I started this site in 2004 because I could not find a site that really reviews cards. Hence the birth of askmrcreditcard.com (which actually had a different domain when I started). Today, I wanted to disclose (in fact I already have) the cards that I and my staff (or ex-staff) are using to put into perspective where we are coming from. We also recommend cards that we do not have. That simply means they are not suited for our purposes.

Cards in Mr Credit Card’s Wallet

I have several credit cards, but only use a couple. Here’s what’s in my wallet.

Platinum Card from American Express – The main card I use at the moment is the Platinum Card. I actually upgraded to the Platinum Card from the Gold Card a couple of years ago. There were several reasons for the upgrade. Firstly, I wanted to review the card. And to be honest, you cannot just write a review of such a card without having owned one. There was also a slight ego factor when I upgraded (it is after all the Amex Plat – though not BLACK!). Since getting the Platinum Card, I have been using more of its features like companion airfare tickets, and especially its concierge service, which I use to most of my entertainment booking. One of the great perks of this card is that you can get notified of events that are sponsored by Amex and get access to tickets before the general public could. At this moment, this is the main card that I use.

Past favorite – Blue Cash – If you were to ask me two years ago what was my main card, I would said Blue Cash hands down. It is still a great card. But since my kids are older now, we find that we are taking more vacations and earning points seems like a better way to use credit cards. The Blue Cash has a tiered rebate system, but I spend enough to make it worthwhile. On average, I get over 2% in rebates (which is better than getting a straight 2% card like Schwab Credit Card). One of the great things about this card is that rebate formula has hardly changed. Yes, it has a tier, but look at Citi Dividend and Chase Freedom, each year, their rebates gets reduced. For anyone looking to a cash back card, this would be a card to consider if you are a big spender. Supplement it with the Discover Card and you can earn lots of cash rebates! For now, this one is going to take a back seat!

Chase Flexible Rewards Card – The only reason I got this card was that I needed a Visa Card and I wanted to review the reward program which Chase did not put on their website (you could not see the rewards until you got the card!). When I first got it, the rewards were really bad (as in really bad), but it has improved a lot since. I just got a mail recently that this card will be changed to the Freedom Card at the end of October. So I guess I will get the Freedom card with the chance to review Chase’s new Ultimate Rewards program!

Merrill Lynch Visa – Only reason I got the card was again to review the reward program. Use it as a spare Visa.

Official Credit Card of Ask Mr Credit Card

2 weeks ago, I applied for and got approved for the Plum Card (I applied from my site off course). It was really easy and I got a response literally in 60 seconds (as Amex claims) that I got approved. So the Plum Card is now the official card used by Ask Mr Credit Card for all our business expenses. Previously, when I was using my Blue Cash, the Platinum Card was used for this site. I thought about getting a separate Platinum Business Card, but the thought of paying another set of fees didn’t sit well with me. I then considered getting the Gold Card to earn Membership Rewards. But Mrs Credit Card thought we should try to earn cash rebates instead (even though our personal cards are now geared towards earning rewards!). Getting a card with no preset spending limit was important because I do advertise on the internet and sometimes the cost can skyrocket! You do not want a card with a fixed limit. The card also gave me the flexibility of deferring my payments for an additional month with no interest cost and I thought that was a good option to have. But it looks like I will pay in full every month and earn the 1.5% cash rebates.

I may decide to switch to the gold card later on and if I do so, I will update this page.

Jason Steele’s Credit Cards in His Wallet

Regular readers of this blog will know that Jason Steele writes for us about reward programs and credit card news in general. His main card is the Starwood Credit Card. Jason has to make an annual trip to Israel every year and hence trying to get the best ticket deal for the buck (or rather for the points) is top priority. The reason why Starwood fits him is that they allow you to exchange points for frequent flier miles mostly on a one for one basis with over 30 airline partners. You also get a 5,000 bonus miles when you transfer 20,000 points into miles! It’s like Starwood prefers you to use points for other airlines than their own hotels! So search among airline alliance and transferring points to the program which requires the least miles is what Jason is good at doing. The only other thing I might recommend him is to get the business version instead since it is the same card and he can get discounts at OPEN Savings merchants.

