Review: Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa Card

By Peter Andrew

Editor's Note: Thank you for your interest, this offer expired and is no longer available.

My niece Jemma called recently, and launched into a long sob story about juggling small kids (it should be an Olympic sport) with trips to the laundromat. Her washer had recently broken down, and couldn't be repaired economically. She was too financially responsible -- something she didn't get from my side of the family -- to dip into her emergency fund, and was saving up for a new one.

The first questions I asked Jemma were whether she'd bought the old machine using a credit card, and, if so, how long ago she made the purchase. I was wondering whether her card offered an extended warranty, which might have doubled the coverage of a manufacturer's one. But the defunct washer was ancient so that was a non-starter. My second inquiry was whether she'd thought of applying for a zero-interest balance-transfer credit card offer. Most of these offer interest-free introductory periods for purchases as well as transfers, so she could easily pay down her new appliance over a year at precisely the same cost (nothing) as saving up -- but without those pesky laundromat trips. One of the cards I could safely have recommended was the Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa® Card.

By Justin Boyle

I was over at the house of some friends a couple of weeks ago when an interesting subject came up: What happens with your credit accounts when you die? Can your unpaid credit card bills affect you or your family once you've departed this mortal coil?

The answer, it turns out, is complicated. It depends on the amount of your debt, the status of your estate, the contracts you have with your credit companies and a few other factors that might surprise you.

Your debt is your own

Typically, your spouse, relatives and descendants cannot be held liable for the debt that you racked up in life, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In other words, your credit history follows you to the grave, and no credit company or collections agency has the right to force your debt on anyone else.

Credit companies do have the right, though, to attempt to recoup what they're owed.

By Peter Andrew

Editor's Note: Thank you for your interest, this offer expired and is no longer available.

It could have been a lot worse. But at the time, last Sunday, it felt pretty bad. First, the delayed-take-off announcement. Then, the news that the airport to which we were flying was snowed in, and the flight had to be diverted. Next, on arrival, the three-hour bus trip (in a vehicle that had clearly been designed with the leg-room needs of seven-year-olds in mind) to the original destination. And, finally, the seemingly inevitable flu that comes from flying a budget airline that, in order to save a few bucks on fuel, endlessly recirculates the virus-laden cabin air.

If I still flew frequently, I'd cheerfully pay a few hundred dollars a year for one of those high-end airline credit cards that allow you to jump lines with priority check in, security screening and boarding, and give you free access to tranquil, comfortable lounges. But I don't, and those three-digit annual fees are impossible to justify for a few hours of discomfort each year. So perhaps I should consider something more affordable but with fewer privileges: something like the CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® World MasterCard®, which is currently offering 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles as a sign-up reward, providing you spend on it at least $1,000 in purchases in the first three months after your account is opened.

By Jennifer Goforth Gregory

Instead of complaining about the overcast skies and bitter temperatures, I have spent the last week redeeming frequent flier miles and hotel points to plan our family's summer vacation to Hawaii.

While it's satisfying to harvest the perks for our past credit card spending, the best part may be knowing that this year's reward points may help finance our next trip. With a little research and legwork, credit cards can help you get more for your vacation dollar -- especially if you know a few tricks.

Here are four ways to use your credit cards to save money on your getaways.

1. Look for partnership perks

When we were looking for a rental car, my husband checked online and found that one of our credit cards was offering a discount on car rentals from a certain company.

By Tim Sullivan

When a costly emergency strikes, is your first instinct to pull out your credit card? If so, you may want to consider the benefits of building an emergency fund.

Creating an emergency fund is a vital step toward becoming a responsible credit card user. A credit card can be the perfect tool for many financial situations, but confronting large, unanticipated expenses isn't one of them. Even if your interest rate is low, monthly interest charges can still add up quickly. But a well-stocked emergency fund can prevent the need to go into debt when sudden events force you to reach for your wallet.

What is an emergency fund?

An emergency fund consists of easily accessible assets set aside -- typically in a bank account separate from your normal funds -- to be used only in the case of an emergency. It's not for movie tickets, vacations or video games. It's only for vital, unforeseeable expenses that are not part of your normal monthly budget.

What counts as an emergency?

Simply put, it's any unexpected, essential expense that your budget can't handle. Whether it's a sudden job loss or an accident that injures you or a member of your family, your emergency fund is there to help you cope with difficult times.

By Peter Andrew

Editor's Note: Thank you for your interest, this offer expired and is no longer available.

People like their computers for different reasons. Me? It's because mine brings a smidgen of order into a life that would otherwise be unrelentingly chaotic. Calendar alerts, reminder emails, electronic post-it notes -- these are the only reason I deliver work on time and turn up to social events. They're also the only things that stand between me and a constant stream through my front door of debt collectors, repo people and writ servers.

All those e-reminders should mean that I would be able to make the most of a Chase Freedom MasterCard. True, it's a perfectly good rewards credit card without your actively managing it. But, to maximize your cash back, you must take full advantage of the card's 5-percent bonus rate.

Great rewards -- if you work for them

To get the most from that 5-percent cash-back offer, you have to remember to re-register each quarter, when the categories of spending (for example, drug store, gas station and restaurant purchases, among many others) that attract the bonus rate change. It's also advisable to schedule your purchases through the year so that you buy things in the appropriate quarter, and to not bust through the spending cap -- $1,500 at the time of writing -- that limits your ability to earn bonus rewards during those three months.

No amount of electronic prompting would persuade me to jump through those hoops.