Credit Cards

United Dining Rewards Earn Airline Miles for Dining Out

by
united dining rewards restaurant

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 …

Read More

The Purpose of High Credit Card Limits

by
floor installing progress

I’ve always wondered what the purpose of a $30,000 credit limit was. I get what the purpose is for the credit card company. They want you to spend more money and keep a balance on your card, but what would the purpose be for a responsible credit user, specifically one that pays the balance off every month. Using Your Credit Card for Everything If you don’t have the ability or the discipline to pay your card every month, then DO NOT use them in this way. But, for me, I use a Capital One Rewards Card as my primary means of spending. I get Capital One rewards points at the rate of 2 for every one dollar spent, or basically it works out to 2% cash back when I use the Purchase Eraser to wipe out travel spending from my card. (We travel a fair amount, it lets you look back 90 days, and it turns out some odd things like Uber rides, or Car2Go rentals end up getting coded as travel on your Capital One Statement.) At any time, I have a log of virtually everything I have purchased in a given month, going back 24 months. I print …

Read More

Is Credit Repair Legit, or Just a Credit Repair Scam?

by
credit repair scam legit fix

Is it just me, or are you getting a lot more offers for real credit repair these days? Legitimate Credit Repair Is there a way for someone to do legit credit repair? After all, there are all of these people out there selling credit repair services, so there has to be some real credit repair that isn’t just a scam, right? The reality is that credit scores, credit reports, and the credit bureaus that run the whole racket is big business. While you may know about credit scores and credit reports as what determines if you get credit or not, on the other side of the equation are big banks and investors who build billion dollar portfolios off of pools of borrowers. The key to both buying and selling these pools is the credit scores of the borrowers. Getting fake credit scores, or borrowers who fixed their credit with a scam, would be a big problem. Check out my Credit Karma review. The reality is that there really isn’t any legitimate way to fix your credit, other than to do better with your credit. Once upon a time, back before the housing bust and the Great Recession, you could fix …

Read More

Credit Scores Make No Sense

by
credit score real number

I spend a lot of time talking about whether or not the free credit scores from CreditKarma, or the WalletHub free credit scores, or the credit scores from Credit Sesame are “real credit scores” or not. The reality is that most of the time, it doesn’t actually matter. If it’s a Tuesday afternoon and you are sitting on your porch with a cold one, it is irrelevant whether your credit score is 714 or 723 or 815. The only time it matters, is when you are actually getting a loan. An interesting situation this weekend has shown me that even those real credit scores aren’t really real. Real Credit Scores When most people talk about a “real” credit score, they mean a FICO score. Most lenders rely upon FICO scores to make a decision about lending or what interest rate you get. The catch is that there are numerous kinds of FICO scores ranging from those used to judge creditworthiness for credit cards, a different one for car loans, and another still for mortgages. Beyond that, there are three major credit bureaus and all three of them can yield a different score depending upon what has been reported to each company. In …

Read More

Barclaycard Rewards MasterCard Review

by
barclaycards-rewards-mastercard

The folks at Barclay Card are nothing if not persistent. A buddy of mine is overseas. I picked up his mail, and there are at least a dozen Barclaycard MasterCard mailers in here. It got me wondering, is the Barclaycard Rewards MasterCard good or is the Barclaycard MasterCard a waste of money? Without further ado, here is the Barclaycard Rewards MasterCard review. Barclaycard Rewards MasterCard Reviews The Barclayscard MasterCard rewards card is issued by Barclays Bank Delaware. Barclays Bank Deleware was originally Juniper Bank, but was bought by big British bank Barclays in 2004. There is no actual bank, it only issues credit cards in the U.S. In addition to the Barclaycard Rewards MasterCard, the bank issues co-branded cards, such as an American Airlines credit card, the JetBlue credit card, and a Priceline.com rewards card. As always, different customers can get different terms and conditions for the same cards, but in this case, it looks the Barclaycard Rewards MasterCard is setup as a points rewards credit card. For every $1 you spend on gas, utility, and grocery stores, you earn 2 point. Note, that Target and Walmart are specifically excluded as grocery stores for the purposes of 2x points. Then, …

