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Should You Pay the Annual Fee for the Chase Sapphire Preferred?
Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) provides a number of additional benefits that the Chase Freedom card doesn’t offer. However, those extras come at a cost. After being waived the first year, the annual fee of $95 will kick in. Is it worth paying? I’ll walk you through the extra benefits and do the math for you with a calculator at the end of this article. The premise behind this exercise is that you are deciding whether to keep your CSP and pay the annual fee or downgrade it to a Freedom card to save the $95 (or simply cancel if you already have a Freedom). To make this determination, my calculator requires only 4 variables:…
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Increased Signup Bonuses for Hilton Credit Cards
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the merits of the various Hilton branded credit cards. That article also describes the Hilton HHonors points program and its benefits, as well as links to each hotel broken down by reward level. Since then, limited time increased signup bonuses are now available for three of the four cards. Here are the new offers and links to get the better bonuses. These are not referral links–I am not compensated in any way when you click through. Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card Regular Bonus: 40,000 HHonors Points after spending $1,000 in the first 4 months. New Bonus: 75,000 HHonors Points after spending $2,000 in the first…
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Time to Plan Some Late Summer Home Improvement Projects with Discover It Card
The Discover It card’s 5% Cashback Bonus categories for the remainder of 2016 were recently announced, and July through September looks compelling. Use your Discover It card at home improvement stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot in the 3rd Quarter and get 5% cashback on up to $1,500 in purchases. If you’re planning some projects now, it might be worth putting them off until July to capitalize on the bonus–wish me luck explaining that to Mrs. PointsYak. All the 2016 bonus categories are listed in the graphic below. Amazon.com is prominently featured in the entire second half of the year, while “& More” in the 4th Quarter is vague at best.…
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Which Credit Card Should You Get if you Stay at Hilton Hotels
There are well over 4000 Hilton hotels and resorts worldwide, across brands ranging from luxurious (Waldorf Astoria) to moderately priced (Hampton Hotels). With such a large global footprint, travelers will often find a Hilton property to be a convenient and comfortable choice for their lodging. The Hilton HHonors program rewards loyal guests with benefits and the ability to earn points that can be redeemed for free nights and, like most loyalty programs, there’s no cost to sign up. You can also earn HHonors points and elite status from certain affiliated credit cards. We’ll go through the benefits of each one, so you can find the card (or combination of cards) that best…
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A Handy Tool For Using the Right Credit Card for Every Purchase
You’re standing in line at the grocery or office supply store, holding a wallet overflowing with credit cards, and you can’t remember which one you should use to get the most cash back. Sound familiar? Same here, and that’s exactly why I created the PointsYak Cashback Lookup Tool: just follow the link, bookmark it on your mobile phone, and finding the right cashback card for every purchase will always be just a click away! There’s no app to download, no GPS tracking your whereabouts, and no sign-up required. Shopping online is usually the best the way to maximize your savings, and my last article, “Maximize Cashback and Points Using Online Shopping Portals”, showed you how…
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Credit Card Annual Fees: Are They Worth It?
There are those who would never apply for a credit card that charges an annual fee. Why pay when there are so many other cards that don’t charge one? A valid question, and the answer depends on your spending and lifestyle habits. As you’ll see below, in some cases, those fees could be well worth paying. Annual fees can top out at over $400 for some premium credit cards, but they can include access to airport lounges such as American Airlines, Delta, or United. These private lounges offer travelers free food, snacks, complimentary beverage service, comfortable seating, free WiFi, clean facilities, and other luxurious perks not available to the general public. If you fly frequently…
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Chase Freedom: A Cashback Card with a Twist
Still can’t decide between cashback or rewards credit cards? The Chase Freedom is a great card for those just starting out. This card gives you the “freedom” to make your cashback/rewards choice at a later date. And, right now is a great time to apply for the card. The sign-up bonus has been temporarily increased to $150 (normally $100) and between now and December 31, 2015, you’ll earn 10% instead of 5% cash back at Amazon, Zappos, Audible, and Diapers.com. Ultimate Rewards While Chase calls Freedom a cash back card, it actually earns Ultimate Rewards (UR) points that you can later exchange for cash. There’s actually two types of UR…
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Cashback vs Rewards Credit Cards
Do you dream of luxury travel, flying in first class and staying in expensive hotel suites–and doing it all for free? Or do you prefer cold hard cash? Ok, I know… you like both! Who doesn’t? But when you start looking for the right credit cards that will give you the best rewards for your own personal spending habits, it’s best to focus on only one type: cashback or rewards. There are countless credit cards out there, all different and each competing for your spending. You certainly can’t apply for all of them, and you shouldn’t apply for any of them without doing your research first. There are cards that,…
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