Verdict: The Platinum credit cards offered by MSUFCU have a few big advantages for cardholders. The credit limit is very generous and may be as high as $50,000 for those who qualify. There are also no hidden fees and a range of shopping and travel benefits. Still, these credit cards fall short with relatively high interest rates up to 17.9%. There is also a penalty APR that may be applied indefinitely and the rewards version of the card only earns 0.5% cash back on purchases, which is very easy to beat. Overall, this credit card is only recommended to members who do not carry a balance at all, always make on-time payments and don’t expect to earn rewards for purchases but simply want a free to carry card for large purchases.
Overview: Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) offers two Platinum Visa cards to members. B
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Verdict: The BCU Visa Signature card has many benefits for cardholders. This credit card is the elite offering from the credit union and offers no pre-set spending limit, a low, fixed rate, an excellent rewards program and high-end travel benefits. With 24-hour concierge service, exclusive access to events and more, this credit card is the ideal choice for cardholders who travel frequently and have a high spending limit. Although there is an annual fee of $99 after the first year, cardholders may avoid this by maintaining $25,000 in investment accounts. Still, this cost may be worth it to many members who want a high-end card.
Overview: BCU offers four credit cards to members, with the Visa Signature being the elite option. This credit card has no pre-set spending limit and is designed for cardholders who have high spending levels, desire excellent travel benefits and want to earn rewards for their purchases.
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The Verdict: A high interest rate combined with a rewards program that doesn’t offer cardholders enough choice are the two main problems that keep the Restoration Hardware Credit Card from being a must-have for your wallet.
Overview: Like most store-affiliated credit cards, the Restoration Hardware credit card comes with a purchase interest rate that is simply too high. At the same time, the card’s rewards program isn’t nearly as flexible as are the programs offered by credit cards not affiliated with retailers. With the Restoration Hardware card, you can only redeem your rewards points for a Restoration Hardware gift certificate. Unless you’re a hardcore shopper here, you’d be better off applying for one of the many other rewards cards currently on the market. With these other cards, you can convert rewards points into everything from cash and airline tickets to hotel stays and merchandise.
How This Card Works: You’ll earn points every time you use your Restoration Hardware credit card to make a purchase. Once you’ve
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Secure Application CREDITSHOUT RATING: Excellent Verdict: The Chase Freedom® Visa – $200 Bonus Cash Back has one of the best rewards program in the business. What I like about this card is that you can redeem your points for either cash back or rewards.
Chase is also currently offering a competitive 5% cash back on categories that rotate through out the year which is competitive with similar cards offered by American Express and Discover. However for all other purchases Chase is offering 1% cash back with no tiers or caps, which is superior to the Discover More card where you need to spend $3,000 to get 1% back on all other purchases.
Chase Freedom Rewards Program
Recently the Chase Freedom® Visa – $200 Bonus Cash Back has been receiving a lot of attention. Ever since this card replaced the Chase Plus Rewards card it has been a huge hit. Generally speaking, it is one of the best consumer cash rebate cards available. Altho
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If you have bad credit and are applying for a credit card, one of the things that they might offer you is a partially secured credit card. If you aren’t familiar with a secured credit card this may seem strange to you, but in fact is a practice often used by those trying to build or rebuild their credit. Partially secured credit cards work identically to secured credit cards, except in that the amount that you use to secure the card is less than the actual credit limit that you will receive. For instance, for a credit limit of $1000 you might only have to secure the card with $500.
To get a partial secured credit card the first thing that you need to do is apply for a secured credit card to a company that offers both partial secured credit cards and regular secured cards. You might get a secured Visa or Mastercard depending on which brand of credit processor that the company goes with. There will probably be a fee associated with signing up for the secured card as well as an annual or monthly fee. T
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If you need a cash back rewards credit card then you should first understand how the cash back programs work, and what to look for when choosing one. Getting a cash back credit card is a great option, but you want to make sure that you aren’t trading off other features that you might enjoy as well for the cash back rewards program. There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a cash rewards program as well, which we’ll cover here, to make your choosing of a credit card with cash back or other features as simple and easy as possible.
The first thing that you should know about cash back rewards credit cards is how the rewards may be spent. Sometimes the rewards are not in the form of cash, but instead are offered as airline miles, or money off of a hotel room or other travel bonuses. You need to be aware of what type of rewards exactly that your cash back rewards credit card offers. If it is not cash you need to make sure that it is something that you can use. For
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