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Get the latest American Express news and read our financial and credit articles related to American Express card offers. American Express
According to the American Express website, the recession will not stop some consumers from reducing their spending this holiday season. Their survey reveals that about 10% of consumers will open their wallets and spend more on holiday gifts and 43% plan to spend the same as last year. Consumers aren't gloomy about the holiday season as about 41% of the general population say they are "joyful". Personal needs items was a top reason from those consumers who expect to spend more in the next 30 days. According to Pamela Codispoti, the American Express senior vice president and general manager, Cardmembers intend to spend on loved ones and plan to give more gift cards instead of cash. They plan to will use the Internet for more holiday shopping and those hard to find gifts. American Express Leadership Academy
American Express began its Nonprofit Leadership Academy which is a program to develop the next generation of leaders in the nonprofit sector. Its training program is for a week and has a partnership with the Center for Creative Leadership. Participants experience leadership training through the Academy. They learn about their own strengths and weaknesses as managers and learn skills for leadership.
They have sessions with American Express executives and listen to discussions about relationships between technology, demographics, and social changes. The program offers training to be effective in the 21st century. It was started in 2008 to meet the need of leadership in the nonprofit sector. The twenty-four participants are chosen based upon a competitive application process. Participants in this session have been paired with alumni from the April 2009 class who act as mentors, answer questions, and provide guidance about how to get the most out of the Academy experience. American Express Shopping Promotions
American Express has information on their website that they will be more generous with the holiday reward points promotions for cardmembers. This will be for a limited time with rewards as much as 3 times or 6 times greater in some promotions. If you missed the promotions for Black Friday, there may still be some promotions for shopping online at Amazon. Visit their website for details about all their promotions and reward points. American Express
American Express and Dunkin' Donuts® have
joined to together so card holders can sign up Auto-Recharge, an automatic reloading feature on the Dunkin' Donuts
Card. Cardmembers could receive a 20 percent bonus on each Auto-Recharge transaction of $25 or
more and for each $25 Auto-Recharge, American Express will load an extra $5 onto the Dunkin' Donuts Card.
American Express Cardmembers can take advantage of this through March 31, 2010.
Cardmembers can enjoy coffee, muffins and donuts on American Express for a
limited time. Dunkin' Donuts Cards are available at participating restaurants and online at
DunkinDonuts. Cardmembers who sign up for this can also get additional perks in-store and online
with offers and product news specific to their local market. American
Express American
Express is planning some audio webcast of its investor conference call on January 21,
2010 and its financial community meeting on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 and will provide an overview of the company's business strategy.
This Live audio of both will be accessible to the public by visiting
ir.americanexpress.com. Materials will be posted on the Web site before each event, and audio replays will be available on the Web site following each event.
For this and more information, visit their website. One
of their popular credit cards is the Starwood
Preferred Guest® Credit Card, cardholders can earn Starpoints at
participating Starwood hotels and resorts. These can be redeemed for free Night
Awards at over 940 Starwood Hotels and Resorts and for flights on over 30
airlines with no blackout dates. Also, there is No annual fee for the first year
the cardholder can get some Starpoints®. American
Express Cards
American Express OPEN®
and the Lowe's Companies, Inc. have launched a credit card for business owners. The Lowe's Business Rewards Card from
American Express is a
business credit card that allows business owners to earn points on card purchases. This is
a rewards program offered to Lowe's small business credit customers. This can
help small business owners who pay their charge cards in full and help them manage their spending
while providing credit they can use to run their companies. The new card provides a tiered structure for earning rewards points.
There are one point rewards, double rewards, and triple reward points depending
on types of purchases and where the purchase was made. Lowe's wants to provide a
good customer experience and the card could offer convenience and rewards for business owners
who need it. The Lowe's Business Rewards Card was presented at the International Builders
Show and will be available at Lowe's retail locations March 2010. To learn more
about this card, visit the American Express website for this information and
more details. American
Express American Express®
has Gold Card
offers, some offer rewards and points on everyday purchases that can be redeemed
for travel, shopping, dining, and entertainment. Some offers may have no pre-set
spending limits, no annual fees the first year, and other great rewards.
