The Best Credit Cards to Use for All Your Summer Activities

Getting the most out of the summer is a top priority for a lot of people. For many of us, there are only a few months of good weather every year – it’s important to enjoy them while they last!

Contrary to popular belief, making sweet summer memories doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. By simply choosing the right credit card, you could offset some of the expenses you’ll rack up during your warm-weather fun. Not sure which card to use for your particular summer activity? Don’t worry, the Nerds have you covered – take a look at our top picks below!

If you’re taking a road trip: Chase Freedom®

Apply Now

on Chase's

secure website

Hitting the open road to take in the sights along America’s highways and byways this summer? You’ll want a card that rewards you handsomely for all that money you’ll be spending at the pump, and the Chase Freedom® is a great choice!

With the Freedom, you’ll earn 5% cash back in quarterly rotating bonus categories (up to $1,500 in combined purchases per quarter) and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. Between July 1, 2014, and Sept. 30, 2014, gas stations are a featured 5% category. This means you could be earning a very high rewards rate at the pump this summer!

What’s more, the Freedom has historically featured gas stations for 2 out of 4 quarters of the year. That amounts to an annual average of 3% back on gas, certainly nothing to sneeze at!

The Freedom charges no annual fee and offers a decent signup bonus: Earn a $100 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. It’s one of the Nerds’ favorite cash-back cards, so you can feel good about getting it for your summer road trip and hanging onto it for a while!

If you’re spending a week at the beach: Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®

Apply Now

on Barclays's

secure website

A beach vacation usually means a wide variety of activities – a few nights on the boardwalk, a round of mini golf and dining at all the local seafood joints. This means you’ll want a card that carries a high rewards rate no matter where you do your spending, plus the option to redeem those rewards for a number of different expenses. That might seem like a tall order, but the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® fits the bill!

With the Arrival Plus, you’ll earn 2 miles for every dollar you spend on any purchase. Assuming you redeem your miles for travel, this means you’ll be getting a sky-high rewards rate of 2.2% every time you swipe your card. What’s more, you can redeem those miles in the form of a statement credit for a wide range of travel options, including airfare, hotel stays, campgrounds and timeshares. This could really help bring the cost of a beach vacation down!

And if your beach vacation involves international travel, the Arrival Plus is a really good pick. It charges no foreign transaction fee and comes chip-enabled. Win-win!

Another stellar feature is the Arrival Plus’s signup bonus: Earn 40,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 or more on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening. If you’re planning on spending at least $3,000 during your week at the beach, you could be well on your way to your next vacation if you bring the Arrival Plus along!

Keep in mind that the Arrival Plus does charge an annual fee: $89 - Waived first year. But with all the great features this card provides, that’s a small price to pay for big travelers.

If you’re visiting an amusement park: Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card — Earn 20,000 Bonus Points

Apply Now

on Citibank's

secure website

Spending a day riding roller coasters and wolfing down cotton candy is a quintessential summer activity. To add to the merriment, take along the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card — Earn 20,000 Bonus Points and you’ll earn double points on your amusement park spending!

With the ThankYou Preferred card, you’ll earn 2 ThankYou points per dollar spent on entertainment and dining out and 1 ThankYou point per dollar spent on everything else. Amusement parks count as “entertainment,” so you’ll be getting double points on your day out and when you stop for dinner on the way home. Plus, if you have plans later in the week to take in a concert or cultural activity, you can keep racking up double points with this card.

The ThankYou Preferred doesn’t carry an annual fee, and it does provide a decent signup bonus: Earn 20,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after $1,500 in card purchases within 3 months of account opening - redeemable for $200 in gift cards or other great rewards. All-in-all, this card is a good choice for many different types of summer fun.

Nerd note: When it comes time to redeem your ThankYou points, your best options are gift cards or cash equivalents. With these redemptions, you’ll get about $.01 in value out of each ThankYou point; if you choose cash back, each point will only be worth about half a cent.

If you’re exploring a new city: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Apply Now

on Chase's

secure website

If you plan to use your vacation days to experience the food, cultural events and nightlife of a new city, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the perfect card to take along.

