My Credit Cards Blog

For those that are paying thousands of dollars in income tax, how would you like to get 2.51% of that back? Lets say you gotta pay $10K in taxes for last year income. If you get 2.51% of $10K back, that is $251 free money back to you. Too good to be true?

First, make sure you have less than 3 Citi Cards so you can apply for the Citi CashReturns Card. The CashReturns card gives you 5% cash back on everything for 3 months. You heard me right, yes 5% cash back on EVERYTHING for the first 3 months with the Citi CashReturns Card. You wondering, I thought you only get 2.51% cash back?

There is a new site Official Payments that allows you to pay your taxes with credit cards. The site charges 2.49% processing fee, therefore you will get 2.51% back from the 5%. This is legit.

From the website:

Official Payments provides electronic payment services to the United States Internal Revenue Service, 25 States, and more than 2,500 local collecting organizations nationwide. The payment pages for each are linked on this website, and grouped into one of the three categories shown below. Select “Pay Now” to begin the process. You can also search for our payment partners by zip code.

You might worry that your approved credit limit is not big enough. It’s simple to raise your credit limit by 1) Ask them to increase your credit limit once approved 2) Transfer your credit limit to your new Citi CashReturns Card from other Citi cards.

There is NO CAPS or LIMITS for cash back earning. Remember, you have 3 months for 5% cash back on Everything. Time the 3 months window right so that you can make all your big purchases during this 3 months. Best time to get this card would be paying your taxes, upcoming wedding, renovating a house, paying your tuition bills, etc etc. Many readers have told me they got over $1000 back with their holidays spending last year.

After signing up for the Citi CashReturns Card, the 3 months officially starts during your application and not the day you got your card in the mail. I would spend everything on this card, whether it’s a getting a coffee at Starbucks or filling up my gas tank. The best part is getting cash back and not Thank You points. Checks will be sent automatically upon earning $50.

Tips:

*If you are converting to this Citi CashReturns from another Citi card, you will not get the 5% Cash Back Promotion.*

**I would even buy gift cards for places you know you will shop. Hence guarantee 5% cash back for the future. Examples: Walmart, gas stations, groceries stores, etc**

***Another site similar to official payment is Pay1040 ***

Quick Summary Citi CashReturns^SM Card:

• Earn 5% cash back on ALL purchases for 3 months
• Earn 1% cash back on ALL purchases and eligible cash advances after the first 3 months
• NO LIMIT and NO EXPIRATION on the amount of cash back you can earn
• Checks will be sent automatically every time you earn $50 - no calling necessary
• 0% APR* on balance transfers for 12 months
• No Annual Fee

Apply Now!

Do you have a Discover More card? Discover gives you a chance to get 5% cash back on special categories. The categories change every month or so. In order to take advantage of the special promo, you must sign up through this Discover link. For the month of February, you get 5% cash back on Restaurants, Florists, Candy Shops, Bookstores, and Pet Stores. Maximum cash back is $200.

From the website:

Sign up to earn 5% Cashback Bonus on purchases at restaurants, florists, bookstores, candy shops and pet stores from 2/1/08 (or the date on which you sign up, whichever is later) through 2/29/08, subject to a cap of $200 in purchases. Restaurant purchases are those made at merchants we classify as full-service restaurants, cafes, cafeterias and fast food locations. Purchases of flowers, books, candy and pet supplies must be made at qualifying stand-alone florists, bookstores, candy shops and pet stores. These purchases must post to your account between 2/1/08 and 2/29/08. Allow up to 5 weeks for this reward to be added to your Cashback Bonus account. You will continue to earn up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on all other purchases. Only Discover More Cardmembers are eligible to participate in this program. See Cashback Bonus Terms and Conditions for further details.

Discover® More^SM Card

• 5% Cashback Bonus® in categories like travel, home, gas, restaurants, movies and more
• 5% to 20% Cashback Bonus at top retailers through our exclusive online shopping site
• Up to 1% Cashback Bonus on all other purchases automatically
• Unlimited cash rewards
• Increase, even double, your rewards when you redeem for gift cards from our 100 Cashback Bonus PartnersApply Now!

