I have autopay set up on all my bills: credit cards, utilities, insurance, everything. Whatever amount comes due, the company pulls the money from my checking account on the due date. Some people worry that this gives the companies too much privilege [...]
Credit Card Benefits: Purchase Security vs Purchase Protection
Every time you get a new credit card, the card comes with a pamphlet called the Guide To Benefits. It tells you about the benefits that the card offers besides the rewards. Some common ones include the rental car collision damage waiver, extended [...]
Proactively Protect Your Account Against Fraud
This post brought to you by Chase. The content and opinions expressed below are that of The Finance Buff. At work, we have some visitors from another country. While chatting with them at lunch, I heard they were very careful with using their bank [...]
Card-Linked Offers: AmEx Offers and BankAmeriDeals
Some credit cards offer limited-time special deals to their cardholders. "If you purchase $X from this place before this date, you will get a $Y credit on your statement." These are called card-linked offers. They are different than store-wide [...]
Anatomy Of A Co-Branded Credit Card
News said Costco will break up its co-branding relationship with American Express. The Costco American Express card will discontinue after April 2016. I worked a small part in a similar co-branded credit card deal. I will share some information about [...]
World MasterCard Price Protection Refunds the Difference If You See a Lower Price
When you get a new credit card, you usually also receive a small brochure describing the various benefits your new card offers. Most of the benefits are common: rental car coverage, protection against loss or damage of a new purchase within the first [...]
Don’t Be Afraid To Switch
My home Internet service deal expired. The rate jumped to $46 a month just for Internet. Like in most places in the country, two companies control the market: the monopoly phone company and the monopoly cable company. I'm not fond of either. [...]
Can You File An Extended Warranty Claim After A Credit Card Is Closed?
My Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS running watch broke. It keeps resetting at random times. I refreshed the firmware. It didn't help. Raindrops got into it some time ago. That probably messed up something. I bought the watch in July 2011. The [...]
Safeway’s Fast Forward: Get a Discount for Using Bank Debit
Debit or credit? I still prefer credit but in the wild debit usage has exceeded credit usage in both the number of transactions and the total purchase dollars. According to an earnings release by Visa, in 2012, US consumers used debit cards 2.5 [...]
