueBlue airfare. The 3X points back on Jetlue-operated flights can be redeemed for 4.2% back in the form of TrueBlue airfare. The 6X points back with the Plus card on Jetlue-operated flights can be redeemed for 8.4% back in the form of TrueBlue airfare.

This is in addition to the existing 3X points for TrueBlue members buying Blue airfare, and the 3X points for anyone booking JetBlue flights online. If you have Mosaic elite status, you also get another 3X points.

Calculating the value of a JetBlue TrueBlue points. You can test for yourself quite easily. Here is a randomly chosen, roundtrip San Francisco (SFO) to New York City (JFK) flight. Screenshots are below. It would have either cost $423.30 in cash, or 29,400 points + $11.20 in taxes. The value of a point comes out almost exactly to 1.4 cents per point:

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Recap. The new JetBlue Card from Barclaycard can be a good value for regular customers of JetBlue and their free DirecTV. You get extra savings when purchasing JetBlue airfare on the card, and the rewards are free JetBlue airfare. The standard version offers a limited-time sign-up bonus as well as perks with no annual fee. The Plus version with $99 annual fee is best for frequent fliers who can take advantage of the free checked bag feature and also the 5,000 point anniversary bonus. However, if you don’t fly JetBlue enough to have the opportunity to either earn or spend the points, then you should just stick with a more general travel rewards card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or a top cash back card like the Citi Double Cash.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, Reviews //

Redeeming Citi Prestige ThankYou Points For American Airlines Flights

Posted on March 10, 2016 // Leave a Comment

tyaa0It has been nearly a year since I picked up my Citi Prestige card (review), and I’ve done my best to take advantage of the available perks:

– $250 in Airfare credit for 2015
– $250 in Airfare credit for 2016
– $100 statement credit to offset my TSA PreCheck / Global Entry membership
– Free access to Business Class lounge at Vancouver International Airport via Priority Pass (2 adults, 2 children)
– Free access to Admiral Club lounge at Los Angeles Airport (2 adults, 2 children)
– I reserved a free round of golf ($210 value) at the Ko Olina Golf Course on Oahu, Hawaii via GolfSwitch. Here’s a picture of me at Ko Olina trying to avoid their water(fall) hazard.

You know I was going to get my value out of that $450 annual fee! If I travelled more, I could’ve gotten more usage out of the lounge access, but that’s all I could manage this year.

The final thing for me to do is to redeem my 50,000 ThankYou points (plus the points earned from making purchases on the card). As noted in my review, the easiest way to maximize value is by redeeming the points for any economy flight on American Airlines. (I’m sure you could come up with a higher value via conversion to Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines miles and getting business class tickets.) Every 10,000 points = $160 in American airfare, so 50,000 points = $800 in American airfare. (For other airlines besides American, the conversion is every 10,000 points = $133 in airfare.)

In order to get the 1.6x value, you need to book while you have an active Citi Prestige card. The flight itself can be scheduled far ahead of time. Otherwise, you can still keep the ThankYou points with another linked valid ThankYou card (no annual fee options available), but you won’t have the improved American Airlines redemption option.

How to redeem. You can either log into your Citi Prestige account at Citicards.com and then click on the ThankYou points link, or go directly to ThankYou.com. Once there, click on “Travel” and then “Flights” as shown in the screenshot:

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From there, it works like any other flight booking website like Expedia or Travelocity. Input your desired flight details, and it will show you options. The advantage here is flexibility, as there are no geographic limitations or blackout dates. Here are the results of a roundtrip flight during the summer from San Francisco to Honolulu for $571 or 35,687 points:

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Quick math confirms the 100 points:$1.60 value ratio.

Are the Citi ThankYou Travel Center prices the same as AA.com or Expedia? Yes, for every search that I’ve done. Here is a screenshot of American Airlines website for the exact same date and flight details as above, showing the same $571 cost:

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In fact, for another route the Citi Travel center actually showed an additional cheaper flight option with a stopover, while AA.com only showed the more expensive, direct flight.

What if you don’t have enough points to cover the entire flight? Use the Points + Cash option. Citi allows you to split the cost up. You can use up every ThankYou point available at the 100 points:$1.60 value ratio, and then pay cash for the remaining amount.

For example, let’s say the flight you want costs $200 and you only have 10,000 ThankYou points. With your Citi Prestige card, you can book the flight for 10,000 points ($160 value) and $40 cash. Any leftover cash amount can be charged on the Citi Prestige and thus be covered by the $250 annual airfare credit (it doesn’t have to be used up all at once either, and applies to any airline).

