A couple years ago I was just a regular credit card consumer. I habitually paid my bills in full when they were due each month. On a trip to Texas I read in the airline magazine an offer for a major bank airlines credit card with a 20,000 point bonus points for activating a rewards card. I was concerned because they charged a $60 annual fee which I was not used to shelling out. In any case I decided to pay the cost in hopes of being able to earn/get/obtain enough credits to make it worth my time.
My desire was to earn 100,000 points in two years to pay for One free tickets to the Caribbean. This goal would take some strategy in order to be accomplished. On an Excel Spread sheet I wrote down all of the products that I usually pay for by cash and for which I could purchase with a credit card. I was able to group these expenses into lists. They included groceries, things related to the house, college expenses for my children and travel related costs. I found some good airline credit cardoffers online.
The conclusion I came to was most stores and restaurants will take cards. I was even surprised to discover that you could buy a cup of coffee at Dunkin' Donuts and pay for it with a card. You could use your credit card when you purchase food for the week, make a short trip to a pharmacy or go to the local White Castle and buy a couple of cheese burgers.
I started to use the credit card whenever I went to Kmart to buy hardware for the house or purchase appliances at Sam's Club. I don't think that there are many places that won't take your credit card even for the small or large purchases.
A major area in which you can acquire anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 air miles is through making your children's college tuition payment through a credit card. One of my children's schools would allow payments to the charged by credit card and the other university wouldn't. I also charged all of the school supplies and booksneeded on campus.
Lastly, transportation and auto repair costs are another way of building to your credit card miles. Every time you go to the gas station, you should charge your fill up. Automotive repair will also earn you many airline miles.
What's most pressing here, is that use your plastic for almost anything you buy which you would regularly pay for in cash. This gives you many more airline credit card travel miles that you would normally not have. Looking at it from another point of view, you will need to budget your money in order to pay the card off at the end of each month. It is crazy to have the airline travel credit card and hope to earn miles at the same time paying a tremendous amount of interest which offset those miles. So if you want to fly the world, like I do then sign up for one of those excellent airline credit card reward deals and use the card responsibly and |treat yourself to a nice trip. I do and working on getting points to go to next year!
The finance charge for your credit cards is usually determined by the amount of your outstanding balance on your card account and the current APR (Annual Percentage Rate) you are being charged. Card issuers tend to use one of three ways to determine your charges. The outcome of theses various formulas is not the same; so it pays to know the differences literally. is the dollar amount you pay to use credit. The amount depends in part on your outstanding balance and the APR.
The credit card issuers have several ways to figure interest and finance charges with the outstanding balance of your account. The method can make a big difference in the finance charge you'll pay. Your outstanding balance may be calculated using the adjusted balance, previous balance (sometimes referred to as two-cycle), or the average daily balance as the reference point. Depending on the Issuer, there are many combinations of inclusions and exclusions; so be certain to read the particular terms of service.
The average daily balance is the most common calculation method for interest and or finance charge rates. Every morning usually in the billing period, the balance is updated with credits or refunds. With some VISA, MasterCard, or American Express cards; any new purchases may be also added. When the end of the billing cycle comes around, daily balances are added and divided by the number of days in the billing cycle to arrive at the "average daily balance."
The adjusted balance method is the most beneficial method for cardholders. During the current credit billing cycle credit cards that are received are subtracted from the balance of the prior billing cycle. Cash Advances you may of recieved made during the period for the billing usually are not reflected on the total. Basically, if you pay your bill before the end of the billing cycle you don't get stuck with finance charges.
With the previous or two-cycle balance method, the average daily balance is figured from two billing cycles rather than a single one. This tends to increase the finance charges one must usually pay. There is no grace period involved with this method and if you dont pay the amount due in full, the charges may be made retroactive back to the time of the original purchase.
It is also important to note that many credit cards also carry a minimum finance charge. Regardless if your calculated finance charge is lower, you will still be required to pay this charge. However, if no purchases or cash advances have been made during the duration of the billing cycle, generally you will not be assessed and charges. Nevertheless it is generally wiser to check the particular card in question's terms of service and fee schedule.
Both James Millner & Sam Donaldson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
James Millner has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Cards. Airline Credit Cards (Search for college plastic, airline rewards and specialty Cards.)