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Credit Card Issuers Announce First Cash Back Categories For 2019

One of the best ways to get a great value from your credit card is to have a cash back card that offers rewards in rotating categories. These cards, which typically offer five percent cash back up to a maximum of $75 per quarter, let you spend on popular seasonal favorites - like gas for summer road trips or department stores for holiday shopping - and get cash back in the form of a statement credit, a check mailed to you, or a donation to a charity close to your heart.

The thing to remember about this type of cash back rewards credit card is that you'll need to sign up for the promotion each quarter in order to activate the cash back offer. You can typically do this online or over the phone, and you'll need to keep your eyes and ears open to find out when the signup period begins.

The New Year brings new rewards categories

For 2019, Chase Freedom is offering five percent cash back on up to $1,500 in purchases made at gas stations, drugstore ...

Sapphire Banking Gives Chase Customers Better Value

If you’re a fan of Chase Sapphire credit card, you’re in luck. Chase has just introduced a banking option that gives folks a better deal on everyday banking, as well as credit cards.

With Sapphire Banking, Chase is taking the lessons they learned from their incredibly popular Sapphire credit card and applying them to the banking space. Jennifer Piepszak, CEO of Chase Card Services, said they are hoping to capture what makes the Sapphire credit card special and put it into a traditional bank account service.

“What we learned with Sapphire cardholders was that they love the brand, but for very rational reasons. They did the math and knew the value that the card benefits and the sign-on points delivered. We want to create similar value for a bank account under the Sapphire brand.”

No ATM fees, no foreign exchange fees, no wire transfer fees

One of the more remarkable features of Sapphire Banking is that they will not charge fees of any kind to their customers, given they meet certain eligibili ...

Freelance Workers Embrace Digital Payments

The way Americans get paid is changing. Where people used to get a paper check every two weeks, more and more workers now receive direct deposits that are automatically delivered to their bank accounts. For freelancers, however, getting paid has always been a little more complicated.

A recent survey by Bill.com, a digital business payments company, showed that workers in the so-called “gig economy” still struggle to get paid reliably and conveniently, and therefore are embracing digital payments—even insisting on them in some cases.

Over 50 percent of these workers are still paid by check, 54 percent say it takes “too long” to get paid, 45 percent complain that clients don’t pay when they’re supposed to, and 30 percent say that processing fees charged by credit cards or payment services pose a problem.

“Small businesses struggle with ca ...

Amazon And American Express To Offer Co-Branded Credit Card For Small Business Owners

Small business owners in the United States will have a new option for credit with the launch of a co-branded credit card from American Express and Amazon that was recently announced as part of a multi-year agreement between the two brands.

“At American Express, we have been helping business owners grow for more than 50 years and we know that millions of them rely on Amazon,” said Glenda McNeal, president of strategic partnerships at American Express.

“Amazon’s global product selection and selling services help small businesses think big and run efficiently. We’re delighted to expand our partnership with Amazon by offering a new co-branded small business card, and by also harnessing the collective insights and expertise of our companies to deliver tangible value to our mutual customers who use Amazon’s services.”

More than a credit card

Besides the co-branded credit card, the Amazon-American Express partnership will include an enhanced data solution that gives businesses expanded insigh ...

More Americans Going Ahead With Major Life Decisions Despite Financial Concerns

When deciding whether to make a big life change, such as getting married, having a baby, buying a house, or going back to school, more people are doing what they want to do without worrying about finances – at least that's what a recent study from Harris Poll showed.

When asked whether they'd put off a major life decision for financial reasons during the past year, only one-third of survey respondents said that they had done so. That's far fewer than the previous poll in 2015, when 51 percent reported putting off big things because of money concerns.

Going to college, getting married, and having children are all major markers in life, and putting them off for financial reasons isn't often seen as a good thing. So the shrinking percentage of folks postponing these milestones is a positive development, says Greg Anton, CPA and chairman of the American Institute of CPAs.

“As the economy continues to pick up steam and we put ...

Too Much Debt And Poor Credit History Are Most Common Reasons For Mortgage Rejections

Every year, thousands of prospective homeowners encounter a stumbling block on the road to their dream home: their application for a mortgage is turned down. It’s frustrating to be denied a mortgage, no doubt about it. But what are the most common reasons people’s mortgage applications are rejected?

A new study from LendingTree aimed to find that out, looking at data from over 10 million mortgage applications under the auspices of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, and finding out why people were turned down.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the biggest reasons people could not secure the mortgage they wanted was because they carried too much debt and because of poor credit history. Mortgage lenders look at an applicant’s income, relative to their level of debt, and determine whether they can take on additional debt in the form of a mortgage. This is known as debt-to-income ratio, and it accounts for many denials on the part of lenders.

Nearly 10 percent of borrowers denied

The LendingTree study found ...