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, Travel //

Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Review

Posted on March 4, 2016 // 90 Comments

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The travel rewards card that has been in my wallet the longest is the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express. It is quite famous in the travel junkie circles, but not very well known otherwise. Once you understand the combination of flexibility and value, you will better understand why this is my favorite hotel rewards card and also the only annual fee card that I’ve kept consistently over the last 7+ years.

Highlights:

  • Earn 25,000 bonus Starpoints® after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees on international purchases.
  • Receive free in-room, premium internet access. Booking requirements apply.
  • Enjoy complimentary, unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi on up to four devices at more than 1,000,000 Boingo hotspots worldwide. Enrollment required.
  • Earn free nights at over 1,200 hotels and resorts in nearly 100 countries with no blackout dates.
  • Some hotels may have mandatory service and resort charges.
  • $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.

My review:

  • When redeeming towards hotel stays, I regularly get 2-6 cents of value per point, more than often the value you’d get from airline miles. Get free stays in hotels that otherwise charge $300+ a night.
  • Rather have miles? You can convert 20,000 points to 25,000 miles, which is 1.25 miles per dollar spent, 25% more miles than most other airline-specific cards.
  • Easy transfers mean you can “top off” a frequent flier account to get to that coveted reward ticket level. Your miles aren’t worth anything until you actually use them!
  • You can convert just a few miles to keep your other miles from expiring.

Either I’ve had one, or my wife has had one, or I’ve had the business card version of this card for the last 5+ years. Transferring points within between household members is quite easy and free.

Starwood Points transfer to Frequent Flier Miles

The first reason why this card is so useful is that Starwood points (or Starpoints) can be converted to miles to major domestic airlines and several international ones. This includes Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, and United. Most transfer at a 1:1 ratio (1 Starwood point = 1 frequent flier mile), unless otherwise noted. For example, the ratio is lower for United (2:1 means 2 Starpoints = 1 United mile.

Imagine that you’re only a thousand miles short of a free ticket, but you need to buy a ticket and would really like to make it free. Although there may be other options that involve spending money, you can simply “top off” your balance by transferring as little as 1,500 miles to the specific airline programs that you want. You can even convert a specific number of points. Just need 2,854 miles here and 1,567 somewhere else? No problem.

With most airlines, your miles expire after a period of inactivity. But since any activity counts (not only flying), I could quickly transfer 1,500 miles over in order to save 20,000 hard-earned miles from expiring.

  • Aeromexico Club Premier
  • Aeroplan/Air Canada
  • Air Berlin
  • Air China Companion
  • Air New Zealand Air Points (65:1)
  • Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
  • Alitalia MileMiglia
  • All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club
  • American Airlines AAdvantage
  • Asia Miles
  • Asiana Airlines
  • British Airways Executive Club
  • China Eastern Airlines
  • China Southern Airlines’ Sky Pearl Club
  • Delta Airlines SkyMiles
  • Emirates Skywards
  • Etihad Airways
  • Flying Blue
  • Gol Smiles (2:1)
  • Hainan Airlines
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • Japan Airline (JAL) Mileage Bank
  • Jet Airways
  • LAN Airlines LANPASS Kms (1:1.5)
  • Miles and More
  • Qatar Airways
  • Saudi Arabian Airlines Alfursan
  • Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
  • Thai Airways International Royal Orchid Plus
  • United Mileage Plus (2:1)
  • US Airways Dividend Miles
  • Velocity Frequent Flier
  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

For every 20,000 points you convert, you get an additional 5,000 point bonus. So 20,000 Starwood points = 25,000 miles on the airlines listed above. That’s 25% more miles per dollar than those airline-specific credit cards (although the waived baggage fees are appealing).

Great Hotel Rewards Card

Starwood is a growing collection of over 1,000 mid-scale to very-upscale hotels in nearly 100 countries, from the business-oriented Four Points and Sheratons to the upscale W and Westin hotels. This card has come in very handy for travel to international and bigger US cities.

Short-notice and emergency stays. All room taxes are included when you use points, and there are no blackout dates unlike other hotel programs. I’ve used them in a pinch, burning just 3,000 points for a last-minute $120 a night room at the Vancouver Airport Four Points (now Category 3).

Luxury international hotels. I’m usually happy with a Holiday Inn Express by the airport for a business trip, but when traveling for leisure it can be very convenient to stay downtown near the action and sights. In a city like Paris or Rome, this can mean big bucks. With this card, I’ve stayed at $300 a night hotels like the W New York, Westin Madrid, and Westin Venice. Being able to stay up late into the night in Venice instead of having to leave was amazing. If you redeem for 4 nights in a row in a Category 3 or higher hotel, the 5th night is free.

