For years, people have been tied to rewards programs where they earn airline miles or points by making purchases.  The most common problems for users of these types of rewards cards are not spending enough to earn significant rewards or not spending enough to pass the arbitrary spending threshold set by the credit card company that you must pass before you are able to redeem your points.  Other variables, like points or miles the expire and the inability to use rewards on the things that you really want further complicate the game.

Some credit cards are making it possible to get perks up front instead of having to wait a year or two for an award that you might or might not qualify for.  By partnering with retailers and using social media to communicate with card-holders, credit card companies are giving impatient or infrequent card users access to upfront perks, which are usually in the form of discounts at participating retailers.

Not all cards offer the same perks.  Some force users to shop through their credit card brand’s shopping portal in order to qualify for discounts, meaning that the options are limited, and it is difficult to find out if the discount is really a good deal or merely a gimmick.  Sometimes, these sites feature retailers who have no discounts at all, only free shipping for purchases over a certain amount (something most online retailers offer anyway).

To avoid this, people can take advantage of a new trend in the credit card industry: card companies using social media to broadcast deals and connect with customers in new ways.   Of course, you don’t want to follow your credit card issuer on Twitter only to be attacked by hundreds of irrelevant, spammy tweets.  So here are some social-media-savvy card companies who are worth connecting with.

A vast majority of people become a fan, follower, or friend of credit card companies because they want to know about special promotions or deals.  Social-savvy companies are very aware of this and generally cut down on communications that don’t have to do with discounts.  American Express users have the best options via Facebook and Foursquare.  AmEx, perhaps motivated by a desire to get more small retailers to accept their cards, which are not part of the Visa or MasterCard processing networks, partners with small businesses to offer deals to AmEx cardholders.  While not all discounts are noteworthy, some of the initial offerings are for  significant discounts amounting to 10%-20% off at both participating nationwide retailers and local retailers.  Foursquare benefits because they get a higher profile and draw attention away from social web stalwarts like Facebook and Twitter.  American Express gets people to use their cards more often and perhaps convinces smaller retailers to accept their cards despite their higher swipe fees.  Consumers get access to some good deals without having to clip coupons or wake up at 3a.m. to stand in line.

Discover and Chase, along with AmEx, allow users to link their accounts directly to Amazon.com so that they can use their rewards directly on merchandise and receive the maximum rewards payout.  Of course, Discover and Chase both have online shopping networks, but the deals can vary from free-shipping to 25% discounts.  Citi allows members of its popular ThankYou rewards program to pool their points with other members on Facebook, making it possible for multiple relatives to save points to purchase airline tickets for a family trip or a group of friends to save for event tickets or a gift for a member of their group.  These are all interesting traits that are worth looking into, but thus far, the AmEx Foursquare partnership is the most promising feature of credit card companies’ foray into the world of social media.

A good credit score is important if you want to make a major purchase (such as a home or a car) or if you need a loan to start your own business or make major home improvements.  The better your score, the better your credit score, the lower the interest rate on your loan will be.  People with high credit scores also qualify for lower interest rates when applying for a new credit card.

As long as a recent bankruptcy is not part of your credit history, there are plenty of methods for improving your credit score so that you can qualify for a low-interest rate  or get a major loan for a home or a car.  This is because there are multiple variables that are used when credit score providers (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) calculate your number.  So improving in one or two areas can greatly help your overall score.  Here are some tips for improving your credit score quickly.

Don’t close old accounts right away

Unless these accounts have high interest rates and are hindering your ability to pay off your debt, keeping them open might not be a bad idea.  Part of the credit score equation involves comparing your credit limit with the amount that you have already borrowed.  If you have a credit card account with a $3,000 limit and a balance of under $1,000, this could actually be helpful to your short term credit score (as long as you can manage payments and keep interest in check).  Transferring the balance to another card would lead to a smaller gap between your balance and your credit limit, which will, in turn, lead to a lower credit score.

