Capital One No Hassle Miles can be earned on numerous Capital One rewards cards. The program follows the basics that all other miles based credit card rewards programs use. For each dollar you spend on the credit card, you earn 1 mile. Miles can be redeemed for free airline tickets, free hotel rooms and other free travel services.

2012 Capital One Rewards Catalog

Just like with the Capital Rewards Catalog 2011, Capital One saves money by not mailing a printed rewards catalog to every cardholder. Some customers report that they get catalogs because they have a high point balance, while others say that they only get the miles redemption catalogs when they have high card usage. Either way, there is no way to order a Capital One Rewards catalog in the mail. You either got one or your didn’t.

Fortunately, like all rewards programs, the merchandise you can redeem miles for is not offered at a bargain price. The reward “prices” are good for months at a time, so unless the card company is willing to hold inventory of merchandise (expensive), it is necessary to charge an amount of points that results in paying full retail or more for an item. You are much better off redeeming your rewards points and miles for free travel.

Capital One Rewards Chart

Fortunately, you don’t even need a complicated Capital One rewards chart to figure out how many miles you need to redeem for a free flight, depending upon whether you have Capital One No Hassle Miles, or Capital One Venture Miles.

For the Capital One Venture Card, and its no-fee cousin, the Capital One Venture One Card, you redeem your miles at a rate of 100 miles per dollar for any travel expense. (Only certain categories of travel expenses are allowed under the Venture One rewards program, but they include airfare, hotel and car rental.)

You don’t have to order your reward or redeem miles in advance. Rather, when your travel expenses show up on your credit card statement, you can redeem your miles against the existing charges. For example, if you spent $650 on a free plan ticket as your credit card reward, you would buy the ticket using the Venture card just like you would if you were not redeeming miles for free trips. When you see the $650 show up on your monthly bill, or online, login to to redeem your miles. Use 65,000 miles to cover the $650 charge and your balance is now $650 lower. Just pay the rest of your credit card bill like normal.

If you have a Capital One No Hassle Miles card, the deal does require a free ticket redemption chart. The chart is unchanged from the 2011 credit card rewards program.

A ticket that costs less than $150.00 takes 15,000 miles to redeem.

$150.01 to $350.00 takes 35,000 miles to redeem.

$350.01 to $600. 00 takes 60,000 miles to redeem.

Tickets over $600.01 are the price times 100 miles to redeem.

Redeem Miles for Cash or Gift Cards

You can also redeem No Hassle Miles for cash or gift cards.

Cash rewards are the same cost as statement credits. The only difference is that you don’t get a check in the mail. Each reward is redeemed at a rate of half the redemption points for travel. In other words, while 10,000 miles should get you $100 worth of travel, it only gets you $50 worth of cash.

Gift card rewards are dependent upon both the retailer and amount. Some retailer’s gift cards cost the same amount as cash. In that case, you are better off buying them, collecting the points for spending the money and then redeeming for a statement credit. Other retailers redeem at the same rate as travel.

Watch out for changing redemption rates based upon the size of the card. Some retailers will charge a higher rate on cards with smaller values. Often, the better rate begins at $100 gift cards, so check this price point first.

Related posts:

1. Capital One Rewards Catalog – No Hassle Miles – Travel Rewards
2. Capital One Rewards Catalog 2011 Is Here

Capital One Rewards Catalog 2012 originally published at Personal Finance Blog - FinanceGourmet.com

Capital One has different types of Venture rewards credit cards. One of them is the VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, which is similar, but different from the main Capital One Venture card that Alec Baldwin pitches on TV. This VentureOne credit card is yellow instead of the Venture card which is blue.

Earn VentureOne Credit Card Miles

The VentureOne credit card is a travel rewards credit card, so cardholders earn miles instead of earning points, although in practice, it is the same thing. Owners of this credit card earn 1.25 miles per dollar spent on every purchase. There is also a one-time bonus for new cardholders of 10,000 miles if you spend $1,000 during the first three months you have the card.

The amount of miles you can earn each year is unlimited and the miles do not expire.

Redeem Miles for Free Travel

The best feature of the VentureOne card rewards catalog is that there is no need for a rewards catalog. Unlike getting the Capital One rewards catalog for the Miles Plus program, there is no need for this card’s reward catalog to come in the mail.

