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Posts Tagged ‘cash back’

How To Find A Better Rewards Card

February 25th, 2010 by Matthew C. Keegan | 4 Comments | Filed in Credit Cards

So, how are the new government credit card regulations working out for you? If you are like most cardholders, the terms of your credit card agreement have changed, perhaps requiring you to pay a higher minimum amount monthly on outstanding balances. Or, you may find that your card issuer plans to introduce an annual fee, an unheard of “feature” in recent years.

Rewards Cards

credit cardsIf your credit card offers rewards, switching to a new card may not be on the table especially given that you have not used up all of your points yet. But, with higher interest charges and new fees in the mix, can you afford to keep that once trusty rewards card?

Perhaps it is time for you to make a switch by dumping the old card once you secure a new one. In that case you need to shop around for a card that meets your needs while not hitting you up with a bunch of fees.

Card Offers

In the March 2010 issue of “Money” magazine, two websites are mentioned as being good sources to check out and compare credit card offers. Nerdwallet.com is the most comprehensive of the two, but Billshrink.com is worth a look too.

Nerdwallet allows visitors to filter results by the type of card sought, such as one with airline miles, cash rewards, or other perks. Once you select your reward category you can choose cards by best rewards, best cash advance APR and best ongoing APR.

Comparing Cards

I ran some tests with Nerdwallet and was pleased with the results. For example, when searching for cards offering cash rewards I found 13. Now 13 cards is not a lot, but given that this field has thinned out tremendously over the past two years, I was still surprised to find that more than a handful were still offered. What is nice about this site is that they rank the cards for you—putting the best cards at the top of the list, leaving the worst for last.

Few sites are as comprehensive, perhaps because they want to direct you to certain cards. Yes, you can apply for a card through this site which likely means Nerdwallet gets a commission. Still, if you are shopping for a new card, then having a one-stop resource containing all of the information you need is extremely helpful.

Other Features

While Billshrink.com does not include as many as cards, the results for each category are easy to sort. Moreover, there are other features on this site worth noting including a gas station locater to help you find the lowest price per gallon, a comparison tool for wireless plans and a tool to help you find savings accounts and certificates of deposit.

Lastly, you may not even know that the terms of your credit card have changed, even though notification was sent to you. Why not check your last few statements and log on to your account to see if these changes make a difference for you. If so, it just may be time to switch to a different rewards card.


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Forget December! Car Deals Abound In October.

October 14th, 2008 by Matthew C. Keegan | 1 Comment | Filed in Consumer Tips

After tallying up September 2008 new car sales, automotive manufacturers quickly concluded that waiting until December to run calendar year ending sales just wasn’t going to cut it, especially if they were to salvage something positive for the year. Bad news for manufacturers spells good news for Cadillac STSconsumers, especially for those new car buyers who can pay cash or have the credit to buy a new car.

Finding an excellent deal won’t take much effort as everyone is offering some sort of incentives right now including low rate financing, cash back, or both. Instead of focusing on specific deals, let’s take a look at some of the incentives currently being offered:

Cut Rate Financing — Zero Percent Financing remains one of the biggest draws for consumers and can be an excellent way for people to finance their cars. The finance arm of the automotive manufacturer will get you into a car and offer a loan from 36-60 months interest free (in a dwindling number of cases you may be able to find a 72-month term loan).  Most new car loans for people who have excellent credit carries an interest rate between 6-7%. This means that if you finance a $20,000. car loan for 48 months at zero percent interest, then your monthly payments would be $416.66, a savings of $60 per month compared to the prevailing loan rate of 6.5%. Over the life of the loan, you’d save $2880 in interest payments.

Cash Back – Instant savings is a huge appeal for some customers, especially those who have arranged their own financing or have the money to buy their car with cash. Any cash back offer that exceeds the savings of a special financing deal should be given consideration with even greater savings possible for people making an all-cash transaction. Typical cash back is at least $1000 right now with certain Jeep, Ford, and other truck models offering rebates of $4500-$7500.

Both — In some cases, an automaker will offer buyers a combination of cash back and cut rate financing. Large SUVs and big pickup trucks will sometimes offer both, but check the fine print: oftentimes the financing rate is higher and the rebate lower.

Which Offer Should You Take?

An automotive calculator can help you determine the best financing option for you. In addition, you may find that leasing offers a better deal, therefore compare lease/finance offers before heading off to your local dealership.

Though car makers are offering historically fantastic deals right now, those offers may not last especially as each company gets inventory trimmed down to meet customer demand.


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