

If he were paying his cell phone provider for protection, it could cost $14 or more per device monthly. There’s typically a small deductible, and terms usually apply.įor Tony Florida - the primary account holder of his family cell phone plan - the savings from his credit card’s cell phone protection benefit add up. You can get coverage for damaged or stolen devices up to a maximum amount when you use cards with this benefit to pay the monthly bill. Money-saving benefits like cell phone insurance may be sitting in your wallet. You’ll snag more value if the eligible credit card also earns rewards on the purchase. These one-time offers may be found in your account or email, and you normally have to “activate” them or add them to your card. Some major credit card issuers offer discounts or rebates when you use a credit card to shop with specific merchants in categories like everyday purchases, gifts and travel. If your current credit card falls short on rewards for frequent spending categories like gas, dining out or groceries, consider one that better aligns with your spending. A credit card that earns 5% back on groceries could net you $25 back in rewards each billing cycle. The plans don’t require a credit check, and you can generally still earn rewards on purchases if the card offers them.Ī credit card that offers a rewards rate of 2% back on all purchases - or 3% or more back in specific categories - can help lessen the pain of rising prices.įor instance, let’s say you spend $500 a month at the supermarket. The predictability of these types of payments can make it easier to budget for them, and such plans could save you money if their fee or interest rate is cheaper than your card’s normal APR. Some major issuers have built-in “buy now, pay later” options on their credit cards that let you pay off eligible purchases in installments for a fixed fee or interest rate. And you may not need to apply for a new credit card to get such a deal some card issuers provide targeted balance transfer offers to existing cardholders. You can typically find promotional periods for balance transfers that run under two years. “If you know that the transfer is going to be six months before the interest starts kicking in, you want to have a plan to get as much of that debt paid off in that six months,” Cox says. If the balance transfer makes sense, make a plan for it. Compare that fee with the cost of long-term interest payments on your current card to determine which option saves more money. “There is going to be a (balance transfer) fee, so you have to shop around a lot of times,” says Melissa Cox, a certified financial planner and advisor at Fetterman Investments, a Dallas-based financial planning firm.Īim for a fee of 3% of the transferred balance or lower. It allows you to transfer high-interest debt from another issuer and pay it off at a lower interest rate - ideally at a 0% APR for a period of time. If you have good credit but want to pay off existing debt, a balance transfer credit card may lower costs.

As long as you pay off the balance, you’ll save on interest charges and potentially recoup some of the cost of the purchase with that bonus. If you’ve got good credit (a FICO score of 690 or higher) and a big expense coming up, consider financing it with a credit card that offers a 0% intro annual percentage rate on purchases and a sign-up bonus.
