How To Choose The Right Credit Cards

What To Look For When Choosing Credit Cards

First Published Date : December 23, 2010 ADawnJournal.com

When it comes to picking a credit card, you will be bombarded with a wide array of options and an overload of information. This will make you even more confused, even if you are not confused enough yet. Today, I will discuss some factors you need to consider before making your decision.

Annual Percentage Rate or APR

Annual Percentage Rate or APR is the interest you pay to your credit card company for carrying a balance. In other words, this is your cost of not paying balances in full every month and using the credit card company’s money. If you pay off your balance in full, you don’t need to worry about Annual Percentage Rate or APR that much. This will give you more flexibility to pick credit cards with other features. If you carry a balance, pick a credit card with the lowest APR possible. Make sure the APR is not a promotional one and available only for a limited time. Picking the lowest APR credit card will save you tons of money for the lifetime of the loan.

Annual Fee
In general, try to avoid any annual fee. However, if you carry a balance some credit cards with annual fees offer lower interest rate or APR than those cards with no annual fee. Do the math and if you find out that an annual fee credit card will save you more money in terms of carrying a balance, pick an annual fee card with the least interest possible.

Balance Transfer

Some credit cards will give you a balance transfer option with a low introductory APR. You need to make sure of a few things before you jump into this feature to save some money. I have discussed this in another article and I recommend you read it here: How to Use Your Credit Card Balance Transfer to Your Advantage

Grace Period

Grace period is the time you have to pay off your balance after making a purchase without paying any interest. If your credit card does not have a grace period, you will start paying interest as soon as you make a purchase. In many countries, there are credit cards with no grace period. In Canada starting in 2010, due to the federal government’s new credit card regulations, federally-regulated financial institutions are now required to provide at least a minimum 21-day grace period on new purchases, and this is applicable on new purchases when you carry a balance as well.

Rewards Credit Cards

These days, I see no point in using a credit card without any rewards. A rewards credit card offers you points or rewards just for using it. Rewards can be in the form of cash back, Air miles, Aeroplan miles, merchandise, and so on. I prefer cash back, as it does not restrict you to using your points on anything specific. If you use reward points or miles, make sure they don’t expire and are easy to use without restrictions and hassle.

A Few Other Things to Look For:

I always make sure your credit card provides the following:

– Free Purchase Warranty: This feature protects your purchases against theft, loss, damages, etc. for 90 days or so depending on the credit card company.

– Free Extended Warranty: This feature doubles the manufacturer’s warranty for an additional year.

– Free Price Protection: This feature refunds the difference if you see the same item you bought at a lower price anywhere else.

– Free Collision/Loss Damage Waiver for Rental Cars: This feature insures you for rental cars if it’s lost or damaged. You save money on the rental company’s insurance that otherwise you would have to pay.

-  Free Travel Accident and Baggage Delay Coverage: This feature covers you from travel accident injuries and baggage losses or delays.

It is important to note that you may not be able to get all the free features I mentioned above in one card. What I do is carry two or three credit cards giving these free additional features and whenever I need a feature covered, I use the credit card with that feature. A Dawn Journal has a credit card section with lots of credit card articles. Make sure you read them and don’t for get to recommend A Dawn Journal to your friends and family.

How To Lower Your Credit Card Interest Rate

Lower Credit Card Rates

First Published Date : November 6, 2010 ADawnJournal.com

If you are dealing with debt and you want to try and get your head above water, then one of the best things you can do is to look at lowering your interest rates. Since credit card debt is one of the most common forms of debt, you should look at lowering your interest rate with this. It is quite easy to do, and all you have to do is follow the instructions in this article to lower your credit card interest rate.

Many people do not realize that you can lower your credit card interest rate through something as easy as a phone call. Remember, if you default on your credit card, it costs the credit card company money. The credit card company does not want that, so they will work with you to help you pay off your credit card. Therefore, all you need to do is call the credit card company and call them, asking that they convert your credit card to one with a lower interest rate. One good thing to do is to show them that you have always paid your credit card, and been a credit card customer for a long period of time. This will help them lower the credit card interest rate in your favour.

If they do not, then you can search for a credit card company that provides a better interest rate on their cards. Look for cards through local banks and contact them to get a credit card. Once you have contacted them, you will get a credit card application. Then, fill it out, send it off and when you get your new credit card, you just need to transfer the balance of your current credit card to the new credit card.

It is important to point out that when you do get a credit card and do a transfer, you will be subjected to a transfer fee, but usually it is just a percentage of what you are sending over to the new credit card.

If you think that credit card interest rates are not that big of a deal, then look at it this way. If you have a credit card with $10,000 on it, and your interest rate is 19 per cent, then you will end up paying $1,900 in interest per year. However, if you are able to lower your interest rate down to nine percent, you save $1,000 per year in interest. That little bit of a decline will save you a lot of money and that will help you get out of debt much sooner. Sometimes it is as simple as just asking for a new interest rate, but if that doesn’t work, then you have to do a bit more work and yes, get a new credit card. Although when you get your new credit card and transfer the balance, you can then cancel the old credit card, thereby eliminating that bad interest rate forever.

How to Use Your Credit Card Balance Transfer To Your Advantage

Credit Card Balance Transfer

First Published Date : July 31, 2010 ADawnJournal.com

Credit card balance transfer is a tool used by card companies to entice you to start using their cards in hopes that you will continue using their cards even after the balance transfer promotion is over – regardless of whether you pay off those balances you transferred or not. If you know a few simple techniques, you will be able to use credit card balance transfer to your advantage. Let’s go over a few basics on credit card balance transfer you need to know.

