credit card comparison
Card Comparison: Complete List of Pre-paid Cards on Market
In my previous post, I explained what are pre-paid cards, how they are structured, and compared 5 pre-paid credit/debit cards. In this post, I will extend that list to include all the pre-paid cards available to the market right now.
| Card Name | Features | More | |
 |
Vision Silver Prepaid MasterCard |
Prepaid Debit Card issued by Meta Financial; Help build credit history; Instant Approval; Operate on MasterCard network | $0 Activation Fee with Rebate; Online checking; Perfect card for Gov/Benefits Checks recipients; monthly fee:$3.95 |
 |
READYdebit Card |
Prepaid Debit Card issued by Meta Financial; Help build credit history with CreditBuilder; Instant Approval; Operate on MasterCard network | $0 Activation Fee – when you load your card by direct deposit; choose Your Card Color – Blue, Black or Pink; no credit check;monthly fee: as low as $4.95 |
 |
Eufora Prepaid MasterCard® with Credit Builder – Elite Level |
Prepaid Debit Card issued by Bancorp Bank; Help build credit history with Credit Builder; Operate on MasterCard network | Reload at Thousands of Retail Locations Nationwide with a $5000 Maximum Value; monthly fee: waived; Free Point of Sale transactions |
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Baby Phat Prepaid Visa® RushCard |
Prepaid Debit Card issued by MTT; No hidden fees, Free optional credit building with RushPath to Credit; Instant Approval; Operate on Visa Inc. network | no overdraft fees, no interest charges; no credit check; Free direct deposit of tax refunds, anticipation loans, and paychecks; monthly fee: none |
 |
AccountNow® Prepaid VisaCard |
Prepaid Credit Card issued by Meta Financial; Have credit line attached, help build credit history; Instant Approval; Operate on Visa Inc. network | $0 Activation Fee – when you load your card by direct deposit;New iAdvanceSM loan option – no credit check;monthly fee:$4.95 |
 |
AccountNow® Prepaid MasterCard |
Prepaid Credit Card issued by Meta Financial; Have credit line attached, help build credit history; Instant Approval; Operate on MasterCard network | $0 Activation Fee – when you load your card by direct deposit;New iAdvanceSM loan option – no credit check;monthly fee:$4.95 |
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Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Credit Card |
Prepaid Debit Card issued by Applied Bank; no credit line is attached. Operates on Visa Inc. network. | Regular APR: 9.99% fixed;CREDIT Bureau Reporting;Minimum $200 deposit required. |
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Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Gold Card |
Prepaid Debit Card issued by Applied Bank; no credit line is attached. Operates on Visa Inc. network. | Regular APR: 9.99% fixed;CREDIT Bureau Reporting;Minimum $200 deposit required. |
 |
Millennium Advantage Pre-Paid MasterCard® |
Prepaid Debit Card issued by Millennium Bank; no credit line is attached. Operates on Visa Inc. network. | Application Fee: $99 Participation Fee: $71.40 ($5.95 monthly) |
Important Disclaimer: the credit cards information in this post were accurate as of the date of publishing, some or all of the card programs may be discontinued, their terms may be changed after wards.
Card Comparison: 5% Cash Back on Home Improvement with Discover Card’s Rewards Program
Discover Card’s just rolled out a new cashback bonus program: 5% cash back for home improvement purchases made between now and June 30, 2009.
The purchases that qualifies for 5% rewards are (buying new clothes is also improving your home, that’s a new concept):
- Home improvement Stores
- Department Stores
- Clothing Stores
The up limit of the cash back rewards is $20, which means you get 5% cash back rewards only in the first $400 purchase in the above categories, the rest of purchases may be subject to a lower cash back ratio, most likely 1%.
Here is the card that can earn the 5% cash back on Home Improvement:
| Card Name | Benefits | Requirements | |
 |
Discover® More Card |
0% BT APR for 12 mths; 0% purch APR for 6 mths; 1% – 5% cash rewards | requires Excellent Credit; regular APR: 10.99%; annual fee: none |
Important Disclaimer: the credit cards information in this post were accurate as of the date of publishing, some or all of the card programs may be discontinued, their terms may be changed after wards.
