6 Ways to Earn More Cash Back Rewards

6 Ways to Earn More Cash Back Rewards

When it comes to saving money, you have to be shrewd. In addition to clipping coupons, refinancing your home loan, and holding off on buying a new car, why not make your purchases work for you by scoring cash back whenever you shop? Most credit cards have cash back programs in place, but it’s easy to miss out on rewards if you’re not paying attention. Here are six ways to get more cash back.

1. Use the Right Credit Card

Make sure you’re using the right credit card to earn cash back for all of your purchases.  The Chase Freedom Card and the Discover it Card feature rotating categories with 5% cash back (and no annual fee). Educate yourself on the details and plan your purchases accordingly.

The American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card comes with 6% cash back on groceries (capped at $6,000 per year), and 3% cash back on gasoline. There is a $75 annual fee, so do the math to make sure the rewards are worth the expense.

2. Sign Up for Cash Back Websites

If you’ve never heard of Ebates or FatWallet, check them out. Both have cash back programs that provide a rebate whenever you use their links for making online purchases. If you shop a lot online, the cash back can really add up.

3. Download Smartphone Apps

Download the Wallaby app to determine which of your credit cards is the best to use on any given purchase. This ensures you’re always getting the best cash back reward, simplifying the reward-management system if you’re juggling multiple cards.

You can also earn money by using other apps. For instance, download the GymPact app, set up a workout schedule, and earn up to 75 cents every time you exercise. If you shop a lot, try the Shopkick app. Every time you enter a participating store or make a purchase, you receive “kicks” which can be redeemed for gift cards.

4. Pay Your Bills With Credit Cards

Many monthly service providers offer customers the option to automatically pay monthly bills with a credit card. By putting $5,000 worth of monthly bills on a credit card over the course of a year, you could earn at least $50, assuming your card offers a 1% or greater cash back reward. Just make sure you’re paying off your balances each month – if not, the added interest payments could eclipse any cash back bonus.

5. Apply for New Cards

If you have a vacation coming up, sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. It offers $500 worth of travel rewards after you spend just $3,000 on the card in the first three months. Similarly, the Citi Thank You Premier Card offers $200 worth of gift cards after you make $2,000 worth of purchases in the first three months.

Just don’t sign up for too many new credit cards in a short period of time – that could hurt your credit score – and do pay attention to your cards’ annual fees. For instance, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has a $95 annual fee after the first year, while the Citi Thank You Premier Card has a $125 annual fee after the first year. Only sign up for cards with rewards programs aligned with your spending habits – you want to be in a position to earn more rewards than the cost of the annual fee.

6. Pay for Everything With Credit

The more you spend on your credit cards, the more cash back you can earn. But once again, this only works if you’re paying off your balance each month. As long as you’re living within your means, by paying with credit, you’re racking up those cash back rewards.

If you have the option to apply your cash back rewards in different ways, such as gift cards, travel rewards, or statement credits, always opt to use them as statement credits. You usually get a better return on your rewards, and if you’re paying for everything with your credit cards, your cash back essentially helps pay for your current purchases.

Sign up for a secured card to help rebuild your credit by clicking on one of our links on the right.  A great website to shop for credit cards is: www.FreeDebitCardStore.com.

Why Don’t My Credit Cards Ever Show a Zero Balance on My Credit Reports?

Why Don’t My Credit Cards Ever Show a Zero Balance on My Credit Reports?

You’ve done your homework and you know that paying off your credit cards in full each month is the smart move.  You’re avoiding expensive interest charges and you’re avoiding excessive credit card debt. And, you know that maintaining a low balance relative to the credit limit is a great way to earn solid credit scores.  The cherry on top is that you check your credit reports several times each year to ensure the data is accurate.

By all accounts you’re well engaged with the important facets of all things consumer credit. But, one thing has you baffled. Every time you check your credit reports the credit cards that you use always show that you have an outstanding balance. How can that be true given that you pay them off each and every month?

The answer is…

Credit card issuers update the information in your credit files only once each month. And, their update occurs soon after your statement closing date. The statement closing date is the end of you monthly billing cycle.  It’s also the same date that your balance due is determined, which is what’s included in your billing statement.

You’ll notice that the balance on your credit report is the same balance as was on your prior month’s billing statement. So, if your balance due in September was $1,000 then the balance reported to the credit bureaus as of September will also be $1,000. That’s not a coincidence. As long as you get a statement will a balance greater than zero, your credit reports will always show that there’s a balance due on your credit card accounts.

