I’ve written several posts on credit scores, credit reports, and how to minimize your spending on them. While there are times when you might just have to plunk down your hard-earned money on a credit score, most of them time you can avoid it.

Here’s a flowchart that I just whipped up that will help guide you to what you need. No matter what, you’ll pay less than retail. Anything blue is a click-able link to more guidance and information.

The retail price for a FICO credit score from just one credit bureau is now $19.95. That’s a hefty chunk of change, given that there are three credit bureaus and thus three credit scores – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Before paying anything, you check out these ways to get a FREE credit score from all 3 bureaus. No trials required!

If you must have a score from myFICO.com, then here are some coupon codes that’ll save you some bucks. You enter the promo code relatively late in the buying process, right before entering your credit card information. Here’s what it would look like if you got a 25% off coupon code:

Currently Active myFICO.com Coupon Codes
none

Expired myFICO.com Coupon Codes
CPPSAVINGS
TWEET25
SW94608
FICO25
FICOHELP25
MYPOINTS30
DECEMBER26
26UNTIL2010
SURVEY30
NOVEMBER26
FINANCIALHELP25

Note: Experian no longer allows Fair Isaac to sell FICO scores to consumers at all. You can get a free Experian-based credit score from Credit Sesame.

Here’s a quick note for those considering applying for a Discover credit card, which came up after a few folks got rejected from the Discover More Card offering 0% interest on balance transfers for 12 months with no balance transfer fee. The limited time offer is scheduled to last until February 28, 2011.

On the upper right hand of the application, there is some light grey print that you might overlook that says “Offer Valid For New Cardmembers only”. However, it wasn’t really clear what this meant. You can’t have a current Discover More card? any current Discover card? any Discover card ever?

It turns out that there is a new Discover policy that anyone can only have one open Discover Card of any type at a time. As long as you don’t have an open Discover card currently, you can apply for a new card.

Below is the text from my Live Chat sessions with Discover. Basically, if you want this no balance transfer fee promotion and you already have a Discover card, you must cancel that card first, and then come back and apply for this new card. You can’t switch cards and still get this promotion.

Patricia: I appreciate your interest in the Discover Card. What questions can I answer regarding your application today?

Jonathan: Hello, I am interested in applying for this Discover More card. I don’t have a Discover More card, but I do have an old Discover Miles card. I am able to be approved for this card?

Patricia: I am sorry but we do have a one account policy at this time so we cannot open an additional account. Would you like us to switch the card type you have with us?

Jonathan: That would be okay, as I don’t use my Discover Miles card anymore. Would I still be able to get the 0% for 12 months with no balance transfer fee?

Patricia: Thank you for your business! This chat is to assist with applying for a Discover Card and we do not have access to any Account information. I will transfer you to our Customer Service chat for assistance with your Account. They will access that account and see what is available on it for transfer for you.

[Result: No, the offers in my account were much worse with higher fees.]

Patricia: I appreciate your interest in the Discover Card. What questions can I answer regarding your application today?

Jonathan: hello… if I recently closed a Discover card but currently do not have one, can I still apply for this new More card iwth 0% for 12 months? Do I still count as a new cardmember?

Patricia: You can apply for this card if that other account is closed.

Jonathan: So basically a person is just allowed to have one open Discover card, of any type, at a time now?

Patricia: Correct

Jonathan: Great, thank you for your help. That’s all for me today.

When you charge something on your credit card, the merchant usually pays about 2-3% in transaction fees for the convenience and benefit of accepting these cards. To get your business, issuers often rebate part of these fees in the form of % cashback rewards or frequent flier miles. Credit cards also offer handy conveniences like easily tracking spending, fraud charge-back protection, and extended warranties, but who doesn’t like cash? Extreme users treat them like Swiss army knives to maximize rewards. New customers also get incentives of up to $100.

Here’s an update for the offers during the first quarter of 2012. There is a slight lean towards a New Year’s resolution theme, but I like the inclusion of everyday spending like grocery stores, drugstores, and restaurants. You can often also see the rewards for the rest of the year on the applications.

Chase Freedom Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back
Reward categories change quarterly. From January 1 to March 31, you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in the following categories:

• Gas Stations
• Amazon.com

From October 1 to December 31, you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,000 spent in the following categories:

• Dining
• Department Stores
• Movie Theaters
• Charitable Organizations

You must enroll at ChaseBonus.com. All other purchases do earn a standard 1%, with no tiers or expiration of rewards. Currently, the Chase Freedom Visa card has a promotion offering a $100 check if you sign up and make $500 in purchases in your first three months.

Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa® Card
Reward categories change quarterly. From October 1st to December 31st, you can earn 5% cash back on

• Department Stores
• Clothing Stores
• Electronics Stores
• Toy Stores

After you get your card, you must enroll by logging into your account or calling 1-800-231-0891. There is no cap on the 5% back, except for the $300 overall cap on all dividend rewards annually. All other purchases do earn a standard 1% with no tiers, and rewards do not expire as long as you have activity once every 12 months. Also, 0% APR on balance transfers for 12 months with 3% fee and on purchases for 12 months.

Discover More Card
Reward categories change quarterly. From January 1 to March 31, you can earn 5% cash back on up to $800 spent in the following categories:

• Travel
• Restaurants

You must enroll online to activate the rewards each quarter. Discover card has a tiered cashback rate (1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on purchases after your total annual purchases exceed $3000; purchases that are part of your first $3000 earn .25%.).

PenFed Platinum Cashback Rewards Card
Bonus categories appear and change regularly for this card, but not on a set schedule. Currently I don’t see anything available. However, the best feature remains – the year-round rewards structure of 5% cash back on gas purchases (must pay at pump), 2% cash back on supermarket purchases, and 1% cash back on everything else. Rewards are credited monthly on your next statement.

Note: To get this card, you must also have membership to the Pentagon Federal Credit Union (you can apply for both at the same time). In general, membership is open to the military, US government employees, or the family or household of existing members. However, anyone can become eligible by joining the National Military Family Association (NMFA) for a $20 one-time fee.

You can also get 100 free Continental Airlines miles by reading about how you can earn miles with a Continental Airlines-branded credit or debit card, and entering your OnePass number by Feb 28, 2011.

Registration is required. Bonus miles will be deposited into the primary Cardmember’s OnePass® account within 4-6 weeks after the end of the promotion. Offer valid for existing Continental Airlines/Chase Credit and Debit Cardmembers.

One card they are promoting is the Continental Airlines OnePass Plus Card, which has improved their sign-up incentive to include a $50 statement credit, 30,000 free miles, and a pretty nice mix of perks for travelers including free checked bags for you and companions.

It’s actually a good time to apply for this card because Continental and United are merging in 2011, and the resulting airline will be called United. Since these Chase-affiliated cards usually only allow one sign-up bonus per lifetime, you might as well apply for the Continental now because it won’t be around anymore after a few more months.

The Slate from Chase has improved from just being a credit card with a not-really-clever “vertical” design to one that is now offering a competitive 0% introductory APR for both balance transfers and purchases for 15 months to those with good to excellent credit. $0 annual fee.

The fine print does show a balance transfer fee of 3% with a $5 minimum, which is I’m afraid the norm these days, but you should also consider one of the cards below first to see if they fit better.

Finally, the longest 0% balance transfer offer out there is the Citi Platinum Select MasterCard with 0% APR interest for 18 months on balance transfers. There is no annual fee and the balance transfer fee is 3% ($5 minimum). The card also includes 0% APR for 18 months on purchases.

Don’t use this as an excuse to fund any crazy holiday shopping sprees, but instead as an accelerant to pay down any balances or carefully-planned large purchases at a lower overall net interest rate. It’s really hard to find any offers with no transfer fees now, but a loan at 0% interest + a fixed fee spread out over 1.5-2 years can be much better than the current average credit card APR of 14.39%. Unfortunately, there are no longer any no fee 0% APR balance transfer offers to arbitrage easy money with.

The American Express Small Business Saturday promotion that was initially for Saturday, 11/27 has been extended all the way to the end of the year, 12/31/2010. Sign up at their special Facebook page if you haven’t already. Basically, enroll on their site, and spend $25 or more at any local small business that accept American Express and you’ll get a $25 credit back on your statement. Registration is now open to the first 300,000.

To be eligible for this offer, you must register your eligible American Express Card between November 8, 2010 and December 31, 2010. You may only register one Card for this offer. Using your registered American Express Card, you must spend $25 or more at one or more participating small business merchants between 11/27/2010 and 12/31/2010 to receive the $25 statement credit.

Eligible merchants include any independently owned small businesses that accept the American Express Card. Purchases made online, at large, national chains, at franchised business locations and at government agencies are not eligible.

I know a lot of folks have some version of the Chase Freedom Visa or Mastercard, whether from farther back or recently for their $100 cash promo offer or their rotating 5% rewards.

Just got a note that they are offering 8% cashback on select stores from 11/26 to 11/30. The Apple store usually only discounts prices on Black Friday, so in combination this could be a good deal if you were planning a Mac purchase anyway. Some other big names on their list as well. (Insert warning about not spending too much during holidays here.)

We are excited to announce a special, limited-time promotion for existing Chase Freedom cardholders!

For 5 days only, Chase Freedom cardholders can earn 8% bonus cash back for every dollar spent when shopping at the following select merchants: Apple Online Store, Gap, Toys “R” Us, Barnes & Noble, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Sears and Macy’s. This promotion is valid from November 26th through November 30th.