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Millions of people these days have taken advantage of the many different deals on credit cards UK companies are offering, and most manage to use their credit cards without any trouble. However, it is very easy to get yourself into debt using your credit card if you aren’t careful, but all is not lost if you do find yourself in financial problems.

Step 1 – Admit that you have debt problems

There is a big difference between having debts that you can afford to pay off in a couple of months and having debt that you cannot see any way you will be able to clear in a few years. If the second circumstance – having a huge credit card balance and not earning anywhere near enough to pay it off – applies to you, you need to be honest about it. Too many people have their heads in the sand about credit card debt, but if you can admit that you have debt problems and that you need to take action, you will have taken the vital first step.

Step 2 – Get a realistic picture of your debts

Add up all of your credit card debt, plus interest payments, and compare it to your income. This will tell you how much you owe and how much you can afford to pay off each month as part of a repayment plan.  Once you have a birds eye view of all of your debt you can make an educated assessment on what to do next. Continue Reading →

If you’re addicted to traveling like I am, you probably make sure you carry a Visa and a Mastercard where ever you go (you’d be surprised how many places overseas don’t accept Mastercard).  This might be great especially if you head down to the United States often and go cross border shopping at the outlets, buying gas, or just shopping and sight seeing.

Currency conversion fees are 2.5% of your purchase, on top of the possibly mediocre currency conversion rate you have to pay.  This can really add up if you’re traveling on a budget.

There are a few new credit cards on the block that don’t have the currency conversion fees so may save you some money on your next trip abroad.  All of these cards are provided from JP Morgan Chase Bank.

Amazon.ca Visa

Pros:

• It’s from Chase Bank and the card is a pretty shade of green
• You get $15 off your next purchase on Amazon.ca.  That means you can get a good discount off of Fifty Shades of Grey!  Haha
• No annual fee
• Rewards points 2 points for $1 spent that is spent on Amazon.ca (2% cash back)
• 1 Reward point for every $1 spent elsewhere (1% cash back)
• You automatically get a statement credit once you hit the magic number of points for $20 cash back

Cons:

• Note that the 2 rewards points are for Amazon.ca not Amazon.com.  There’s nothing to buy on Amazon.ca except for books!  Unless you plan on buying an entire library full of Lonely Planet Amazon.ca acquired books (which is a personal dream of mine, by the way), the ability to get more points is probably not that great.

Marriott Rewards Premier Visa

Pros

• You get 30,000 bonus points on your first purchase
• You get one free hotel stay in a category 1-4 after your card is approved
• 5 points for every $1 purchase at Marriotts
• 2 points for every $1 for travel and leisure related purchases (airlines, car rentals, restaurants) Continue Reading →

Although my Royal Bank of Canada Visa Infinite Avion credit card is long gone (thanks to my stubborness of being unwilling to succumb to paying an annual fee for a credit card), it still has a special place in my heart, much like the MBNA American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Credit card.

First of all, this is a good card, and I understand how most people wouldn’t blink at paying a $120 annual fee to get the perks that this card gives you.

Let’s have a closer look at this card:

Features:

• 1 RBC Reward Point for every $1 spent on the card
• Earn 1.25 RBC Reward Points for every $1 spent on travel related expenditures on the card
• Earn extra RBC Reward points if you book your travel with Carlson Wagonlit travels or Thrift Car rental
• You get 15,000 points to start off with (which is good for a short haul flight pretty much)
• You can redeem for any flight at any time without having to deal with blackout periods etc.
• You can transfer your points to British Airways, American Advantage, and Asia Miles airline programs if you wanted to
• You can redeem your points at anytime instantly with Travelocity
• Out of Province Emergency Medical for your trip (15 days if you’re under the age of 65 and 3 days if you’re older than 65!)
• Trip Interruption Insurance
• Flight Delay Insurance
• Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance
• Emergency Purchases Insurance
• Auto Rental Collision/Loss Damage Insurance
• Travel Accident Insurance Purchase Security and Extended Warranty Protection

What you need to get this card:

• $60,000 personal income or $100,000 household income Continue Reading →