Instead, the number of miles needed to earn free travel is equal to the cost of the tickets multiplied by 100. For example, if you spend $382 on airline tickets to Las Vegas, the number of miles you have to redeem to get them for free is 38,200. That beats trying to manage the credit card reward points ranges typical on other rewards cards.

This rewards ratio is better than a one-percent cash back credit card, which is the minimum to be considered a good rewards card. Assuming all miles are earned at the 1.25 point level, travel rewards are equivalent to 1.25 percent cash back. (Check here for information on how to compare rewards credit cards.)

The great thing about this card is that there are no hoops to jump through to book your reward travel. You don’t have to book the tickets through Capital One or use a special Travelocity website or anything like that. In fact, you don’t have to redeem your miles in advance at all. Instead, you just buy your tickets using the VentureOne card. You can buy your airline tickets anywhere including direct from the airline, through a travel agent or from an online travel website like Expedia. Then, you log on to your account and redeem your miles and you get a credit on your statement.

Since you can book your airfare by any means, there are no blackout dates and no restrictions on which airline you can fly in order to get your free plane tickets.

Miles can also be redeemed for other travel expenses including hotels and rental cars.

Compare to redeeming NoHassle Miles via the Capital One rewards catalog 2011.

VentureOne Interest Rate, Terms and Conditions

There is currently no annual fee for the VentureOne card.

There is currently an introductory 0% interest rate for one year for new card holders. After that, the interest rate is a variable rate equal to Prime plus 8.65 percent, 12.65 percent or 16.65 percent, depending upon which credit rating tier you qualify for. As of today, that means the card has a 11.9%, 15.9% or 19.9% interest rate for current cardholders no longer getting the zero percent interest rate offer. The current cash advance APR is 24.9%, also a variable rate. There is also a 3 percent cash advance fee with a minimum of $10.

As with most variable rate credit cards these days, the interest rate will look absolutely TERRIBLE when interest rates go back to normal levels. A Prime rate of just 5 percent means that the best possible rate on this card will be 13.65 percent and the highest tier customer will be paying a rate of almost 25 percent interest! In other words, you do not want to be carrying a balance on this credit card.

The grace period for interest free purchases is 25 days.

VentureOne Card Perks

The Capital One VentureOne card also comes with the usual lineup of Visa Signature benefits including free auto rental insurance coverage and travel accident insurance. Also included is 24-hour roadside assistance and the Visa extended warranty program.

Venture One Card Review

So, is the VentureOne card worth it?

If you are looking for a card without a complex travel rewards catalog or a travel rewards miles chart, then the VentureOne card is worth a look. Is does have the all important no annual fee feature, but the interest rates are high and will get much higher when the Fed starts raising interest rates.

No related posts.

VentureOne Card Review from Capital One originally published at Personal Finance Blog - FinanceGourmet.com

Update: Information on the new 2012 Capital One Rewards catalog is here.

The 2011 Captial One Rewards catalog is here! I’ve learned that not everyone gets a printed hard copy Capital One Rewards catalog in the mail, but for some reason, I seem to get one each year around Christmas. I guess the folks at Capital One think that people are more likely to redeem miles for Christmas gifts or for free holiday travel, especially since the airlines like to block out all of the good flights and days around Christmas time.

This year, my NoHassle rewards catalog came after the new year and is titled, “Explore.” If you upgraded to the Capital One Venture card, there is apparently a supplement or entirely different Venture card rewards catalog according to the note enclosed.

Without any further ado, let’s jump right into the current Capital One Rewards Catalog.

Capital One NoHassle Rewards 2011 Program Guide

First up is how to earn miles using my Capital One No Hassle Rewards card. The basic earning rate is 1.25 miles for every $1 spent using the card. Money spent in bookstores, video rental stores, gifts shops, card stores, florists, art supply stores, craft stores, and souvenir shops earns double miles or 2 points for every $1 spent.

The guide also notes that Capital One miles do not expire after a certain number of years, and that there is no limit on how many miles you can earn in the NoHassle miles program.

Capital One Rewards Miles Earning Chart

Perk Central for Capital One Rewards

Like pretty much every other rewards credit card and other program that offers points for spending money, you can earn even more points by shopping through a special Capital One website called Perk Central. You can earn up to 15 bonus miles per dollar spent by shopping through Perk Central.

