American Express, recently named #1 in J.D. Power’s annual customer satisfaction survey, is best known for its rewards credit cards.  One of its most popular rewards cards among travelers is the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card.  Here is a rundown of some of this card’s features and benefits.

First, a little background on the Starwood hotel group.  They operate a wide range of hotel brands, ranging from the mid-range Sheraton to high end brands such as Westin, W Hotels, Le Meridien, and St. Regis.  So while you may have never heard of Starwood, chances are you’ve heard of their hotels.

Now, the credit card.  Currently, new cardholders can earn up to 25,000 Starpoints® for becoming a cardholder.  This is enough for up to 6 nights at lower range hotels, though only about one night if you’re looking to stay at a high end location, such as the St. Regis.

A real benefit comes in the form of upgrades.  Regular room upgrades start with 1,000 Starpoints at lower range hotels, but only increase to around 2,000 at the highest tier locations.  Similarly, suite upgrades are available starting at 3,000 points for lower tier locations.  At higher end hotels, the cost ranges up to 30,000 Starpoints.

Aside from using Starpoints® for free nights and upgrades at over 860 Starwood locations worldwide, you can also transfer them on a one to one basis for frequent flyer miles on over 30 airlines.

Lastly, new applications for the Starwood Preferred Guest card pay no annual fee the first year, a $45 savings. 

You can learn more and apply online for Starwood Preffered Guest Credit Card here.

The Starwood card is also available for businesses, although the terms vary slightly from the consumer credit card.  For more information on the business offer, you can view the application for the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express.

Wondering how your credit card stacks up to the rest of those available on the market.  Here’s the rundown of 2008’s J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Credit Card Satisfaction Study(SM).  All scores are based on a possible score of 1000.

1. American Express - 783
2. Discover - 751
3. Average Score for all Issuers in the Survey - 724
4. National City - 721
5. Chase - 719
6. U.S. Bank - 716
7. Washington Mutual (while it existed!) - 712
8. Wells Fargo - 709
9. Bank of America - 692
10. GE Money - 683
11. Target Visa - 682
12. Capital One - 678
13. HSBC - 667

As you can surmise from these scores, credit card companies aren’t exactly A students.  In fact, the bottom five, which includes Bank of American and Capital One, could all use tutors.  The overall scores, however, should be taken with a grain of salt.  Do you know anyone who loves credit cards?  Obviously, then, consumers won’t be handing out A’s to the the people who charge them interest every month.  Yet there are clear and substantial differences between the best and worst rated. 

While these differences are definitely worth considering, the most important factor to consider when applying for a credit card is the overall deal.  For example, Capital One may not have ranked well in the survey, but they offer great cashback and frequent flyer rewards.  Similarly, American Express led the pack, but many of their cards have hefty annual fees.  In the end, what others say about a credit card company should play a role in your decision making process, ultimately, the company that offers the best deal for your needs is the one you should do your business with.

You can review current credit card offers from the companies listed above by visiting their respective sections of Smart Credit Choices.  You can also compare offers categorized by features, such as interest rates and rewards to better target your search in the credit card application sections of Smart Credit Choices.

Source:  http://www.jdpower.com

American Express may have taken the top prize in J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Credit Card Satisfaction Study(SM), but Discover once again came in a close second.  However, depending on the type of consumer you are, Discover may be a better card for you.  Here are few areas where Discover shines:

Annual Fees:  Discover doesn’t charge them.  Many American Express cards do, with some consumer cards carrying fees in the low hundreds.  For the big spending Amex crowd, these fees may be worth the trade off to be a part of the much lauded American Express Membership Rewards programs.  However, many credit card users are better off keeping that money in their own banks.

Rewards:  While American Express offers a wide range of no fee rewards programs, most notably, the cashback program attached to Blue Cash® from American Express, Discover keeps its customers more than satisfied with its own Cashback Bonus® program, which includes popular cards such as the Discover® Open Road (SM) Card, which offers consumers 5% cashback on gas.

Customer Service:  Nobody likes credit card companies.  In fact, credit card issuers are the least liked players in the financial service industry.  However, according to J.D. Power’s executive director of financial service, Discover had about 50% less complaints than the average credit card company (source http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/CreditCardSmarts/credit-cards-with-the-happiest-users.aspx?page=all)

Of all the credit cards included in the surver, only American Express and Discover received 4 or more stars in every category.  And, given the absence of fees, competitive cashback rewards program, and high customer satisfaction, a Discover card may be the card for you.

To compare and apply for a Discover Card, visit the Discover credit card section of this website.  You can also compare offers and apply online for American Express, Chase, Capital One, Bank of America, Citibank, and HSBC credit cards in their respective sections. 

