Credit Cards Tips for You

As a globe-trotter, you know travelling with a non-chip & PIN card is extremely difficult, especially in Europe where merchants have come to rely heavily on this technology in the seven years since it was first rolled out. Well now it doesn’t have to be thanks to new functionality within the “Cash Passport” to reduce your exposure to fraud and ensure greater compatibility with a wide range of overseas merchants. The latest EMV chip & PIN technology is now built into all new “Cash Passport” cards, changing the way you pay and providing freedom to use the Cash Passport for every point of sale and ATM transaction. So the new Cash Passport now requires a PIN authorisation to complete a transaction and still includes the traditional magnetic strip for those merchants not using the technology .

Choosing the right credit card is important for everyone. Young adults going back to school should be especially careful because many credit cards targeted at this age group aren’t as great as the names make them sound.

Take the Citi mtvU Platinum Select Visa Card for College Students, for example. Any credit card with “MTV” and “College Student” in the title should be a great starter card. However, the credit card rewards students for spending money on the MTV website – a great place to spend your hard-earned tips right?

A better choice would be the Discover Student Credit Card which has no annual fee, 0% interest on purchases for up to six months, and up to 5% cash back on certain purchases. Cash back beats MTV swag any day of the week.

For more great student credit card offers, check out our list of the Five Best Student Credit Cards. And if you want to know which credit cards to stay away from check out the Worst Student Credit Cards.

Are you a graduate of the University of Nebraska who bleeds Cornhusker red? Maybe you’re a golf fanatic or a semi-professional drag racer.

No matter your passion, the odds are good that PartnersFirst has a rewards credit card for you.

You might not have heard of PartnersFirst. Don’t be shocked. The company remains largely in the background while it offers what are known as affinity credit cards. Such cards are connected to professional associations, magazines, clubs and college alumni associations.

The cards operate much like traditional rewards cards, providing rewards points or cash back with every dollar that you charge. But each affinity card comes with a unique twist depending on what type of organization, school or club to which it is attached.

For instance, if you sign up for the Golf Magazine Visa Rewards Credit Card, you’ll nab a dozen free personalized golf balls. The Bicycling Magazine Visa Rewards Credit Card gives you the opportunity to emblazon your card with a photo of yourself and your favorite bicycle.

Similarities

That being said, each PartnersFirst rewards card comes with certain similarities. Each

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The American Express Platinum Business card is iconic, but comes with a staggering annual fee of $450. While most business owners would cringe at the thought of paying that much, we don’t think you can write off the AmEx Business Platinum that easily. It has a number of travel-related perks that make red-eyes a bit more tolerable and a collection of other benefits like concierge service and warranty extensions. Still, the AmEx Business Platinum isn’t for every business. We believe there are scenarios under which the fee is resoundingly worth it, and scenarios under which other cards are better.

You earn 1 American Express Membership Rewards First Point per $1 spent. There are three tiers of Membership Rewards Points: Membership Rewards Express (earned with the AmEx credit cards), Membership Rewards (AmEx Green and Gold), and Membership Rewards First (Platinum and Centurion).

While the Membership Rewards points are around the middle of the pack in terms of ease of redemption, and forgo the expiration dates and high accumulation thresholds that plague ThankYou Points and BofA Worldpoints, we think that the Starwood American Express actually offers more flexibility. Tha

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One of the changes implemented by the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill will take effect tomorrow, July 21^st: if you’re denied a credit card or asked to accept an above-average interest rate, you have a right to know how your credit score influenced the decision. This new protection applies not just to credit card issuers, but to utilities, insurance companies, landlords and anyone who falls under the designation of “creditor.” Now, if you’re turned down or if you are issued a card with a high interest rate, the issuer will have to detail exactly why you have these adverse terms.

In the words of the Federal Reserve, this new law “requires creditors to disclose credit scores and related information to consumers in risk-based pricing and adverse action notices under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) if a credit score was used in setting the credit terms or taking adverse action.”

That needs a bit of parsing. If you get abnormal terms on a credit card (a higher interest rate, say), are denied for the card outright, or have to pay a higher insurance premium, then the issuer will have to tell you 1) your credit score and 2) any information they used in addition to your credit score. This is int

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