**GOOD CREDIT CARD HABITS & PERKS**

[UNEEK]

Okay --- so you're going to be a Millionaire in very short time why do you want an education on Credit Cards - You think that you will probably never buy on credit again - Really???? Think again -- and what about your children that are becoming young adults

Wouldn't this be a good education for them to learn responsibilities in managing their spending etc? Before you discount the value of this info maybe you will want to read it first and then contemplate sharing it with a young adult so they do not get caught with a huge credit card debt before they are even ready to buy a home -

I hope you find it informative and of benefit - I especially liked the warranty perk info - Have a great day and do at least ONE thing to prepare for your new wealth - It's Coming <3 <3 <3 UNEEK <3 <3 <3

The "Secret" Credit Card Perk That Saved Me $300 By Elizabeth Lang

What’s a homeowner’s nightmare? You take nine months to redo your kitchen, spend an enormous amount of money, read all sorts reviews to ensure that you’re buying the best appliances, spend a full day installing a monstrosity of an over-the-range microwave (55 pounds!), and two years later that microwave breaks, nearly a year beyond the manufacturer’s warranty.

What’s a homeowner’s lucky break? Using the right credit card to make the purchase in the first place. (See also: The Best Credit Card Perks Beyond Points and Miles)

Some Background on Credit Card Perks

Ever since gaining a fairly comprehensive understanding of my credit cards’ perks (that is, the benefits my cards offer that are not rewards, such as car rental insurance) I have been trying to use an American Express card for all purchases of tangible, long-lasting things. Items like clothes, electronics, jewelry, or toys are some of the types of items that come to mind. (“Tangible, long-lasting things” stands in contrast to other things I might pay for like utility bills, services, or groceries.)

I use my American Express cards (I have a Zync and a Starwood Rewards) for these types of purchases because of the long list of protections they offer. Here are a few key ones:

Price protection refunds you if the price on an item you buy drops.

Purchase protection protects you if an item gets stolen or broken within 30-90 days of purchase.

Extended warranty protection, which is what this article is all about.

About That Microwave We Purchased

The microwave we purchased for our kitchen was a Samsung that was top rated by Consumer Reports the year we got it. We were extremely happy with it until one day, while sitting at breakfast, the microwave turned on without anyone touching it. I went over and looked at it; it was cooking on the “baked potato” setting. I hit “end,” and the microwave started beeping at me and then flashed an “SE” error code. The digital touch panel froze and wouldn’t allow me to press any buttons. After trying a number of different “fixes” (unplugging it, leaving it alone for a few days, etc.) we gave up.

So, I googled the issue and what turns up? Hundreds (and I’m not exaggerating) of people with the exact same problem! An SE error code prevents their microwaves from working after just one or two years of ownership. I trusted the experience of these others who all indicated that it would cost more to fix than the microwave was worth. (One person did actually take the machine apart, do some technical stuff, put it back together, and it worked. But I’m an attorney, not an engineer, so that wasn’t a route for me.) So we concluded that our microwave was officially busted. The warranty was for just one year and our busted Samsung was approaching its second year in our home.

Now what?

The Eureka Moment

After spending several days furious at Samsung and Consumer Reports — and growing tired of having to heat everything up on the stove or the oven for our one-year-old — I remembered that American Express offers “extended warranties.” First, I prayed that I had remembered to buy the microwave on my Amex. Thankfully, it was an online purchase, and it was simple to search through my email and find the exact date and amount of purchase, and which card I put it on. The result? I had charged it to my Zync card from American Express.

Next I visited the page on their website that covers extended warranties:

Embedded Protection — Charge your eligible purchases that have a valid U.S. manufacturer's warranty of 5 years or less to the Card.

Extend Your Warranty — Extended Warranty can extend the terms of the original U.S. manufacturer's warranty for up to one additional year on eligible purchases with warranties of 5 years or less, when the eligible purchase is charged to the Card.

So, with the Extended Warranty program my microwave’s warranty was officially valid for two years. I double-checked the date of the purchase on the receipt email. We were less than a week shy of the two-year expiration. A lucky break.

Waiting for the Catch

So, I filled out the form on the American Express website. It took less than 10 minutes to complete and only required a few details about the microwave, the Samsung warranty, and the purchase. Someone would be in touch within 30-45 days or contact me if they needed further information.

Honestly, the process seemed too easy. I was waiting for them to make me do something ridiculous, like prove the microwave was broken by uninstalling it and shipping it to some far away repair facility. Or that they would credit me $10 for the depreciated value of my busted microwave.