Additionally, you can compare 0% APR offers, cashback rewards offers, travel rewards offers and more in their respective sections of www.smartcreditchoices.com.

Can you remember a time when your mailbox wasn’t flooded with 0% APR credit card offers?  You’ll have to think hard, because its been close to a decade.  Over the past few years, so many trees have been cut down and stamped with bold 0% imprints that if you listen closely, you can hear Al Gore weeping over the matter.  Unfortunately, however, it may be you, and not the former Vice President, weeping if you fail to take advantage of 0% APR teaser rates soon.  Why?  Because the same banks that don’t want to lend money to home buyers at 6% interest rates may soon decide to stop funding purchases of flat screen TV’s, trips to Disney World, and $6 lattes without charging substantially higher interest rates.

While this position may seem alarmist, the history of the credit card contains many pages that do not contain the words, “0% Intro APR.”  In fact, many of those pages don’t even contain the words, “Intro APR.”  In January of 1999, a CNN Money article (see http://money.cnn.com/1999/01/27/banking/q_bankrate/) states that, “In the third quarter of 1998, only 36 percent of new card offers mailed to consumers included an introductory rate.”  And what were those rates.  In describing a “crackdown” on the percentage of credit cards that offered introductory rates, the writer states, “Because all those super-low teaser rate offers, often 5 percent or less, were wonderful for the consumer but lousy for the credit card companies.”  Its hard to think of a 5% APR as super-low, but its time to start contemplating the possibility of this becoming a reality.

Fast forward to 2001.  Same website, similar topic.  In this article (see http://money.cnn.com/2001/03/15/living/q_bankrate/), the topic is introductory rates for balance transfers.  And the idea of a 0% Intro APR doesn’t even get a sentence.  In fact, the leading deals offer introductory interest rates of either 1.9% or 2.9%, plus fees of up to 5% per transfer.  While this is not as high as the lofty 5% rates of the late 1990’s, it is still a good deal away from 0%.

While 0% introductory rates may not disappear altogether, the possibility should not be ignored.  Credit card companies have been tweaking their offers all year long.  Some companies, like Bank of America, have stopped offering 0% rates on purchases with many of the cards they offer online.  Other companies, such as American Express, have decreased the length of time 0% rates apply.  For example, Blue from American Express® has offered a 0% intro APR for up to 15 months since 2005.  Recently, the term was reduced to “up to 12 months.”

So should you panic?  Not yet.  However, if you are carrying a balance on a credit card with a 10% or higher interest rate, you may want to take advantage of a 0% APR balance transfer sooner rather than later.  The same holds true if you intend to make new purchases that you will not be repaying in full every month.  You can save hundreds on interest with a 0% intro APR now, but three months from now….

To learn more about current 0% APR credit cards, please visit the main section of SmartCreditChoices.com.  At our main website, you can compare close to 100 current offers and apply online for a money saving, 0% APR deal.

Yesterday I saw a credit card that offered a 0% balance transfer for life.  Then I saw a unicorn and stole a pot of gold from a leprechaun.  And then I woke up.

In the past,  there was a very remote possibility of getting a 0% APR on balance transfers for life.  Getting the offer required a bit of luck, as it was a mail offer from Discover that, it seems reasonable to assume, was aimed at consumers with excellent credit.  I found evidence of this offer’s existence on the website Consumerist.com, complete with this image:

There are a few things of note in the above image.  First, the offer is from September or October of 2007 at the latest.  The credit card world has changed a lot since then.  The second is a clause which could be easily exploited.  It requires that two purchases be made every month.  This exists for a reason.  All payments go towards the balance on your card being charged the lowest interest rate, so if you use the card for purchases, you start accruing interest.

An obvious loophole would be to make two very small purchases every month.  However, all the strategizing in the world isn’t gonna help you find an offer for a 0% APR balance transfer for life.  The fact of the matter is that most banks are unwilling to lend people money for balance transfers at a fixed for life APR of 5%, let alone 0%.

While logic led me to believe it was impossible for a 0% APR balance transfer for life existed, I tried my hand with Discover’s customer service.  And the reps I spoke to thought I was crazy.  Real crazy.

So, while the credit crunch drags on, you can continue to pay interest and wait for a magic invitation to arrive in the mail from Discover that offers a 0% APR for life on balance transfers.  Or, you can take control of your financial life and settle for a credit card that offers a 0% APR on balance transfers for 1 year like the rest of us mortals.

The way the credit crunch is going, I may find myself blogging about how these offers have become a relic of the good old days.  And that time may be soon.

For information on real, (relatively) easy to get 0% balance transfer deals, visit the balance transfers section of Smart Credit Choices.  Ironically, some of the best deals on the market come from Discover, the former guardian of the 0% for life gate.