{"id":850,"date":"2011-06-16T04:53:24","date_gmt":"2011-06-16T04:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/?p=425"},"modified":"2013-01-08T11:34:43","modified_gmt":"2013-01-08T18:34:43","slug":"i-have-cards-now-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/?p=850","title":{"rendered":"I Have Cards..Now What? – Effectively managing your credit to maximize rewards"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a wanderluster taking advantage of credit card bonuses,\u00a0it can sometimes feel rather intimidating to think about all cards I have open and whether or not I have charges out on them.\u00a0 For someone who is checking out this blog for the first time, or has already gotten started, let me give you a few pointers that have helped me.\u00a0 After all, getting some sweet deals loses its luster if you can’t manage the cards and end up with late fees. Here is a list of my thoughts on how to be wise…..<\/p>\n

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  1. Autopay- I use this feature as much as possible.\u00a0 The great thing is that it usually pulls the amount out of my account on the last day of my statement.\u00a0 Thereby it gives me enough time to make sure that the amount of money that I need to be in the account is there.<\/li>\n
  2. Mint.com<\/a>–\u00a0 I will probably post about this website later, but it is awesome.\u00a0 It consolidates all of your bank accounts, credit card accounts, loans, etc., into one secure location.\u00a0 A friend of mine works in the electronic security department of a bank, and he even uses this service.\u00a0 I totally recommend it because it lets me know at one time how much I have on all of my credit cards in one place.\u00a0 That way I don’t have so sign in to all of my accounts individually.<\/li>\n
  3. Pay Everything- Make sure that you are paying EVERYTHING with your credit cards.\u00a0 Car insurance, health insurance, groceries, decorations, food, etc.\u00a0\u00a0Make all of your traditional expenses\u00a0on your cards to make sure that you are racking up the most points possible.<\/li>\n
  4. Staple Cards (See our ad for the staple card we like best below)- Your staple cards are your ticket to the new hot cards.\u00a0 Don’t forget about them.\u00a0 I try to use\u00a0mine at least\u00a0once every few months just to show that I am using it consistently.\u00a0 You also run the risk of them putting the card at an inactive status.\u00a0 Make sure that you continue to use them once in a while\u00a0and that you are still meeting your spending requirements on the new hot cards.<\/li>\n
  5. Carrying Cards- Let’s be honest.\u00a0 I have\u00a0more cards than I can comfortably carry, so\u00a0 I never carry all of them at once.\u00a0 I like to focus on a single card\u00a0or two until I’ve met the spending requirement.\u00a0 That way, at the end of the month, I have one\u00a0big payment on one card, as\u00a0opposed to many small payments\u00a0on different cards.<\/li>\n
  6. Spending Requirements- Once you have met the spending requirements you want to make sure that you keep using the card from time to time to make sure that the company doesn’t target you as a promotion-abuser.\u00a0 You don’t want to end up on their blacklist because they just might have a sweet deal on a card for you next month.<\/li>\n
  7. Keep em open- Remember to keep your cards alive for at least the first year.\u00a0 You want to extend your length of average credit history to the longest time possible.\u00a0 If you call the company up at the end of the first year and they won’t waive the annual fee (Amex usually won’t) or give you any retention bonus, then cancel the thing.\u00a0 Plan on getting ran through the ringer.\u00a0 They pass you off a few times before it is actually canceled, but always try for something.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Plan everything out and make sure that you are never late on your payments.\u00a0 Remember that your credit is important in getting a mortgage and other necessary loans.\u00a0\u00a0In the simple advice of one who knows, “O be wise, what can\u00a0I say more?”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    As a wanderluster taking advantage of credit card bonuses,\u00a0it can sometimes feel rather intimidating to think about all cards I have open and whether or not I have charges out on them.\u00a0 For someone who is checking out this blog … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,12,23],"tags":[108,116,167,194,196],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}