With the Sapphire Preferred, you’ll earn 2 points for every dollar you spend on travel and dining out and 1 point per dollar spent on everything else. Generally, Sapphire Preferred points are worth one cent apiece. However, they’re worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, which drives the value of each point up to 1.25 cents.

This is all great news if you’re traveling to a new city, since a lot of your time will be spent in restaurants and taxis (which count as travel). You’ll be racking up big rewards everywhere you go!

Also, if you’re headed to an international city, you can travel easy with Sapphire Preferred. It doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee and comes chip-enabled.

In terms of a signup bonus, the Sapphire Preferred offers one of the best deals out there: Earn 40,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months.

Keep in mind that it does charge an Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95. But if you spend a lot on travel and dining out, the high rewards rate you’ll get with the Sapphire Preferred makes its annual fee worthwhile.

Summer fun image via Shutterstock

Source Article http://ift.tt/1y39EC7

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The Best Credit Cards to Use for All Your Summer Activities

Getting the most out of the summer is a top priority for a lot of people. For many of us, there are only a few months of good weather every year – it’s important to enjoy them while they last!

Contrary to popular belief, making sweet summer memories doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. By simply choosing the right credit card, you could offset some of the expenses you’ll rack up during your warm-weather fun. Not sure which card to use for your particular summer activity? Don’t worry, the Nerds have you covered – take a look at our top picks below!

If you’re taking a road trip: Chase Freedom®

Apply Now

on Chase's

secure website

Hitting the open road to take in the sights along America’s highways and byways this summer? You’ll want a card that rewards you handsomely for all that money you’ll be spending at the pump, and the Chase Freedom® is a great choice!

With the Freedom, you’ll earn 5% cash back in quarterly rotating bonus categories (up to $1,500 in combined purchases per quarter) and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. Between July 1, 2014, and Sept. 30, 2014, gas stations are a featured 5% category. This means you could be earning a very high rewards rate at the pump this summer!

What’s more, the Freedom has historically featured gas stations for 2 out of 4 quarters of the year. That amounts to an annual average of 3% back on gas, certainly nothing to sneeze at!

The Freedom charges no annual fee and offers a decent signup bonus: Earn a $100 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. It’s one of the Nerds’ favorite cash-back cards, so you can feel good about getting it for your summer road trip and hanging onto it for a while!

If you’re spending a week at the beach: Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®

Apply Now

on Barclays's

secure website

A beach vacation usually means a wide variety of activities – a few nights on the boardwalk, a round of mini golf and dining at all the local seafood joints. This means you’ll want a card that carries a high rewards rate no matter where you do your spending, plus the option to redeem those rewards for a number of different expenses. That might seem like a tall order, but the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® fits the bill!

With the Arrival Plus, you’ll earn 2 miles for every dollar you spend on any purchase. Assuming you redeem your miles for travel, this means you’ll be getting a sky-high rewards rate of 2.2% every time you swipe your card. What’s more, you can redeem those miles in the form of a statement credit for a wide range of travel options, including airfare, hotel stays, campgrounds and timeshares. This could really help bring the cost of a beach vacation down!

And if your beach vacation involves international travel, the Arrival Plus is a really good pick. It charges no foreign transaction fee and comes chip-enabled. Win-win!

Another stellar feature is the Arrival Plus’s signup bonus: Earn 40,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 or more on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening. If you’re planning on spending at least $3,000 during your week at the beach, you could be well on your way to your next vacation if you bring the Arrival Plus along!

Keep in mind that the Arrival Plus does charge an annual fee: $89 - Waived first year. But with all the great features this card provides, that’s a small price to pay for big travelers.

If you’re visiting an amusement park: Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card — Earn 20,000 Bonus Points

Apply Now

on Citibank's

secure website

Spending a day riding roller coasters and wolfing down cotton candy is a quintessential summer activity. To add to the merriment, take along the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card — Earn 20,000 Bonus Points and you’ll earn double points on your amusement park spending!

With the ThankYou Preferred card, you’ll earn 2 ThankYou points per dollar spent on entertainment and dining out and 1 ThankYou point per dollar spent on everything else. Amusement parks count as “entertainment,” so you’ll be getting double points on your day out and when you stop for dinner on the way home. Plus, if you have plans later in the week to take in a concert or cultural activity, you can keep racking up double points with this card.