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Cash and points option. Don’t miss “cash and points” opportunities. For example, I found a $400 room at the Westin Rome in Italy or W Hotel New York Times Square for 8,000 points + $150 a night. Run the numbers yourself using the booking engine at SPG.com and look for the “SPG Cash & Points” option. The value of 30,000 points can be easily greater than $500.

This last option is not the best value, but for the purposes of setting a last resort and baseline value, 9,500 Starpoints = $100 gift card at Amazon.com.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, Reviews //

BankAmericard Travel Rewards® Credit Card: Redemption Tips for 2.625% Back

Posted on February 21, 2016 // 11 Comments

bofa_travelrewards191The BankAmericard Travel Rewards® Credit Card is my current base rewards card (after any bonus 5% cash back categories, sign-up bonus cards, etc). This is because if you give them enough assets to hold onto (admittedly not possible for everyone), you can receive 2.25% or 2.625% cash back against past travel-related purchases. Please see my Bank of America Travel Rewards® Credit Card review for details on the card structure. As I’ve made a few points redemptions already, I wanted to share my tips and experiences with that. The good news is that the process is quite simple and I found it easy to use up all of your points to maximize value.

Account setup and eligiblity. I have both a Bank of America checking account and a Merrill Edge brokerage account. The checking account doesn’t have much money in it (it pays no interest) and technically isn’t necessarily at all, but I do keep $100,000 in assets in the Edge brokerage account in order to qualify for the highest tier of Preferred status, Platinum Honors. $50,000 in combined balances will get you the Platinum tier. Vanguard ETFs trade free at Vanguard, but Edge gives me commission-free trades a month on any stock or ETF (100/month Platinum Honors, 30/month Platinum). There are no account maintenance fees for Merrill Edge. Thus, it cost me nothing to switch to Edge besides having yet another account in my life (in fact, they paid me a sign-up bonus).

When logging into BofA, this bundling also offers the convenience of viewing my bank account balance, credit card charges, and Edge investment value all on the same screen. It also tracks which tier I am on their Preferred Rewards program (Gold, Platinum, or Platinum Honors), including my exact qualifying balance:

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The official measurement is of your “3-month average combined balance”, so if you just transfer the bare minimum $100k over into an empty account, it may take a few months to reach the $100k level and officially qualify for Platinum Honors. Only after that will the 75% rewards bonus on credit card rewards kick in. (You may qualify for Gold and Platinum in the meantime.)

Earning rewards, bonus verification. Here is a screenshot taken from one of my monthly statements, which I have highlighted for clarity.

bofa_travel_redeem1b

I put $2,527.99 in purchases on my card during this statement cycle, so at 1.5 points per dollar that came out to 3,791 points. Since I am on the Platinum Honors tier, I received a 75% bonus of 2,846 points. (This appears to be off by a few points when compared to my calculator, but is very close.) Gold members would have received 25% bonus, Platinum members would have received a 50% bonus.

The total is 6,637 points, which will get me $66.37 of statement credit towards a previous travel-related charge (see below). The bonus points were calculated automatically without any additional legwork on my part.

Redemption process. Here are the rules:

  • 1.5 points for every $1 spent on all purchases. No limit to the points you can earn. Points do not expire.
  • Redeeming for Travel Credit offers the best value for your points. There are no restrictions or blackout dates. You can also get gift cards, but why bother?
  • Valid travel-related expenses include airfare, hotels, car rentals, baggage fees, and airline upgrades. (Possibly more depending on merchant categorization, for example inflight food counted for me.)
  • Minimum redemption is 2,500 points = $25 when redeemed for a Travel Credit.
  • A travel purchase is eligible to redeem for a Travel Credit up to 12 months from the date the purchase posts to your account.
  • Partial redemptions allow you to use all your points up. For example, if you have a $26.00 eligible purchase but you only have 2,500 points, you can use just those points and get $25 back. You don’t have to accrue more points to reach any specific purchase value.
  • The system will remember your partial redemptions, and allow you to apply future points redemption up the remaining balance of that purchase. So that big annual vacation bill? You can chip away at it with your rewards over a year.

You can perform all your redemptions online, no need to call anyone. Here is a screenshot of the rewards redemption website, which should provide a good idea of how it works. Click to enlarge.

bofa_travel_redeem3

(Side tip: If you are worried about cashing out all your points, simply adjust your redemptions to keep a minimum of 2,500 points in your account at all times. Then, if for some reason you want to close the card and do one final cashout (i.e. they announce upcoming changes for the worse), you can do so and use up every last point.)