Capital One – Jason also has a Capital One credit card in his wallet though he only uses that overseas since they do not charge any “foreign currency transaction fee”.

Jason in the meantime has also been doing some credit card churning lately by applied for Citi’s AAdvantage Cards, getting their bonus miles, canceling the card and reapplying 65 days later. He reckons he can rack up over 100,000 miles just doing that. If your credit is not good, and you need to get an auto loan or mortgage in a couple of years, I suggest you do not try this!

Credit Cards Jenna Carries

For those of you who have followed me for a while, you may recall Jenna Banks, who used to write for me. I hired Jenna because she had been through bankruptcy and was able to help our readers answer questions relating to that topic. Plus, it was good to have someone on board who actually has a couple of “subprime cards” after they got out of bankruptcy (since we review them as well).

The main credit cards that Jenna had were the Orchard Bank MasterCard and the First Premier Bank Credit Card (which she got after her bankruptcy). She would be the first to tell you that she would rather have any of the credit cards that both Jason and myself have (since they are layered with fees). But I guess she simply has to start rebuilding your credit somewhere!

Credit Cards We have Access To

Aside from the cards we carry, we also have access to other cards that we do not carry. For example, two good friends of mine have given me that password for the Discover More Card and the Capital One No Hassle Miles Cards so that I can actually review the reward programs. I want to thank them for that and for the trust they have in me. Having access to both of these cards are important because they do not display their rewards on their website. Instead, you have to actually get the cards before you know the rewards! So only by having access to these reward programs could I write a proper review.

Cards I want to get my hands on

I would also like to get my hands on the following cards in future. One of them is the Visa Black Card. I’ve been hesitant to review it yet because I have not got my hands on the card. I’m not not too bothered by not knowing what gift card partners they have or what sort of merchandise they have in their program. I was more interested in their airline travel rewards. But it looks like they have finally put that information on their website, so I’ll probably do a preliminary review soon as lots of people are asking my opinion of the card. If you have the Visa Black and are willing to share the reward information, please drop me an email.

Another card I’m looking to get is the Citi Platinum Select Card. Reason being they now have this program called Extra Cash which is like Discover’s shopdiscover.com program. Would be great to do a side by side comparison.

Chase has also just revamped their reward program and I would like to get to see their ultimate rewards program. But since my Chase Flexible Rewards will soon be Chase Freedom, I guess I’ll get a sneak peak at the program. But I may try to get the Sapphire Card to check it out.

I once thought about getting a Bank of America Card with the WorldPoints program since they do not state their travel rewards unless you get the card! (another one of those things). But when I called WorldPoints, the customer representative gave me the exact details so I was able to get that information without resorting to getting the card for the sake of it.

Once again, if anyone has these cards and are willing to share details of the card program with me, please contact me.

Please feel free to share what cards you use below.

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Chase has just revamped their whole line up of credit card with slick designs and new names. The offering is the Chase Slate Card. They did not mention anything but I’ve noticed that they have not placed their traditional Platinum Visa or MasterCard on their site. Hence, I can only assume that the Slate is their new “vanilla” credit card. They have also added a couple of new “features” which I’ll review below.

I’ve taken a screen shot of the Chase page with some of their so called “features”. Let’s take them apart.

Avoid paying interest by paying in full – Well, this sounds kind of insulting but we all know that right. It appears that the Chase Slate Card is giving cardholders the option to pay in full for certain items and they will separate them on your bill. The problem I have with that is what is the difference with any other card? If you charged $5,000 last month and decide to pay off only $3000, does it matter what you “technically paid off”?

