Category Archives for Credit Cards.
More consumers are receiving card offers in the mail — up “from 54% to 67% over nine months last year” including an increase in applications from consumers with annual incomes between $20,000 and $50,000.
Fewer card applications, an increase in reaching down to lower income and possibly lower credit score consumers, combined with data like auto loan delinquencies at their highest level since 2010 (during the Great Recession) seem to raise some economic flags.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
New variable Air France KLM Flying Blue points pricing is live and often makes no sense. Some awards are more expensive, some less expensive. Instead of a hidden award chart they have a calculator.
But they still offer various routes at 25% or 50% off each month and new ones are up for booking in February and travel in March and April.
Apparently American Express is sending out 1099s to people who referred customers to their credit cards.
Just because Aemrican Express tells the IRS that Hilton points are worth 1.25 cents apiece doesn’t mean that’s the revenue on which you owe tax. You can dispute the value and pay less tax as a result. Here’s the process to do it.
Recently the Wall Street Journal wrote about banks trying to control rapidly spiraling rewards costs. I didn’t take seriously the idea that banks would cut back on rewards to consumers to do this because they are offering rich rewards for a reason: they need to do so to attract consumers which earn them a piece of every transaction (plus annual fees, and interest when they don’t pay off their bills).
Josh Barro though takes on the broader claim about banks backing off of big rewards in New York magazine.
What 2018 Taught Us What to Expect in 2019 The Future of Credit Card Rewards There’s a reasonable risk of recession some time in 2019. The Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates. Together that means higher cost of capital for banks and greater repayment risk on the credit they extend. As a result I see approval standards for premium rewards cards tightening. Initial cardmember bonuses remain crucial to attracting customers and demonstrating to them that the card has value quickly, in order to encourage moving a new card top of wallet. The fact that Barclays wasn’t successful with Arrival Premier moving consumers to a model of rewarding them after they’ve proven their value to the bank means that issuers can’t move away from big up front rewards. I continue to be impressed by how…
It’s worth a reminder as well that Turkish Airlines offers some great award redemptions year-round. They add fuel surcharges onto redemptions, their pricing is very reasonable. Just told tell anyone you’re a Gülenist when you redeem your points.
New Federal Reserve data combined with data from Equifax tells us something about average Americans’ use of credit cards.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
The Fidelity Investment Rewards Visa has a signup bonus of $100 cash back after $1000 in eligible purchases within the first 90 days of account open.
They’ve offered this before but not regularly. More often than not this card has had no signup bonus at all.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