Recap. I have shown that my real-world experience matches the promised rewards payout. $66.37 of reward divided by $2,527 in purchases is 2.625% back. I was able to get full reward value by offsetting a travel purchase from the last 12 months (airfare, hotel, and all those annoying airfare-related fees). The points arrived without hassle, and redemption was both easy and offered a high level of control.

I realize not everyone will have at least $50,000 of assets to move around, and so this is somewhat a restricted offer. But again it doesn’t have to be idle cash, it can be stocks or ETFs that you’re just holding elsewhere like TD Ameritrade or Vanguard. 2.625% back is a great rewards rate, assuming you charge enough travel-related stuff on the card every 12 months. For example, if you charged $1,000 a month, 2.625% back would be $315 a year. The card has no foreign transaction fees, so you can use it internationally as well.

Please see my Bank of America Travel Rewards® Credit Card review for additional card details.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card: 80,000 Bonus Points Review

Posted on February 10, 2016 // 28 Comments

Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit CardMost travel cards offer an ongoing sign-up bonus, but it’s even better when you snag them during a bump-up – this time it is the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card from Chase. Check out the highlights below, and remember that it is free and takes just a minute to add an authorized user:

  • Earn 80,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • Plus, earn 7,500 bonus points when you add the first authorized user and make a purchase in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • Enjoy 1 Free Night Stay at a Category 1-5 location every year after your account anniversary date!
  • Earn unlimited Marriott Rewards points and get free stays faster
  • Earn 5 points for every $1 spent at 4,000 Marriott locations, 2 points for every $1 spent on airline tickets purchased directly with the airlines, at car rental agencies and restaurants and 1 point everywhere else.
  • The fastest way to earn Marriott Rewards points towards free nights
  • The fastest way to earn Marriott Rewards Elite Status.  Receive 15 Elite Credits guaranteeing Silver Elite Status or better.  Plus, Earn 1 Elite Credit for every $3,000 spent on purchases.
  • All for an $85 Annual Fee

We’ve started traveling again as a family, so I looked through Marriott’s redemption offerings. Marriott properties include Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance Hotels, Courtyard, Residence Inn, and Fairfield Inn & Suites. You can view their redemption chart here. Redeem 4 nights and get the 5th night free. Hotels on their PointSavers list have temporarily reduced redemption costs.

80,000 points is enough to get you a night at any Ritz Carlton Tier 5 hotel in the world. Or, 80,000 points can get you four nights at any Category 4 hotel. Or, it could get you eight nights at a Category 2 hotel. The free night award can be used for up to a Category 5 hotel. In the top right corner of the redemption chart link, you can view a comprehensive list of what hotels are in any specific category. Here are some options that caught my eye.

Ritz Carlton Tier 5 (Highest tier, 70,000 points a night)

Category 8 Hotels (40,000 points per night, 35,000 if Pointsaver)

Category 7 Hotels (35,000 points per night, 30,000 if Pointsaver)

Category 6 Hotels (30,000 points per night, 25,000 if Pointsaver)

Ritz Carlton Tier 1 (30,000 points per night, 20,000 if Pointsaver)

Category 4 Hotels (Eligible with Cat 1-5 Certificate or 20,000 points per night standard, 15,000 if Pointsaver)

  • Orlando: Courtyard Orlando Lake Buena Vista at Vista Centre
  • Orlando: Courtyard Orlando Airport
  • Orlando: Fairfield Inn Orlando Airport
  • Orlando: Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando at SeaWorld®
  • Orlando: Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista in the Marriott Village
  • Orlando: Courtyard Orlando International Drive/Convention Center
  • Orlando: SpringHill Suites Orlando Airport
  • Orlando: Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando International Drive/Convention Center

As always, hotel points are only good if you can use and enjoy them. Poke around their award listings – Marriott has a lot of different hotel brands to choose from. The Courtyards I’ve stayed in have been modernized and updated, while SpringHill Suites are nice for families. I’ve also gotten to stay at some terrific properties thanks to such point promotions, although I tend to value location and convenience over the bling factor.

If you’ve gotten a bonus from this Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card within the last 2 years, please note the following:

This 80,000 bonus point offer is available to you as long as you have not received a new cardmember bonus for this product in the past 24 months.

I was wrong initially as Marriott points are convertible to gift cards, but it takes 60,000 points to redeem for a $200 gift card for Marriott or retailers like Best Buy, Home Depot, or Nordstrom. That ratio isn’t all that great, you’ll definitely get the most value out of your points if you stay at Marriott hotels.

