Visa Reward

I am looking forward to redeem my reward from my Visa reward card. I just swiped 3k yesterday at the hospital to pay for ward admission deposit. I'll tell you later about it ok. :)

Hoping to buy more books for my children with the reward points. Books are not cheap here so the only time I can buy books is when I have extra money. In this case, redemption voucher.

Amount We Owe You

I just check one of my credit cards statement. I am so relieved to see at the summary of the statement "amount we owe you".

You see, I posted my cheque on 20th and the due date for payment is on the 27th. After I dropped the cheque into the letterbox, I noticed there is a note saying that next collection is on Monday; that will be a day before the payment due date. Nowadays postman so lazy one arh? Collect letter once a week???

I panicked coz the amount for late payment and finance charges would be at least RM40 and I am not the one who spent so much on that credit card; my sister used that to pay her phone bills and air fare.

So I wrote a "love letter" and stick it on my mail box asking the postman favor to collect the letter from that particular letterbox ASAP. I think he read my "love letter" coz the credit card company received my payment exactly on the due date day. ;)

If not, I will need to look for credit cards for bad credit. :(

RM50 for credit card IS a big deal

I have a few credit cards because I was begged to sign up for it and was given free annual fee for life. Since the PM has decided to impose a RM50 annual service tax on principal credit and charge cards, I am so going to collect ALL my credit cards and cancel them one by one.

And I have one compulsory to have credit card as part of the home loan offer; I am definitely going to call the bank to check whether they are going to charge me the RM50 or not. If yes, super please lar, I am already paying you the home loan interest, don't squeeze out more money from me. I don't have much of it you know.

RM50 is a BIG DEAL for a SAHM like me and others too.

Expired UniRinggit Reward Points

When I open up my credit card bill, the only thing that I will look for is the amount due. Only when I have the time, I will look at the reward points. Due to it, I lost more than 3k reward points which expired on Sept 30! Since the next expiring reward points will be on Dec 31, I quickly make a redemption before I miss it out again.

Now I am waiting for my RM50 Tesco voucher then I can go shop for my list of Things To Buy which easily cost more than RM50. But nevermind lar, at least RM50 is being sponsored. =D. This is the only reason, I like using credit card. With this saving, I hope I can have enough soon to invest in silver from Monex. :)

Need USD500 by 10th January!

*Big Sigh* My mistake.

I should have inform my insurance agent earlier to change my life insurance payment to monthly earlier. Now one year premium has been billed to my credit card. Not only that, my medical insurance is also due in the same month, December!

Some of you might think, "Oh, credit card...nevermind, can pay slowly." But this credit card of mine is auto-debit every 17th and I have to have the full amount by 17th. If not the bank will charge me a certain penalty fee!

Where/how to find USD500 within 8 days???

Credit Cards and Bonuslink Points

Recently I redeemed 2 credit cards reward points and Bonuslink points. The first one was the UOB Uniringgit Points which really disappoints me because the Kamdar Vouchers that I redeemed can't be used in Melaka. And there was no clause at all that said it can only be used in Kamdar, KL on the redemption page! On top of that, they sent me the vouchers with the date altered! I emailed them about it and they ended up having to spend more collecting it from me and send me new vouchers to replace them.

Next was my Bonuslink point. Without much thought, I redeemed the KFC & Pizza Hut RM50 vouchers after I discovered that my 2nd girl and son loves eating pizza. =)

Then my HLB credit card point is also expiring by end of this year. I wanted to get something tangible, practical and for myself. I exchanged it for the Amway 1.5L Water Tumbler. It comes together with a bag which is very convenient for me to bring the tumbler where ever I go; just sling it on my shoulder.

Thank God Citibank credit card point does not have expiry date. I want to collect as many and hope to redeem one of those Soccer Goals so that my son and his father can play soccer at home.

These are the reasons I like using credit cards instead of cash when shopping. =)

Saving in Times of Recession

Times are bad now. Even my apartment that has good location is not able to be rented out. At least I still have some online income to pay for the home loan. I wonder, for those that has been retrenched who has secured loan, how are they going to pay for their loans? They will loose more if they can't pay the loans because in order to get the secured loans, they have to pledge an asset, normally a car or a house. When they can't pay, their asset will be sold!

Here is another way where you can save when using credit card. If you have good credit score, apply for credit cards for people with good credit score. You will enjoy low APR on purchases and balance transfer. You can even get a deal with 0% APR during the introductory period! On top of that, you are not required you to pay a set-up fee or a maintenance fee.

This is because people with good credit score are good paymaster and the banks trust this kind of customer because they will not likely to go over credit limit or miss payments.

Need Cash to Buy Cyber Cafe

We were offered to buy over a cyber café but we do not have the cash to buy it. Hubby does not want to borrow from my dad nor from any of his brothers. Enough troubling our loved ones. Sad to say, we do not have much savings too. They are just enough to cover our expenses for a few more months since I no longer contribute much income to the family.

So I suggested hubby either to apply for personal loan from the bank or look for Low Interest Cards. Previously, when we don’t need the cash, I received a few phone calls from credit card provider offering $10 thousand with very low interest. Now, when we needed them, my phone doesn’t ring!

Talking about credit card, I must remind hubby to start using his visa credit card because there is a minimum swipe that he needs to have in order to be waived from the annual fee.

What To Do When You Overspent Your Credit Card

When I was still working, I count the days to receiving my credit cards statement and eagerly pay all the balance due way before the due date.

Now being jobless, I wish that they don’t turn up at all! LOL. And when they do turn up, I open them with fear and trembling.

Noticed that I used the word “them”? I am using a few credit cards but each for different purposes; one for insurance, one for petrol, one for utility bills and one for shopping. The one that I dread receiving the most is the shopping credit card because I don’t usually track my spending.

Thank God there are Balance transfers. If one credit card goes way above my ability to settle full payment, I just transfer the balance to another card and save on the interest rate. Some don’t even charge interest for a few months. Isn’t that great? But that does not mean that I can continue spending like there’s not tomorrow. ;)

Where to find the Best Credit Card Rates

I can’t live without the plastic. Can you? They are so convenient that it as become part of my life. Having no credit card is like going shopping without wearing any clothes. I feel naked.

Having said that, owning a credit card is not about owning just any credit card. You must get a credit card that best suits your spending habits to get the most out of it. I will go for Rewards Cards in which I will get Cash Rebates Cards or those with redemption points and no annual fee. I hardly see the APR of the cards because I always pay on time.

But if you plan to spend on something big like buying a laptop, expensive electrical item or even buying a car in which you plan to pay installment, do look for low or 0% APR to save on the interest rate. If your credit history is good or excellent, not only you are eligible for the lowest APR deals from MasterCard or Visa, you will also enjoy their no annual fee, rewards, cash and gas rebates.

So, where can I get the best credit card rates? You may ask. ApplyForCreditCard.com of course. Not only you can compare the credit cards from different provider and choose one that best suits your needs, there is also a very good tips on applying for cards with Low or 0% APR. Please read that first before applying for one.