The new Zync from American Express is the first credit card of it’s kind that let’s applicants choose a “lifestyle pack” that fits them and their purchase habits best. American Express lets you choose one of the following lifestyle packs:

Go Pack – Earn double points on eligible airline tickets and enjoy car rental discounts when you book through American Express Travel. Car rental discounts up to 25% are available from Avis, Budget and Hertz. All points are credited to your Membership Rewards points account and the annual cost is just $25.

Social Pack – Earn double points at qualified restaurants and on qualified concert, movie and show tickets. Applicants will also be automatically enrolled to receive emails for advanced ticket access and other benefit information. All points are credited to your Membership Rewards points account and the annual cost is just $25.

Connect Pack – Earn double points on eligible cell phone, cable, broadband and internet services through qualified providers. Applicants who choose this pack will also be eligible to receive 25% discount on the number of Membership Rewards points require for redemption of cell phones and other electronic communication devices. All points are credited to your Membership Rewards points account and the annual cost is just $25.

Eco Pack – Earn double points on eligible purchases at select green merchants rated by Greenopia®. Greenopia selects and rates merchants based on their impact to the environment. Applicants who choose this pack will receive discounts of 25% when redeemed for qualified eco-friendly merchandise and carbon offsets. American Express will also donate $1 to TerraPass to fund reductions in carbon emissions at dairy farms and landfills. All points are credited to your Membership Rewards points account and there is no annual cost.

The Zync from American Express credit card has an annual fee of $25 and features all of the standard cardmembers benefits of an American Express card: Memberships Reward points on every purchase, car rental insurance and road side coverage, and purchase protection. Purchases made through the Bonus Points Mall earn triple points on every purchase with over 250 retailers and all balances must be paid in full each month.

Diamonds are a girls best friend but sapphires are everyone’s best friend now with the new Chase Sapphire(SM) card.

With the new Sapphire card, Chase is also unveiling it’s new Ultimate Rewards Program. This program lets your rewards be redeemable for almost anything you want.

Some competitor’s reward credit cards charge you an annual fee, but not the Chase Sapphire(SM) card. What sense does it make to let you earn cash back and then take it all away by charging an annual fee? Chase understands you, the customer. That’s exactly why they are giving you the Sapphire card.

Once you apply and are approved for the Chase Sapphire(SM) credit card, you can start using it. Once you make your first purchase, Chase will give you 10,000 bonus points. That’s right, 10,000 bonus points just for using your card.

As with some other reward credit cards, you can earn one point for every dollar you spend. If you shop online with Chase’s preferred retailers, at the Ultimate Rewards Mall, you can earn up to 10 bonus points for every dollar. That gives you the opportunity to earn ten times the rewards when you shop with over 300 retailers. With that kind of opportunity, you should almost always earn ten times the rewards.

The Chase Sapphire(SM) credit card doesn’t just come with cash rewards though. The Sapphire card allows you to earn double bonus points on airfare. In order to receive double bonus points, you must book your flight(s) through Chase’s Online Travel Booking Tool. So, you can take all of the hassle out of your next trip by booking online and earning double bonus points.

This Sapphire comes with many great Travel Benefits as well. You will have complete access to Trip Cancellation Insurance, Travel and Emergency Services, Travel Accident Insurance and Trip Delay coverage. Additionally, Chase offers Lost Luggage Reimbursement, Baggage Delay, Roadside Dispatch and Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver.

With the Sapphire credit card comes Chase’s unbeatable customer service. You can get personalized customer service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Chase is confident that you’ll appreciate their customer service. That’s why they put a guarantee on all customer service transactions. You will also be able to use Chase’s complimentary concierge service, Global LifeLine and the Online Account Management feature.

Just wait…it gets so much better with the Chase Sapphire(SM) card. Have you heard of Chase’s new Blueprint program? This program allows you to manage your finances your way. Choose from the Full Pay feature, the Split feature, the Finish It feature, the Track It feature or a combination of the four. You can maximize your credit card experience with Blueprint because it allows you to manage your credit card on your time and the way you want.

No other credit card has it all. The Chase Sapphire(SM) with Ultimate Rewards card does. Go online to see how Sapphires can become your best friend today.

After almost a year since our site last offered Chase credit cards, we are pleased to announce their much anticipated return. We had hoped to begin offering Chase credit cards earlier this year, but financial market conditions did not allow for a timely return of their credit cards to our site. The news that we would once again be able feature cards from Chase this week was somewhat of a surprise. As a result of their return, we are able to expand our current credit card offerings and visitors will once again have access to one of the best cash back credit cards available.

At this time we are able to feature the Chase Freedom card along with introduction of the Chase Slate credit card. Both cards share the Visa logo and feature Chase’s new program to help cardholders better manage their spending and finances with Blueprint. Blueprint provides cardholders the flexibility to choose how payments are applied, choose different payment options, track spending habits and more; all for free.

