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Rewards, sign-up bonuses, balance transfers, fees, protections, and card reviews. Pick the right card and collect more from it than it costs you.
Switching your Chase Sapphire Preferred to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® keeps your account and points but gives up the Reserve’s sign-up bonus, now worth $1,000 at a cent a point, $205 more than its $795 annual fee. If you’ve never had the Reserve, apply for it as a new card first, and upgrade only if you can’t get the bonus.
A rotating-category card pays 5% only if you activate each quarter’s categories. Skip activation and most of those purchases earn just 1%. Set a recurring reminder for the first day of every quarter and activate that day, since some issuers pay the 5% only from your activation date forward.
Many business credit cards don’t require a limited liability company (LLC) or an employer identification number (EIN). If you freelance, do gig work, or run a side business, apply as a sole proprietor, with your own name as the business name and your Social Security number as the tax ID.
Swiping lets a hidden skimmer copy your card’s magnetic stripe, and a thief can turn that data into a fake card. A chip or a tap sends a one-time code, though a skimmer inside a pump or ATM can still read an inserted card’s stripe. Tap when you can, insert the chip when you can’t, and swipe last.
Flexible credit card points can usually move into an airline’s frequent flyer program at one point per mile. There, the same flight often costs far fewer points than in your card’s travel portal, plus taxes and fees in cash. Find the seat on the airline’s site first, then transfer only what the booking needs, since transfers are final.
Your card issuer usually reports the balance on your statement closing date to the credit bureaus, so a card you pay in full every month can still show a big balance. Pay most of it a few days before the statement closes, and your credit report shows a fraction of what you spent.
Paying only your credit card’s minimum keeps the account current but barely reduces what you owe, since most of a typical minimum goes to interest. The minimum also shrinks as the balance falls, which adds years to the payoff. Pick a fixed monthly payment at least as large as this month’s minimum and stick to it.
Before you travel abroad, check your credit card for a foreign transaction fee, usually 1% to 3% of every purchase processed outside the U.S. If it has one, pack a card that charges none. The fee buys you nothing, and it adds up over a whole trip.
You can get a U.S. credit card without a Social Security number (SSN). Many issuers accept an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) in its place, so apply with yours where the application asks for an SSN or ITIN. If you can’t get an SSN and need a number for federal taxes, request an ITIN from the IRS on Form W-7.
Balance transfer arbitrage means borrowing at 0% to park the cash in high-yield savings. The 3% to 5% transfer fee and income tax take most or all of the interest, and anything owed when the 0% ends gets the card’s regular rate, often over 20%. Pass on it and save your 0% offers for high-interest card debt.
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