On your account anniversary, you’ll get a certificate for a free Category 1-5 night which you can weigh against another $85 annual fee. As long as you can use that certificate for a decent hotel, getting $85 value is certainly achievable. For example, a random night at the (Category 4) Courtyard Orlando Lake Buena Vista at Vista Centre was $115 when including taxes.

  • Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card

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Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

NFL Extra Points Credit Card Review: Super Bowl Ticket Redemption Details

Posted on February 3, 2016 // 6 Comments

The NFL Extra Points Credit Card issued by Barclaycard is the only credit card officially co-branded with the National Football League. They are savvy too – the very first thing you do on the application is pick your team, so it can show you a credit card plastered with your favorite logo on it (not the generic one shown to the right). It is certainly a conversation starter; all 32 team logos are available.

Now, there are plenty of “affinity” cards out there that let people show off their university alumni status, preferred charity, or favorite sports team, but most of them have rather vanilla rewards. In contrast, this NFL-sponsored card offers some unique rewards that you can’t find elsewhere. A lot of people dream about going to the Super Bowl. Since it is coming up, I thought I’d take a closer look at using credit cards points to get you there. First, the card highlights:

  • All 32 team cards are available, customized with your favorite team’s colors and logo
  • Earn 10,000 bonus points after $500 in purchases in the first 90 days, enough to redeem for $100 cash back
  • 20% off purchases at NFLShop.com – that’s $20 off every $100 you spend
  • 0% Promotional APR for 6 months on eligible NFL ticket purchases. After that a variable APR will apply, 15.24%, 20.24% or 25.24%, based on your creditworthiness
  • Earn 2 points per $1 on NFL or Team purchases – eligible game tickets, in-stadium and team pro shop purchases – and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
  • Redeem points for NFL game tickets, VIP experiences, or 1% cash back beginning at 2,500 points for $25
  • 0% Introductory APR for 15 months on Balance Transfers made within 45 days of account opening. After that a variable APR will apply, 15.24%, 20.24% or 25.24%, based on your creditworthiness. Please note, there is a fee for balance transfers.

In terms of cash back rewards, those start at 2,500 points for a $25 statement credit. Considering you only get 2X points on NFL and DirecTV purchases and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases, there are better cash back cards out there. But are the exclusive NFL perks a good deal?

Selected list of exclusive NFL experiences. Sure, you can redeem for a wall poster or t-shirt, but these are examples of the more unique options:

  • 10,000 Points: 2 Tickets to an NFL PreSeason Game
  • 25,000 Points: 2 Tickets to an NFL Regular Season Game
  • 25,000 to 50,000: Official NFL Mascot appearance at your event or party.
  • 100,000 Points: Round of Golf with an NFL Player
  • 160,000 Points: 2 NFL Super Bowl Tickets (Upper Level)
  • 200,000 Points: 2 NFL Super Bowl Tickets (Mid Level)
  • 250,000 Points: 2 NFL Super Bowl Tickets (Lower Level)

There are also Draft VIP parties, Training Camp experiences, Stadium Tours, or having your personal message appear on your team’s scoreboard. The specific redemption amounts vary by team.

Super Bowl Ticket value? You may or may not know this, but the only way for the general public to even have the option of buying Super Bowl tickets at face value ($500 each) is by lottery. To enter this random drawing, you must send a ticket request via certified or registered mail, between Feb. 1 and June 1 of the year preceding the game in question. Those selected in the random drawing will have the opportunity to purchase two tickets.

Super Bowl Random Drawing
P.O. Box 49140
Strongsville, OH 44149-0140

If you’re not one those lucky few, you’re stuck on the secondary market. Check out this FiveThirtyEight article on the crazy markups. According to ESPN, the day after the conference championship games last year, StubHub’s average Super Bowl sale was $3,042. This year? $5,461. Here’s another price chart from BusinessInsider and SeatGeek:

superbowl16

Let’s say a reasonable estimate is $3,000 per ticket. For 160,000 points, you get two tickets. That makes it $6,000 value divided by 160k points = 3.75%. That’s a whole lot better than 1% cash back. Of course, you’d still have to figure out how to eventually charge $160,000 on your credit card, but some frequent business travelers, small business owners and/or wholesale buyers may have it within reach. Otherwise, just 10,000 points will get you two tickets to a pre-season game, and 25,000 will get you two regular season tickets (available up to a week before game day, usually the specific stadium section number is shown ahead of time).

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //
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