You don’t even have to keep a balance on these older credit cards

By making an occasional purchase, which you can pay off immediately, you can ensure that the credit card company keeps reporting your information to Equifax, Experion and TransUnion.  This “good” report may offset some of the damage done to your score by other credit accounts that suffer from late payments or high balances.

You can also check your credit report for errors

You can immediately improve your score if there are errors on your report or if the agencies that collect data and make the reports have failed to update your information quickly or correctly.  Obviously, you want to make sure that other people’s information is not on your report.  That is a rare occurrence (but it does happen).  The most important thing is to make sure that all old liens, late payment demerits and even old bankruptcies are not kept on your record for a longer period than required by law.  Any late penalties should not be kept on your record for more than two years.  It’s quite a bit longer for bankruptcy (10 years), but make sure that it is not a day over that.

Be careful about applying for new credit

Seeking new loans or lines of credit can be a negative for your credit score.  However, there are ways to avoid too much damage.  If you are shopping for a home loan, complete all your paperwork at the same time, even if you are applying for a loan from multiple sources.  This will hurt your score less (maybe not at all) because you are not repeatedly looking for additional loans.

Ask your credit card company to increase your credit limit

This may not work for people with a poor credit score, but if you need to gain a few points, an increased limit on your credit card can help.  This is because of the same reason that was already mentioned above: the more distance you put between the amount you owe and your credit limit, the better your score will be.

Stop borrowing and stop charging

This is a rather obvious one that people with poor credit scores often overlook.  The steps explained above are meant to improve your credit score, but they will not work if you continue to use a charge card or apply for new loans.

For most people, tax time is stressful.  They are trying to get their financial information in order, but the tax code is so ridiculously complex that there are bound to be a few things that get overlooked.  Most people focus on W-2s, 1099s, and purchases and expenses that they could possibly write-off on their taxes.  But what about credit cards?  How do the purchases that you make with your credit card affect your taxes?

Some people use their credit card for business-related purchases and other transactions that they can write off on their taxes.  Some business-related cards offer rewards programs that give cash-back bonuses to business-people.  However, it doesn’t matter if a credit card is specifically for business or not: using one single card for all business-related transactions is just a simple way to make sure that all the transactions that will affect your taxes are located in one place.  This makes it easy to see the that there is a definite paper trail between your tax returns and your purchases.  This is helpful for simplifying your paperwork, lowering your tax prep time (or the billable hours that your accountant spends on your taxes), and for making sure that a paper trail exists in case you get audited by the IRS.

By now, everyone knows about using credit cards to pay your taxes.  Making payments with plastic is, of course, one way to avoid getting hit with a bill that takes you a year to recover from.  There is usually a small fee associated with credit card payments to the IRS.  However, paying taxes with credit is not the only way to spread your payments out over the year.  You can set up monthly or quarterly payments with the IRS that can split up your tax bill.  If you can’t pay all at once on April 15^th, you can also contact the government to set up some sort of payment plan for the amount you already owe.

One of the nastiest surprises from the IRS is a tax that follows all recently-canceled debts.  The government treats debts that have been canceled (i.e. what happens when you settle with the credit card company) as income.  So anything that you owe but don’t have to pay back to the credit card company is taxed as earnings.  This can be a nasty surprise for people who thought that they had turned their fortunes around and done the right thing by settling with a credit card company.

Interest payments made on credit card accounts are not deductible, with one exception, interest on balances created by business-related transactions (where the transaction is deductible).  This is yet another reason to keep any work-related purchases separate from personal purchases by using a business-only credit card.

What about credit card rewards.  Wouldn’t it be a bite if your rewards were treated as income and all that work you did earning them gets canceled out by a tax payment?  The precedent for this situation has to do with airline miles accrued via credit card rewards program. Basically, the government considers these rewards “rebates,” not cash, so they do not have to be claimed as income.  Unfortunately, this is kind of a gray area, with most people able to claim any type of award as a rebate, even though some perks are more like cash than “rebates.”  If unsure, it is best to seek out the advice of an accountant who can at least explain the current tax laws to you and at best, help you if your rewards lead to an audit form the IRS.  Fortunately (or is it unfortunately), most rewards program gains are quite small, so they are unlikely to draw any attention.