Pay off larger purchases at your own terms – This one is a misleading. The terms are not set by you but by Chase (ie your APR). Once again, this is such a marketing gimmick. Take the above example. If you charge $5,000 and pay only $3,000, you still have to carry a balance of $2,000 at their interest rate. Does it matter if you paid off the kids toys but not the airline ticket? I really do not understand this. It really strikes me as another fancy way to making a vanilla card looking better than it is!

Pay down your balance faster – Looks like Chase is offering a tool for you to pay down your balance faster. Which is a good thing (though here at Ask Mr Credit Card, we always recommend that you pay your balance in full every month).

Pay your spending – Nice feature, but most credit card issuers have this. Or you could use your quicken or mint.com!

Verdict – So after searching high and low through their site, this is all I came up with. There is no annual fee with this card and it really appears to be another vanilla credit card from Chase. The name is quite fancy but I’m not sure if folks will fall for this.

Here’s my view on vanilla cards. If you are someone that pays in full, get a card that gives you rewards like cash back. Don’t get one with no rewards or superficial features. If you are looking for a vanilla card with low rates, then you should shop around for other cards as they are probably cards with lower rates.

To sum up, this card has a fancy name and design. But in terms of features, they are just plain vanilla. The fact that they allow you to choose which items to pay off is meaningless. If you owe x amount, you still have to pay x amount with interest! And there is also no rewards at all. Even if you are looking for a no annual fee credit card, getting a card like the Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® which has a shopping portal that gives you rebate is much better.

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There are 2 Sears credit card that I will talk about toay. The first is the Sears Store Card (picture above), which only allows you to use the card at Sears and Kmart. This card is primarily geared to folks who do not have good credit.

The other card which I’m going to talk at length is the Sears Gold MasterCard with Choice Rewards (picture above)

Rewards Formula – The Sears Gold MasterCard has two tiers in their reward system. First, there is the regular Sears Choice Rewards Program. There is no annual fee for this version. You will be able to earn one point for every dollar that you spend on the card.

Alternatively, you could enroll in the Sears Choice Rewards Program Select Membership. The Select Membership costs $25. But you get the benefit of being able to earn double points for every dollar that you spend at Sears stores, www.sears.com, Kmart stores, supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations and one point for every dollar spent on all other regular purchases.

Sears Choice Rewards Points have a three year expiration date.

Rewards – The Sears Choice Rewards allows you to redeem points for a variety of rewards like travel, merchandise and gift cards. The rewards are just OK and not as comprehensive and regular credit card reward programs. Below are screen shots of the rewards and links to some of their reward pages.

To see all their gift card rewards, you can go to this page. The thing that I do not like about their gift card rewards is that you need 2500 points for a $20 gift card (technically less than 1% payout), whereas a program like the membership rewards only require 2000 points for a $20 gift card.

Verdict – If you have bad credit and are looking for a store credit card, perhaps you can consider Sears. But the problem with all store cards is that you can only use them at the store (Sears and Kmart). You might want to consider getting a secured credit card instead, which can be used anywhere. I am not too impressed with the credit card. Yes, you can earn double points at Sears, Kmart and their affiliated stores but you need to pay an annual membership fee of $25 for the Choice Rewards Select Members Program. The reward program is not exactly not notch either.

Alternative – As an alternative, I am going to highlight another card that lets you earn 5% rebates every time you shop at Sears.com. That card is the Discover® More(SM) Card. Discover has a shopping portal called shopdiscover.com. If you access sears.com through your account, and use your Discover Card to buy stuff online there, you will earn 5% rebates (I look at them more like discounts). Below are some screens shots of how it works. First, go to the shopdiscover.com partner page and search for Sears.

Once you find the Sears button, click it and it will take you to the page which list the rules and fine prints.

Click on the start shopping button and it will take you to the Sears.com site.

Here’s another point: Sears also owns Landsend. For the Sears Store Card or MasterCard does not allow you to shop at Landsend or earn double points (in the case of the MasterCard). But with the Discover Card, Landsend is a partner merchant and you can get 10% rebates when you shop at Landsend.com through your Discover Account. Hence, I highly recommend getting the Discover® More(SM) Card rather than the Sears Credit Card.