The ThankYou Preferred doesn’t carry an annual fee, and it does provide a decent signup bonus: Earn 20,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after $1,500 in card purchases within 3 months of account opening - redeemable for $200 in gift cards or other great rewards. All-in-all, this card is a good choice for many different types of summer fun.

Nerd note: When it comes time to redeem your ThankYou points, your best options are gift cards or cash equivalents. With these redemptions, you’ll get about $.01 in value out of each ThankYou point; if you choose cash back, each point will only be worth about half a cent.

If you’re exploring a new city: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Apply Now

on Chase's

secure website

If you plan to use your vacation days to experience the food, cultural events and nightlife of a new city, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the perfect card to take along.

With the Sapphire Preferred, you’ll earn 2 points for every dollar you spend on travel and dining out and 1 point per dollar spent on everything else. Generally, Sapphire Preferred points are worth one cent apiece. However, they’re worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, which drives the value of each point up to 1.25 cents.

This is all great news if you’re traveling to a new city, since a lot of your time will be spent in restaurants and taxis (which count as travel). You’ll be racking up big rewards everywhere you go!

Also, if you’re headed to an international city, you can travel easy with Sapphire Preferred. It doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee and comes chip-enabled.

In terms of a signup bonus, the Sapphire Preferred offers one of the best deals out there: Earn 40,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months.

Keep in mind that it does charge an Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95. But if you spend a lot on travel and dining out, the high rewards rate you’ll get with the Sapphire Preferred makes its annual fee worthwhile.

Summer fun image via Shutterstock

Source Article :http://bit.ly/1pvTC1c

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States Where People Use the Most Electricity — and States Where They Pay the Most For It

From powering up our favorite gadgets to lighting up our homes, electricity is part of life for most Americans. Residents of some states, however, are using more electricity than others. People in Louisiana average 1,254 kWh/month, more than twice that of Maine residents, who use an average of 531 kWh/month.

While there’s no absolute correlation, the states with the highest average monthly consumption of electricity also tend to be the ones where electricity is cheaper. Here are the 5 states with the cheapest electricity and the 5 with the most expensive.

Besides cutting down on your electricity usage, you can also save on electricity bills by using alternate sources of energy. Check out the best states for residential solar energy for more information and resources.

Check our more data visualizations here.

Light decor photo from Shutterstock

Source Article :http://bit.ly/1sZmKyS

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States Where People Use the Most Electricity — and States Where They Pay the Most For It

From powering up our favorite gadgets to lighting up our homes, electricity is part of life for most Americans. Residents of some states, however, are using more electricity than others. People in Louisiana average 1,254 kWh/month, more than twice that of Maine residents, who use an average of 531 kWh/month.

While there’s no absolute correlation, the states with the highest average monthly consumption of electricity also tend to be the ones where electricity is cheaper. Here are the 5 states with the cheapest electricity and the 5 with the most expensive.

Besides cutting down on your electricity usage, you can also save on electricity bills by using alternate sources of energy. Check out the best states for residential solar energy for more information and resources.

Check our more data visualizations here.

Light decor photo from Shutterstock

Source Article http://ift.tt/1y39EC7

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Subprime Auto Loans: Boon or Bane?

For consumers down on their luck with a checkered borrowing history and who need a car, subprime auto loans sound promising: they’re easy to get even for people who have a low credit score, are recovering from bankruptcy or lack a steady income.

Since they go to borrowers whose credit scores are often too low to qualify for a standard loan, these notes carry higher costs for consumers and greater risk for lenders. Subprime auto loans have become controversial recently as their increasing popularity has led to comparisons with the poor quality home mortgages that led to the 2007-2009 financial crisis and the recession that resulted. Here’s a look at how these loans work, what they can mean for consumers and how they could hurt the economy.

Subprime auto loans explained

Financial institutions give subprime auto loans to individuals with credit scores of 640 or under, according to Equifax, the credit reporting company. Because borrowers with poor credit are riskier for lenders, banks charge much higher interest rates, often in the 20% range, compared with less than 5% for those with good rankings. The difference can amount to hundreds of dollars a month, depending on the size of the debt.