Rewards credit cards make it easy to feel like you are getting something back when you make a purchase.  However, the cash-back or points based perks are often disappointingly small.  It can seem like an eternity before you can cash in your airline miles or points for a ticket or gift card.  The best way to look at these cards is as shopping tool that help you get a slight discount (a few cents for every dollar spent).

Sometimes the best rewards do not come from credit cards but from store loyalty programs that do not even require a certain credit card.

As competition heats up in certain industries, more and more companies are expanding their rewards programs or rolling out revamped or completely new perks that customers can earn by shopping or flying frequently.

Airlines have the most well-known loyalty programs.  JetBlue, Virgin America and Southwest Airlines all have airline-specific credit cards, but they also have rewards programs that allow frequent fliers to earn free flights quickly.  All these airlines have spending thresholds that are basically equal to $500-$1000 spent.  That means you only have to spend a relatively small amount before earning enough for a free ticket or upgrade.  These airlines, and other low cost carriers, are generally able to beat out the big boys (Delta, United, American, etc) in terms of the speed at which points can be redeemed for free flights.  That said, the legacy carriers have loyalty programs that offer more perks, and their wider network of routes and membership in airline alliances mean that it is easier to earn miles on every flight that you fly.

Department stores are major players in the customer loyalty game.  Saks 5^th Avenue has a muscular rewards program that awards frequent shoppers with the equivalent of 15% cash back.  The catch: shoppers have to spend $3,000 to get the maximum return from the program.  Women’s footwear retailer DSW offer a similar discount to Saks (about 15%), but it does not have such a high spending threshold.  JC Penney and Kohl’s, two discount-heavy department stores, rely heavily on loyalty program discounts (of 15%-$30) to keep their customer base coming back again and again.

Grocers and gas stations have been teaming up to offer rewards.  One of the most generous is the current loyalty program at Kroger’s supermarkets.  Customers who do all their shopping at the store can earn up to $0.40 off per gallon of gas.  Other stores have offers that range from five to ten cents per gallon.  In contrast, the best gas-specific credit cards only give 2%-3% off, with a few offering 5% when gas is part of the rotating rewards categories.  The best part about earning gas discounts from shopping instead of from credit cards is that the store loyalty programs are free to sign up for, and they do not expose you to interest payments or hidden fees.

A non-credit or debit option is a charge card.  American Express is the king of non-store-related charge cards.  Basically, a charge card can earn you rewards, but it is not like a credit card, because you cannot carry a balance into the following month, you have to pay off the balance immediately.  That said, the cards can offer purchase protection and other benefits in addition to the rewards.  The AmEx Zync is one of the better charge-card options.

Walgreens has one of the easiest rewards programs to capitalize on.  Certain products and purchases qualify shoppers for something called Register Rewards.  These are basically vouchers that can be used like cash or coupons for future purchases.  Unfortunately, these rewards expire quickly, but at store like Walgreens, which many people visit frequently for necessities, spending them in a week or two shouldn’t be  a problem for most people.

Travelers checks are a thing of the past.  These days you can find ATMs and banks even in some of the most remote corners of the world.  While cash is still king in many countries, cards have now replaced checks as the easiest and safest way to carry money.

For people who are concerned about bringing their regular debit cards with them to a foreign country, prepaid debit cards might be the answer.  These cards have a set amount of money on them, and can be treated in a way that is very similar to the travelers checks of yesteryear.

Not all prepaid cards are ideal for travel and even fewer are good options for international travelers.  Most have fees for loading, fees for using the card overseas, and fees for accessing cash via ATM.  These charges can add up to more than a few dollars (definitely more than the fees associated with travelers checks).  Some cards, however, are ideal for international travel.