Each Chase credit card offers something different and one may be just right for you. Be sure to check them out.

Chase has recently unveiled a new financial service that is free to use and only available to Chase customers. Blueprint is easy to set up and lets each customer specify their own set of financial blueprints.

The Blueprint program has been designed to simplify your finances. It allows you to design custom payment plans and other options. Each payment option will be highlighted on monthly statements. This allows you to really organize your finances and your credit card purchases.

You don’t have to wait until you receive the monthly statement each month to see what progress you’ve made towards reaching your goal. The Blueprint program allows you to monitor your progress online. You can check your progress fifteen times a day or once a day.

Everyone uses their credit card for different reasons. Some people use it for everyday purchases. Some people use it only in emergencies. Others use it for large purchases. The Chase Blueprint program allows you to pay off large purchases first, thus reducing the amount you pay in interest.

There are so many advantages for using the new Chase Blueprint program. First, the Blueprint program itemizes all of your purchases. This allows you to know your spending trends and habits. This is updated constantly so you can always be sure you are given accurate information. It also allows you to see clearly the areas that you want to improve.

Chase Blueprint really helps you pay your balance down faster. It lets you make payments towards large purchases and reduces the total amount you pay in interest. Similarly, Blueprint lets you completely avoid paying interest. It comes with free online calculators that allow you to know what payments you need to make in order to pay $0 in interest.

Chase Blueprint is the first of its kind. Since when does a credit card company or financial institution go to so much trouble to help you avoid paying interest? Chase credit cards are available to help with the new Blueprint program.

See the average credit card debt by state along with other credit card facts. Click the image to see a full-size version.

New credit card rules go into effect today, Thursday, August 20, 2009. Every consumer should familiarize themselves with these new rules, especially since the new rules are set to benefit consumers. The act is known as the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. The purpose of the legislation is to eliminate certain practices made by credit card companies that take advantage of consumers. This act will supposedly make the credit card industry a more fair market.

The most important aspects of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act are as follows:

1. Credit card companies must follow strict guidelines that will make it more difficult to issue credit cards to consumers under the age of 21.

2. The interest rate cannot be raised on an existing credit card balance until the consumer is at least 60 days past due.

3. The interest rate cannot be increased within the first year of the customer having the account.

4. Promotional interest rates must be six months or longer.

5. If the interest rate is increased for a particular customer, the credit card company must revert to the original interest rate if the consumer makes his/her payments on time for six months.

6. Billing statements must be mailed at least 21 days before the due date.

7. Late fees cannot be assessed if the payment is delayed due to processing delays.

8. Credit card companies are required to give the customer at least 45 days written notice before making interest rate increases.

These new rules are designed to protect consumers. Credit card companies have earned bad reputations for what consumers say are unfair practices. Implementation of the law is supposed to protect consumers against many of the unfair practices and should help alleviate some of the financial burdens that Americans are facing today.

For people with excellent credit, it is often difficult to find an exclusive credit card that rewards them something additional than most credit cards. With the arrival of Simmons First credit cards here at PlasticRewards.com, people with excellent credit don’t need to look any further. Simmons First offers two Visa credit cards for those with excellent credit.

Simmons First Visa® Platinum

This Platinum Visa from Simmons First features a low APR of 7.25% currently on purchases and balance transfers. If you do need to transfer a balance, there is an benefit that is hard to come by these days – no balance transfer fees. All balances must be transferred at the time of card application. Plus, there is no annual fee and with the Simmons First Visa Platinum you can enjoy platinum benefits like: global acceptance, travel insurance, emergency replacement and more.

Simmons First Visa® Platinum Rewards

This card was recently chosen as Money Magazine’s top travel rewards credit card. The Simmons First Visa Platinum Rewards offers one of the most versatile travel rewards program that allows cardholders to choose from airline tickets, hotels, cruises vacation packages and more. Every dollar you spend on purchase earns one point redeemable for travel rewards. The card also features a low APR, no balance transfer fees and platinum benefits; all with no annual fee.

Having excellent credit definitely has its rewards and the Simmons First Visa credit cards can help you get them.

While other credit card issuers are limiting or restructuring their reward programs, Chase launches a new rewards program - Ultimate Rewards. The unveiling of the Ultimate Rewards program by Chase is set to rival top rewards programs offered by competitors American Express’ Membership Rewards and Citi’s ThankYou Network.

Currently, you can use your Chase Freedom Visa card or the new Chase Sapphire(SM) card to earn points with Ultimate Rewards. Every dollar spent will earn one Ultimate Rewards point that can be redeemed from millions of reward options. Save your points or spend them right away, but never worry about spending limits or point earning restrictions. Ultimate Rewards gives you the freedom to earn as many or as little points as you want and to redeem them for just about anything.