The best way to take advantage of the bonus miles offered for shopping through the special Capital One website offer is to always check Perk Central before making big purchases online. Be sure to delete your browser cookies, or better yet, use your browser’s privacy mode if you have already been to the merchant’s website before. You don’t want your bonus rewards voided because your shopping trip didn’t count as a “referral.”

For example, Best Buy, CompUSA, and Staples are all listed as Perk Central retailers. Just drop by Perk Central first before buying your office supplies or electronics and rack up bonus points on each purchase. Those bonus points can make redeeming Capital One rewards miles for gift cards a great deal. Double dip by earning bonus miles at Best Buy, and then getting a $100 Best Buy gift certificate reward for cheap!

Other Perk Central companies listed in the Capitol One Rewards catalog for 2011 include:

• Bloomingdales
• PetSmart
• Sephora
• Starbucks
• Gap
• Macy’s
• Barnes & Noble
• Sierra Trading Post
• Foot Locker
• Dick’s Sporting Goods
• Sears / Kmart
• Walmart
• Home Depot
• Sears
• West Elm
• Dell

Earn Miles Fast On Capital One Rewards Card Plus Perk Central

Two other companies of note on Perk Central are the Apple Store and Southwest Airlines.

If you are looking to buy an iPod, iPad, or MacBook Air, you know that they are not cheap. Getting a good deal on an Apple computer or iPhone can be tough because the company doesn’t really allow big discounts. However, if you buy them and earn bonus miles on those big ticket items, the value of your miles goes up and you can get a deal on Apple electronics by combining your purchase with a statement credit or cash back reward.

Likewise, get bonus miles when you book your Southwest Airlines tickets through the Capital One rewards bonus website. Make sure you are also a member of Southwest Airlines frequent flier program and you’ll get big bonus points, plus you still get credit for your Southwest Airlines miles because the two programs are not related or exclusive.

Earn Capital One Miles Paying Bills

To really see your miles add up fast, use your card to pay bills. Pay the card off every month and you are basically getting free money.

That $300 doctor bill is a tax deduction, and it can earn you 375 miles while you are at it.

Your $100 electric bill is worth 125 miles, and so on.

A $1,000 worth of bills and groceries charged to the card each month (and paid off each month) is worth 1,250 miles. That is 15,000 miles per year without doing anything other than what you would normally do. And, that, is the key to taking advantage of rewards programs and discounts.

Up Next: Capital One Rewards redemptions catalog.

Related posts:

1. Capital One Rewards Catalog 2011 Is Here
2. Capital One Rewards Catalog 2012

Capital One Rewards Program 2011 Guide originally published at Personal Finance Blog - FinanceGourmet.com

Not long ago, comparing rewards cards was pretty straight forward. Most credit card offers gave cardholders one point, or one mile, for each dollar spent and charged to the card. Credit card rewards programs sometimes offered bonuses for earning miles either for using the cards during specific periods of time or when shopping at certain types of stores. Often, these special offers came in the form of “double miles” or even “triple points”.

These days, such offers are non-expiring specials on some credit cards. Other cards, such as some Capital One rewards cards offer a base miles earning rate other than 1 mile per dollar. My Capital One No Hassle Miles credit card, for example, has a base miles earning rate of 1.25 miles for each dollar spent, with two times miles per dollar spent when the card is used in certain types of retail shopping establishments.

Of course, comparing which card offers the highest miles earned per dollar spent is useless without also comparing what rewards those miles or points can be redeemed for.

In order to determine which rewards cards are good values and which ones are below average (or worse) it pays to keep in mind that the “average” cash back credit card offers 1 percent cash back on all standard purchases. That works out to $1 cash back for every $100 spent. If the rewards program offers a value equal to or greater than 1% of dollars spent, the program can be considered average. Bigger rewards equal bigger value.

Redeem Credit Card Miles for Free Flights

Redeeming credit card points for free flights is a long-standing tradition. With both credit card companies and airlines tightening their belts, however, there have been big changes in how to redeem points for free airline tickets.

Many credit card rewards programs require you to book your tickets through them or a designated company. Doing so allows the company to collect fees from the airlines like a travel agent does, allowing them to offset the cost of rewards tickets.