Cardholders may be able to get exclusive offers, travel rewards, perks to
concerts or special events, and there may be options for upgrades. There are
different offers for their cards, so it is important to check all the options to
get the gold card with the benefits that will benefit your life style. Visit
their website for all this information and more details or review these offers. American
Express March 02, 2010,
according to the American Express website, the "Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence"
named Sarah Stevens the grand prize winner of the Make Mine a Million $ Business RACE
(M3RACE). This was a year-long business growth competition for women entrepreneurs at the American Express OPEN® Women's Business Summit.
Her company, Stevens Technologies, achieved the greatest year-over-year increase in gross annual
revenue and also increased the number of employees who have health benefits, 401k packages and paid
leave. Her company also serves as a subcontractor to Federal agencies like NASA, Langley Research Center.
Stevens will also receive a year of growth-focused resources such as marketing, advertising and media opportunities as part of the grand prize. Sarah's story
is inspiring among days of economic crisis by earning revenue and creating jobs
to help with some economic recovery. Since 2005, the movement has
helped women grow their entrepreneurial ventures, and by providing women entrepreneurs
with business growth resources. Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence is
a national non profit provider of resources for women entrepreneurs who want
to grow micro businesses to million dollar enterprises. They launched Make Mine a Million $ Business® to inspire one million women entrepreneurs to scale their businesses to a million dollars in revenue.
For this information and more visit the American
Express website. Rewards Cards Reward credit cards
can be very appealing. Yet it is important to do some research before making a selection. Read the fine print to make sure the other
fees don't exceed the rewards you will get in return. Some cards don't give rewards if a balance is carried from one month to another
so it may be necessary to pay off the balance every month. They could even charge higher interest rates on outstanding balances. Read the terms carefully and take notice of words like "up to". This can mean the maximum you can get. You may not go up to that level unless you spend a
lot of money on the card. In that case, you may get less than the advertised reward. The actual cost of the points is important and you should figure how
much money is required to get a particular reward. By doing some figuring it is easy to get an idea about the cost. If you are required to spend $10,000
just to get the reward of a gift voucher of $60, it does not seem worth the effort. Your spending habits are important
in addition to how much is necessary to earn rewards. For example, programs offering frequent flyer miles usually
require the cardholder to spend a lot of money. If you are an occasional spender, it could take a long time to get a free flight.
Gas cards are very popular and great to have but read the terms before applying for the credit card.
They have been popular due to the high cost of gas. Make sure you meet the
requirements to get the rewards. Some gas cards may give points only if you shop only at a specific gas station. Annual fees are an issue to consider as they can be
high and you must decide the fee to have the card is worth the amount required to get rewards. For example
if you have a high annual fee and you must spend up to $5,000 before earning rewards, it may be
the right reward card for your needs. It is worth the time to review any limits imposed on rewards. If you get five per cent cash back on purchases but up to a limit of $250, spending over the limit will be wasted. Some rewards
can expire if they are not used within a limited period of time. The best way to save money is not to have spend a lot of money just to get a specific
reward, the right reward card can be great if it matches the financial needs of
the cardholder. Managing finances is important and before applying for any credit card, read the terms and conditions for the credit card. It is best to know the fees, interest rates, and what is necessary to get the benefits of
the rewards offered. Many consumers who use reward cards have benefited by earning flying rewards, hotel rewards, and gas rewards. Any rewards should fit the
specific needs of the cardholder. Rewards
Card To
get the maximum benefits from a reward card for perks like free travel, gas, or cash back, it
can require some homework. Reward cards usually have an annual fee so it is
important for you to decide it you will spend enough during the year to make up for the cost of
the fee. For instance, if a cash-back reward card has a $29 annual fee for 1 percent cash back on all purchases,