American Express recently made headlines when it decided to launch its own prepaid debit cards.  Unlike other prepaid debit cards, that are generally marketed to people without regular bank accounts, the prepaid American Express seems to be aimed at people who already have bank accounts and simply want another way to carry money.  There are some fees associated with using the AmEx prepaid card, but they are much lighter than the competition and much easier to avoid.  You can transfer money from a bank account to you card and incur no extra fees (loading cash carries a $4.95 fee).  Users get one free ATM transaction per month, after which a two dollar fee is charged.  One of the best aspects of this card is that it does not charge a foreign transaction fee.  These fees, charged by most major card  companies, can add 1%-4% to the cost of every overseas transaction.  Also, American Express is known for its customer service and that carries over into the prepaid arena as well.  Prepaid cardholders get access to the company’s online travel and shopping deals as well as travel services like emergency assistance and  purchase protection.

The AmEx is not perfect.  It carries a $2,500 balance limit and is not as widely accepted as Visa and MasterCard (mainly because it carries higher swipe fees than the competition).  Nonetheless, it is the obvious prepaid card choice for travelers, because of its lack of fees and the fact that it seems to be designed for regular users rather than for people who do not have a bank account.

As a general rule, it is best to opt for prepaid cards that are associated with major banks.  This will allow you a bit more customer service.  You can call to check (and perhaps recheck) that you will be able to use your card overseas and can have a major bank to contact should problems arise.

High tech phones and tablets are extremely useful, but they can also be extremely costly.  When you add the cost of the device to the cost of your service plan, the total price can be almost shockingly high.  Luckily, there are ways to save money when purchasing and using a tool like an iPad or iPhone.  Despite all the gimmicks that are available to smart-phone customers, these phones can be extremely useful when it comes to saving money: if you are already paying for service, why not get the most out of it?  Here are ways that iPhones, other smart-phones, iPads and other tablets can be useful as money saving tools.

When it comes to buying an iPad or tablet PC, there are several strategies for saving money.  The most obvious (but perhaps not the best) is to buy a used or refurbished device.  Some stores  have refurbished smart-phones, and they are easy to get online (as long as you are sure that you are purchasing from a reputable dealer).  Clearances, when old devices are sold at a discount to make room for newer models, are also a money-saving possibility.  Of course, you are not getting the latest model when you shop clearance sales, so you’ll have to make sure that the older phone or tablet is capable of doing the things that you need it to do.

Students and educators can get discounts from Apple.  Not qualified as a student or teacher?  You can find someone who is to accompany you when you make the purchase.  They’ll qualify for the discount and you’ll get the device.  This approach is useful for Apple devices because Apple offers an 8% discount to students and teachers.

Once you have your iPad or iPhone, you can make it work for you.  Applications that can help you save money are widely available.  Most banks have applications that can help you find the nearest ATM that doesn’t charge a fee for making a withdrawal.  These fees can run as high as $2 or $3, so even if you only use these apps once or twice a week you’ll be saving a noticeable amount of money.  There are also applications that can help you find the cheapest gas station in your area.  That can be another $5-$10 in savings each week.  These tools can help the savings ad up (perhaps enough to cover the cost of your phone bill each month).

Other applications allow you to search for coupons without having to do what your mom did and sift through the newspaper every Sunday with a pair of scissors.  Sites like Coupon Sherpa can make clipping coupons a thing of the past and can make believers out of people who considered coupons inconvenient (and even embarrassing) in the past.

Data plans are the most expensive part of owning a smart-phone.  However, there are ways to limit the amount of MBs that you use each month.  Rely on free wireless internet access whenever possible.  Why not sneak into the coffee shop or restaurant with internet access to check your mail or access your apps?  Even some fast-food restaurants offer free internet access.  The same goes for iPads and tablets.  Between wireless at work, at home and at many places in between, there is really not much of a need to purchase an unlimited data plan.

Using your device as a tool for saving money, rather than making it just another toy in your high-tech toy-box can really justify purchasing a smart-phone or tablet.  With easy access to coupons and money-saving information, there is no reason that you should be paying the highest price for anything.  If you are consistent in using money-saving applications, you can save enough to cover the cost of your device easily.

For people who have always used brick-and-mortar banks, the idea of banking online is quite foreign. Online banks have a different set of advantages and disadvantages. However, as fees begin to rise at major brick-and-mortar banks, people are starting to look at online-only banks as a cheaper alternative.