Most credit card customers were savvy enough to use their miles and points only on more expensive flights, which is why most rewards programs have eliminated tiers of rewards based on miles. Instead, many programs charge a certain number of miles for a certain price range of airline ticket.

Others, like the Citibank rewards program cost a certain amount of points to redeem for the exact cost of the ticket. A recent check showed it cost 15,700 points to to get a free airline ticket that cost $149.40 directly on Expedia for the same flights.

Redeem Credit Card Points for Gift Cards

One great way to redeem points without traveling is to get free gift cards for gifts or to merchants that you use on a regular basis. A few years ago, we furnished our baby bedroom with free Babies R Us gift cards we got be redeeming 10,000 miles for every $100 gift certificate, the equivalent of 1 percent cash back.

There are still good deals to be found redeeming credit card miles for free gift cards, but you have to do the math and keep a close eye on the details within each program.

For example, the Capital One rewards catalog shows that a $100 Babies R Us gift card requires redeeming 15,500 miles. That is a lot more than the 10,000 miles it took a few years ago. However, with a base mileage earning rate of 1.25 miles per dollar, that $100 gift card works out to $12,400 of spending. That’s still worse than 1 percent, but not as bad as it looks at first glance.

Choosing the Right Rewards Card

The best rewards programs are usually those that offer rewards at approximately a 1 percent redemption rate that have significant bonus earnings where you shop regularly. For example, if you shop a lot at XYZ Stores and they have a Miles Supreme Plus Visa card where you earn 1 point per dollar spent but earn 2 points (or more) for every dollar spent at XYZ stores, those bonus miles will add up and make your point redemptions more valuable than ever.

Whatever credit card rewards program you go with, always read everything you receive about the program and monitor both the earnings rate and the cost of redeeming rewards, as these can change frequently. What starts out as a good deal, may end up becoming less valuable with one quick little notice that the company hopes you don’t end up reading or understanding.

With a little persistence and research, you can find the right rewards card for you and your family.

Related posts:

1. Amazon Rewards Visa Credit Cards
2. Capital One No Hassle Rewards – Gift Cards

How To Compare Rewards Credit Cards originally published at Personal Finance Blog - FinanceGourmet.com

It is standard lobbying practice for any industry about to come under additional regulation from Congress to shout to the press, and whoever else will listen, that any and all proposed regulations or laws of any kind would adversely affect the poor customer. Thus, any additional rules or regulations of any kind on credit card companies would make things worse for credit card customers.

More reading: Citibank Thankyou Points catalog.

Grandstanding aside, while poorly thought out regulations can hamper entire industries and harm customers, many times new government oversight can have a positive affect both on the industry as a whole, and on the experience of customers as well. In the case of recent credit card legislation, the new rules and regulations on banks and credit card issuers were thoroughly debated not just between Republicans and Democrats, but within those parties as well.

Fortunately, the by-product of real debate is often good legislation. Unfortunately, the power of lobbyists can overwhelm good debate when the sides are fractured.

What emerged from Congress in the form of newer, tougher, credit card industry regulation was indeed thoroughly debated, but was it good for customers, or did it, as the industry claimed, hurt ordinary credit card holders?

The general answer to that question remains open. Clouding the issue is the overall tightness of the credit markets, compounded by the nearly overnight end to the traditional way of doing business in the banking and finance industry. If it is harder to get a credit card there is no way of knowing whether that is the result of over-reaching rules issued by Congress, or if it is just that so many financial institutions have shaky balance sheets cluttered with “toxic assets.”

One area that keeps being mentioned in the press that has negatively affected consumers is that credit card reward programs are becoming more stingy. However, little evidence is cited other than the occasional card holder who says that they are getting less value from their credit card mileage or credit card points than they used to. The catch is that many credit card rewards programs were being trimmed before the credit card laws were even passed!

I made note in this personal finance blog that Capital One NoHassle Rewards were less valuable than they were just one year before back in 2008 when I used 10,000 Capital One miles for each $100 gift certificate to major retailers. Nobody can blame credit card laws for that!

Let me know if you see a downward revision in your credit card rewards program. If you have an old rewards catalog, don’t throw it out. Instead, keep it to compare how your rewards change over time, and if a credit card company is screwing you, don’t be afraid to open a new reward credit card or even a cash back credit card and throw that old in the shredder.

