Written by Jai Borchgrevink on January 24, 2012.
Smart credit card users know how to cash in on frequent flier miles, cash back and loyalty points. But as cardholders have grow smarter about credit card rewards, credit card issuers have been forced to steadily increase the amount of points and miles their customers are earning for spending and as sign up bonuses. In many instances, account holders have become disillusioned with points and miles that, at times, can be difficult to redeem.
In response, credit card issuers have begun to add more perks to their hotel and airline reward credit card products that go far beyond mere points and miles. However, consumers often have multiple options with big travel branded credit cards and the most expensive options are not always the best.
Delta is leading the field of airline cards by offering the most non-mileage perks.
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Written by Benjamin Woods on January 23, 2012.
If youve been on the internet today, youve probably encountered big websites such as Wikipedia, Mozilla, Craigslist, and Reddit closing their content down today to protest SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) in the House, and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) in the Senate. Learn what this legislation means, and what you can do about it.
Many websites, experts, and news teams have explained what these acts are (better than we could) and why they are so dangerous. It basically has to do with online copyright infringement and piracy, but these acts propose drastic actions that could alter the very structure of the internet. Find out the details here
CBS News SOPA and PIPA- What You Need to Know
PC Mag Where Do You Stand on SOPA/PIPA
DONT JUST READ DO SOMETHING
It is your civic duty, your responsibility to let your congressmen know if you oppose this bill.
I was a Political Science major in college. I
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Written by Hugo Pethebridge on January 20, 2012.
In August, Italian business and consumer confidence and EMU economic sentiment and industrial confidence will probably have deteriorated. EMU consumer confidence and the Purchasing Managers’ Indices for the manufacturing sector in Germany and in the eurozone are not likely to be revised significantly.
The same applies to Q2 German GDP. The detailed breakdown of the expenditure components will show that changes in inventories and investment in machinery and equipment contributed positively to overall GDP growth. Private consumption, construction investment and net exports will probably have declined, with imports having increased more than exports. German retail sales are likely to have suffered a setback in July, after having rebounded in June. M
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Written by Jai Borchgrevink on January 17, 2012.
People who use credit cards to cover some of their outgoings may be more successful in sticking to a budget plan than other Brits.Editor of CashQuestions.com Annie Shaw explained this is one of the key benefits to using these financial products, noting there are many more.She added there is an increased range of protection for individuals, including assurance against default under the terms of the Consumer Credit Act.One example cited by the expert was section 75 of this scheme, which enables people to recover any money lost when ordering products from a company that may go bust.”That is a very good reason to use your credit card, even if you have got loads of money in the bank,” Ms Shaw remarked.Furthermore, the low interest rate being maintained by the Bank of England incentivises spending, which communications manager at the Council of Mortgage Lenders Bernard Clarke recently claimed is beneficial to both borrowers and lenders.
Written by Benjamin Woods on January 16, 2012.
You should care because credit unions hold a significant advantage over banks (a fact not lost on bank lobbyists calling for more credit union oversight). The advantage is that they don’t have to chase profit and they’re not pushed around by shareholders. What, a financial institution that doesn’t care about profits? Exactly. Credit unions are by definition, non-profit institutions.
They exist to serve their members, not shareholders. Who are the members? You are, when you make a deposit. You’ll actually be called a “member” not a “customer” when you join! How cool is that? In other words credit unions seek to serve the financial needs (checking, savings, lending etc) of their members in a way that does not create profits. Think of it as a financial coop. Your savings gets lent to your friends!
Okay but won’t I feel safer at a bank? I mean they’re “too big to
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Written by Hugo Pethebridge on January 11, 2012.
If you have a mortgage, loan, line of credit, or a credit card, it may be in your best interest to accept the creditor life and disability insurance that goes along with it. Although it will cost you extra money out of pocket, it may just be worth your while.
1. It can give you peace of mind. If something were to happen that drastically changed your ability to earn income, you want to know that you and your family would be protected. Without insurance, you would still be expected to make payments to your credit products. But, with insurance, you would know that it would be paid of in full in the event of your death and that your disability insurance would kick in if you were unable to work due to an accident or injury.
2. It is often very easy to be approved. Depending on your age and your current health condition, you may have difficulty getting insured with a regular insurance company.
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Written by Benjamin Woods on January 7, 2012.
Russell Investments, the money management and indexing firm, filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to bring to market what it called three high-yielding dividend ETFs, targeting an increasing popular segment of the market that includes one of the most successful recent ETF launches.
The three equity funds, for which Russell didn’t provide expense ratios, are:
- Russell High Dividend Yield ETF, which will trade with the ticker “HDIV”
- Russell Small Cap High Dividend Yield ETF, which will trade with the ticker “DIVS”
- Russell International High Dividend Yield ETF, which will trade with the ticker “IDIV”
The three new funds suggest the company is positioning itself to get a piece of the ETF market investors are moving toward at a time of great economic uncertainty. Some of the mo
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