Today’s feature: Discover It credit card review

2 years ago, when I had just started this blog, the Discover More was one of the first credit cards that I reviewed. Since then, Discover Financial Services has replaced the card with the Discover It which is in many ways the same as the Discover More. I personally still have the Discover More, but most people these days have already switched over to the Discover It. It is about time I reviewed the Discover It as well.

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Continue reading Today’s feature: Discover It credit card review

10 reasons to use a credit card – Part 6: price protection

Have you ever bought something from a website or a store and realized a month later that the exact same thing was being sold elsewhere for much cheaper? That TV you had bought from Best Buy the week before for $600 was selling for $500 on Newegg? In my college days, I hated it every time it happened.

Lower price on something you've already purchased. What to do?
Lower price on something you’ve already purchased. What to do?

And then I got a credit card, and I’ve never had to feel that way again.

Continue reading 10 reasons to use a credit card – Part 6: price protection

10 reasons to use a credit card- Part 5: purchase protection

So it’s Halloween, and a cunning elf breaks into your house and steals your Xbox One for his early Christmas gift. You are angry because you just bought it for yourself 3 days ago as your main entertainment through the end of the year. What do you do?

What to do if your stuff gets stolen?

Well, you’d better have used your credit card to buy the Xbox One, because then you’d benefit from purchase protection.

Continue reading 10 reasons to use a credit card- Part 5: purchase protection

10 reasons to use your credit card-Part 4: return protection

It is almost the holiday shopping season, the merriest time of the year for all, and the most profitable time for the retail industry, and I’m sure each of us has our own shopping list for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And every year, millions of dollars’ worth of stuff is returned to stores right after the holidays. If you have a change of heart about a gift you bought and try to return the gift for a refund ….

Hopefully you don’t have to return a gift to the store, but if you do…

Continue reading 10 reasons to use your credit card-Part 4: return protection

10 reasons to use your credit card – Part 3: purchase dispute

In this time and age, e-commerce is gradually replacing physical store transaction as the preferred method of shopping. And with this comes the variety of online stores that sell everything under the sun. While reputable sites such as Amazon and Newegg have standard policies regarding product quality and warranty, others are not generous or clear about their policies. Do you trust the store enough to buy from them? What if you pay the money and they never ship the goods? What if you pay for one thing and they ship another? What if the goods come in broken?

What if your computer comes broken?

Luckily, credit cards provide you with insurance against the undesirable situations.

Continue reading 10 reasons to use your credit card – Part 3: purchase dispute

10 reasons to use your credit card – Part 2: extended warranty

I decided to make extended warranty the 2nd reason to use a credit card since this is the most applicable and most often overlooked benefit of credit cards.

Every single credit card known to me, and I know hundreds of them, offers free extended warranty on purchases.

Continue reading 10 reasons to use your credit card – Part 2: extended warranty

10 reasons to use your credit card – Part 1: security


Update: the recent Home Depot security breach kicked the importance of this up one notch.

Continue reading 10 reasons to use your credit card – Part 1: security

Bank of America’s credit cards: an insider’s view

Last week, I featured Bank of America’s BankAmericard Cash Rewards credit card, compiling most relevant information that is more or less public, meaning that you can obtain the information without actually having the card. As an actual cardholder, I have the advantage of knowing exactly what’s inside Bank of America’s online banking system, what other benefits a BofA card offers, as well as the details of the card’s features.

Continue reading Bank of America’s credit cards: an insider’s view

Holiday Shopping

Since this is the holidays shopping season, I thought I’d share some personal tips on shopping as well. Full disclosure: these are what I actually do or have done at some point. I’m not going to tell you what you should buy, or even where you should buy them – that’s completely your decision and out of the scope of this personal finance blog; however, I will share with you the way I shop to get the most returns on my spending. Continue reading Holiday Shopping