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Thursday’s need-to-know money news

August 22, 2019 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: What millennials get wrong about Social Security. Also in the news: How to save more money for your next vacation, the best rewards credit cards for family travel, and why you should think of your finances in terms of what you’re not buying.

What Millennials Get Wrong About Social Security
The danger of believing the myths.

Save More Money for Your Next Vacation With This Simple Trick
Using a travel savings account.

Which Rewards Credit Cards Are Best for Family Travel?
The top picks.

Think About Your Finances in Terms of What You’re Not Buying
It could help to build longterm wealth.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: family travel, long term wealth, millennials, rewards credit cards, Social Security, tips, vacation

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

May 28, 2019 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: What you need to know about student loan deferment. Also in the news: How to pass a smog test, exposing your data for better credit, and the best rewards credit cards of 2019.

Student Loan Deferment: What It Is and Who May Benefit
Putting your payments on hold.

How to Pass a Smog Test — And What to Do If Your Car Fails
Don’t panic.

Should you risk exposing your data just for better credit?A tempting offer, but read the fine print.

The Best Rewards Credit Cards of 2019
Putting your spending to work.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: Credit Score, Experian Boost, rewards credit cards, smog check, student loan deferment, Ultra FICO

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

September 5, 2017 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: 5 things debt collectors can’t do – and 5 they can. Also in the news: The pros and cons of dropshipping, protecting intellectual property, and how to choose a rewards credit card.

5 Things Debt Collectors Can’t Do — and 5 They Can
Learn the limits.

Dropshipping Cuts Your Inventory — and Control
The pros and cons.

Protecting Intellectual Property: A Guide for Entrepreneurs

How to choose a rewards credit card
Optimizing your rewards.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: debt, debt collectors, dropshipping, intellectual property, rewards credit cards

Monday’s need-to-know money news

June 10, 2013 By Liz Weston

Flying Piggy BankHow to get the most out of your summer vacation, protecting yourself from medical identity theft, correcting financial myths and how to start saving for retirement.

3 Ways to Maximize Your Frequent Flier Miles This Summer

While holiday blackouts can make redeeming frequent flier miles difficult during the summer, there are still good deals to be had if you know where to look.

How to Protect Yourself from Fraud at the Hospital

Identity thieves are targeting victims at their most vulnerable. Find out what you can do to protect yourself.

Want More Time Off? Some Employers Let You Buy It

A novel approach to managing vacation time could allow you to purchase a day off or sell time you’re not going to use.

Financial Advisers Correct Common Personal Finance Myths

Meet the five common personal finance myths and how to avoid them.

How To Start Saving For Retirement

The good news is that it’s not too late. The bad news is that it will be if you wait any longer.

Filed Under: Identity Theft, Liz's Blog, Retirement, Saving Money, The Basics Tagged With: financial advice, frequent flyer programs, Identity Theft, medical bills, medical costs, Retirement, rewards, rewards cards, rewards credit cards, travel

The death knell for hotel rewards cards?

February 27, 2013 By Liz Weston

credit card detailed 1Rewards card ninjas have long loved hotel rewards cards because the associated loyalty programs tend to be a lot more generous and easy to use than airline cards.

That may be changing.

Brian Kelly at The Points Guy has an excellent series of posts on the coming changes in hotel rewards programs, and there’s not much good news. (You can start with his post “The State of Hotel Loyalty Programs: A Devaluation Story.”) Starwood and Marriott are diluting their programs, but some of the most dramatic changes are in the Hilton HHonors program, which will not only require more points for most stays but will upgrade a bunch of properties to higher, more expensive categories. Hotels like the Conrad Tokyo will go from 50,000 points per night to 80,000 to 95,000 points.

In a warning to hotel loyalty programs, Kelly says these changes could come back to haunt them:

As you hack away more and more of the value proposition, I think you’ll realize that consumers are actually pretty smart and will start shifting their spend towards chains that actually reward loyalty and not punish it. This may not come in the form of traditional points, but many boutique hotels offer far more enriching experiences with more amenities and at cheaper prices. This Hilton devaluation was so brazen that I do think it will hurt them dearly in the end when Amex and Citi cardholders reduce their spend or cancel their cards. In fact, if the impact is so negative, I could see those issuers coming after Hilton since there are likely clauses in the contracts that state that Hilton can’t materially change the program (since the credit card companies are buying millions of dollars worth of points that their cardholders can use at a later time and date). I’ll be complaining to both American Express and Citi about the Hilton changes and hope everyone else considers doing so as well if you don’t like the changes.

Even if you plan to stay loyal to your card, the program devaluations underscore what has always been true: you don’t want to hoard rewards. Earn ’em and burn ’em to make sure you get the most value.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: Credit Cards, Hilton HHonors, Marriott, rewards, rewards cards, rewards credit cards, Starwood, Starwood Preferred Guest

Will surcharges kill rewards cards?

January 29, 2013 By Liz Weston

credit card detailed 1More gas stations in Los Angeles seem to be charging a premium to use a credit card. One 76 station near my home charges 20 cents more per gallon, to be precise.

I only noticed the difference after I swiped my card and was about to press the key to start the pump. I checked the station’s signage, and noticed the display advertising the “cash” price was a lot bigger than the one showing the “credit” price.

Technically, California has a law that’s supposed to prevent surcharges for plastic. But as my buddy David Lazarus has pointed out in his column, Section 1748.1 of the California Civil Code has some big fat loopholes. Gas stations get away with double pricing because they’re supposedly offering a discount for cash, not a surcharge for plastic.

Now that retailers elsewhere in the country can add surcharges to Visa and MasterCard transactions, the question is: will they?

Those of us who love our credit card rewards programs—including the rewards card ninjas I highlighted in my column this week—hope the answer is no. It wouldn’t take much of a surcharge to wipe out the value most people get from their rewards cards.

Brian Kelly, the founder of The Points Guy, says retailers who add surcharges could be shooting themselves in the foot.

“High-end consumers love their rewards,” Kelly said. Retailers who don’t add surcharges will have a competitive advantage, which could make attempts to impose the fees short-lived.

I know that I’ll vote with my feet. Once I noticed I was about to pay $4.09 cents a gallon, rather than the $3.89 I expected, I hung up the nozzle. I didn’t have to drive far to find a Mobil station that charged $3.89, cash or credit. Guess where I’ll be gassing up in the future?

 

 

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Liz's Blog Tagged With: Credit Cards, rewards credit cards

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