Hi
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Monday, September 7, 2015
Monday, July 23, 2012
2% Cash Back Fidelity Rewards AMEX Card Review
This Blog has been moved to our new site. Visit our new site The Art of Saving Money and Getting the Best Cash Rewards at http://www.DealProdigy.com
Recently, a friend of mine recommended me to try out a Fidelity Rewards American Express Credit Card. If you never heard of this card before, you are not alone. I have never seen this card being advertised on television or online, and the only reason I heard of it before-hand was because I have an IRA retirement account with Fidelity. So why get some obscure card nobody ever heard of it? One simple but very important reason: 2% cash back on any purchase any time. All with no annual fee. Most likely that's double the rewards you been getting with your other credit cards. So if you are charging $20,000 (very reasonable amount) a year on your card, that's extra $200 a year in your pocket. Is there a catch? Well, not really, but there are some hoops you have to jump through in order to establish an account. However for many people those hoops might be worth it
Here's how it works. First you can sign up for a credit card here. You would also need to open either a Fidelity cash management account, brokerage account or IRA retirement account. While I had an IRA account already, for most people I would recommend opening a cash management account. Basically it's just a fancy name for a bank account, since it's insured by FDIC up to $500,000. The good thing about it is that Fidelity does not have a minimum balance requirement to open or to maintain your account. That means you can put in there as much or as little money as you want. That's pretty much it, as far as the hard part goes.
After you linked both accounts (credit card and cash management) together you can start earning points. When you earn enough you can convert your points into cash and deposit it into cash management account or you can set up a monthly automatic point conversion on the credit card website. I recommend doing just that so you would not forget. Both things are fairly easy to do. To find out more about the card and the linking process you can read Fidelity Rewards FAQ here.
So if 2% cash back on any purchase is one huge PRO, what are the CONS? There are couple of things that you might want to consider before signing up.
First of all, this card is on American Express card network, not Visa or MasterCard. While it's not a big deal in the United States, if you travel a lot to other countries you will find out that AMEX is not as widely accepted everywhere else as in America. However, I wouldn't recommend using this card at foreign countries anyways due to foreign transactions fees that would you be charged when using this card. There are several other good reward cards (mostly from CapitalOne) that carry no foreign transaction fees. For some of my favorites, see my previous blog post on cash back sites and credit card rewards.
The other negative is customer service. I personally have never had a problem with this card myself but judging by some other reviews I found online, the customer service of the card issuer have been quite slow to respond to a lot of inquiries. I have also seen complains about random charge denials that happen from time to time. A friend of mine who I spoke to didn't mention any of these things as a problem, so I guess it varies from person to person.
So what's the final verdict? If you type of a person who values customer service more than anything else or travel a lot on business, this card might not be for you. For most of us, however this handy card with great 2% cash back could be our main credit card for most of our everyday purchases.
For further reading on the subject of credit card rewards, saving money and finding best deals visit our main site at www.DealProdigy.com
Recently, a friend of mine recommended me to try out a Fidelity Rewards American Express Credit Card. If you never heard of this card before, you are not alone. I have never seen this card being advertised on television or online, and the only reason I heard of it before-hand was because I have an IRA retirement account with Fidelity. So why get some obscure card nobody ever heard of it? One simple but very important reason: 2% cash back on any purchase any time. All with no annual fee. Most likely that's double the rewards you been getting with your other credit cards. So if you are charging $20,000 (very reasonable amount) a year on your card, that's extra $200 a year in your pocket. Is there a catch? Well, not really, but there are some hoops you have to jump through in order to establish an account. However for many people those hoops might be worth itHere's how it works. First you can sign up for a credit card here. You would also need to open either a Fidelity cash management account, brokerage account or IRA retirement account. While I had an IRA account already, for most people I would recommend opening a cash management account. Basically it's just a fancy name for a bank account, since it's insured by FDIC up to $500,000. The good thing about it is that Fidelity does not have a minimum balance requirement to open or to maintain your account. That means you can put in there as much or as little money as you want. That's pretty much it, as far as the hard part goes.
After you linked both accounts (credit card and cash management) together you can start earning points. When you earn enough you can convert your points into cash and deposit it into cash management account or you can set up a monthly automatic point conversion on the credit card website. I recommend doing just that so you would not forget. Both things are fairly easy to do. To find out more about the card and the linking process you can read Fidelity Rewards FAQ here.
So if 2% cash back on any purchase is one huge PRO, what are the CONS? There are couple of things that you might want to consider before signing up.
First of all, this card is on American Express card network, not Visa or MasterCard. While it's not a big deal in the United States, if you travel a lot to other countries you will find out that AMEX is not as widely accepted everywhere else as in America. However, I wouldn't recommend using this card at foreign countries anyways due to foreign transactions fees that would you be charged when using this card. There are several other good reward cards (mostly from CapitalOne) that carry no foreign transaction fees. For some of my favorites, see my previous blog post on cash back sites and credit card rewards.