Of course, banking online comes with a different set of fundamentals. First of all, it is imperative to do the research to make sure that your internet bank choice is reputable and is able to provide security for your funds (i.e. that your deposits are insured and that the bank has had no major breaches of security in the past).

Online banks have lower overhead (because they have fewer employees and no real estate), so they can generally offer higher interest rates on savings accounts and have fewer fees for checking accounts.  This is probably the biggest advantage of online-only banks.  On the other hand, it can be more difficult to access your money if your main accounts are with an online bank.  Without a branch to visit, you will have to rely on ATMs to withdraw cash.  You can deal with this by making sure that your bank of choice has a fee-free ATM in your area that you can use.

Another possible hangup is the fact that it is not easy to deposit paper checks in an online bank.  The process often requires sending a check in by mail, meaning that the funds will not be immediately available for withdrawal, as they would in a regular bank.  This is not a reason to avoid online banks, but it are worth keeping in mind that certain issues like this will come up if you are not prepared.

So which banks are best when it comes to banking and financial services on the internet?  Currently Ally Bank is the top online bank.  Fees are noticeably absent from this bank’s fine print.  Ally allows you to scan-in checks to make deposits and does not have any account minimums.  They don’t charge for ATM usage and even reimburse users for charges levied by other banks’ ATMs.

ING Direct is another highly publicized online bank.  It features fee-free ATM withdrawals from the expansive Allpoint network. ING has savings accounts and also boasts no monthly fees.  The reason that people sometimes choose ING instead of Ally is its connection with the Sharebuilder investing site.  This partnership allows people to use their ING funds to easily make deposit into their investment account.

Connexus Credit Union gives online customers the customer-service advantages that come from joining a credit union.  Yes, anyone can join this credit union via the internet.  There is a catch, albeit a small one: there is a $10 fee to open account (unless you live in Wisconsin and/or are associated with one of the organizations that qualify for free membership).  Connexus will reimburse your ATM fees up to $25 each month.  There are some requirements for people who want to earn interest from their checking account (regular debit card usage and direct deposit), but overall the fees are very low.  Though they are not online-only banks, many credit unions do have internet account management features and do allow people to deposit checks by mail, so they can function as internet banks even though they have brick-and-mortar locations.

A less conventional option might be to find an online savings account (American Express offers one, for example).  You can use this account as the base of your finances and can then use direct deposit and prepaid debit cards in lieu of a checking account.  Most prepaid cards allow users to load their accounts from a bank account for free.

Making a major purchase at any time of year can be stressful.  Parting with your hard-earned cash and worrying about warranties and reliability is no fun, even if you have been looking forward to making the purchase.  The stress doesn’t even stop after you bring your big-ticket item home from the store.  Inevitably, you will find your product on sale for less than you paid two weeks after you bought it.

Finding the best time of year to buy is important.  Although buying at the optimum time doesn’t guarantee the lowest price, it can certainly put the odds in your favor.  Here are some tips to help would-be buyers find the time of year when the products that they desire are generally at their lowest prices.

Furniture

If you are looking for a new sofa-and-love-seat set or perhaps a new bookcase, you have two windows of opportunity to score low prices.  For designer furnishings, the best time to buy is early in the year (January) or in the middle of the summer (mid-July).  This is because new designs are typically rolled out in February and in August, meaning that retailers price-down the previous season’s furniture in an effort to make room for the new stuff.

Appliances

Most retailers have sales that target people during high traffic times, especially major holidays.  This can mean checking on sales during the Christmas season, but it also means that there are discounts on the 4th of July, Labor Day, or Memorial Day (or any holiday when most people are off of work).  Don’t want to fight the crowds? Try for less popular holidays like President’s Day, which have their share of sales too.  Of course, you could simply scour the show-floors for last year’s models, which are generally sold at a discount no matter what time of year it is.

