Credit Card Offers

Some credit cards allow their users to get upgrades for free in hotels, at concerts or on flights.  This is usually advertised as a privileges program or as “instant rewards”.

Essentially credit cards with these programs can get free upgrades.  These credit cards work like loyalty cards in that in return for access to a reasonably prosperous group of card holders; many companies will allow for free upgrades and other extras for the card users.

The way in which the cards work is that if the card holder was to book a flight on economy by cash or with another credit card then they would be flying economy class.  However if they used the right airline and booked with the right credit card then they could find themselves flying business class.

Airlines do this for a number of reasons.  Firstly they have a reasonably cheap way of advertising to a very desirable set of potential customers.  They also can instill loyalty in customers even when they are not due to get the upgrades.

These upgrades are mostly for rooms and seats that would otherwise go unoccupied and so are a clever way of discounting these goods without advertising that the price is down, and so making them seem less exclusive.  Just as people can get upgraded on to business class when there are too many economy class seats booked, this is one of the ways in which they can choose who gets upgraded.

Many of these upgrades are limited in time so they will not tend to be available when there would otherwise be a high demand.  So times during the holiday season may not be available for flights and the upgrades for hotel rooms will not be available during midweek while for concerts they would not be on the first few nights.

Another way in which these schemes work is through instant discounts when using a card.  Many of the cards that offer upgrades will also offer discounts for using the card.  This is in effect the same for a provider as an upgrade as it is a way of hiding discounts while also building up brand awareness and brand loyalty with a number of good customers.

Many banks are now starting to operate these schemes, but two that have been prominent – and that have genuinely international coverage – are Citibank and American Express.

Dear Credit Karma,
When applying for a credit card and submitting my Social Security number, do the credit card companies automatically see my income?

No, credit card companies do not check your income via your Social Security number. Your SSN is requested on most credit card applications to verify your identity, not peek at your salary. Your actual salary is never tied to your SSN.

However, since the CARD Act went into full effect earlier this year, issuers are now required to verify a credit card applicant’s ability to pay back their credit card. T

Read full post…

Sales of new homes surged 27 percent in March and orders for most durable goods climbed, indicating the U.S. economy sped up heading into the second quarter.

The gain in new-home sales was the biggest in 47 years as buyers rushed to qualify for a government tax credit and the weather improved, a Commerce Department report showed. Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years, excluding cars and aircraft, climbed 2.8 percent.

Stocks rose and Treasuries slid as the reports pointed to pickups in housing, business investment and exports that may benefit companies from builders such as Pulte Group Inc.

Read full post…

Worries about the sovereign debt of Greece And Portugal came firmly to the forefront of investors as both countries had their credit ratings downgraded by 2 notches by the ratings agency Standard And Poor on Tuesday.

Greek bond yields rose to historic highs and their prices tumbled after the news

Other Financial stocks remained in focus as Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS – News) executives testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee examining Goldman’s role in the financial crisis. Goldman’s stock was almost flat while the S&P financial index dropped 2.3 percent.

“The markets are really selling off on the combination of the widening sovereign debt crisis and the hammering that is going on in the Senate hearing,” said Alan Lancz, president of Alan B. Lancz & A

Read full post…

If you have credit card debt there is a good chance that you are interested in getting rid of it as soon as possible. No matter who you are, this type of debt can bog you down and make your financial life more difficult to control. Although you make look at your situation and wonder how you will ever make progress, there are things you can do to get moving in the right direction.

The best way to quickly get rid of credit card debt is to pay it in full. If you send one lump sum for your entire balance, your debt will be gone in a snap of the fingers. While this sounds good on the surface, you know it can be difficult to do – especially if you have a large amount of debt.

If paying in full does not suit you, it is time to devise a plan for paying off your credit card debt. T

Read full post…

There was a 0.6 percent gain in home prices in February, the first annual gain since the end of 2006. This was helped by the temporary tax credits for homebuyers.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday squeezed out a 0.6 percent gain. But that was half the increase analysts had expected. On a more cautionary note, 11 of the 20 cities tracked by the index showed declines from February last year.

The data underscored the fragile nature of the housing recovery. N

Read full post…