Another way to make a few hundred dollars a year is using credit cards with 0% APR on purchases. For example, instead of paying your monthly credit card bills each month, you pay the minimum with the 0% APR cards. Since it’s 0% APR on purchases, there is no interest money to be made from you. Obviously, you must pay all of your balances at the end of your 12 months promo. The money that you were gonna pay every month instead goes into a 5% savings account. It’s even better for the ones with cash back. Why? It’s like double dipping since you are making money on your 0% APR loan and getting cash back on your purchases

Here are the best 12 months 0% APR on purchases with Cash Back:

1. AmEx SimplyCash Business- 0% APR on purchases for 12 months and 5% Cash Back on Gas, Telecom bills, Office Supplies, and 1% everything else.
2. Discover® Open Road^SM Card- Intro 0% APR* on purchases for 6 months and balance transfer for 12 months. You get 5% cash back on gas and auto maintenance, and 1% cash back everything else.
3. AmEx Platinum FreedomPass- 0% APR on purchases for 12 months. You’ll get 5000 points sign up bonus = $50 gift card. Also, 1 point per dollar in spending.
4. Chase Business Rebate- 0% APR on purchases for 12 months. You will also get 3% cash back on restaurants, gas, office supply stores, building and home improvement stores.
5. Discover®Business Card- 0% Intro APR* on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 12 months. You’ll get 5% cash back on office supplies, 2% on gas, and 1% on everything else.

Platinum Business FreedomPass Credit Card from OPEN the small business team is a great card with a great rewards program. Right off the bat, the FreedomPass card gives you 5,000 bonus points with the first purchase. The 5000 bonus points can be converted to a $50 gift card from stores such as Home Depot, Gap, Blockbuster, Barnes & Noble, Banana Republic, and so on.

Whether you have a home-based business or that you have sold something on Ebay, you can apply for a business credit card. You can put your name as the business name and your social security number as the tax id. Your business is called sole proprietorship and it’s perfectly legal with the IRS.

The rewards program is 1 point per dollar spent on the card, with an additional $100 savings for every 7,500 points you accrue. The points never expire, and there are no blackout days or restrictions on use of the points. By the way, there is no annual fee. The online services can help you manage your accounts and track charges made with the card.

There is also a 0% introductory interest rate on purchases for 12 months. This is a great card to make purchase, then pay the minimum only. Since it’s 0% APR on purchases, there is no interest money to be made on you. Instead of paying off each month, you can deposit that money into a 5% savings account. Just make sure that you pay off the entire balance once the promo is over. Last but not least, cardholders benefits include insurance for travel, car rental insurance, and further discounts from other retailers.

Platinum Business FreedomPass Credit Card from OPEN the small business team

• 5,000 point welcome bonus with first purchase
• Earn 1 point for every dollar you spend
• Redeem for savings on any flight, hotel, car rental or cruise
• No blackout dates and no travel restrictions
• 0% Introductory APR on purchases for the first 12 months
• No annual fee and the option to pay over time or pay in full
• Fee-free Additional Cards
• OPEN Savings®: Automatic discounts with FedEx, Delta®, Courtyard by Marriott®, and more

Apply Now!

For those who still have the Citi Dividend card, Citi is running a special offer for Citi Dividend cards. Simply log into your Citi account and the promotional offer should be in your account. You need to activate the offer in order to earn 5% on Electronics, Department and Apparel stores for 3 months.

If you don’t see the promo, remember to register your Citibank dividends card at Citicard in order to activate the promotion. The special promotion section is under the Manage Account menu bar that drops down. You will then get a pop window or a new window with this promotion ad/button.
From the website:

*Earn up to 300 Dividend Dollars in a calendar year, payable in checks of at least $50 only upon your request. Dividend Dollars earned through the Citi Bonus Cash Center are not subject to the calendar-year maximum accumulation. Additional terms and conditions apply. For complete details, see the Citi Dividend Directory of Services.

If you don’t have a Citi Dividend card, I recommend the 5% Cash back on Everything for 3 months with Citi CashReturns Card.

For December, you can get an extra 5% cash back on groceries purchases in addition to restaurants and movies. The maximum is only up to $200 on groceries purchases which is $10 cash bonus. This only work on Discover cards that do not have 5% permanent cash back such as the Discover More or Discover Motiva Card.

In order to get the 5% cash back on groceries, you must login into your Discover account. Then click here to go directly for the sign up page.

Here’s a screenshot of the promo.