Subprime lending accounts for about 32% of all car loans made today and they have balances outstanding of $46 billion, an eight-year high, Equifax says. Partly, the increase is driven by market forces unrelated to consumer needs.

As investors search for better returns, demand is rising for bundles of high-yield subprime auto loans, despite their elevated default risk compared with other types of debt, Bloomberg News reported in June. It cited last year’s sales of about $17.6 billion in securities created from the loans, more than double the amount in 2010. Moody’s Investors Service said in January that losses on the asset-backed debt were rising as lenders loosened standards further to generate more loans and satisfy the market’s growing appetite.

While rates for the loans are higher, they may be the only way for many buyers to get financing for a vehicle they need to get to work or for other purposes. Some unscrupulous dealers use the availability of subprime financing to help make sales, even if it can mean locking a low-income borrower into a nightmare of missed payments, collections agencies and repo men snagging the car in the middle of the night, the New York Times reported in July. Increased availability of credit for high-risk applicants has also fueled new car sales, as about a third were financed by borrowers with credit scores of less than 700 last year, Fortune magazine said in November. New vehicle sales are projected to reach 16.3 million units this year, the most since 2006, according to Bloomberg News.

Standards loosened

The standards for subprime auto loans have gotten so relaxed that banks and other lenders have been giving them out left and right. Here are a few of the main reasons for the easy credit policies:

Collateral – A car loan is secured by the vehicle, which can be repossessed and sold to recoup some of the debt, so some lenders are more willing to take the risk of giving loans to people with low credit rankings. New technology even makes it possible for a bank or finance company to disable the car remotely if a payment is missed.

Secondary debt sales – The growing market for subprime auto loans bundled into asset-backed securities has prompted some lenders to make financing available to borrowers who wouldn’t have qualified even a year earlier because of a poor history of managing obligations. Some predatory finance companies have pushed larger dollar amounts with higher rates, as both boost their earnings while helping to meet demand for the debt. Bond rater Standard & Poor’s said in July that subprime loan delinquencies and losses have risen this year, reflecting the decline in credit standards.

Dodd-Frank exclusion – The 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law that created the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau exempted automobile dealers from the agency’s oversight. This means financing arranged through a car dealer is less regulated than loans obtained directly from banks or credit unions. As a result, it’s easier for lenders working through dealers to take advantage of borrowers.

Proceed with caution

While a subprime loan – even with a 20% interest rate – can help pave the way to a new job and prosperity for some borrowers, the debt can easily lead to financial ruin for others. The average high-risk borrower takes on a car loan that exceeds the value of the vehicle being purchased by 15%, according to S&P, which means a failure to make monthly payments and repossession can still leave the consumer saddled with obligations for a car he no longer has.

While investors snap up bundles of subprime auto loans and analysts fret about a bubble forming like it did with high-risk mortgages before that market collapsed in 2007, the scale is vastly different. Reuters has put the value of assets backed by risky car loans at about $80 billion from 2006 to 2012, while securities underpinned by similarly low-quality mortgages reached 20 times more, at $1.6 trillion from 2006 to 2009.

Still, should there be a meltdown like the one that clubbed the real estate industry seven years ago, automakers could feel a drag on sales and that could put the brakes on the economy’s already slow recovery.

Car trap image via Shutterstock

Source Article :http://bit.ly/1uopTKu

Read More

Subprime Auto Loans: Boon or Bane?

For consumers down on their luck with a checkered borrowing history and who need a car, subprime auto loans sound promising: they’re easy to get even for people who have a low credit score, are recovering from bankruptcy or lack a steady income.

Since they go to borrowers whose credit scores are often too low to qualify for a standard loan, these notes carry higher costs for consumers and greater risk for lenders. Subprime auto loans have become controversial recently as their increasing popularity has led to comparisons with the poor quality home mortgages that led to the 2007-2009 financial crisis and the recession that resulted. Here’s a look at how these loans work, what they can mean for consumers and how they could hurt the economy.

