Archive for December, 2009

How to Buy Gift Cards on the Internet

A gift card is a lot like cash cards. The difference between the gift cards is that they have a logo and design to match the business where you got it from.

The cards value can be preset or flexible and they are much more convenient than a paper gift certificate. With a preset card you throw it away after it runs out of money.

If you buy gift cards with a flexible spending limit you will be ableto re-load it with more money. You just need to decide which one will be the best of the cards before you buy gift cards for anyone.

When you buy gift cards you can be assured that you won’t have to worry about fraud because there are special account numbers that are displayed when it is used. The merchants will be the ones to activate the gift cards when they are sold and then the person that owns it can use it until the balance is gone. The magnetic strip that is on the back of the gift cards will always have the updated balance.

The nice thing when you buy gift cards is it is a win win situation for both the seller and buy. While the shoppers are protected from fraud the business owners will get their customers loyalty because the gift cards have been specially designed for their particular business.

The other great thing about gift cards is that when you don’t know what to buy someone as a gift you can always just buy gift cards and then let them choose a gift for themselves. You can find gift cards for all kind of places.

There are cards for department stores, supermarkets, flower shops, toy stores and so many more. There are also many different types of cards you can choose to get when you want to buy gift cards. These could include but are not limited to, prepaid cash cards, gas cards, mail cards, donation cards, promotion cards and so on.

So when you buy gift cards you want to make sure that you look at all of the options that are available before you buy. You also want to think about the person that you are getting it for so that you can get something they will like.

That way you can be assured that you will get them the right gift cards for the right places. You can’t go wrong with a gift card when you don’t know what else to buy.

Gift Cards – Buyers Beware

Gift Cards Can Be Good

You can barely walk thru a grocery store or many other outlets without seeing racks and racks of gift cards. Are they safe and are they as convenient as promoters would have you think they are?

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) offers guidelines for issuance of Gift Cards. Unfortunately the OCC guidelines are nothing more that that – guidelines. They are not law. So gift card purchasing is strictly a “Buyer Beware” environment.

Gift Cards from some very conscientious sellers can be an awesome gift. They offer convenience and practicality. Gasoline credit cards, store discount cards, retail specific gift cards, prepaid telephone and credit cards and so many more can all lead to a gift giving buyers dream of convenient shopping and idea generation. They can be easily mailed and can be a very well received by the recipient. But generally gift card promotion and popularity has less to do with customer convenience and far more to do with incredible profitability.

The Retailer Simply Cannot Loose.

Consider the fact that a gift card is for a specific amount. If the recipient uses the card for less than the full card amount of the gift, the balance usually remains on the card to be used for the same service or at the same location. But often times a balance remaining of less than $5 usually remains on the card and this is pure profit for the issuer. As an example a $15 gift card for a CD that costs only $13 will usually have the remaining $2 remain on the card until expiration. The thought is, what are you going to buy for $2 and the issuer knows this.

On the other hand, if the recipient uses the card for more, the additional amount of purchase is from the recipient’s pocket. For example, let’s say the same consumer from above elects to use the extra $2 for a second CD. Now the retailer has just made more money from an add-on purchase. The retailer simply cannot loose.

Additionally the consumer is obviously required to be at the establishment. The single greatest advertising cost is the cost of bringing in new customers. But gift cards are a free method of accomplishing this purpose. PR newswire on January 9, 2008 reported: “Fifty-three percent of gift card redeemers often or always spend more than the card value, and most likely over two store visits rather than one.” Not bad for simply offering a piece of plastic.

Buyer Beware

Now lets consider less than conscientious sellers:

OCC suggests the expiration date of the gift card should be on the front of the card. Is it? (Considering that a gift of money would not expire at any point, why does a gift card expire?)

Are any fees monthly or otherwise listed? Some cards have a $2.50 monthly fee tacked on after a certain period of time. It does not take long to significantly reduce the amount of purchase at that rate.

Issuers should not advertise “no expiration” if fees eat at the balance if not used immediately.

Cards should have some means of contacting a customer service. Does it?

Obviously theft of cards has to be a major concern simply because of the same convenience as stated for the consumer.

Gift cards lead the market of the 81 billion dollar pre paid industry and are expected to top 52 billion dollars in the next 5 years. That being the case, it is unlikely that gift card will disappear very soon. Hopefully what will disappear however are the scams and abusive practices some promoters utilize. Gift cards are sufficiently lucrative never to need such practices.

Readers will probably be interested to know Mike, the author of this article, also offers a free debt elimination mini-course via e-mail. You can enroll at Debt Free In 7.5 Years.

Dealing With Gas Cards Scammers and Swindlers

There are a lot of credit cards emerging nowadays. It’s so many that you don’t know which one to choose from. Being fooled by scammers can be a bad thing, especially if they offer you bad credit gas cards. Next time, don’t do anything rash and study which gas cards are reliable to use.

