The Internet has revolutionized just about every aspect of modern life. Fortunately, the credit card industry has adapted to this fact of life and many related online shopping portals have sprung up. Users of such portals often qualify for enhanced rewards, typically in the form of higher points, miles or cash back than is offered through traditional shopping outlets.

So, without further ado, let’s compare two of these online shopping portals. We’ll take a look at the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall and ShopDiscover. Each offers unique benefits to Chase or Discover customers, respectively. Which is better? Let’s take a look.

Of course, a major piece of the rewards pie is the value of the rewards.

In this regard, ShopDiscover offers a greater benefit than Chase Ultimate Rewards. When using ShopDiscover, customers earn from 5 to 20 percent back on their purchases through over 200 retailers.

On the other hand, Chase customers can earn from 1 to 10 points per dollar spent on each item in the Ultimate Rewards Mall. These points can be exchanged for cash back, just as ShopDiscover customers earn cash back. However, as each point is worth one cent, this effectively amounts to a savings of 1 to 10 percent on purchase, which is less than Discover’s mentioned offer.

A key feature of any credit card issuer’s shopping portal is flexibility.

The Ultimate Rewards Mall wins out in this category. With both it and ShopDiscover, you‘ll earn rewards with each dollar spent. However, Chase‘s offer allows customers to do more than Discover customers can after they earn their rewards, as customers can redeem their points for the following:

• Travel with no blackout dates or restrictions
• Exclusive access to events (their site mentions that you can be on the field for a coin-toss, but I wouldn’t count on standing next to your favorite NFL player at the Super Bowl!)
• Merchandise
• Gift cards
• Cash back

With ShopDiscover, you’ll earn either cash back or miles, depending on the type of card that you have. It’s as if you earn points and can only redeem them for either miles or cash back, making it a much less flexible offer than Chase’s. What’s even more restrictive is that your card determines whether you get miles or cash back, not you, so you really only have one option with your given card.

ShopDiscover offers access to over 200 retailers. Those are a lot of businesses for you to use.

However, Ultimate Rewards offers access to over 300 retailers. This gives it an important edge over ShopDiscover, as you’ll have a wider selection.

Alright, I realize that some of you could care less about experiences, standing next to a muscle-bound linebacker at the Super Bowl or gift cards to who knows where. Some of you just want cold, hard cash.

In terms of cash back, ShopDiscover is a better bet than Ultimate Rewards. Your account will be credited with your cash back bonus within 8 weeks after the shipment date or date of service. For example, if you order new shoes, you’ll receive your bonus within 8 weeks of the shipment date.

With Ultimate Rewards, you’ll have to accumulate at least $20 before they cut you a check or enroll you in a direct deposit program. That’s not the end of the world, but it makes the situation slightly more complicated than with Discover’s offer.

Additionally, you’ll generally earn significantly more cash back with ShopDiscover, as mentioned, so you’ll win out in that regard.

Let’s take a look at how much cash back you’ll get with each card when purchasing from popular retailers.

As you can see, the offers are generally better with ShopDiscover. You may be able to find a deal here and there that is better with Ultimate Rewards (such as when purchasing from Kohl’s), but most offers are better though ShopDiscover.

If you’re just hoping to cash in on great offers, both ShopDiscover and Ultimate Rewards have a few. Here are the top three that I could find for each in terms of cash back per dollar spent:

Ultimate Rewards

• ProFlowers.com – 15%
• Kohl’s – 10%
• Drugstore.com – 8%

ShopDiscover

• 1-800 Flowers – 20%
• 1-800 Baskets – 20%
• H&R Block – 20%

Note that you’ll also earn 20 percent cash back when purchasing through FTD.com, Magazines.com, MusicSpace.com, ProFlowers.com, Restaurant.com, Teleflora.com and The Popcorn Factory. Basically, if you like any of those retailers, then this is the card to have. Also, this card generally offers better cash back deals, so don’t fret if you are not a major fan of any of the mentioned retailers.

There are a variety of cards that will work with these programs. Let’s take a look at two of the most popular cards out there in this regard.

Chase Freedom Visa Card

Secure Application

CREDITSHOUT RATING:

Excellent

In addition to having access to the Ultimate Rewards Mall, you’ll get a $100 bonus if you spend at least $500 within the first three months with this card. That’s a nice chunk of change to ease the drain on your wallet.

Also, with this card, you’ll receive 5 percent cash back in categories that rotate quarterly. For example, you’ll get 5 percent cash back from January though March at grocery and drug stores. Also, you’ll receive one percent cash back on all other purchases.

With the benefits of the Ultimate Rewards program and a load of other perks, this is an excellent card to have in your wallet.

Discover More Card

Secure Application

CREDITSHOUT RATING:

Excellent

Additionally, you’ll receive 5 percent cash back on rotating categories, similar to how it is done with the Chase Freedom Visa. You’ll also earn 1 percent cash back on all purchases after you spend $3,000 in a year. This makes it a bit more complicated than the Chase Freedom Visa, but it is still a solid deal, nonetheless.

If you’d like to use the ShopDiscover program, than this is a good card to have in your wallet.

If you are purely looking for cash back rewards, then I recommend getting a Discover card, such as the Discover More card. The cash back rewards in the ShopDiscover program are better than those with Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program.

However, Chase generally offers better credit cards than Discover. With this in mind, going with a card like the Chase Freedom Visa will not only give you access to solid cash back rewards, but will give you an more well-rounded card than you’ll generally find with Discover.

