It can be tough to spend long days on the road, especially when traveling on a budget. At the very least, it is nice to earn credit card reward points from hotels that can be used for travel rewards. The Best Western Rewards World MasterCard from Barclay’s allows their customers to earn elevated reward points from stays at their hotels that can be redeemed for a myriad of travel benefits.

For each dollar spent, travelers will only earn a single point in the Best Western Rewards program, but purchases at their hotels will earn a far more substantial 15 points per dollar. New cardmembers will receive 10,000 points as a sign up bonus and are eligible to earn another 5,000 points for completing a balance transfer within the first 30 days of opening an account. There is a 0% APR on balance transfers for the first six months of card member’s accounts. There is a 3% balance transfer fee during this introductory period, but it then rises to 4%. After the introductory rate expires, interest will accrue at a rate equal to the prime rate plus either 10.74% or 21.74%, depending on the applicant’s credit history. Card holders are will also be upgraded to Best Western Rewards Elite status when after spending $6,000 on their card. There is no annual fee for this card, but there is a foreign transaction fee of 3%. (more…)

One of the tactics that a credit card holder can relieve the burden of debt is a balance transfer. So popular is this feature that banks are aggressively competing with each other to offer cards with the most favorable introductory terms. Consumers who have not done balance transfers in recent years will be pleasantly surprised by the current crop of offers, many of which offer 0% introductory periods for more than 15 months. And, while all of these cards carry 3% balance transfer fees, this nuisance fee is a pittance relative to the 15% annual interest rates most are paying.

Citibank credit cards dominate the balance transfer market.† Citi’s Platinum Select MasterCard and Diamond Preferred cards offer a 0% introductory APR on both purchases and balance transfers for 21 months. These offers are three months longer than the competition in the balance transfer department and in the purchase intro department, a full six months longer than what is available elsewhere. (more…)

While airline credit cards are best left in the hand of savvy frequent flyers, there are vast discrepancies in the quality and benefits this category of credit card offers. Some cards only offer miles and little else of value while charging hefty annual fees. Other cards offer miles and highly valuable perks that more than offset the cost of membership for even casual credit card users. Four  cards that fall into this category are the Gold Delta Skymiles Card,  the Capital One Venture Card, and the Continental/United credit cards.

The Delta Gold SkyMiles American Express card offers bonus miles as well as non-mileage perks. New card members will receive 20,000 bonus miles after their first purchase and another 5,000 miles simply for adding an authorized user. Card holders earn one mile per dollar spent and two miles on all Delta purchases. Beyond miles, cardholders will receive their first checked bag free for themselves and up to nine others traveling with them. Each year upon renewal, customers will receive a $99 domestic coach companion certificate. There is no annual fee for this card the first year, but it is $95 each following year.

Here, the miles are great, but the real value lay in the free checked bag feature. One couple that takes a single round trip can save $100, making all the other perks essentially fee.

Continental and United are in the process of merging and so are their credit cards. The Continental and United Chase credit cards offer up to 40,000 bonus miles, free checked bags for cardholders and in 2012 will remove all frequent flyer redemption restrictions, making Continental and United miles the easiest to redeem relative to all other legacy airlines.

Like the Delta Skymiles card, both Continental and United carry annual fees of $95. The first year is free and between free checked bags and the bonus miles provided at sign-up, it essentially costs nothing to use these cards.

While Capital One is not an airline, their Venture and VentureOne Visa cards do award “miles” that can be easily redeemed for one cent towards any travel related expense. The Venture card offers substantial value over its competitors by awarding double miles on all purchases. It has a $59 annual fee that is waived the first year and a 25,000 mile sign up bonus worth $250. The first year fee waiver, combined with the $250 sign-up bonus, essentially offset the cost of being a cardmember for five years.

Those who would prefer to avoid annual fees will find that VentureOne card appealing, though it only returns 1.25 miles per dollar spent.  When it comes time to redeem, each miles is worth one cent as a statement credit towards any travel expense.  A key benefit both Capital One Venture card’s share is no international transaction fees. This saves cardholders up to 3% on all purchases made outside the U.S.

For additional information on these offers or to apply, please see below.

Like nearly all credit cards issued by retailers, the Sears card offers extremely limited benefits and zero convenience while charging obscenely high interest rates. While this card may be easier to get than traditional credit cards for consumers with a mediocre or limited credit profile, any consumer that can qualify for a general credit card offer will find better value, lower rates, and better rewards.

The Sears card is about as far from a low interest credit card as there is. All approved consumers are charged a 25.24% variable interest rate which can and will increase when the Prime Rate increases. This is 10 full percentage points above the current national average and more than twice what is charged by many major credit card companies. (more…)

One year ago, consumers were still finding it difficult to gain approval for credit cards. Today, credit card companies are rolling out the red carpet, offering applicants sky high sign up bonus, ultra long 0% interest rates, and just about everything else under the sun.  Finding a good credit card is no longer an issue, and the deals available right now may be the best credit card offers in history.

Here is what you can expect to find in the most popular credit card categories:

Cash Back Credit Cards:  For a while it looked like cash back credit cards were on the decline. Today, credit card companies are not only offering better cash back rates, they’re also offering $100 sign up bonuses. In most instances, all that needs to be done to obtain these bonuses is spend about $500 within three months of signing up. This is usually not a problem and is as good a reason as any to ditch your old credit card.

Rewards Credit Cards:  General rewards cards are offering even greater sign up bonuses than cash back credit cards. Recently, some companies have floated $500 sign up bonuses. Incentives like these have never been bigger. And, while only two cards have come out with $500 sign up bonuses, close to a dozen airline credit cards offer bonus worth $250 or more. (more…)