In Canada, you will usually get notifications of balance transfer offers in the mail. It is also a good idea to keep an eye on credit card company websites. Also, you can call their customer support line occasionally to check if any balance transfer promotion is going on.

Once you have a balance transfer promotion offer, read the terms and conditions carefully. Here are some tips to help you to get maximum benefit from a balance transfer:

How long the balance transfer will last – Pay attention to the start and end date of the balance transfer offer. Do not start before this date, even a single day ahead can make you pay very high interest. Likewise, do not stretch beyond the last date. Use Google Calendar, a reminder on your cell phone, or any other reminder to remind you at least 3 business days ahead of the actual end date so you will have enough time to pay before the deadline.

Avoid balance transfer fees – In Canada, usually these types of charges are not seen. However, you still need to make sure that it does not exist.

Write Cheques – If you get the offer in the mail, it usually includes customized cheques only for balance transfer purposes. You can use these cheques to pay off other high-balance cards, or you can deposit cash to your own account (using these cheques) and then pay off other credit cards from your bank account. Using these specialized cheques as cash should be written in the terms and conditions. Make sure that you will not be charged high interest for paying other credit cards by taking cash. Call customer service if you need to be sure.

Transfer by calling the customer service line – You can also transfer by calling the customer service line of the card that is offering the balance transfer. Sometimes, you will only be able to transfer to other credit cards; sometimes you will have the option to take cash in your bank account (linked to your credit card) and then you will be able to pay to other credit cards from your own bank account. Ask customer service which options are available and pick the one that is most convenient for you.

Do not pass your deadline – As I mentioned before, under no circumstances should you delay paying off the balances you used for those promotional months. Even a single day delay can make you pay additional fees and high-interest (instead of low interest) penalty and the whole purpose of transferring your balance will be forfeited. So avoid this at any cost.

More than one offer – Sometimes, you will get a balance transfer offer from more than one company. Use your judgment to pick the best offer. Usually, the lowest rate with the longer time-period offers the best value. However, a little higher rate with a longer term than a lower rate with a shorter term may be a better one to pick.

A lot of us decide not to utilize credit card balance transfer because of the hassle and steps involved with it. However, these few steps and a little hassle can save you some money. And it’s never wrong to save a few bucks here and there – it all adds up.

Why You Should Avoid American Express Use Points for Purchases

How Amex Wants You to Lose Big Time

First Published: ADawnJournal.com Published Date : September 27, 2016

American Express Canada recently launched a new option, letting card members fall for instant gratification by letting them redeem daily purchases for small amounts. According to Amex, this option will provide ultimate flexibility and make daily life seamless. However, what Amex is not saying is that clients lose big time when they redeem points for daily purchases instead of converting to miles.

American Express points provide the best bang for your buck when you transfer them to airline miles, such as with Aeroplan or Avios. The transfer rate is 1:1, meaning you will receive 1 airline mile for each point. Now, if you are knowledgeable about airline rewards programs you should be easily able to extract 5 to 6 percent return per dollar flying business or first class. Sometimes the return can be astronomically high like 30 percent flying business or first class on airline miles. If you fly economy class using miles, your extraction rate will be a poor 1 to 2 percent.

So what’s the rate you are getting from American Express if you redeem points for purchases? Not even 1 percent. On the Amex Gold Card, the redemption rate is $7 for redeeming 1000 points. What this means is you get $0.007 per point, which is even less than 1 cent per point, making it a 0.7 percent return – not even 1 percent return. If you use Amex TripFlex option to redeem points for travel, you will get a 1 percent return or 1000 points for $10.

The best value Amex rewards points generate is when you redeem them to convert into miles. Of course you need to know how airline miles work and if you don’t want to follow that path, you should not have this card in the first place. There are other credit cards that offer higher return for redeeming points for groceries and other purchases. There is no point in having American Express credit cards, paying hefty annual fees and redeeming points at such a horribly low rate. Also don’t forget that although American Express is charging a hefty $150 on its popular card Amex Gold Rewards, it’s not providing many common benefits that another premium card would provide for a $120 annual fee such as Trip Cancellation Insurance, Concierge Service, etc.

Triangle World Elite MasterCard Provides Free Roadside Assistance

Triangle World Elite MasterCard Review

Canadian Tire is launching its new rewards program called Triangle Rewards. Its iconic Canadian Tire paper money will still be available to earn & redeem at Canadian Tire stores.

The Triangle Reward program will be offering 2 new credit cards, including a World Elite series MasterCard. This is the 3rd free World Elite MasterCard after PC World Elite and Roger’s World MasterCard.

Earn rates are:

4% back on qualifying purchases at Canadian Tire, Mark's, Sport Chek, and Atmosphere.

3% back on grocery store purchases up to $12,000K annually. However, Costco and Walmart are not considered groceries.

7 cents per litre on premium fuel and 5 cents back per litre on regular fuel and at any Canadian Tire gas bar.

1% back everywhere else.

Another interesting features this card offers is a free Roadside Assistance Gold Plan provided by Canadian Tire. If you purchase Roadside Assistance Gold it costs about $100. So by just having this card for free, you will be saving $100 on Auto Club or Roadside Assistance programs.

The Triangle World Elite MasterCard has another stripped-down version just called Triangle MasterCard. The return rates on this card are the same: 4% back on at Canadian Tire, Mark's, Sport Chek, and Atmosphere. You also get 5 cents back per litre on regular fuel, but no 7 cents per litre on premium fuel. It has 0.80 percent back on everything else. There is no 3 percent back on groceries.

If you qualify for the Triangle World Elite MasterCard, which has an $80K personal or $150K household income requirement, you should definitely get it because it provides value—especially the free Roadside Assistance Gold membership.