Related posts:

1. Credit Card Rewards Catalog
2. New Credit Card Laws Change the Rules in 2009

Credit Card Rewards Programs – Are New Laws Making Them More Stingy? originally published at Personal Finance Blog - FinanceGourmet.com

In order to make it worthwhile to get airline miles without being a frequent traveler, it is important to take advantage of every mileage program bonus, special offer, deal, or coupon. For United Airlines Miles, one of the great ways to earn miles free and easy is to join the United Dining Rewards Program, which offers miles for every dollar spent eating out at restaurants.

Signing up for Mileage Plus Dining is free and easy for Mileage Plus Rewards Members. Just go to the United Airlines Miles Plus website and login with your Mileage Plus Member Number. Find the link to dining rewards and click the button to sign up.

The program works by allowing members to register credit card numbers with the Dining Rewards Program. Then, whenever you dine at one of the participating restaurants, you earn points on United Airlines for free just buy paying for your tab with one of the credit cards you registered.

To really make this offer pay off big, use the best rewards credit cards in your wallet. Since United Dining miles are not related to your credit card account issuer or bank, you still earn your regular credit card points and credit card miles. It is a double-dip earnings situation.

Redeem credit card points for hotel stays and use your United Miles for free airfare, and you have a two-for-one free trip, all by just registering your credit card numbers and eating at restaurants you would probably eat at anyway. Of course, you can always select something from the Mileage Plus Reward Catalog instead.

Current United Dining Rewards Special Offer

Right now, and through the end of March, earn double Mileage Plus miles eating out with the United Mileage Dining Miles offer. It works just like it always does. Eat at any dining establishment listed in the Dining Rewards restaurant list and instead of regular number of miles earned, you earn double miles. It’s a great way to rack up United points fast and free.

You have to register for the special double miles dining deal, even if you are already signed up for United Mileage Plus Dining. It is a separate add-on registration, probably to help determine how many people just float along in the program and accidentally earn miles when their credit card just happens to get used at a restaurant, and how many people actually read the United rewards emails about dining that they send out with special offers.

To register, you have to answer a few really simple, basic questions about how many kids you have, your age range, and so on.

United Dining Rewards Restaurant List Participating Locations

Sure, all of those personal finance books or retire rich books tell you to stay at home to eat and brown bag your lunch to work, but taking advantage of offers like this will allow you to have fun and live a little while still practicing smart personal finance advice strategy.

The list of restaurants that participate in the United Airlines Dining Rewards Mileage Plus program is updated frequently online. In the Denver area, for example, new restaurants often are added within just a week or two of opening. There are both high-end fine dining restaurants and fast food restaurants, and everything from local Mom-and-Pop places to national chains like IHOP.

Just search the dining miles rewards restaurant list online by entering your zip code to get all the food places near a location that offer miles to diners. Match them up with a special credit card offer earning extra points at restaurants, for example, and you can earn enough free stuff to pay for annual fees or even earn cash back in your own pocket, all courtesy of UAL Dining Rewards.

Related posts:

1. United Rewards – Mileage Plus Dining from United Airlines
2. Capital One Rewards Catalog – No Hassle Miles – Travel Rewards

United Dining Rewards Earn Airline Miles for Dining Out originally published at Personal Finance Blog - FinanceGourmet.com

With Congress passing legislation to reign in some of the worst credit card abuses, credit card companies have been scrambling to get their terms and conditions, also known as the card contract, changed to terms more favorable to them before the new rules take affect. By changing your credit card agreement before the new credit card law takes affect, these card issuers can avoid having to play fairly as dictated by the new rules. However, this can mean bad things for customers and credit card account holders. Apparently, the banks aren’t concerned about losing business, because they are modifying terms on credit accounts left and right regardless of the person’s credit score or credit history. What can the average credit card customer do to fight back? Unfortunately, not too much, but there are some things that you can do to keep the credit card companies from cheating you out of your hard earned money.

Credit Card Interest Rate Increases

Under the old law, whenever a bank wanted to increase the interest rate it charged customers, it just sent out a letter saying that they were changing raising the interest rate. Consumers had no rights to do anything about it. The only option was to pay off the full balance immediately to avoid the higher interest rate, or transfer the balance to another credit card. In fact, when credit card companies needed to improve their balance sheets they would routinely do just this. If customers paid off their balances, then the company’s outstanding credit balance decreased. If customers didn’t pay off their balances, then their interest income from those balances increased. It was a no lose situation.