Card Comparison: Balance Transfer Credit Cards
Many people are interested in 0% APR balance transfer credit cards with low fee or no fee as a way to manage short term personal debt more effectively. I compared dozens of credit cards, and these are my choices:
| Card Name | Benefits | Requirements | |
|
Discover® More Card |
0% BT APR for 6 mths; 0% purch APR for 6 mths; 1% – 5% cash rewards | requires Excellent Credit; regular APR: 11.99%; annual fee: none |
 |
Discover® More Card – Monogram |
0% BT APR for 12 mths; 0% purch APR for 6 mths; 1% – 20% cash rewards | requires Excellent Credit; regular APR: as low as 10.99%; annual fee: none |
 |
Discover® Motiva Card |
3.99% BT APR for 12 mths; 3.99% purch APR for 6 mths; 1% – 20% cash rewards | requires Excellent Credit; regular APR: 10.99% – 18.99%; annual fee: none |
 |
IberiaBank Visa® Platinum Rewards Card |
1.99% BT APR for up to 6 mths; 1 point/$ point rewards | requires Excellent Credit; regular APR: 9.75%; annual fee: none |
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IberiaBank Visa® Gold Cash Back Rewards Card |
1.99% BT APR for up to 6 mths; 1% cash rewards | requires Excellent Credit; regular APR: 9.75%; annual fee: none |
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IberiaBank Visa® Classic |
1.99% BT APR for up to 6 mths | requires Good Credit; regular APR: 8.75%; annual fee: none |
Important Disclaimer: the credit cards information in this post were accurate as of the date of publishing, some or all of the card programs may be discontinued, their terms may be changed after wards.
Card Comparison: Easy to Get Credit Cards that Help Build Credit History
If you have limited credit history or for some reason your credit was impaired, you need to build or re-build your credit history, because that’s the only way for you get credit especially under current tough credit crunch situations and new credit card rules (its impact). According to this article, although there are multiple factors that make up the credit score calculation, payment to debt on time takes the most weight, so what you need is a history of paying bills on time. Here is a list of easy-to-get credit cards that do exactly that: report your payment to credit bureaus. Some of them may not be the ideal choice, since they charge high fees and even has no grace-period, so be careful when you use these cards:
| Card Name | Pros | Cons | |
 |
New Millennium Bank Secured Platinum Visa® |
Easy to get: no credit check; Build credit: reports to credit bureaus | Requires deposit as collateral; No grace period; Annual Membership Fee: $59 |
 |
New Millennium Bank Secured Platinum MasterCard® |
Easy to get: no credit check; Build credit: reports to credit bureaus | Requires deposit as collateral; No grace period; Annual Membership Fee: $59; Opening Fee: $99.95 |
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Continental Finance Gold MasterCard® |
Build credit: report to credit bureaus; No requirement of collaterals; Instant Approval; 25 days Grace Period | Opening Fee: $175; Monthly Fee: $15 |
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Continental Finance MasterCard® |
Build credit: report to credit bureaus; No requirement of collaterals; Instant Approval; 25 days Grace Period | Opening Fee: $200; Monthly Fee: $15 |
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Tribute Gold MasterCard® Credit Card |
Build credit: report to credit bureaus; No requirement of collaterals | Annual Fee: $150 ($300 card); Monthly Fee: $9 ($300 card), $19 ($70 card) |
 |
American DreamCardTM Platinum MasterCard® |
Build credit: report to credit bureaus; No requirement of collaterals; 20 days grace period | None |
Important Disclaimer: the credit cards information in this post were accurate as of the date of publishing, some or all of the card programs may be discontinued, their terms may be changed after wards.
Card Comparison: Low/No Fee 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards – December 2008
As credit crunch continues, credit card companies are shrinking their credit exposure. Legendary financial analyst, Meredith Whitney claimed that $2T of credit line, or 45% of US consumer’s liquidity is going to disappear in 2009 as a result of credit card companies’ effort of reducing their exposure to credit card debt.
At such time, it’s even more important for consumers to find good credit cards that offer low/no fee balance transfer, here is the December list:
| Card Name | BT APR, credit needed and credit limit | Transaction Fee | |
|
IberiaBank Visa® Platinum Rewards Card |
0% for 6 mths, requires Good Credit | None |
|
IberiaBank Visa® Gold Cash Back Rewards Card |
0% for 6 mths, requires Good Credit | None |
Important Disclaimer: the credit cards information in this post were accurate as of the date of publishing, some or all of the card programs may be discontinued, their terms may be changed after wards.