The other negative is customer service. I personally have never had a problem with this card myself but judging by some other reviews I found online, the customer service of the card issuer have been quite slow to respond to a lot of inquiries. I have also seen complains about random charge denials that happen from time to time. A friend of mine who I spoke to didn't mention any of these things as a problem, so I guess it varies from person to person.
So what's the final verdict? If you type of a person who values customer service more than anything else or travel a lot on business, this card might not be for you. For most of us, however this handy card with great 2% cash back could be our main credit card for most of our everyday purchases.
For further reading on the subject of credit card rewards, saving money and finding best deals visit our main site at www.DealProdigy.com
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Saving Money While Shopping Online Using Cash Back Sites and Credit Card Rewards
This Blog has been moved to our new site. Visit our new site The Art of Saving Money and Getting the Best Cash Rewards at http://www.DealProdigy.com
They say that penny saved is a penny earned. If you like me and do a lot of shopping online there are few simple steps you can take to make sure you get the best deal on a products you buy. Here are the couple steps any person should take before buying anything online:
1. Sign up for a CashBack site - For people who don't know about a cash back sites here's how it works. Most advertisers pay website publishers a commission when site users click on their ads and purchase something at their site. The commission varies based on the company and the type of product purchased but it's usually between 2 and 8% of the purchase price. What cash back sites do is allow their users to benefit from this relationship by giving them a portion of the commission (~50 to 75%) they receive when they purchase products through their links. That way users are incentivized in purchasing through their website vs some other one. That way both users and cashback sites make money, creating a symbiotic relationship of sorts. When your cashback reach a certain amount, say $50 they send you a check for that amount, just like a credit card that offers rewards.
There are a lot of these types of site to choose from but the one I use the most is BigCrumbs.com. It's one of the oldest, most reliable and I have found that the percentage that you get is consistently higher than on other sites. There are other good ones as well and sometimes it's worth to shop around to get a little higher percentage, especially if you are buying an expensive product such as a brand new TV set. However, for most purchases I just stick to BigCrumbs.com since I want to earn enough to get a check as soon as possible. They also list all the current deals and coupons that particular site offer right on the page, which is very convenient during shopping.
Here're some examples of the cash back they offer for some of the more popular sites:
Best Buy - from 1.2% to 4.2% cash back depending on the product category
HP - 2.8% cash back
Dell - 2.1% cash back
Orbitz - 2.8% cash back for package, up to 5.25% for specific hotel purchases
Expedia - 2.8% cash back for package, up to 5.6% for specific hotel purchases
The biggest negative regarding cashback sites that none of them offer cashback for Amazon.com
, a premier destination for online shopping. However, there are other ways to save on Amazon, which I will address in the next section and in my future posts.
Click Here to sign up for BigCrumbs.com
2. Get a Credit Card with the best rewards -Everybody knows about rewards credit cards but for some reason people don't do enough research to get the best ones out there. My advise - don't be lazy, people. Spend 10 minutes researching and you would be surprised what offers you can find. The 3 cards I would recommend the most are 2 cards from Capital One (the bank with Vikings commercials) and the one from Amazon.com.
Here are some quick highlights for those 3 cards:
a. Amazon.com Visa Card - If you shop at Amazon you get 3 points for every dollar spend on the site. That's 3% cash back which can be redeemed on your next purchase. You also get 2 points per $1 spent at gas stations, restaurants, drugstores, and office supply stores as well as one point for all other purchases. This is not my primary card for everyday purchases but I use it all the time at Amazon since you can't beat 3% cash back. Signing up is easy enough. When you get to a check out page you will see an ad for Amazon card. Just click on it and you will be redirected to their sign up page. You will also get $30 off on your next purchase as a bonus.
b. Capital One Venture One Rewards - For people who want excellent rewards card but don't want to pay an annual fee, I recommend this card. The highlights that sold this card for me are 1.25 miles per dollar on every purchase, no foreign transactions fee (very underrated and useful feature that very few cards have) and ease with which points can be redeemed. You also get 10,000 bonus miles if you sign up and spent $1,000 in the first 3 months. That's extra $100 bucks in your pocket.
c. Capital One Venture Rewards -This one has similar features to Venture One. You also have no foreign transaction fees, easy to redeem points and 10,000 miles sign up bonus. The only difference is that you 2 miles for every $1 purchased anywhere. For that Capital One charges $59 annual fee, after 1 year of use (the first year is free). If you want to take a full advantage of the promotion you can sign up for Venture Rewards get $100 bonus and 2% rewards for a year. Then cancel the card after a year and sign up for a no-fee card, AND get a second $100 bonus. However, if you do want to keep the card, there's a simple formula to figure out whether paying $59 an annual fee is worth it for you: take $59 and divide it by the difference in cash back 0.75% (2% - 1.25%). If you do that, you get $7867 (59 / .0075). That's your break even amount. If you think you are going to charge more than that in a year on your CapitalOne card it's worth it to pay $59 to get 2% rewards. Otherwise, go with the yellow card and no annual fee.