Instead, less than a week later, I got an email saying that they credited the full purchase price of the microwave — nearly $300 — back to my card. The claim was resolved, just like that. After being incredibly glad our credit card offered this perk, we started shopping for a new microwave. You can probably guess which credit card I charged my new microwave to.

Read the Fine Print

So what’s the takeaway from this? Spend 15 minutes looking at your credit card fine print and learn about their perks. If something breaks, use the warranty protection. Based on my experience, American Express’ warranty protection is an incredibly simple process that will leave you extremely glad you charge things to your credit card.

Note that warranty protection services may vary by card and most have limits of three to five claims totaling no more than $1,000 per year. Also, remember that it’s a crime to submit false claims to insurance companies, so don’t even think about trying to “hack” this reward as you’ll wind up guilty of insurance fraud.

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How to Take Advantage of Free Extended Warranty From Your Credit Card Issuer

by Xin Lu

couple weeks ago my husband and I were watching a movie on our Playstation 3, and suddenly the disc stopped spinning. After some investigating it seemed like the entire Blu-ray player stopped functioning. Since we purchased the Playstation more than a year ago it was no longer covered by the manufacturer's warranty, but luckily we purchased it with an American Express card, and the extended warranty program offered by AMEX was still in effect. To make a long story short, we are getting our Playstation fixed for free, and this is how you can also take advantage of free extended warranty offered by credit card companies.

First of all, your purchase has to be on a card that offers extended warranty as a benefit. All American Express cards currently offer the extended warranty benefit. Visa has the Visa Warranty Manager program for Visa Signature Cards, and MasterCard offers warranty extension to their Platinum, Gold, and World card holders. If you are not sure that your card qualifies you can always call the number on the back of the card and ask about your benefits. (See also: The "Secret" Credit Card Perk That Saved Me $300)

Each credit card company has a slightly different extended warranty program. American Express extends the warranty for one additional year on manufacturer warranties of 5 years or less. Visa extends warranties for up to one year on original warranties of 3 years of less and also allows consumers to purchase extended warranties that are generally cheaper than what is offered at retail stores.

MasterCard currently doubles the manufacturer's warranty time period up to the maximum of 1 additional year, but if the original warranty is already more than a year, MasterCard will not extend the warranty. Also, if you purchase more than a year of extended warranty on your own, MasterCard will not extended any warranty beyond that. If you put these programs side by side, American Express's extended warranty program is the best because it has the least amount of limitations.

If you want to use your credit card issuer's extended warranty you would need to keep a good set of documentation of your purchase for your claim. You should definitely keep the original receipt for your purchase because the credit card company would ask for this when you make a claim. You also need a copy of your original manufacturer's warranty and an estimate of any repair costs.

It is best to get the repair costs from the original manufacturer of your product. If the repair costs exceed the cost of replacing the item then the claims department may just choose to give you enough money to purchase a replacement. You can file the claim by phone, or online, and documentation would need to be mailed, faxed, or emailed. It is probably best to speak to a live person by phone to make sure what you are submitting is correct.

Generally it takes a week or two to process a claim, and if your claim is approved then your credit card company would send you a check or issue an instant credit on your card for you to pay for the repair or replacement. In the case of our broken Playstation 3, American Express put a credit for the cost of the repair on our card and my husband used it to pay Sony to fix the product. The whole process was quite easy and I am very happy that it worked out. My husband and I never purchase extended warranty at retail stores, and in this situation AMEX's extended warranty saved us several hundred dollars.

Finally, there is a chance that the extended warranty claim could be denied due to insufficient documentation, and if you cannot find the required documentation to send in then you might be out of luck. In that case you could always try to see if your broken product is on a recall list, or perhaps search for a fix online.

Have you ever used your credit card's extended warranty benefits? What was your experience?

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12 Habits of Highly Responsible Credit Card Users By Elizabeth Lang

Everyone should aspire to be a highly responsible credit card user. Besides obvious benefits such as staying out of debt, highly responsible credit card users will also be happier and less stressed out about their money because they’re in more control. So, what are the key habits of highly responsible card users? (See also: Keep Your Credit Card Safe While Shopping Online)

1. Sign Up for Auto Pay

Every credit card offers an automatic payment system. Auto pay does just what you might think — it automatically pays your bill each month on the date it’s due. If you miss a payment or make a late payment, you’ll not only incur hefty fees, but you can also hurt your credit score (depending on how late your payment is). So, by enrolling in automatic payments, you prevent these issues. Most card companies offer you the option to sign up for auto pay on the card’s website; if not, call the company and they will mail you a form to complete. Just make sure that you have enough money in your bank account to ensure you won’t be overdrawn when the auto pay makes its withdrawal from your account.