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With many offers of credit cards around today, you can get enticed and convinced to get one even if you do not need one. There are pre-approved offers mailed right on your mailbox, instant offer to apply online and enticing rewards that you think you need with your lifestyle. But do you really have to get credit cards that initially sound attractive?
The practical answer to this question is no. In fact, before you accept any seemingly attractive offer, you must consider the reason why you need to get a card. It may be that you will get one for emergency purposes – that is, you need to buy something but cash is not available, or you will get one just … (more) July 23, 2009

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First time credit cards user are the first target of this cyber criminals. They pretty like to hack or fishing first time credit cards user account. So be careful if you are first time credit card user. Research shows that the rate of fraudulent purchases made with first time credit card users is much higher than credit card fraud with regular credit card user.

The rate of fraudulent purchases made by mobile or telephones is much higher than credit card fraud on the Net. Nevertheless, I encourage you to take precautions when giving out any confidential information (including your credit card number) over the Internet. Here I share some tips about credit card.

Credit Card Tips:

01: When you get your new credit card, sign it immediately. But if it is a replacement please destroy your old one.

02: Never fax your credit card NO. Because the number recorded in the the fax basket. So it is possible for criminals to intercept your credit card number while the fax is in transmission.

03: Never give your credit card details over telephone. Only give out your credit card number on telephone calls you initiate to business or organizations you trust.

04: If you face trouble, never hesitate to call your service provider.

05: If you lost or have it stolen you must contact your service provider immediately. Because maximum fraud occur within the first hour or two.

06: Many newer credit card offer to include your image on the card. Must take this option. Because this facilities give you a higher protection.

07: Use a cover as a shield, to protect copy it or capture it on a cell phone or other camera.

08: Chose a secured place where you keep your PIN, account numbers and expiration dates.

09: Only carry around credit cards that you really need. Don’t carry around extra credit cards that you rarely use.

10: Don’t use your regular card in a unsecured transaction.

TIPS: When you use your Credit Cards Over Internet

11: Careful to respond email, when they ask for your credit card info. My suggestion is, “Never respond to emails that request you provide your credit card info via email”

12: When your service provider send email to you for Details Update you must check and double check their Domain name. Look this Domain 1st: thewebbank.com and 2nd: thevvebank.com , here 2nd domain name is fraud. Check and spell out the domain (website) name in address bar. (More details in Protect Yourself from Identity Theft and Credit Card Hacking)

13:You must careful, when a email say to go to a website to verify your personal (and credit card) information. My suggestion is Don’t ever respond to this kind of emails. Never provide your credit card information on a website that is not a secure site. In technical word it called phishing.

14: On the Internet, look for an Internet address that begins https:\\. The “s” indicates that it is a secure connection and a small padlock symbol should appear in the bottom right hand corner of your screen, indicating it is safe to transmit your credit card number.

15: Only give your credit card details to web site you trust.

16: When you think that this web page is safe then you enter your PIN and account number.

17: Do not store your credit cards PIN, access code or credit card number on your hard disk drive.

18: Activate your browser security settings. Regularly check your computer security.

19: Be careful about sensitive data and access media.

Extra but Important Tips

01. Try for a credit card that does not charge an annual fee.
02. Pay your credit card bills on time.
03. Don’t pay fees up front to get a credit card.
04. Never leave your credit cards or receipts lying around.
05. Always void and destroy incorrect receipts.
06. Shred anything with your credit card number written on it.
07. Never write your credit card account number in a public place.

Remember it:

If you fell hesitate, i mean when you found anything wrong in online banking, shopping and other sensitive issue you must ignore to give your PIN, access code or credit card number. I think, if you careful and follow all this suggestions you enjoy online banking. Have you any tips? I will be happy if you claim your tips as comment.

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2. Top 6 Major Credit Card Companies of 2009 How many c

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