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Jason Steele
Jason has been writing about personal finance, travel, and other topics on blogs across the Internet. When he is not writing, he has a career in information technology and is also a commercially rated pilot. Jason lives in Colorado with his wife and young daughter where he enjoys parenting, cycling, and other extreme sports.

Citi mtvU Platinum Select Credit Card Review for College Students

Jason Steele

citi mtvu credit cardObtain a student credit card to develop your personal finance skills. Receiving rewards for charging more purchases to a credit card may seem tempting, but students should limit their spending, and pay their balances in full every month.

The Citi mtvU Platinum Select card rewards students for good grades. Students can redeem awards for MTV-branded merchandise and events.

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Key Features

  • Earn ThankYou Points. For each dollar spent, students earn a point in Citi’s proprietary rewards program. Students earn five ThankYou points for spending in categories popular with students including book stores, movie theaters, music stores, restaurants, and video rental stores. Students can earn up to 75,000 ThankYou points each year.

Chase Ink Classic Business Credit Card Review – 25,000 Bonus Points

Jason Steele

When a small business applies for a credit card, simplicity is the order of the day. Although previous purchases were made with cash, checks, or personal credit cards, the company is now tasked with managing a new method of payment. Advantages include convenience, a record of spending, and even credit card rewards.

Chase offers its Ink Classic Card for small businesses and sole proprietors that are looking for business credit cards with simple rewards and no annual fee.

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Key Features

  • Sign-Up Bonus. Chase is offering a bonus of 25,000 points: 10,000 points after your first purchase and another 15,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first three months. This is worth $250 in cash back or other rewards.

What to Look for When Buying a Laptop Computer – Specs Explained

Jason Steele

man holding laptop computerLaptop computers used to come with a prohibitive price tag compared to the cost of mainstream desktop computers. Over the past few years, however, the desktop’s cost advantage has vanished, making a laptop the overwhelming favorite if you have limited desk space or just think you have the slightest chance you might use your computer outside of your home.

At the same time, technological advances have brought about laptops that are smaller, faster, lighter, and easier to use. The only downside to these developments is that now you have a lot of options, and choosing the right laptop is increasingly difficult. Here are the factors that you need to consider:

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10 Best Credit Cards for College Students

Jason Steele

girl college student laptop credit cardMany students enter college armed only with credit cards provided by their parents. At some point during their studies, however, students may decide that they need their own credit cards. They can use credit cards to build good credit history in college, while also learning how to manage their own finances.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out this way. College students often have trouble controlling their spending, and end up with mounting credit card debt while still enrolled in school. Young adults should view student credit cards as a means to learn sound financial habits that they can use long after graduation.

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6 Reasons to Buy a Car with Cash and Avoid Car Loans

Jason Steele

buy car cashDo Americans love their cars too much? Even as a car lover myself, I would argue yes. There is no other explanation for our behavior. Most of us who wouldn’t consider financing furniture or appliance purchases will take out a loan to finance our vehicles without a second thought.

Every time I fill out an application that inquires about my family’s finances, there is always a section that asks how much my car payment is. Ever since I bought my first car, my answer has always been the same: zero. Yet, I invariably see friends and co-workers driving around in new cars bragging about the great terms they got on financing. As you will see, great financing is always an illusion and you actually should never borrow money to buy a car. Cash is still king when it comes to purchasing your car.

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Chase Continental Presidential Plus Credit Card Review

Jason Steele

This card has been discontinued since the merge of United and Continental Airlines. See the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Card for the new version.

The quest to earn additional frequent flyer miles has disillusioned many travelers. Banks and airlines have started to take notice, offering non-mileage rewards and perks, including free checked bags, priority check in, and discounted tickets.

The Continental Airlines Presidential Plus Card from Chase exemplifies this trend. The card offers plenty of frequent flyer miles, and many other non-mileage benefits.

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The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN – Review

Jason Steele

american express business gold cardBanks offer a range of credit cards targeted towards businesses. Sole proprietors, who wish to keep their company expenses separate from their personal charges, can also benefit from these cards. Businesspeople want to earn rewards for using their credit cards, and receive travel perks.

The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN is ideal for companies and individuals willing to pay an annual fee in order to receive extensive benefits and rewards.