Book your next vacation or travel arrangements through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards Travel Tool; pay with your Chase credit card and earn two points for every dollar spent on airline flights. That’s double points on airline travel! Plus, check out restaurant reviews from Zagat.com to ensure an enjoyable dining experience while traveling or at home with the Ultimate Rewards website.

Chase is also introducing the Ultimate Rewards Bonus Mall. This online retail outlet is available to Chase cardholders where they can shop to take advantage of exclusive online deals through over 300 leading retailers. Cardholders who shop through the site can earn up to 10 Ultimate Rewards points for every dollar they spend.

Ultimate Rewards lets cardholders redeem points for almost any type of reward. Cardholders can choose from over 3 million different merchandise items through Amazon.com, gift cards at over 65 companies, cash back and point transfers to major airline carriers. With so many redemption options, it may just be too hard to choose.

On Friday May 22nd 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law new legislation recently passed by Congress that will drastically alter the way credit card companies treat consumers. The bill is set to take effect in July of 2010 and contains many alterations to the current credit card industry. These changes include:

- New rules that will protect consumers with high amounts of debt
- Limitations to the charges that a credit card company can charge (including fees for paying a bill over the phone, over limit fees, etc)
- Tighter restrictions on rewards programs
- Additional annual fees, even for consumers with good/excellent credit
- Credit card holders must be more than 60 days past due on payments before the credit card company can increase the interest rate on the existing credit balance
- Credit card companies would be forced to lower the interest rate to the original interest rate if the consumer pays the minimum balance on time or early for six months
- Consumers who are under 21 years of age must be able to prove that they can repay the loan or have a cosigner that will be responsible for the debt if the minor defaults on the loan

The most significant change will prevent credit card companies from increasing interest rates “on the fly.” Rather, consumers must receive written notice regarding the interest rate increase at least 45 days prior to the actual increase. This portion of the bill is good news for consumers around the country and their strained finances.

Many consumer groups praise the recent credit card changes recently enacted by Congress and President Obama. The new credit card changes should help ease the financial burden placed on American credit card holders.

However, the bill does leave room for debate when it comes to how it will affect consumers with good or excellent credit. For instance, consumers who pay off the entire balance of their credit card each month may face “penalties” for doing so. Why? Banks and credit card companies will lose money by not being allowed to raise interest rates. Therefore, they must make up that money somehow. Plans are being discussed about how these companies will handle the restrictions. Credit card holders who pay off their balance entirely every month may be forced to pay annual fees or have tighter restrictions placed on their rewards programs.

Credit, in general, will also become harder to obtain as banks and credit card companies will be forced into spreading risk around into all credit classes and not just those with lower credit.

What do you think? Please submit your comments and feedback.

Consumers around the country have found themselves strapped for cash these days. The credit crisis hasn’t made it much easier, until now.

New regulations are going to be presented by the federal government in the upcoming weeks. These regulations will restrict any and all credit card practices that are seen as unfair or deceptive. Credit card regulation proposals have included a number of different restrictions. These restrictions include prohibiting:

• - Increasing interest rates on an outstanding balance (except under limited circumstances)
• - Applying payments to the minimum payment to maximize interest charges
• - Requiring a reasonable amount of time for consumers to make payments

Consumers have played a big part in getting the feds to listen. Thousands and thousands of comments have been posted on the Federal Reserve’s website. These consumers have begged and begged the government to place tighter restrictions on credit card practices.

The credit card industry, as a whole, is extremely skeptical about the new regulations. It is concerned that each regulation will prohibit its ability to manage risk. This could cause credit card companies to be forced to raise interest rates and decrease the amount of available credit. Meredith Whitney, a well-known credit analyst recently predicted that the rules would decrease credit lines to 40 percent.

She said, “With so many Americans relying on their credit cards as a major source of liquidity, it would be equivalent to a major pay cut.”

The major problem right now is that the rules and regulations have not been finalized. However, the industry predicts that the Federal government will act aggressively.

Ken Clayton, the managing director of the American Bankers Association‘s card policy council, said, “What you’re going to see is an unprecedented change in the way consumers deal with their card companies. In light on the current economic uncertainties, it’s important that all of us understand the full impact of these regulations on consumers and the economy before we can understand [whether they are] successful.”

Credit card companies have protested several of the possible regulations. For instance, credit card issuers do not agree that there should be regulations put in place that would prohibit increasing the interest rate on outstanding balances. Past proposals would allow exceptions to the rule (namely, when a minimum payment is not received until 30 days past the due date. However, the industry argues that 30-days for a delinquency is already too long.

The fact of the matter is that nothing is certain yet. The Feds are feverishly working on the regulations and should be releasing those regulations soon. As a consumer, you can sit back and take a deep breath knowing that your end of the bargain is about to be loosened.