Prime Rate Credit

I’ve been looking into (involuntarily mostly, because an annoying popup comes up when I log into my respective accounts), the possibility of securing myself a credit card from either Amazon.com, where they offer you a special incentive of $30 rebate on your order after you make your first purchase with their company card, or a Paypal credit card, of which they say offers you special incentives and deals with Paypal, and I believe cash back if you secure a credit card with them.

But what about the interest rate they offer? Upon first look, it looks as if it’s not the greatest deal in the world, because the interest rate (APR) is not really a “good deal” and is pretty much either the industry standard APR, or is higher than the industry standard. I couldn’t find any clear evidence on whether the interest rate offered differed solely on your credit history or not, but my guess is, the interst rate you end up with on these types of specialty credit cards would be largely dependent on your credit history and standing.

Cards such as prepaid credit cards may also offer deals like this, but only they charge the interest up front, and may charge a premium for the privelege of having a prepaid credit card, since most people who get them may actually have trouble getting a credit card that is issued for future use and is actually billed on a monthly revolving basis (wait, is that a “privelege” or a curse?)

You may want to get a credit card from Paypal or Amazon or something similar to that if the incentive they offer, which is usually fairly substantial at first glance, is really worth it to you, and if you really do plan on paying the card off every month. At least that way you can avoid any intersest charges if the interest rate is higher than you’d like to pay.

If you’re like me, a credit card that offers a point system where you can build “points” up toward the purchase of something fairly major, is pretty appealing. Especially when the thing credit cards are most well known for is draining our wallet of our hard earned money with nothing in return, except for the priveledge of spending money that we have not actually “earned” yet.

This is exactly why I decided, after I got a solicitation in the mail from my bank, that I would go with one of these airline miles credit cards. Actually, all it was was me switching to a newly branded debit card. I have Key Bank, and they offered a debit card with frequent flier miles which would build every time I made a purchase with my debit card.

I though, wow, how much better can you get - I’m not really building debt, because I’m using my debit card which pulls money from my checking account (which is money I already have, I’m not “advancing myself” money), and I’m getting something in return - airline miles toward my next flight.

I have to say, the miles are pretty slow to build though. I use my debit card for practically everything, I’ve had it for six months now and I’m not even halfway to a continental flight, but I’m still waitin’ for those points to build! The annual fee is $30 for this card, but I figure one flight will more than pay for this fee.

Lowe’s home warehouse, one of Home Depot’s biggest cometitors, is currently offering a special on their line of credit, where if you sign up for a Lowe’s credit card, you can get 10% off of any order up to $10,000! I thought this was a pretty great deal, because you’re looking at a possible $500 off of a $10,000.00 order, if you choose to spend that much at this home retail giant.

And believe me, once you start shopping around this place, it’s very easy to spend $10,000.00 or more, especially considering that their product offerings expand into tiling, large appliance (and pretty good deals on washers and dryers, oh and referigerators too).

The deal is all outlined on their website, and you can see what the terms and conditions are and how easy it is to get approved for this special credit offer, especially tailored for new homeowners who are bound to be spending a lot of cash on their new home, especially if it’s a fixer-upper!

I saw an ad for a company/bank just now called Emigrant Direct, a division of a larger banking entity called Emigrant Bank, whom I’d never heard of before, which offers a seemingly good deal on a low annual fee cash back Mastercard for bank members, as well as a new 5% CD with any maturity from 6 months to 10 years.

A CD is a Certificate of Deposit, a relatively safe, but low return investment that is somewhat long term, depending on the length of time the holder decides to keep it - but the longer the holder doesn’t cash it in, the more money the holder gets in return).

They also offer what they call the “American Dream Savings Account” which is a fairly high yield savings account at up to 4.65% (I’d read the fine print though), and no annual fee.

Looks like it might be worth taking a look at if it’s something that’s up your alley, and you’re in the market for the particular financial services that this online bank (FDIC approved) offers.

I did a little more research on prepaid credit cards, and here’s what I found:

They seem like a really good idea for people who either don’t like credit cards and just want to be able to buy things with a credit card ie. online purchases or something where a credit card is required. 

Prepaid credit cards also seem like a good idea for people who have been in credit card trouble before who do not want the temptation of having more credit card debt accrue, and so feel safer paying it ahead of time, when they know they have the money to pay it.

People with bad credit who can’t get a regular credit card or who can’t get a card with a decent rate due to high risk credit, also seem to like the prepaid concept.

There do seem to also be some decent deals.  Some require a certain down payment, or almost a like a charge for using it. 

Some of them you can reload online, and also help to rebuild your credit.  One I saw actually came with an automatic notification service to the credit bureau to notify how your credit is being rebuilt.

I’ll have more on this I’m sure.  This didn’t used to be as popular as it is now, but now I’m seeing tons of choices for prepaid credit.

Yep, apparently there a few places that offer prepaid credit cards, just like a prepaid phone card.  I guess Western Union offers a prepaid credit card where you pay in advance for the privelege of using the credit card, but I’m not sure who else does.  I passed a check n’go or check into cash place yesterday and saw the offer for the prepaid credit card, and thought it was an interesting concept.  I’ll look into it more and share what I find out…

I couldn’t even believe it when I read it.  50 years mortgage.  That’s right - a half of a century, and more than half of a lot of people’s time on earth, is now being offered as a possibility for home mortgage loan durations. 

With the price of housing and interest rates consistently rising, mortgage lenders wanted to think of a way to let more people realize their dream of owning a  home, and of course to drum up more business. 

The solution is the newly offered 50 year loan, which allows people to make smaller payments on their home, and perhaps to afford a better home from the get go.

So far, just a hanful of smaller mortgage companies are offering this option, but it may soon expand into larger markets if it proves a successful and profitable strategy for lenders.

One mortgage company offering the 50 year option, Statewide, has already received about 220 applications for the loan and just started offering it in March.

This is a great thing for consumers because it makes the financial and home buyers market more competitive between lenders, which many times drives the good deals being offered, or other incentives to get your business.

Many financial analysts and planners recommend that before you go to buy a house, or any other major investment such as a car, boat, house repairs and improvement  or second home, that you get your credit checked - in other words, either pay for a credit report from the credit bureau, or get a free credit report, as we so frequently see advertised.  So what is the catch to the free credit report?

Usually, most free credit report sites will try relentlessly to get you to pay a monthly or yearly service charge to get updates and special reports on the status of your credit, and they may even offer some other fringe benefits if you order your free credit report with them.  Usually, the free one is a one time deal of course.  Some will even only give you a partial report, and charge additional for details or other needed information.

Regardless, most credit reports end up being fairly accurate.  There are some times though, that I’ll hear through the grapevine that someone had an outstanding debt listed that should not still be listed and is paid off, but it still shows for some reason.  This is exactly why you should be concerned with your credit score when purchasing any major investment. 

You may have items on there that you either have forgotten about, or just never knew about to be able to pay off.  This happens all the time.  You want to make sure you go in to get the best rate, and you won’t get that unless your credit is good.

I got a credit card offer in the mail yesterday from Bank of America offering zero percent APR for almost a full year.  You have to be careful with these kinds of offers though, because sometimes they jack the rate up after the intro period.  I don’t know about this one though, because I didn’t have the time to read the fine print. 

It’s always advisable to read the terms and conditions on any of these offers, especially the ones that seem extremely generous.

About eight months ago, I bought a Honda CRV. I bought a Honda vehicle because of their reputation for reliability and superior construction. I knew I’d pay a little more than I would for a domestic car, but I also knew that by buying a Honda car, my 45 minute drive into work wouldn’t be impeded by a failing or broken down vehicle!