Subprime auto loans explained

Financial institutions give subprime auto loans to individuals with credit scores of 640 or under, according to Equifax, the credit reporting company. Because borrowers with poor credit are riskier for lenders, banks charge much higher interest rates, often in the 20% range, compared with less than 5% for those with good rankings. The difference can amount to hundreds of dollars a month, depending on the size of the debt.

Subprime lending accounts for about 32% of all car loans made today and they have balances outstanding of $46 billion, an eight-year high, Equifax says. Partly, the increase is driven by market forces unrelated to consumer needs.

As investors search for better returns, demand is rising for bundles of high-yield subprime auto loans, despite their elevated default risk compared with other types of debt, Bloomberg News reported in June. It cited last year’s sales of about $17.6 billion in securities created from the loans, more than double the amount in 2010. Moody’s Investors Service said in January that losses on the asset-backed debt were rising as lenders loosened standards further to generate more loans and satisfy the market’s growing appetite.

While rates for the loans are higher, they may be the only way for many buyers to get financing for a vehicle they need to get to work or for other purposes. Some unscrupulous dealers use the availability of subprime financing to help make sales, even if it can mean locking a low-income borrower into a nightmare of missed payments, collections agencies and repo men snagging the car in the middle of the night, the New York Times reported in July. Increased availability of credit for high-risk applicants has also fueled new car sales, as about a third were financed by borrowers with credit scores of less than 700 last year, Fortune magazine said in November. New vehicle sales are projected to reach 16.3 million units this year, the most since 2006, according to Bloomberg News.

Standards loosened

The standards for subprime auto loans have gotten so relaxed that banks and other lenders have been giving them out left and right. Here are a few of the main reasons for the easy credit policies:

Collateral – A car loan is secured by the vehicle, which can be repossessed and sold to recoup some of the debt, so some lenders are more willing to take the risk of giving loans to people with low credit rankings. New technology even makes it possible for a bank or finance company to disable the car remotely if a payment is missed.

Secondary debt sales – The growing market for subprime auto loans bundled into asset-backed securities has prompted some lenders to make financing available to borrowers who wouldn’t have qualified even a year earlier because of a poor history of managing obligations. Some predatory finance companies have pushed larger dollar amounts with higher rates, as both boost their earnings while helping to meet demand for the debt. Bond rater Standard & Poor’s said in July that subprime loan delinquencies and losses have risen this year, reflecting the decline in credit standards.

Dodd-Frank exclusion – The 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law that created the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau exempted automobile dealers from the agency’s oversight. This means financing arranged through a car dealer is less regulated than loans obtained directly from banks or credit unions. As a result, it’s easier for lenders working through dealers to take advantage of borrowers.

Proceed with caution

While a subprime loan – even with a 20% interest rate – can help pave the way to a new job and prosperity for some borrowers, the debt can easily lead to financial ruin for others. The average high-risk borrower takes on a car loan that exceeds the value of the vehicle being purchased by 15%, according to S&P, which means a failure to make monthly payments and repossession can still leave the consumer saddled with obligations for a car he no longer has.

While investors snap up bundles of subprime auto loans and analysts fret about a bubble forming like it did with high-risk mortgages before that market collapsed in 2007, the scale is vastly different. Reuters has put the value of assets backed by risky car loans at about $80 billion from 2006 to 2012, while securities underpinned by similarly low-quality mortgages reached 20 times more, at $1.6 trillion from 2006 to 2009.

Still, should there be a meltdown like the one that clubbed the real estate industry seven years ago, automakers could feel a drag on sales and that could put the brakes on the economy’s already slow recovery.

Car trap image via Shutterstock

Source Article http://ift.tt/1y39EC7

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some word about morocco

For Read all this article Visit Here : http://www.bubblews.com/news/5476395-some-word-about-morocco
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this summer was great i do see many city of my lovely country
yes y lovely country morocco
all poeple coming here in summer and every saison and every years and day
tourist love the city marrakech
marrakech also need more and more tourist
why they love there ? ...................
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For Read all this article Visit Here : http://www.bubblews.com/news/5476395-some-word-about-morocco

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