Review: Chase Freedom MasterCard

By Peter Andrew

Editor's Note: Thank you for your interest, this offer expired and is no longer available.

People like their computers for different reasons. Me? It's because mine brings a smidgen of order into a life that would otherwise be unrelentingly chaotic. Calendar alerts, reminder emails, electronic post-it notes -- these are the only reason I deliver work on time and turn up to social events. They're also the only things that stand between me and a constant stream through my front door of debt collectors, repo people and writ servers.

All those e-reminders should mean that I would be able to make the most of a Chase Freedom MasterCard. True, it's a perfectly good rewards credit card without your actively managing it. But, to maximize your cash back, you must take full advantage of the card's 5-percent bonus rate.

Great rewards -- if you work for them

To get the most from that 5-percent cash-back offer, you have to remember to re-register each quarter, when the categories of spending (for example, drug store, gas station and restaurant purchases, among many others) that attract the bonus rate change. It's also advisable to schedule your purchases through the year so that you buy things in the appropriate quarter, and to not bust through the spending cap -- $1,500 at the time of writing -- that limits your ability to earn bonus rewards during those three months.

No amount of electronic prompting would persuade me to jump through those hoops.

By Peter Andrew

Editor's Note: Thank you for your interest, this offer expired and is no longer available.

Years ago, I had a platinum American Express card. But it must have issued at a time when AmEx's branding people were going through some sort of collective nervous breakdown, because -- although it looked great -- it was a fairly standard charge card.

The Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN couldn't be more different. If you have the funds and credit necessary to obtain it -- and a lifestyle that can make use of its benefits -- it can deliver a veritable cornucopia of prestige and perks.

A serious card for serious businesspeople

First, the basics:

1. This is a charge card, as opposed to a credit card. That means its balance has to be zeroed each month -- so no spreading the cost of purchases over a longer period.
2. No revolving credit means no interest payments, so don't bother asking about the rate.
3. The annual fee is $450, and it's not waived in your first year of membership. So if you're the sort of person for whom $450 is a king's ransom, this may not be your type of card.
4. There are no foreign transaction fees.

By Peter Andrew

Editors Note: This offer is expired and is no longer available.

Gosh, I hate this time of year. This is the time when my friends who were running up debt with their credit cards in December must face up to some harsh realities. It's not that I'm judgmental or possess a bah-humbug approach to gift giving -- I'd probably be doing something similar if I had young kids and was struggling to cope with the recession's hangover. It's just that I know I'll be witnessing those friends enduring some hard times (two Dickensian allusions and we're still in the first paragraph!) and horrible stress well into the New Year.

What would I suggest, were those pals to ask me for advice? I'd recommend they check out zero interest balance transfer credit cards, provided their credit scores were still good enough for them to stand a reasonable chance of getting approved. And at or near the top of the list I'd give them would be the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card.

Escaping interest charges

It's easy to forget just how much high credit card rates cost you: If you carry a balance of $5,000 throughout year, and are paying the average APR for a rewards credit card, you're probably having to find more than $900 a year in interest. The Citi Diamond Preferred Card could give you a break from this burden -- both for balance transfers and new purchases -- for a whopping 18 months.

By Tim Sullivan

A few months ago, my fiancée and I went out to dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant. After we ate our fill of sashimi and warm saki, I paid our bill with my credit card and we made our way back home. The next month, while I was going through my credit card statement, I noticed that we had been double charged for our meal.

I called the restaurant and spoke to the night manager, but he wasn't much help. Finally, I got in contact with the owner who said that he was sorry for the inconvenience, but that he had no record of the double charge. He said he wouldn't issue a refund. I immediately contacted my credit card company.

Righting the wrong

Here's a list of steps to take when disputing any false charge on your monthly statement.

1. Contact the offender. First, call the restaurant or business responsible for the charge. State your claim and ask for a full refund.

By Peter Andrew

If you follow the gossip columns, you may see a lot of master-of-the-universe types from Wall Street at $5,000-a-plate charity fundraisers. But, as a group, those in the financial services sector aren't famous for their altruism, at least when it comes to business. So when banks and credit card companies come to you bearing gifts, it's usually wise to read the small print carefully.

This applies to credit card rewards as much as anything else. These are in part funded by higher interest rates. In mid-November 2012, IndexCreditCards.com's credit card rate monitor found that the average rate for a consumer non-rewards card was 15.19 percent APR. The average for a consumer rewards card was 17.45 percent. Such a spread can easily wipe out the benefits of cash back, points and miles very quickly.

That's the reason many financial advisers recommend charging to rewards plastic only those purchases you plan to pay off quickly. Everything else should be put on cheaper, non-rewards cards. Among the most affordable of these is the Simmons First Visa Platinum card, though you're only likely to lay your hands on one if you have excellent credit.

Ultra-low interest rate

Just how cheap is its standard credit card rate for purchases? Well, it's currently 7.25 percent APR variable, which is less than half that of the average for its competitors' comparable products.

By Peter Andrew

Editor's note: This offer expired and is no longer available.

I just got home from the supermarket and am depressed. It's only my partner and I living in the house now, yet we spend an absolute fortune on groceries and the like. Today's shopping and a tankful of gas came to close to $400, which is way more than our friend Sarah would spend, and she has a husband and four kids to buy for. Of course, it's my own fault. I know very well that I couldn't pick out my favorite cola in a blind tasting, but insist on buying Coke. And it's the same for all those other premium brands that may or may not be better than their cheaper competitors.

Worse, I spent many years working in advertising and marketing, and have a pretty good idea of how branding works. I'm more depressed about being an idiot than I am about the $400.

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express would be great for me -- and not just because I'd love the 150 Reward Dollars sign-up bonus that's currently being offered (see below). However, it is usually marketed at people like Sarah: those with big families for whom a trip to the supermarket is inevitably costly, and who are also likely to spend serious sums on gas and in department stores. That's because this particular piece of plastic offers truly exceptional cash-back rewards for those types of purchases ...