Tag Archives: rebates
The Lowdown on Citi Student Credit Card
Most credit cards would make it a prerequisite for applicants to have a credit history before their application can be approved. With this, students may find their choices of credit cards rather limited. However, the Citi Platinum Select Card for College Students is designed specially to meet the needs of students.
There are no annual fees incurred for this card, although the APR is higher than most other credit cards. Furthermore, the APR is based on a variable rate with the figure tied to the Prime Rate. Nonetheless, there is always the 6-months 0% APR (for balance transfers, cash advances and purchases) and a cashback reward program to fall back on.
Apart from that, the cash rebate program rewards students with up to 5% of the amount spent on purchases charged to the card. Purchases made with the Citi Student credit card at supermarkets, drugstores and participating merchant partners are eligible for a 5% cash return. Nevertheless, lower cash rebates of 1% are applicable for cash advances and check transactions.
The downside to this is that cash rebates will be issued through $50 checks with rebates for general purchases limited to $300 a year. Other attributes of the card include a 20-day interest-free grace period each month, and a minimum credit limit of $500.
Interest charges are calculated based on an average daily balance method but as always, it may not be advisable for consumers to make late payments. Accounts can be managed online and customers are given the choice to pay their bills automatically. As a safety feature, the Citi Student credit card provides an option for the card holders photo to be printed on the card to prevent identity theft occurrences. Ultimately, this card serves as their stepping stone for students towards building a strong credit history, which is vital for their future financial dealings. Concurrently, this would also be a great card to instill spending habits discipline in young adults.
Why Gas Credit Cards Are No Longer Second-Rate
It used to be that gas credit cards were the credit cards you applied for when you needed to improve your credit history. Nowadays, that’s no longer the case. Gone is the era when all gas credit cards offered was a high interest rate and welcome to a day and age when these financial tools have become must-have pieces of plastic.
1. Kiss High Interest Goodbye
If you think carrying a gas credit card means paying interest rates of more than 20 percent, you may want to think twice.
Gas credit cards are no longer the money guzzlers they used to be. Nowadays you can get a gas credit card with an interest rate of well below 20 percent. Just shop around and you’ll find plenty of low-interest gas credit cards available.
2. Combat Those Gas Prices
Most of us do what we can to make our gas dollars stretch. Who can blame us with the way gas prices have been going? Usually, saving gas money means conserving gas and changing driving habits. After all, it’s not like you can find coupons for fuel discounts in the local paper.
While you may not be able to find coupons for 25 cents off a gallon of gas, you can use gas credit cards to save money at the pump. Many gas credit cards offer money back or gas rebates when you use the card to pay for your gas purchases.
While it may not seem like a lot, a gas rebate of 5 percent can equate to 15 cents a gallon. That’s taking a $3.00 gallon of gas and lowering the price to $2.85. Considering some people would drive across town to get that kind of a price break, gas credit cards are looking better and better as prices go up.
Just remember, pay those balances in full each month or your rebates won’t cover the finance charges you accrue.
3. More Than Just Gas
Some gas credit cards offer added perks that have nothing to do with gas stations or fuel. Some gas credit cards have been known to offer dining rebates, double cash back bonuses and other great perks.
If you haven’t considered gas credit cards lately, you may want to give them another glance. After all, many of us have been saying that gas is like gold — so maybe a gas card is like a gold card? Check out the current deals and you may be surprised that many of the gas credit cards out there really have a lot to offer.