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I can still remember all the CARD Act opponent’s claims that the days of credit card rewards would disappear once those well meaning banks are pummeled by oppressive regulations.  According to the industry, these regulations were only going to hurt consumers, as banks would be forced to end their reward programs in order to survive in the post-CARD dystopia.  They really only had your interest in mind, after all.

Glad I Called B.S.

Sure enough, credit card companies have tightened credit and raised interest rates.  They are still in business to make a profit, but now they have to try harder to find customers that represent the best risk.  Predictably, this has led them to use more bait to lure potential new customers. If yo

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Just about everyone knows that living in a Metropolis is much more expensive in terms of the cost of living then living in a smaller and less populated area. This is why people who live in large cities must realize that it is even more important for them to create some sort of personal budget with which they can still put a small amount of money away towards savings. There are many Dallas financial planners who specialize in helping people who have families to set a budget for savings. Because of the sheer volume is quite simple to Find a financial planner in Texas . Some people do not understand the importance of having someone who is experienced in the field of financial planning to help make decisions for them. They think they can sail through life and manage their own money with absolutely no negative repercussions. This may be true for some people but others will need help as they may not be as good when it comes to managing their money. Read more…

We can’t all be Robert Kiyosaki (“your strategy is all wrong; buy my book”) but nothing can stop you from using the money you have to its fullest potential. I’d do what my favorite advisor, Tim Gunn, always says: “Make it work!”

Opt for investments that provide fair returns

Nothing is worse than having another person profit from money you gave them to invest. Sadly, that’s precisely what’s happening if your money is languishing in CDs (certificates of deposit), savings accounts or money market funds!

These financial institutions are effectively borrowing from you, loaning/investing it elsewhere, and waxing fat on the difference. If you want your money to earn its keep, so to speak, conservative dividend stocks are a viable alternative; there are a number of companies that pay out annual yields of up to 9 per cent. You could say their tag-line, if they had one, would read “no flash, all cash”. Or something like t

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The lesser known VantageScore made another inroad in its battle with the almighty Fico score, grabbing a patent for its system of “characteristic leveling.”

In short, characteristic leveling provides consistency among the 3 major credit bureaus, something the traditional Fico score has struggled with (why credit scores are different?)

So if the same data is presented by different credit bureaus, it should yield the same result, or credit score.

“The ability to use a common score across the three CRCs minimizes consumer and lender confusion,” said VantageScore Solutions President and Chief Executive Officer Barrett Burns, in a press release.

“Because of VantageScore’s consistency across all three CRCs, lenders who use it will be better able to delineate risk in a predictive manner.”

This is pretty important because many banks and mortgage lenders currently rely on the middle of our 3 credit scores when making a decision to extend credit.

And borrowers have to worry about disparities between their credit scores, which are often the result of different reporting by bureaus using the same data.

In fact, many consumers have such a wide range of scores that they may be deemed excellent by one, and only average by another.

The hope is that with characteristic leveling in place, differences in credit score will only be attributable to different data sets, as opposed to differing scoring algorithms.

This increased consistency could lure more creditors over to VantageScore, which is currently a small fish compared to the all-powerful Fico score.

Recently, Fico also lost the trademark on its 300-850 credit score range.

Like learning to use a computer, the more you understand how loyalty programs work, the harder it can be to remember how beginners look at the same subject.   What is needed are really good beginner’s guides to the more intricate aspects of loyalty programs.   Here are a few good places to start if you are just trying to understand loyalty programs that give out points and miles.

Where To Start

The USA Today just printed a good introduction: Frequent flier 101: What you need to know about loyalty programs.   They are covering the basics on airline, hotel, rental car, and even shopping programs.   Inside Flyer is a subscription based site that has a lot of great information.    Paying for access gets you a lot of the details, but there is plenty of introductory level information that is available there for free.

Dealing With Specific Airlines

The blog The View From The Wing has been putting out some fantastic guides in the last few days.   I just read their guide to Using US Airways Dividend Miles to Book Star Alliance Awards.    This came on the heels of  their How to Use Delta Skymiles to Book International Premium Class Awards post.  While these posts are specific to the airline named, many of the tricks can be used for other loyalty programs, albeit with slightly different routes.  For example, you will always have more success piecing your routes together yourself, leg by leg, then getting an airline’s web site or telephone agent to consider all potential flights.

How to Get the Best Hotel Deals

The View From The Wing also posted another great guide on How To Get The Best Hotel Deals, covering all sorts of sites, codes, and deals.   If you want to take advantage of a Best Rate Guarantee program, start at the Best Rate Guarantee Blog and begin with their list of Frequently Asked Questions.

Navigating FlyerTalk

Flyertalk has become the place where all the most experienced loyalty program gurus share their secrets.  Although it is laid out very simply, it can be a very intimidating place for newcomers.     The three biggest pieces of advice I can give to someone new to FlyerTalk are the following:

1. Consult their New Users Guide

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