Read More

2017 Finances and Money Issues

by
investing in hsa account calculator

Welcome to 2017! Relax. Take a deep breath. There. Feel better? Good. Then let’s jump in. Finances Updated in 2017 With a new year, come some new numbers. There will be updates to the maximum 401k contributions, income limits for Roth IRAs, and others. Plus, there will be adjustments to the 2017 income tax brackets, the 2017 standard tax deduction, and more. And, of course, there is a new IRS mileage rate for 2017 as well. What about 529 plans? There aren’t a lot of updates to those numbers each year, primarily because most facets of 529 college savings plans are administered through the states, who aren’t always as keen on changing and updating everything. You’ll want to re-evaluate your financial plan for the new year, and you’ll want to review how your financial plan did in 2016. Plus, you’ll want to rebalance your portfolio, if you didn’t do it at the end of 2016. Retirement Plans 2017 A big part of most retirement plans are tax-advantaged savings accounts like your 401k plan, IRA accounts, and, for some of you, 457 plans, 403(b) plans, and various differed compensation plans. All of those need adjusted and reviewed for 2017 as well. …

Read More

What Does Credit Card Fraud Look Like?

by
credit card theif

You can do all the right things, and you will still probably, eventually, be a victim of some sort of credit card fraud. Sometimes, a person you give your card to willingly will somehow steal the information. You may lose a card, or someone may compromise your credit card another way. Or, like me, maybe a merchant will be compromised and your credit card company will call you, telling you that your card needs to be canceled. Credit Card Fraud Detection I have a Capital One Rewards card, among others. I like using it because the points seem to add up pretty fast, and I can always use them instantly just by logging in and using them to “erase” a travel purchase instead of having to get a Capital One Rewards catalog and pick some sort of reward out of it. Another reason I like it is that they seem to have pretty aggressive fraud protection. This annoys some people because it always seems to kick in when you are on vacation and their computers notice that you are buying a lot of stuff in Chicago all of the sudden when you live in Dallas. Recently, however, all that happens is …

Read More

Personal Finance Index Card Advice

by

Back in 2013 on a show, a professor named Harold Pollack made the suggestion that everything the average person actually needed to know about personal finance could fit on an index card. He “proved” his theory by handwriting a list of personal financial advice on an index card, which then made the internet rounds. Now, he’s back with a co-author, and a $25, 256-page book called The Index Card. Wow. Could this be the most cynical book ever written?   Free Financial Advice and Reality It always seems that when finance experts are talking about OTHER finance experts, that THOSE guys are over-priced crooks who you don’t need. THEY are just out to take your hard earned money. THEY don’t want you to know that finance is actually super easy and that you don’t need THEM. Funny, how that always changes dramatically when the opportunity for money or notary for their own self comes up. Back when I was a professional financial advisor, Susie Orman would stand up in front of as many people as she possibly could and say that all financial planners and advisors were crooks and you knew it because we took money from companies that offer financial products …

Read More

New Year Finance Checklist

by
annual personal finance checklist

It’s a new year. Contrary to popular opinion, for the most part, when it comes to money, finances, banking and investing, it doesn’t really matter if the year is new or not. That being said, plenty of people take the opportunity of a fresh calendar to take a fresh look at things like personal finance and their financial plans. So, here is a checklist of things to start thinking about to make sure you personal finances are lined up for 2016. 2016 Personal Finance Checklist Don’t get overwhelmed. Not all of this stuff needs to be done at once. Put a section on your calendar each week or two, and by the end of the first quarter, your finances will be reviewed, tuned-up, and ready for the year ahead. Banking Checklist Review your checking account statements and make sure your bank isn’t charging you fees just for having a checking or savings account. If you are paying monthly fees, or minimum balance fees, find a new account. Check with your current bank first, you might just be signed up for the wrong account. Remember, at today’s interest rates, there is no way having a higher rate compensates for having to …

Read More

Safe Online Holiday Shopping

by

Shopping online hasn’t really gotten any safer in the last few years. Most reputable online retailers use secure transfers to encrypt your credit card information when checking out. However, as an increasing number of high-profile corporate hackings have shown, just because your credit card number was safe when you entered it, doesn’t mean it stayed safe. The other issue with online retailers is knowing when the retailer themselves might not be safe. Sure, company’s like Amazon, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble aren’t out there to steal your credit card data, but there are a tons of little retailers you haven’t heard of, and they are the ones with hard to find items, unique gifts, and occasionally, deep discounts. Giving your financial information to them can be dicey. So, just how do you manage to have safe online holiday shopping this year? Limited Use Credit Card Numbers There are some tricks you can use to stay safe while shopping online. Many credit cards, or credit card companies, offer limited use numbers. These virtual numbers can usually be generated online. They link to your actual account, but the number you enter is a one-time use number, or limited to a certain amount. …

Read More