That's it for today. For further reading on the subject of credit card rewards, saving money and finding best deals visit our main site at www.DealProdigy.com
They say that penny saved is a penny earned. If you like me and do a lot of shopping online there are few simple steps you can take to make sure you get the best deal on a products you buy. Here are the couple steps any person should take before buying anything online:
1. Sign up for a CashBack site - For people who don't know about a cash back sites here's how it works. Most advertisers pay website publishers a commission when site users click on their ads and purchase something at their site. The commission varies based on the company and the type of product purchased but it's usually between 2 and 8% of the purchase price. What cash back sites do is allow their users to benefit from this relationship by giving them a portion of the commission (~50 to 75%) they receive when they purchase products through their links. That way users are incentivized in purchasing through their website vs some other one. That way both users and cashback sites make money, creating a symbiotic relationship of sorts. When your cashback reach a certain amount, say $50 they send you a check for that amount, just like a credit card that offers rewards.
There are a lot of these types of site to choose from but the one I use the most is BigCrumbs.com. It's one of the oldest, most reliable and I have found that the percentage that you get is consistently higher than on other sites. There are other good ones as well and sometimes it's worth to shop around to get a little higher percentage, especially if you are buying an expensive product such as a brand new TV set. However, for most purchases I just stick to BigCrumbs.com since I want to earn enough to get a check as soon as possible. They also list all the current deals and coupons that particular site offer right on the page, which is very convenient during shopping.Here're some examples of the cash back they offer for some of the more popular sites:
Best Buy - from 1.2% to 4.2% cash back depending on the product category
HP - 2.8% cash back
Dell - 2.1% cash back
Orbitz - 2.8% cash back for package, up to 5.25% for specific hotel purchases
Expedia - 2.8% cash back for package, up to 5.6% for specific hotel purchases
The biggest negative regarding cashback sites that none of them offer cashback for Amazon.com
, a premier destination for online shopping. However, there are other ways to save on Amazon, which I will address in the next section and in my future posts.Click Here to sign up for BigCrumbs.com
2. Get a Credit Card with the best rewards -Everybody knows about rewards credit cards but for some reason people don't do enough research to get the best ones out there. My advise - don't be lazy, people. Spend 10 minutes researching and you would be surprised what offers you can find. The 3 cards I would recommend the most are 2 cards from Capital One (the bank with Vikings commercials) and the one from Amazon.com.
Here are some quick highlights for those 3 cards:
- If you shop at Amazon you get 3 points for every dollar spend on the site. That's 3% cash back which can be redeemed on your next purchase. You also get 2 points per $1 spent at gas stations, restaurants, drugstores, and office supply stores as well as one point for all other purchases. This is not my primary card for everyday purchases but I use it all the time at Amazon since you can't beat 3% cash back. Signing up is easy enough. When you get to a check out page you will see an ad for Amazon card. Just click on it and you will be redirected to their sign up page. You will also get $30 off on your next purchase as a bonus.b. Capital One Venture One Rewards - For people who want excellent rewards card but don't want to pay an annual fee, I recommend this card. The highlights that sold this card for me are 1.25 miles per dollar on every purchase, no foreign transactions fee (very underrated and useful feature that very few cards have) and ease with which points can be redeemed. You also get 10,000 bonus miles if you sign up and spent $1,000 in the first 3 months. That's extra $100 bucks in your pocket.c. Capital One Venture Rewards -This one has similar features to Venture One. You also have no foreign transaction fees, easy to redeem points and 10,000 miles sign up bonus. The only difference is that you 2 miles for every $1 purchased anywhere. For that Capital One charges $59 annual fee, after 1 year of use (the first year is free). If you want to take a full advantage of the promotion you can sign up for Venture Rewards get $100 bonus and 2% rewards for a year. Then cancel the card after a year and sign up for a no-fee card, AND get a second $100 bonus. However, if you do want to keep the card, there's a simple formula to figure out whether paying $59 an annual fee is worth it for you: take $59 and divide it by the difference in cash back 0.75% (2% - 1.25%). If you do that, you get $7867 (59 / .0075). That's your break even amount. If you think you are going to charge more than that in a year on your CapitalOne card it's worth it to pay $59 to get 2% rewards. Otherwise, go with the yellow card and no annual fee.That's it for today. For further reading on the subject of credit card rewards, saving money and finding best deals visit our main site at www.DealProdigy.com
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