it would require you to charge a minimum of $2,900 annually. You would need to find
a rewards card that will benefit you. Some rewards are for travel, gift certificates,
hotel discounts and there are many more choices that you will need to review
before choosing a card. It
can be a good idea to replace other of your cards with a reward card and only
use the reward card. Using one card can help you monitor and track spending
while getting you even more rewards by using the card to pay for most of your spending
needs. Make sure if you do this to pay the balance in full every month. If you don't
usually pay off the balance each month, a reward credit card might not be a good
choice as most have higher interest rates than other cards. Usually it is
required to pay the balance to receive reward points. Another choice if you
carry a balance each month is to try a reward debit card like a check card. Reward
Cards Those
who are looking for a rewards credit card should match the card to spending
habits. When a card is not used much, you may not earn enough rewards. In
reverse, those who use their cards a lot could have limits on the rewards they can
earn. If for example, charges per year are about $5,000 on a card and the card
has an annual cost of $60, it may take years just to earn a free airline ticket
to where you want to travel. Figure how much you must spend, how long it will
take to get the rewards you want, and compare that with the option of not
spending money just to get the rewards. Cash
back cards can be the best for consumers who never spend enough money to get
those big rewards that come from spending tons of money. Another choice for card
holders who don't charge much is a card that offers higher rebates for certain purchases.
Some cards offer more cash back perks when the card is used at certain stores.
For example, a cash back card may only offer 1% but if you shop at a particular
store the cash back may jump to 5%. When
trying to determine the right rewards card for your needs, review the annual fee.
Some could be waived, if for example, some purchases are made at a certain
stores during the year, and the reward may increase too. There are benefits and drawbacks
for each card option so make sure to decide what fits your spending habits and
lifestyle to really get the most rewards for your money and not the kind of
rewards you will never get to use. There are card offers that have rewards that
pay for college and even some with rewards for plastic surgery. If choosing a
rewards card is too much trouble, try sticking to just a cash back card. This is
a very popular card that could yield cash that could be spent on whatever you
want without the need to make high charges in an effort to try to collect
rewards. Rewards
Card One
of the most popular reward card is a gas credit cards that can allow cardholders
to earn up to 5% cash back on fuel purchases. It means that points are earned
when you buy gasoline toward getting cash back. Discover
has some good choices for gas cards and cash back perks. Some gas cards may
require that the gas be purchased at specific stations to get cash back and
others may not have this requirement so it is necessary to review all the
details. You may be able to find a card that gives rewards for making purchases
that are auto related. For consumers who purchase a lot of car parts or who
needs a lot of auto repairs, a gas card may be worth having. There
are cards that let you earn rewards of 1%, 2%, or 5% cash back for different
types of purchases like groceries, travel expenses, or at restaurants to name a
few. Some cards have no annual fees and 0% intro APR for a specific time. Reward
cards are not hard to find, but having the right credit type to get
approved is important. They usually offer a good starting out rate and you may
be allowed to add extra benefits. Some reward cards have no special restrictions
on purchases to earn the reward. This is great, as you could make purchases
anywhere and still earn the reward of getting cash back. Rewards
Card With
hundreds of credit cards with many types of rewards to choose from, it can be confusing
to know how to choose. It was an interesting 2009 for the credit industry
and having good credit is more important than ever for 2010. Some card companies
have reduced their rewards due to the credit crisis. There are
many great cards, but consumers may have to look harder for the best reward
cards. Try to find a low APR, rewards programs, with no annual fee or a
low fee. One good card to review is the Discover® More® Card.
They often offer up to 5% cash back on every day purchases instead of about 3%
which some other cards offer. Getting cash back for just about everything
instead of making purchases at certain business gives more flexibility for
spending to get cash back. There
is usually not an annual fee on the card and there may be a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers.