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Blue Sky from American Express® – Credit Card Review

Jason Steele

american express blue sky cardThe market for rewards credit cards has historically been dominated by cards that offer frequent flyer miles with one or more airlines. But for some people, those rewards have lost their value, especially since it has become extremely difficult to redeem miles for convenient flights.

That’s one reason why cash back rewards cards, like the Blue Sky from American Express®, have grown in popularity. Let’s take a closer look at the features of these credit cards, and some of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

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Key Features

  • Sign-Up Bonus. The Blue Sky provides 7,500 bonus points (redeemable for a $100 statement credit) after spending $1,000 in the first three months.

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express – Review

Jason Steele

american express blue cash everydayMost cardholders with rewards plans are high-flying, big-spending travelers.

Many business travelers, however, aren’t really part of the jet set. Traveling on the company’s budget is fine, but when it comes to personal travel, it’s tough to spend that cash.

For smart credit card users who want the benefit of a travel card but without the expensive costs and fees, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is a good option. You’ll get plenty of benefits at an affordable price.

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Key Features

  • Sign-Up Bonus. You get a bonus of $100 after you spend $1,000 on the card during the first three months.

HSBC Advance Online Savings Account Review

Jason Steele

In this day and age, online savings accounts have taken the reins in the industry. Online accounts provide the flexibility of anytime banking with a high annual percentage yield (APY).

The main attraction of online banks is that they can provide higher interest rates because they don’t have the added costs of running many traditional brick-and-mortar banks. They also tend to boast no maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements. Online savings accounts have the capability to link to external bank accounts, which makes transferring money easy.

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10 Best Low APR Interest Credit Cards

Jason Steele

credit card statementCredit card rule number one: Pay on time and pay your balance in full if you can. When you avoid carrying a balance, you avoid paying interest.

Most cardholders in the United States, however, can’t follow this rule. Paying on time is tough enough, and if you’re not careful about your spending, then paying in full will be impossible. If you’re in that boat, then the most important consideration when choosing a credit card is the interest rate. You need a low annual percentage rate if you’re going to carry a balance for months or years. With rising interest rates and disappearing promotional introductory rates, how do you know what the best rates are? Use this list of the ten lowest APR cards.

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Chase Continental OnePass Plus Credit Card Review

Jason Steele

This card has been discontinued since the merge of United and Continental Airlines. See the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Card for the new version.

Airline-affiliated travel rewards credit cards have evolved to the point where customers are now expecting far more than just frequent flyer miles. Every year, banks and airlines strengthen their symbiotic relationship in order to generate more revenue from their mutual clients. In order to entice these passengers to use their products, the airlines’ credit card offerings now contain baggage fee waivers, bonus miles, and even cash back.

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How to Redeem Delta SkyMiles Rewards for the Most Valuable Flights

Jason Steele

delta skymiles logoDuring the last few years, Delta Airlines exited bankruptcy, acquired Northwest Airlines, and emerged as a global powerhouse. But despite their transformation, one lingering frustration for customers has been attempting to redeem their Delta SkyMiles without giving up an absurd amount of miles.

In fact, the Wall Street Journal reported on a survey of frequent flyer award availability and found that Delta ranked the worst among the majors with a mere 13% success rate in finding affordably priced awards. Delta even admitted its problem and promised to change, but observers have not noticed anything yet.

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What to Do with Unwanted Gift Cards – Sell, Trade, or Exchange

Jason Steele

unwanted gift cardIf you have unused gift cards lying around collecting dust, don’t let them go to waste. The gift card industry is worth an estimated $60 billion, and experts say that at least 10% to 15% of gift cards are not redeemed. That’s $6 to $9 billion dollars that consumers never use.

The retailers are counting on this, since unused gift cards equate to company profits. However, unused gift cards don’t have to go to waste. There are several websites, including eBay, where gift cards are being traded, and even sold, for cash.

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Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard® Review

Jason Steele

citi aadvantage mastercardRemember the good old days when you could call an airline and make an award reservation in much the same way that you could purchase a ticket? It was quick, convenient, and you could save loads of money on travel.

Sadly, those days seem to be long gone at airlines as travelers frequently are informed that there are no award seats at the lowest levels for weeks or even months at at time – unless you have a Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard®.

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