The new credit card law requires banks to give customers another option. Under this option, you can notify the credit card company that you reject the new interest rate which prevents your interest rate from increasing. In exchange, the account can no longer be used for new charges, but you may continue paying off your credit card balance under the old terms of the agreement. That means that you can still make the monthly payment, whether the minimum payment or otherwise, at the normal, sane, interest rate that you agreed to when you opened and used the credit card account. Obviously, this is not advantageous to the bank, so they are raising interest rates now, as fast as they can so that they won’t have to live by the provision once the law changes.

To fight back against credit card interest rate increases, the only thing you can do is pay off or transfer your balance before the new rate takes affect. If this isn’t practical, then continue making payments and pay off the card as quickly as possible. If you don’t carry a balance, the new rate won’t affect you until you do. The best vengeance is to never carry a balance on that card, ever. Credit card companies don’t make as much money off of customers that don’t pay interest, so keep using the card and pay it off in full every month. You’ll be fighting back against the credit card issuer and costing them profits. To really make them pay, be sure to take full advantage of their credit card rewards program to cost them even more money and make the card companies pay you!

If the way the company is treating you makes you so mad you want to close the account, don’t! At least not right away. Closing the account means you lose all of your reward points or miles. Instead, make sure you redeem every single credit card miles point you have earned before closing the account. Also, be sure you understand the effect closing an account can have on your credit score.

Finally, the most important thing is to REMEMBER. Banks are counting on their customers being mindless consumer sheep who don’t take the time to properly manage personal finances. They figure if they screw you over now, you will have forgotten all about it in six months. Don’t let them win! Remember exactly who did what and either close their accounts, or use them in a manner that makes them unprofitable for the company. If enough customers fight back, maybe next time, the banks won’t be so eager to try and cheat their customers.

Related posts:

1. Credit Card Company Tricks and How To Beat Them
2. Credit Card Rewards Programs – Are New Laws Making Them More Stingy?

How To Fight Credit Card Company Interest Rate Increases originally published at Personal Finance Blog - FinanceGourmet.com

Every year, they send out a holiday edition of Capital One No Hassle Miles rewards catalog. The 2010 CapitalOne Rewards Holiday Catalog showed up recently. Of course, we’ll be looking into these special reward offers and seeing if there are some good bargains, or if these points redemption offers aren’t worth it at all.

One quick note is that there is no special on redeeming Captial One points for gift cards. All CapitalOne Miles Rewards still redeem at a low, low, rate of just one-half percent, that is 1/2% cash equivalent. In other words, for every $10,000 you spend and earn points or miles at the rate of 1 per $1, your cash back rate would be equal to 0.5% instead of the industry standard 1% cash back. Of course, there are various opportunities to earn bonus miles and extra rewards in the Capital One No Hassle Rewards program. Unfortunately, even with this holiday edition of the Capital One Rewards Catalog it looks like you will have to load up on those if you want a fair rate on your miles redemptions for gift cards.

Capital One No Hassle Miles 2009 Holiday Rewards Catalog

Our in depth look is coming soon. If you want a couple of quick highlights to get a feel for how good the Capital One Rewards specials are in this year’s holiday catalog, here are a couple of samples. This Capital One Miles Rewards Matrix is just a quick sample. We’ll be back with more special points redemptions and other good deals once we get a chance to do some more in-depth analysis.

• Xbox 360 Elite 120 GB Bundle = 111,750 Miles
• Nintendo DSi Bundle (includes 2 Games) = 56,500 Miles
• Nikon Coolpix S220 10 MB Digital Camera = 34,250 Miles
• Sony Bravia S-Series 1080p HDTV 40 inch screen = 243,500 Miles (439,250 points for 52″ screen)
• Razor Pocket Rocket Miniature Electric Bike = 63,250 Miles
• KitchenAid Artisan Stand 5-Quart Mixer = 67,750 Miles

As usual, it looks like the best credit card rewards are cash back, gift cards, and bill credits. So far, there doesn’t seem to be any exceptions this year. That is because credit card companies like Capital One try and price their rewards points at the full manufacturer list price. That means that if you get even the normal retail level street pricing, you’ll come out behind redeeming your Capital One Rewards points for merchandise.

