The credit industry has taken a beating over the past six months. It used to be that companies were paying hundreds of dollars to get you to sign up for their card. They used to offer such perks as 0% APR balance transfers with no fees. Not anymore. Now your lucky if what you have already doesn't get canceled or have its limit decreased.
So, what's a deal-concious consumer to do in these tough economic times when he or she is in the market for a new credit card? Just accept whatever card is presented to them? Of course not! Below I've gone through the best of what's left (and that's not much!) so that you can have a reference for what is available out there.
Best Airline Miles Card
Many of the airline-branded credit cards still offer sign-up bonuses of 10,000-25,000 miles, although the APR rates have shot up recently.
Although you don't get as much of a sign-up bonus with this card (only 12,000 miles), I like it because you don't have to pay any annual fee, you have no restrictions on use or payout, and you can earn miles faster with their various double- and triple-mile promotions. More information can be found at my post here.
Best Gas Card
No more easy 5% cash back on gas anymore! Even the much-recommended Chase Freedom Card has been downgraded to a system much like that of Discover (where you get extra cash back on certain purchases that rotate every quarter).
Great card in that it gives you 5% cash back on all gas and automobile-related purchases (car washes, oil changes, maintenance, etc.). Bad in that this is capped at $100 of purchases ($5) per month. You also earn 1% on all purchases once you are over $3000 in annual spending. 12 month 0% APR balance transfers and 6 month 0% APR on purchases.
Citi Driver's Edge Options Platinum Select MasterCard
6% back (points) on all gas, grocery and drug store purchases for the first 12 months. 3% on those categories thereafter. 1% on all other purchases. $1 in rebates for every 100 miles you drive.
Best Sign-Up Bonus
Looks like there are no more free plane tickets or $250 sign-up bonuses anymore. Most of the deals listed on the Signup Bonuses page are still good, but you'll notice that most of the good offers have either been canceled (all of the Chase cards) or are paired with credit cards that have annual fees (the higher level Citi PremierPass cards). The Citi PremierPass and Citi PremierPass American Express (receive $100 after $300 in purchases during the first 3 months). Nothing amazing though.
Best 0% APR On Purchases Card
There are still some deals to be had when looking for cards that will lt you get away with making purchases for a set amount of time without paying any interest on the balance (although you still must pay at least the minimum payment each month).
The 0% APR on Purchases offer for these cards has not been changed in the recent months. You can get 12 months at 0% APR on the American Express Blue Card. If you're a big spender it offers some good cash back percentages as well.
Best 0% APR Balance Transfer Card
0% APR balance transfers have been particularly hard hit as banks and credit card issuers scramble to reduce risk. One very noticeable thing to have happened is that the cap on balance transfer fees, usually set at around $75 or so, has been removed from many all major card issuer agreements. This makes transferring a balance of a few thousands dollars quite costly, as you could end u paying hundreds of dollars in fees (figure $30 for every $1000 transferred).
This card offers a twelve month no-interest balance transfer along with a 6 month 0% APR purchase promotion. You still have to pay a 3% no-cap fee on transfers unfortunately.
0% APR Balance Transfer With No Fee Card
The most endangered creature of all is the no-fee 0% APR balance transfers. Try as I might, I was only able to come up with one decent offering in this category. Yup—no more free 18 month 0% APR balance transfers for us anytime in the near future!
State Farm Insurance Good Neighbor Visa Card
This card, available to State Farm Insurance customer and non-customers alike, offers a 9-month 0% interest balance transfer with no fee.
Well, that's about it. A sad state of affairs when compared to what was out there twelve months ago!
Comments
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