Here’s how to beat the system

It’s true that if you continue to simply pay your bill in full by the due date you’ll never have a zero balance on your credit reports. However, there are a few legitimate ways to beat the system but they’re going to require some strategy on your part.  Here are the two ways to ensure a zero balance shows up on your credit reports.

1.  Stop using the card for one full billing cycle.

If you pay your balance in full each month BUT then use the card again you’re always going to have a balance the following month and, therefore, will always have a balance on your credit reports. But, if you’ll pay your bill in full and also stop using the card your next statement will have a zero balance due.

This isn’t an optimal strategy because those of us who use credit cards responsibly recognize that they make our lives much more efficient and not using it just to force a zero balance on our credit reports isn’t a viable long term strategy.

2.  Pay the balance in full by the statement closing date.

Your statement balance is a product of any unpaid balance carried over from the prior month + interest + fees – payments – credits.  If you can get that math to equal $0 then your statement will also have a $0 balance due.

This isn’t very hard to accomplish because all you have to do is pay off your existing balance online a few days before the statement closing date. That will result in your balance being zero on your statement. And, it will also result in a zero balance on the account as reported to the credit reporting agencies. This strategy is much more attractive because you can still use your credit card. But, you will forgo the grace period because you’re paying off the balance even before the billing statement has been generated.

Sign up for a secured card to help rebuild your credit by clicking on one of our links on the right. 

Email us at: info@CherokeeFinancialinc.com for the opportunity to make money from your excellent credit on any of your high limit credit cards that have at least 2 years payment history.  You'll be surprised to find that doing something simple will put money in your pocket to pay down your

debt or use however you want.

5 Secrets to Earning Great Credit Scores

5 Secrets to Earning Great Credit Scores

Love them or not, credit scores have become an integral part of our financial lives. From lending to insurance to tenant screening credit scoring models are now one of the factors used to determine whether or not we’re going to get what we’ve applied for, and at what costs. It’s in your best interest to earn and maintain great credit scores, and here’s how:

1.  Don’t miss payments, ever.

Both FICO and VantageScore credit scores consider your payment history as being extremely influential. In all actuality this category could better be described as the presence or lack of derogatory information. You don’t ever want to give a lender an excuse to report something negative to the credit reporting agencies or your scores could suffer significantly. Late payments, defaults, collections, tax liens, judgments, bankruptcies, settlements, repossessions, and foreclosures can all devastate your credit scores for seven to ten years.

2.  Avoid too much credit card debt.

Despite the noise made by some of the self-proclaimed credit experts, credit cards are not bad for your credit scores. To the contrary, a well-managed credit card portfolio is actually very helpful to your credit scores. In fact, of the most common forms of credit (mortgage, auto, student loan, credit card) only the credit card allows you to choose whether or not you get into debt.

Still, maintaining a modest balance on your credit cards is a great way to improve your credit scores. The balance relative to the credit limit is an important measurement in credit scores. If you can keep that percentage as low as possible, less than 10 percent preferably, your credit scores will reward you.

3.  Apply for credit only when you need it.

While applying for credit isn’t necessarily a bad thing, applying too often suggests that you are credit dependent and can have an adverse impact on your credit scores. Each time you apply for credit a new hard inquiry appears on your credit reports. Hard inquiries are the type that can have an adverse impact on your credit scores. Note: I used the word “can” instead of “will,” as inquiries don’t always lower your credit scores.

4. Be careful when closing unused credit cards.

Closing an unused credit card can, in fact, lower your credit scores. The reason it can lower your scores is due to the loss of the unused credit limit. As explained in number two above, having low balances relative to your credit limits is helpful to your scores. If you close accounts that you no longer use, then you’re no longer getting the benefit of the unused credit limit associated with that account.

Note: There are some people that will suggest that closing credit cards can lower your scores because you don’t get the benefit of the age of the card any longer.  That’s simply not true. Closed accounts still appear on your credit reports and you do still get the value of the card’s age. In fact, closed cards continue to age.

5. Don’t co-sign for loans, ever.

If someone asks you to co-sign for a loan it’s likely because a bank has denied their credit application. Asking for a co-signer is their way of making the bank more comfortable because they’ll now have someone who is actually creditworthy on the hook for payment. You co-signing for a loan is really no different than you applying for the loan on your own. Not only will the debt show up on your credit reports but any mismanagement of the account will also blow back on your credit scores.