Frankly, with some of Capital One’s recent changes to their credit card agreement and their recent “restructuring” of customers (even those with good credit) ahead of tighter credit card regulations that Congress pushed up to take effect this year, the No Hassle Miles cared is looking like a lessor value each day. One thing is for sure, the Capital One No Hassle Miles card is not one of the top credit card rewards programs any longer.

Related posts:

1. Capital One Rewards Catalog Holiday Specials Good Until January 31
2. Capital One Rewards Catalog 2011 Is Here

Capital One Rewards Catalog Holiday 2009 Edition originally published at Personal Finance Blog - FinanceGourmet.com

Citibank raised the interest rates for customers with high credit scores who had never missed a payment.  Virtually every credit card company opposed the very tame reforms recently passed into law by Congress.  The sad truth is that is isn’t a matter of if your credit card issuer will try something sneaky, it’s a matter of when, and how bad will it be.

While there is always tension between a company that must turn a profit and consumers who want to get as much as possible for the lowest price, with most relationships between a business and consumer there is at least some degree of fairness.  Unfortunately, this is seldom the case for the relationship between credit card company and credit card user.  Instead, in this relationship, the credit card company works hard to hook a customer and then slowly tries to squeeze the maximum profit out of them.  Between absurd fees, sudden contract term changes, and just plain old subterfuge, your credit card company is out to get you if you stop paying attention.

Top Credit Card Company Tricks – 0% APR Credit Card Offers

While there are many areas the banks that issue credit cards are less than forthright, one area that the tricks come fast and furious is with 0% credit card offers.  Whether it is a zero percent interest balance transfer offer, or an offer for 0% interest for an introductory period, you have to stay on your toes to stay ahead of all the little tricks credit card issuers play.

Here, are the most common credit card company tricks on 0% interest credit cards.

1. Transaction Fees – Buried in the middle of the text of a full-page letter or even on the back of the page in lighter gray text is the notification that this particular 0% offer is not a free offer.  Instead, you’ll be charged a transaction fee of 3% typically.  That means when you write a credit card check or fill out the balance transfer form, you’ll be charged 3% (or more sometimes) immediately.  No grace period, no chance to pay it off before there are interest charges.  If you take $5,000 with this 0% interest credit card offer, you’ll be charged $150 the second you get the money no matter how fast you pay it back.  In other words, you don’t have to pay off $5,000 before the offer expires, you have to pay off $5,150 before the offer expires. 
2. Payments Credited to Lowest Interest Balance – Here is the one that even financially savvy consumers miss.  Buried in the fine print of your zero percent interest balance transfer offer is the fact that every payment you make will be used to pay off the part of your balance that is being charged 0% interest.  Any other charges you make are going to get hit with full interest charges.  Oh, and by the way, those interest charges?  You’ll be charged interest on it too until you pay off the whole zero percent balance!  In other words, if you take $5,000 at 0% and then next month you charge $300 thinking that you will make a payment of $300 to cover it without being charged interest, you’ve fallen into the trap.  Instead, when you send in your $300 payment, the credit card company will reduce the amount you are paying 0% on by $300 and nothing will be credited to the $300 which you are going to be charged interest on.  So, after the first month you have $4,700 at 0% and $300 at the full rate.  After next month it will be $4,700 plus the $305 or whatever your interest rate makes it.  In other words, you cannot use your credit card in anyway until after you have paid off the free offer, whether that is 6 months, 12 months, or 24 months.
3. Minimum Payment Still Required – Some zero percent offers require you to still make the minimum monthly payment.  If you are late by just one day at any time, the whole 0% interest rate promotion can be revoked immediately and you start paying the full interest rate. Call and complain, and you might get this one reversed, but don’t count on it.
4. Zero Percent As Long As Balance Is Paid By End of Offer – This one is most common with department store credit cards.  The way it works is that the credit card company keeps track of how much interest you would owe if you didn’t get 0% interest rate.  Then, if you don’t finish paying off the whole zero percent balance by a certain time, then you have to pay ALL the interest, not just the interest going forward.  So, if you buy a $6,000 bedroom set with a 24 month same as cash offer and you haven’t paid off the full $6,000 then you will pay all of the interest for each and every one of those 24 months.  And how will you pay it?  It will be added to your balance so they can charge you interest on that too.