There are ways to earn more cash back if their online store is used to get
increases for cash back. To increase the chances of being approved for this card, do not do a balance transfer when you apply. Wait
to see what the credit limit is and let Discover offer a 0% intro balance transfer. Credit Card Perks You may not know you have
extra perks, but most card issuers provide free protections and services that could cost
hundreds of dollars if you had to purchase them. As consumers try to keep up with
a world of credit cards, looking for ways to avoid new fees or rate hikes, they may
miss many of the free benefits they have. While card issuers continue to clamp down on credit limits and rewards programs,
they have left consumers with many perks that, when used, can save hundreds of dollars. Free benefits like extended warranty protection, lost-luggage reimbursement, and purchase protection aren't
advertised as much as the 0% introductory interest rates or earning bonus rewards.
Perks provided by top credit card companies are paid for through interchange fees
which are paid by merchants for each credit card transaction. Less than 15% of cardholders
actually use the free benefits. Usually these are mentioned in the fine print that consumers
get with their credit cards and they usually don't read it. That can be a
mistake as they are really good benefits. Taking advantage of those features may
require some paperwork, and you may have to work with a customer service
representative who is not aware of how they work. But using them may save you hundreds of dollars. Below
are some details on credit card benefits. *
For auto rental collision damage waiver, it reimburses for the deductible portion of your personal auto insurance policy,
or all covered damages or theft if you do not have auto insurance. It may
include loss-of-use damages imposed by the car rental company and reasonable towing charges.
It may not apply if you rent a car for more than 15 consecutive days in the United States or 21 consecutive days abroad. The loss or theft of
personal belongings and personal liability charges are not covered. You may need
to decline the collision damage waiver and loss damage waiver options offered by the rental company.
It could cost from $10 to $20 a day if you purchased a collision damage waiver from the car-rental company, depending on
the location, the type of vehicle rented and which rental company is used. *
An extended warranty, it doubles the free-repair period of the original manufacturer's repair warranty on an item, up to one additional year.
It usually includes purchases made outside the U.S., as long as the item has a valid original manufacturer's U.S. repair warranty, store-purchased dealer warranty or assembler warranty.
Many items aren't covered that may include boats, cars, aircraft and any other motorized vehicles,
items purchased for resale or professional use; real estate and items intended to become part of real estate
for example, garage doors and ceiling fans, computer software like medical
equipment, and used, antique or collectible items. This could cost anywhere from
$15 to $270. Its coverage will simply extend the terms of the warranty already
owned from the manufacturer. *
A Purchase protection plan, for something bought with your credit card that is damaged or stolen within 90
days. You may be able to receive a refund of the purchase price. However, the protection has
exclusions, including items that are lost without any evidence of a wrongful act or are stolen because of a lack of due diligence. Used, antique and collectible items generally are not covered.
Refunds could be limited from $300 to $1,000 per item depending on the card
company and there can be caps on the total refunds received by cardholders. *
Lost-luggage reimbursement, that reimburses card holders for the cost of luggage
and contents that has been lost or damaged by a common carrier (plane, train, helicopter, ship or bus).
There are restrictions and limitations and they vary based on the card issuer and payment network.
You could pay up to $180 to purchase additional coverage for lost luggage from the airline, typically at $6 per $100 of value. *
Roadside assistance, so if your car breaks down on the road, and if you are a
specific distance from home, the credit card company will send someone to the rescue.
You may still be charged for any services received like towing, jump-starts, gas delivery or tire
changes. If you had to purchase this, it could run from $38 to $80 a year. *
Concierge service, may be available that can help you book travel, make restaurant reservations, get tickets to concerts or sporting events, pick out gifts, or plan a party.
You will pay the cost of all services or items received, so if you are a power shopper or on a tight budget, you're better off doing your own research.
Many premium credit cards that offer this service have annual fees that could be
high. If you had to pay, it could cost from $25 to $55 per hour. Hourly rates
vary depending on the location and vary depending on the type of services
performed. Find a credit
card with the perks you desire today. |
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