A lot of instances happened where unknown men walk up to your home, they identify themselves as this and that, and they say that they are working at this big company. They will show you certain documents saying how it’s authentic, and then telling you what services their company can over and such. These men coax you to sign up, telling you not to worry. Once you signed those papers, and they get your money, they bid their thanks, telling you that to expect a decision or the card that you are applying for.

You wait for a week or two. If weeks have passed and you still haven’t gotten your card, you start to get anxious and you call the company saying you applied for a credit card. And when they tell you they didn’t know such transaction, that’s when you know you’ve been scammed for bad credit gas cards. This story is familiar to you? Then know what you must do to never repeat the same mistake again.

When a man or woman wants to sell you something at your home or in other place like in a grocery store or in a coffee shop, this will be somewhat suspicious. Once you get their names, ask for any identification, and ask which company they are working from. Make a mental note to remember the company to verify it later if that person truly works in that company.

After some introductions, they get to the good stuff. They do their usual sales talk and tell you its benefits and other things. When they are done, they always make sure they get what they want; they make you sign documents and such. If this is still fishy, excuse yourself and look for a room in your house to call the company’s customer representative. Once the company verifies with you about the person’s identification on whether he is a scammer or not.

If it’s a scammer, there is one thing that you must do. Call the police immediately. You don’t want another victim to fall under their trap and sign up for bad credit gas cards, right? So do the right thing under the law and report him. You will save the company’s reputation and other lives as well.
For more info see: Gas Credit Cards

Save Money on Gas For Your Boat Using Gas Cards

Boating is one of the most favorite pastime. With the summer months up ahead, it will be even more fun to involve in boating. However, gas prices have been increasing almost every week at an escalating rate and this can easily hinder enjoyment of this pastime. Boaters are keen on looking for the ultimate gas saving device they can get their hands on so they get the optimum enjoyment from this pastime. The good thing is, the ultimate gas saving device have been around for a while now and is easy to use and carry. This ultimate gas saving device is no other than gas cards.
Generally, there are two types of gas cards- prepaid and credit. Prepaid gas cards are cards that have been preloaded up to your preferred amount. Depending on the card type, loads are often sold at a discount. Moreover, this card offer rebates on gas purchases. Gas credit cards on the other hand are cards that work just like your ordinary credit card only that you save on gas purchases. Every time you pump gas and use your credit gas card to pay, you earn rebates. These rebates, depending on the card type, are somewhere between 2% to 5%. The rebates are often in the form rewards points that are accumulated during the billing period and are totaled on the bill or statement of accounts. Once the redeemable limit is reached, the rewards points can be converted into cash back. This cash back is often credited to the gas credit card or awarded in the form of check or gas gift card. Other companies also offer other forms of rewards, such as airline tickets, products and gift certificates to affiliated stores and companies
Moreover, when you use gas cards for gas purchases for your boat, the percentage rebate is not the maximum that you can save. You can save more! If you use your cash back rewards to purchase gas, you earn double rewards. Over time, you will be looking at a gas savings of more than the 5% regular rebate.
The only downside to using gas credit cards is that you have to pay your balance in full and on time. Gas credit cards carry an annual percentage rate or APR that is charged against the maintaining balance of the card. The current APR are somewhere between 9.99% to 16.99%. If you are not careful this interest can easily undermine your savings especially if you only spend a small amount on gas purchases.
In looking for gas cards, consider the percentage rebate. Go for gas cards that offer the highest percentage rebate. You should also check the card’s rewards offers and policies in redeeming them. And if you plan to maintain a balance on your card, look for a card that has the lowest APR.
Using gas cards to save money on gas for your boat is the secret to enjoying this past time to its optimum. If you aren’t a gas card user yet, now is the right time to start using one.

Cheap Rate Credit Cards: Relieves a Bit in Repaying Cards

The credit card holder should always learn to restrict themselves from making unnecessary expenses. Often it is being noticed that there remains no bound in shopping and in other expenses when it is about paying money through credit cards. Though it is not being felt while using these but the real pain is realized only when one have to repay all the balances. Moreover, if in addition to that the rate of interest on these cards is higher then the problems get doubled. Therefore, you should always try to secure cheap rate credit cards so that the pressure of repayment gets a bit lightened.

You can go for credit cards that offer 0% interest on new purchases. These cards will let you save great during your first year as cardholder. As the primary year finishes the APR is being adjusted with the regular APR but in that you will not have to pay any annual fee. Though you will not get any reward in these cards but the best thing is that these are good for credit management.

Cards with reward programs can also be adopted. Certain cards use to provide festive offers while some use to have general schemes in order to attract customers. Whatever it is, the profit will be yours only. Some cards even use to provide bonus points based on your each purchase and then after reaching the target bonus points you will be provided gifts. Such credit cards offer good gifts to the card holders and for that purchases would have to be made in certain specific departments. Some of these are like drug stores, super markets, and gas stations.

Before deciding to get the particular cheap credit cards you should go through all the terms and conditions made by its companies. Anything unwanted may also happen to you which you may have not noticed in the forms. So, always be careful in selecting the best credit cards and stay profitable.