Using a zero percent interest rate credit card offer can make good financial sense, but you have to be careful to follow the rules exactly to avoid coming out worse than you thought.

Smart Rules for Using 0% Interest Offers

How do you keep from becoming another cash cow sucker for the credit card companies?  Follow these simple rules and you’ll be ahead of most of their tricks.

1. Watch Out For Transaction Fees – Use no transaction fee offers whenever possible.  These are less common from credit card accounts you already have, so you might have to look at offers for getting a new credit card.
2. Stop Using the Card – Take the card out of your wallet or purse and do the same for your spouse.  If any kids have a card on that account, get theirs too.  Put them in a safe or other place where they can’t be accidentally used until the whole zero percent balance has been paid off.
3. Setup an Automatic Payment – Many cards will allow you to setup an automatic payment.  This is a must if you have an offer that still requires an on-time monthly payment.  If you have a card that must be paid off by a certain date to avoid being charged all accrued interest, make your automatic payment enough to pay off the balance over the free time period. At minimum write down the date your account must be paid by in big colorful letters on every calendar you have.  Don’t cut it close, pay it off a month or more in advance to avoid any mishaps like lost checks or a family emergency that keeps you from remembering.
4. Don’t Zero Percent Hop – Some people try and get too cute and keep swapping one zero percent interest rate offer for another 0% offer.  While this sounds smart in theory, your odds increase of making a mistake that could cost you enough to wipe out any savings you’ve gotten up until then.  If you have no other options, then by all means, another zero percent offer is better than nothing, but focus on paying that one off right away.  Otherwise, if you want to take advantage of multiple 0% offers, close out the first one and then move on to the next one.  That way, you’ll make sure you are starting fresh each time.

Want to get benefits and make money back from using your credit cards?  Get the right rewards card and use it wisely.  Then, the benef
its you earn will out weigh the hoops you have to jump through.

Related posts:

1. How To Fight Credit Card Company Interest Rate Increases
2. New Credit Card Law Starting To Affect Credit Card Companies

Credit Card Company Tricks and How To Beat Them originally published at Personal Finance Blog - FinanceGourmet.com

You want to travel, but with the recession, you want to travel cheap, or travel for free.  Here is one way to help.  United Airlines offers a non-flight way to earn free Milage Plus points without flying that can add up fast and help get you those last miles you need to get a free flight.  Its a dining rewards program called United Mileage Plus Dining.

The best part is that it is really easy and you don’t really have to do anything once you set it up.

Basically, you go to Mileage Rewards Dining website and create a Dining Rewards password to go with your United frequent flyer miles number.  Then, you register your credit cards with the dining miles rewards program by entering the credit card number, expiration date, and so on.

Once your credit cards are registered, then you earn miles whenever you eat at a participating United Mileage Plus Dining restaurant if you pay with any of the credit cards you registered.  That’s it!  It couldn’t be any simpler.

You don’t have to remember a coupon, you don’t have to remember to tell the waiter, or give someone your Mileage Rewards number or anything.  It’s all electronic behind the scenes.  You pay like normal, and voila, free points in your account. As a double bonus, this has nothing to do with the regular credit card rewards points you are earning.  So, for example, if you buy dinner with your Capital One Rewards Credit Card, you still earn Capital One No Hassle Miles for the dinner PLUS the United Miles.

For each dollar you spend, you get one free United frequent flyer mile.  But, from now until June 30th, you get double points on the Dining Rewards program so that is 2 free miles per dollar spent eating out at restaurants.  Depending on the kind of person you are, this can add up to big points.  Eat out twice a week at $40 each and that is 160 miles earned per week without flying anywhere!

If you take clients out for meals, try and setup your meetings at restaurants in the program and you can earn points for those meals too.  Pretty soon, you’ll be setting up your free vacation.

There is no cost and no charge to register your credit cards, so I registered every credit card I have.  I never even look at the list of participating restaurants.  I just go out to eat where I want to eat and just by coincidence hit rewards restaurants all the time.

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Related posts:

1. United Dining Rewards Earn Airline Miles for Dining Out
2. Southwest Airlines Rewards Credit Card Review

United Rewards – Mileage Plus Dining from United Airlines originally published at Personal Finance Blog - FinanceGourmet.com