Airline tickets

Most travel experts agree that buying at the last minute won’t save you money.  While there are deals at the 11th hour, if you don’t find one, you’ll be stuck with a high fare.  For regular, non-holiday travel, one month to three weeks before take-off is usually an ideal purchase time for getting the lowest prices.  For holiday travel, earlier is better (up to three months before departure) because fares rise as the holiday approaches and demand rises.

Seasonal goods

Common sense prevails when it comes to expensive seasonal items like air conditioners, snow-blowers and even above-ground swimming pools.  The golden rule: don’t buy when demand is high.  People wait until the first big snowfall, then run to the store to get a snowblower, or they wait until the first June heatwave and then start thinking about a window air conditioner unit.  Even those who plan ahead can get hit with high prices (in late fall or late spring) because demand is on the rise.  The absolute best time to buy is when no one else is buying.  The lowest prices on air conditioners can be found in the fall, when everyone else is buying snowblowers.

Cars

Some budget-minded people wait until the end of the calendar year and then try to score last year’s model at low prices.  But they might end up with a vehicle that has less options than they want.  Most of next year’s car models are rolled out in the fall and hit lots in September and October.  This means that dealers are in a hurry to get old models off the lot.  However, in October, unlike December and January, there will still be plenty of this year’s “old” models to choose from.  The fact that you know that salespeople are under pressure to move the older models gives you a fair bit of leverage, which can lead to thousands in savings.

Cell Phones

The market for cell phones is so competitive that new models are released as soon as they are ready for retail.  You can score a deal when signing up for a new service (and signing a new contract) or you can wait until the model you want is replaced by a newer model (you shouldn’t have to wait too long) and then make your purchase.

Shopping online with a credit card has many advantages. Sure, if you spend more than you can pay off you will find yourself in debt, but the advantages of credit cards outweigh the negatives (at least for responsible spenders).

Here is why credit cards are the preferable way to make online purchases:

Credit cards give you more protection against fraudulent purchases. If someone somehow gets your credit card number while you are shopping online, you can easily dispute any of the fraudulent purchases without having to pay anything. That is an advantage over using a debit card, where the money is drawn from your checking account and you have to dispute the payment and hope the money is returned rather than disputing the payment with your credit card company before you actually pay your credit card bill.

Credit cards also offer purchase protection. If you want to return an item or if it is somehow broken or un-usable, you can ask the credit card to take the charge off of your bill. If you have a legitimate case, they will do so, even if the online retailer does not accept the return.  Of course, you must take action quickly, within a week after receiving your un-usable item, in order to have a good chance of getting your money back. This is useful because the credit card company can act as a kind of go-between, meaning you do not have to argue directly with the seller.

Some cards offer purchase protection in the form of a warranty on certain items. Not all cards do this, so you have to take a peek at the fine print to make sure your card indeed covers your purchase. If you are purchasing electronics and your card provides extended purchase protection, then you can opt out of any extended warranties offered by the store (which can be quite expensive).

Finally, of course, there are rewards cards that can give you cash back for online purchases or rewards points that can be redeemed for airfares or other perks. Some rewards cards offer additional bonuses or higher rewards per dollar ratios for people who shop at certain online retailers.

Here are some of the best cards for online shopping:

If you frequently shop online, the Discover Motiva could be a good card for you. It offers Discover’s usual cash-back bonuses with an additional perk: users can earn 5%-20% in cash back bonuses if they shop online at Discover-affiliated retailers that are part of the Discover Shopping Mall. In addition, any interest payments are reduced by 5% every month that users make an on-time payment that does not pay off the entire balance. This is one of the better deals for no-annual-fee cards.

The Chase Freedom Card has an extensive network of online retailers that offer bonus ThankYou Points to card users who shop on the sites. The bonuses can be between 2% and 5%. The Freedom also has other perks, like giving users bonus ThankYou Points when they make their payments on-time each month.

All American Express card-holders are qualified for rewards point deals when they shop on the Shop AmEx network. Card-holders can double, triple or even quadruple their rewards points when shopping with AmEx affiliates through Shop AmEx. In addition, card-holders are eligible for special deals on travel that are only offered to American Express customers.