Reducing Your Debt

We always hear of credit cards that claim to help reduce debts via possible savings on interest. How does that work? If you are making minimum payments, it is quite an advantage if the remaining balance from your credit will not incur a high amount of interest. That´s why it might be a good idea to transfer balances from high interest cards to 0% interest rates. On the other hand, it still really depends upon the credit card company´s offer. What seems like a good idea may not be a good idea after all. A lesser interest rate can make the payment of your debt easier and, consequently, faster since your payment goes to the actual debt and not on the payment of the accumulated interest. Therefore, your debt is reduced significantly. What should you take into consideration if you are faced with the decision? Read on...

Let´s take for example Blue from American Express®. Blue is an extraordinary rewards plan with ground-breaking advantages sponsored by American Express. You are not expected to pay any annual fee and what´s most important and pertinent in this article is that it has VERY LOW INTEREST RATES. The card offers a 0% introductory rate for about 15 months. On balance transfers, an introductory rate of 4.99% may be availed of for the life of the loan. The balance transfer introductory rate may be awarded to card holders who start a transfer during application for the card. As a result, qualified applicants for the lowest rate offered and those who plan to avail of the additional benefits and discounts offered by American Express® will gain most from what the Blue from American Express® card has put forward.

Blue from American Express(R)

Currently this card is not available for online application

Bank of America Cash Rewards Platinum Plus® MasterCard® Credit Card

Currently this card is not available for online application

Another credit card worth mentioning is the Bank of America Cash Rewards Platinum Plus® MasterCard® Credit Card. Its key feature is a 0% interest rate for transfer of balances from high interest credit cards. After the first 15 billing cycles, such introductory interest rate will change into a low 9.99%. Hence, those qualified cardholders who are not expecting any unusual benefits or services, and plan to avail of the 0% introductory rate will gain most from the Bank of America Cash Rewards Platinum Plus® MasterCard® Credit Card.

Last of the examples is the Citi CashReturns(SM) Card. Its key feature is somewhat similar to the earlier mentioned credit cards: if you transfer balances from high interest credit cards to this card, you may avail of a 0% interest rate for the first 12 months. After 12 months, a very low APR of 9.99% may be availed of. Not only do you have an opportunity to save on interest with this low APR credit card, but you also have a very attractive reward program, where a cash back of 1% is given on every purchase. After the first 12 months you will also receive a 20% bonus on all the cash back earned for this period. Your cash back check will be automatically mailed to you every time you earn $50 in cash back. By taking advantage of the low APR for this credit card, and using the cash back check towards your credit card balances, the Citi CashReturn(SM) Card will get you one step closer to eliminating your debt.

Citi CashReturns(SM) Card

Currently this card is not available for online application

It is imperative that you understand the details of such lower interest rates. You have to know if they are permanent, introductory or temporary. If they are permanent, then I don´t see any problem. However, if they are merely introductory or temporary, it means that the rates will increase after a certain period of time. This means that you should plan your purchase around the period stated if you want to take advantage of the low interest rates.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author´s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

MY TWO CREDIT CARD CENTS

May 12 $200 Checking Account Bonus Offer from Chase

Open a Chase Total Checking account before May 15, 2013 and set up a direct deposit to receive a $200 bonus from Chase.

Chase regularly offer bonuses to open a checking account, but a bonus higher than $125 is usually difficult to achieve. However this $200 sign up bonus is accessible to everyone. You need a bonus code, but these codes are generated on the Chase website through this link. You can either print out the code or bring it to your branch and open the account in person. You can refresh the website and print as many unique codes as you desire, but any one person can only take advantage of this type of bonus offer once per calendar year.

May 4 Starwoods Double Take Promotion

Starwood just launched their Double Take promotion on May 1st and it runs until July 31st. That means for every eligible stay during this period, you can earn double Starwood points. This does not apply Elite-level extra star points earnings, but everyone including Elite Level does get the opportunity to earn up to 2 extra starpoints on their stay. There are no limits to this promotions and your starpoints will post to your account in 2-4 weeks.

There are over 1,100 Starwood properties, however not all properties participate. You can find the list of non-participating properties here. There is still around a 90% participation rate, so in all likelihood you will probably be able to accumulate starpoints in your favorite property.

Apr 27 35% Bonus from American Express Membership Rewards to British Airways

Now is a good time to use some American Express Membership Rewards, if you have any. British Airways miles are called Avios, and at the moment you will get 35% more Avios for transferring points. American Express does run this type of promotion a couple of times a year, but last time in December it was only a 30% transfer bonus.

Apr 18 New Bonus on The Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express Open

For the time being you can get 50,000 Memberhip Rewards points if you apply for The Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express Open and get approved. To have these points credited, you must spend $5,000 in the first 3 months of card membership. You are eligible for this offer if you have not had this product, or any other Business Gold, Green or Platinum card within the last 12 months.

Apr 10 $150 Asterisk-Free Checking Bonus From Huntington Bank

Open an Asterisk-Free Checking account at Huntington Bank before April 30th and receive a $150 bonus. It is important to note that the bonus is only available in the following states: Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

It is called Asterisk-Free checking because there are no surprises hidden in the small print. There is no monthly checking maintenance fee or statement fee, no minimum balance requirements, no requirement of direct deposits, and no fee for debit cards.

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

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Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express