Sign up for a secured card to help rebuild your credit by clicking on one of our links on the right or visit the website directly at: www.FreeDebitCardStore.com

Email us at: info@CherokeeFinancialinc.com for the opportunity to make money from your excellent credit on any of your high limit credit cards that have at least 2 years payment history.  You'll be surprised to find that doing something simple that will put money in your pocket to pay down your debt or use however you want.

Why There's No Such Thing As Too Many Credit Cards

Why There’s No Such Thing As

Too Many Credit Cards

John Ulzheimer has 13 credit cards, but he’s never paid a cent in interest, his credit score stays above 800, and he’s never dug his way out of consumer debt.

That’s because he knows exactly what he’s doing.

Ulzheimer, credit expert at CreditSesame.com, has over 23 years of experience in the consumer credit industry and has even worked for credit bureau Equifax and for FICO, the creators of the most widely used credit score in the country.

“The initial strategy wasn’t to just open a bunch of cards,” he remembers, “but when I went to work for FICO, I realized that if you have a lot of cards, pay them all on time, and keep your balances low, you’re actually benefiting from that.”

“A lot of people are critical of my example,” he acknowledges. “But having a lot of cards is only a problem if you aren’t responsible with them — if you let the cards control you.”

Here, we’ve highlighted nine of the credit lessons to learn from Ulzheimer’s experience. Even if you plan to stick with the three or four held by the average American consumer, see what you can glean:

1. Have a reason for opening each card.

You should have a use in mind for every card before you apply. Ulzheimer only opens cards that have a purpose, like his Delta Reserve card. “I live in Atlanta and fly Delta all the time,” he explains, “and the card earns Medallion miles, which allow me to do things like upgrade to first class and check bags for free. It makes my travel much more convenient and enjoyable.”

2. Keep your cards open.

Unless you’re paying exorbitant fees, or find that you can’t control yourself with too much credit, there’s no reason to close your cards. While closing a card won’t shorten your account history, it will decrease your total amount of credit available and therefore increase your credit utilization rate, which could have an adverse effect on your credit score. Ulzheimer’s oldest card is from 1999.

3. Keep your cards active.

“I don’t use all 13 cards at the same time,” explains Ulzheimer. “I rotate one or two into regular use to make sure they all get some activity, so the issuer doesn’t proactively close them.” Credit card companies want you to use their cards, so if you haven’t touched yours in awhile, they can take it upon themselves to lower your balance or close the card altogether. They must notify you if they do, but why would you want to take that chance?

4. Be deliberate about which card you choose to use.

On the recommendation of his accountant, Ulzheimer uses a business credit card for his professional expenses, a credit union card for small, everyday purchases like gas or dry cleaning, and his favorite rewards card — the Delta Reserve — for bigger purchases, like furniture or auto work. When he signed his son up for a summer of camps, he used three of the cards that have lain dormant for a few months.

5. Never spend money just to get rewards.

“I call this chasing rewards, where you buy things or open cards you wouldn’t normally to get the points,” Ulzheimer says, noting that he uses his cards only to spend money he would anyway. “It’s incredibly dangerous. Most people who find themselves in terrible credit card debt attribute it to using cards this way.”

6. Get close with your account statements.

Ulzheimer logs into his accounts every day — sometimes more than once. He doesn’t find it difficult to keep track of them because he’s familiar with exactly which cards he’s using and how much he’s spending. “I’m very engaged with my bank accounts,” he says.

7. Be on top of your payments.

Ulzheimer pays all of his credit card bills manually — no auto-pay for him — and makes a point of logging into his account and paying the balance even before the statement period closes and a bill is sent to him. “That way, I never carry a balance, and it doesn’t show up on my credit report,” he explains.

8. Space out your new accounts.

There’s no need to go out and get a dozen credit cards today. In fact, Ulzheimer advises against it. “Don’t acquire a bunch of cards all at one time because the hard inquiries will destroy your credit score, and you probably won’t be approved for all of them,” he says. “This is a long-term strategy.”

9. Use credit cards as they were intended.

Credit cards aren’t meant to let you spend money you don’t have, and treating them that way is what gets too many of us in trouble. “You have to use credit cards for what they were designed for: convenient shopping,” cautions Ulzheimer.

Sign up for a secured card to help rebuild your credit by clicking on one of our links on the right.  

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Remember: Always try to keep your credit card balances below 20% of your credit limit in order to retain an A Grade in this area of the FICO scoring system.  

If you do not, you will be denied credit much faster than if you do.  

Take advantage of 0% Balance Transfers to avoid paying finance charges for 30 Days, but be

 sure to read the rates and disclosures to make sure they don't charge a fee for transferring your

 balance from another card to their card.