2. Register for the Card’s Website

If you’re not banking online, you should be. When you sign up and register for the card’s website, you’ll have instant access to your card’s balance. But you’ll also be able to have faster access to the rewards program and customer service. When you’re traveling internationally, you won’t have to incur fees to call your bank — you can just log on. Finally, registering for the card’s website enables you to access other features like text or email reminders.

3. Sign Up for Text or Email Reminders

No one actually wants to login to their credit card account every day or week (depending on your compulsiveness). Instead, you should sign up for text or email notification of key events such as payment due dates. Some cards will send you a reminder if you are getting close to a set spending limit. Personally, I get emails once a month with my statement balance.

4. Check Your Statement Once a Month

Just because you are enrolled in auto pay and get monthly reminders of your balance doesn’t mean you can forego actually reading your statement. Every month, sit down and look through your statement to ensure there are no erroneous charges. Just this past summer I discovered two fraudulent charges for a rental car that I never rented (in a city I hadn’t visited.) The charges were relatively small, so had I not looked at the statement, I might have completely overlooked them.

5. Pay Your Balance in Full

When you enroll in auto pay, select the option to pay your statement balance in full. All highly responsible credit card users pay their balances in full each month to avoid interest and fees. If you can’t afford to pay your statement in full each month, pay as much as you can afford, and call your credit card company to negotiate a lower interest rate for your card.

6. Know Your Perks

love telling people that if they lose an earring or spill red wine on white pants just after making a new purchase, they may be eligible for a replacement or refund from their credit card. Seriously. You have a lot more credit card perks than you likely know about. Check out my credit card perks checklist, and then call your card company to request a complete list of membership benefits.

7. Use Your Perks

Once you know your credit card perks, start using them. When you go on vacation, pay with the credit card that offers the best car rental insurance. When your new scarf is lost or stolen, report it to the credit card and get a refund. When the price on the phone you just purchased drops by $50, call your card company and request a purchase price adjustment. It’s that easy.

8. Use a Rewards Card that Matches Your Spending Habits

You should be using a rewards card — one that matches your spending habits. For instance, if you’re a new parent, use a card that’s good for new parents. If you drive a lot, get a card that offers 5% back on gas. Travel much? Choose a travel rewards card. You get the idea. Don’t just settle for a card that gives you 1% cash back on everything. If you do this you’re likely passing up on hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of rewards each year. Instead, spend 30 minutes reviewing a few recent months of spending, and get a card that gives the highest rewards for where you spend the most money.

9. Spend Rewards Wisely

Once you’ve earned rewards, you need to spend them. Don’t just opt for cash back. If you can trade your rewards points for items or travel, those may be better deals. For instance, I get a much better value when I use my American Express points for hotel nights or airfare than I would by buying a gift certificate. I’m currently planning on using what amounts to about $700 in cash back rewards for $2,400 worth of hotel nights.

You don’t have to spend a lot of time calculating the reward value, but a few minutes could lead to a huge boost in benefits. Most importantly, spend the rewards on items you actually need or want. Don’t just opt for a Gap gift certificate because it’s the first thing that pops up in the rewards redemption. If you can get an Amazon gift certificate that won’t just sit in your drawer for years, get that instead.

10. Choose Your Payment Date

One of the best little-known habits of highly responsible card users is that they choose their credit card due date. I have my cards set up to all be due a few days after payday. This gives me time to ensure that the paycheck was properly deposited and cleared, but not so much time that the money in my bank account gets spent on other items. Plus, it’s much easier to just check my account once a month and say, “I know my credit card totals were $1,000 this month, and yes, I have that in my account today,” rather than having to check my account multiple times each month.

11. Don’t Cancel Your Card

Even if you’re not using your credit card very frequently, you shouldn’t cancel it. Canceling a credit card may actually lower your credit rating. Instead, keep the card in your dresser drawer, and use it once a year. (See next tip.) The primary exception would be that you can cancel your card if it has a fee (as paying the fee may cost more than a ding to your credit score would).

12. Use All Your Cards Once a Year

Credit card companies know that it costs a lot of money in administrative costs to retain a card user who isn’t using their card. As such, some card companies have started cancelling cards that haven’t been used frequently enough. If you have a card tucked away because you don’t use it very often, I recommend either setting up one monthly expense on the card (like Netflix) or just taking the card out once a year for a random expense. That way you won’t risk having the card canceled on you which will lower your credit score.

What good habits have you developed as a responsible credit card user?

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[gamblinkid]

Thanks for great info!!! Also, American Express offers optional travel/flight insurance at $9.95 per trip; use this instead of airline insurance.