{"id":19482,"date":"2011-02-19T17:51:18","date_gmt":"2011-02-19T21:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/?p=19482"},"modified":"2011-02-19T17:51:18","modified_gmt":"2011-02-19T21:51:18","slug":"top-tips-for-finding-a-credit-card","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/top-tips-for-finding-a-credit-card\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Tips For Finding A Credit Card"},"content":{"rendered":"

This guest post comes from the NerdWallet.com<\/a> team of credit card aficionados and personal finance writers. <\/em><\/p>\n

This is for all the people who spend their money on gas and groceries \u2013 when \u201cgas\u201d means \u201cshoes\u201d and \u201cgroceries\u201d means \u201cI didn\u2019t know you could spend that much money in one store.\u201d If you find yourself using your credit card extensively in malls and department stores, here are seven tips to get the most out of your money.<\/p>\n

Get a card with \u201creturn protection.\u201d<\/strong>
\nIf you find that the clothes you bought looked a lot better on the mannequin than they do on you, consider a card that steps in when the retailer won\u2019t accept your return.<\/p>\n

Return protection is a feature on all American Express cards ($300 per incident, up to $1,000 a year) as well as some MasterCard and Visa cards ($250 per incident, up to $1,000 a year). It\u2019s that extra push you needed to get those shoes marked \u201cfinal sale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get a card with \u201cpurchase protection.\u201d <\/strong>
\nFor all the peace of mind that this feature delivers, it\u2019s a surprise that it\u2019s relatively obscure. Purchase protection insures your purchases against theft or accidental damage for 90 days.<\/p>\n

Every AmEx<\/a> card will give you $1,000 per incident, up to $50,000 a year, and the Visa Signature cards<\/a> will guarantee $500 per incident, up to $50,000. MasterCard<\/a> offers purchase protection on a selection of its cards.<\/p>\n

Check your card\u2019s \u201cBonus Point Mall\u201d before you online. <\/strong>
\nChances are, the website offers bonus points worth 5% or more. \u2028For example, ing Bloomingdales merchandise via ShopDiscover or Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall effectively gets you 5% off, instead of your normal 1% back. We ran the numbers on how the malls stack up against each other, and in case you\u2019re wondering, Discover came out a clear winner, with Chase a distant second.<\/p>\n

Timing is everything<\/strong>
\nIf you\u2019re going to make a big purchase from a department or clothing store, wait for a bonus period. Chase and Discover offer 5% cash back bonuses that rotate quarterly. A significant purchase can reap a pretty hefty crop of rewards points.<\/p>\n

Each has its own rewards schedule, but here\u2019s the rundown for 2nd Quarter of 2011 (April \u2013 June):<\/p>\n

  • Chase Freedom: home improvement & furnishings, lawn & garden<\/li>\n
  • Discover More: home improvement, department stores, clothing<\/li>\n

    Never run up a balance, but if (when) you do, never use a rewards card. <\/strong>
    \nWe\u2019re all human. Taking out a line of credit for your purchase is (almost) always a bad idea, but if you can\u2019t help yourself, try to pay as little interest as possible.<\/p>\n

  • Before you run up a balance: get a 0% introductory APR credit card.<\/li>\n
  • After you run up a balance: get the best possible balance transfer card<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  • When you\u2019re paying the bills: rewards cards generally have much higher APR\u2019s, so pay them off first.<\/li>\n

    If you plan to splurge on a really big purchase (think Chanel and Louis Vuitton) get a free trip to Europe out of it.<\/strong>
    \nLittle-known fact: you get a tax refund when you overseas. Right now, ing an LV handbag in Paris effectively gets you a 30% discount versus ing in the US (as long as you don\u2019t declare it at customs). The money you save can literally pay for your plane ticket.<\/p>\n

    Make sure to use a credit card with no foreign transaction fee<\/a>. It\u2019ll save you from the 2-3% fee that other cards tack on for foreign purchases.<\/p>\n

    If you\u2019re a foodie, or if you just hate cooking, get yourself a Citi Forward.<\/strong>
    \nCiti Forward gives you 5 points for every dollar you spend at a restaurant. \u2028\u2028Next time you go out, put it on the card and collect the cash. 10,000 Citi ThankYou points yields a $100 Bloomingdale\u2019s gift card, so treat your friends, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    This guest post comes from the NerdWallet.com team of credit card aficionados and personal finance writers. This is for all the people who spend their money on gas and groceries \u2013 when \u201cgas\u201d means \u201cshoes\u201d and \u201cgroceries\u201d means \u201cI didn\u2019t know you could spend that much money in one store.\u201d If you find yourself using […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nTop Tips For Finding A Credit Card<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/top-tips-for-finding-a-credit-card\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top Tips For Finding A Credit Card\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This guest post comes from the NerdWallet.com team of credit card aficionados and personal finance writers. This is for all the people who spend their money on gas and groceries \u2013 when \u201cgas\u201d means \u201cshoes\u201d and \u201cgroceries\u201d means \u201cI didn\u2019t know you could spend that much money in one store.\u201d If you find yourself using […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/top-tips-for-finding-a-credit-card\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ask Mr Credit Card Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-02-19T21:51:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mr Credit Card\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mr Credit Card\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/top-tips-for-finding-a-credit-card\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/top-tips-for-finding-a-credit-card\/\",\"name\":\"Top Tips For Finding A Credit Card\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-02-19T21:51:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-02-19T21:51:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/3f7bc65a9a1d18b35baf8f5b24bdbbc1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/top-tips-for-finding-a-credit-card\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/top-tips-for-finding-a-credit-card\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/top-tips-for-finding-a-credit-card\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Top Tips For Finding A Credit Card\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Ask Mr Credit Card Blog\",\"description\":\"Just another WordPress site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/3f7bc65a9a1d18b35baf8f5b24bdbbc1\",\"name\":\"Mr Credit Card\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/author\/nick444\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Top Tips For Finding A Credit Card","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/top-tips-for-finding-a-credit-card\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Top Tips For Finding A Credit Card","og_description":"This guest post comes from the NerdWallet.com team of credit card aficionados and personal finance writers. 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