Therefore, I recommend going with the Ultimate Rewards program, as the card that is attached to it will likely be better than anything you will find with Discover. However, it is really a matter of your personal preferences.

Secure Application CREDITSHOUT RATING: Excellent

VS

Secure Application CREDITSHOUT RATING: Very Good

If you are in the market for a rewards credit card, you’ve probably heard of the Capital One Venture Rewards Card and the Chase Sapphire® Preferred Card. Each has plenty of strong benefits to offer. However, as you probably don’t want to overload your wallet with plastic, you probably want to know which is better? Let’s find out!

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card comes with double the amount of bonus points that Capital One offers. With the Sapphire Preferred card, you’ll receive 50,000 bonus points if you spend at least $3,000 within the first three months. With Capital One’s offer, you’ll receive 25,000 bonus miles after spending at least $1,000 within the first three months.

Basically, if you intend to spend at least $3,000 over three months – something that most people do – then Chase offers a must better upfront bonus.

After the exhilaration of having all those bonus points (or miles) subsides, it is important to have a card that offers rewards for each purchase that you make. Each of these cards does so, so you won’t lose any sleep in this regard.

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you’ll earn two points per dollar spent on travel and dining. You’ll also be eligible for up to 10 points per dollar spent in the Ultimate Rewards Mall. All other purchases qualify for one point per dollar spent, so you’ll always walk away with something.

Of important note is that your points will be worth 25 percent more when redeeming them for travel through the Ultimate Rewards program. For example, a flight that typically costs $625 will cost $500 when booked in this fashion. Also, a seven percent points dividend is offered annually on all points that you earn, so it effectively makes the minimum points per dollar one dollar and seven cents.

With the Capital One Venture Rewards card, you’ll earn up to 15 miles per dollar spent though the Perks Central Retail Network. All other purchases are good for two miles per dollar spent.

So, in terms of purchase rewards, most people will do better with Capital One’s offer, as they’ll get at least two miles per dollar spent (versus 1.07 points with Chase’s offer).

While points or miles are the face of most rewards programs, there are other benefits that can add significant value to a credit card.

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you’ll be able to transfer your points at a 1-to-1 ratio to various frequent flyer programs. Effectively, this card doubles as a miles card for such programs. This is a benefit that is not found on most other cards, so you’ll have this advantage while using this card.

The Capital One Venture Rewards card offers many of the same benefits that you’ll find on plenty of other cards. These include fraud protection, auto rental insurance, roadside assistance and other common perks.

In a nutshell, Chase wins out in terms of other benefits because of the ability to transfer your points at a 1-to-1 ratio to frequent flyer programs. Yes, this is technically a points benefit, but it is more of a side-perk that is not offered with most other cards, not a way to earn points.

The following are some of the key fees and APRs that are associated with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card:

• Variable APR of 15.24 percent on purchases and balance transfers
• Annual fee of $95 (waived in the first year)
• Balance transfer fee of $5 or 3 percent, whichever is greater
• Cash advance fee of $10 or 5 percent, whichever is greater

For the Capital One Venture Rewards Card, the key fees and APRs are as follows:

• Variable APR of 11.9 to 19.9 percent on purchases and balance transfers
• Annual fee of $59 (waived in the first year)
• No balance transfer fee
• Cash advance fee of $10 or 3 percent, whichever is greater

Thus, the APR situation with Capital One’s offer is a bit more volatile than with Chase’s offer. However, the fees are lower with Capital One’s offer.

Let’s take a look at how each card could work for you.

Suppose that you will spend $50,000 in your first year with either card using the following breakdown:

• $5,000 on travel
• $5,000 on dining
• $5,000 on other purchases through the issuer’s network (at the middle of the possible points rewards – ex: 5 points per dollar spent with Chase, which offers 1 to 10 through the Ultimate Rewards Mall)
• $35,000 on all other purchases

Also, let’s ignore the annual fee, as we are focusing on the first year with each card. Finally, let’s give 2.25 points per dollar spent on travel with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, as that’s the effective value when booking it through the Ultimate Rewards program.

Here is out it would play out:

Now, let’s see how this would play out during the second year, using the same assumptions. Note that the total value takes the annual fee into consideration, as you’ll have to pay that fee after the first year.

So, given this example, you could expect to earn $200 more in rewards with the Capital One Venture Rewards Card after the first year. That’s significantly more money for your troubles.

From year two (and on), the gap widens. In this example, you would receive an additional $486 in rewards by choosing the Capital One Venture Rewards card over the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. That’s a month or more worth of groceries for some households – not a bad deal at all.

So, while you’ll be able to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred card as a frequent flyer card in many cases, the Capital One Venture Rewards card offers more value to the average person. By using it, you’ll likely receive hundreds of dollars in extra rewards that you wouldn’t get with the Sapphire Preferred card. Will this card be in your wallet?

Read Full Review

Chase Sapphire® Preferred Card

• Credit Required
  Excellent Credit
• Rewards Program
  Earn 1 point per dollar spent, 2x points on dining and travel. Earn a 7% annual points dividend.
• Signup Bonus
  $625 in Free Airfare
  50,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months.
• 
  

CreditShout Rating:

( Excellent )

Read Full Review

Capital One Venture Rewards

• Credit Required
  Excellent Credit
• Rewards Program
  Two miles per dollar on every purchase. Earn unlimited miles that don\'t expire. Redeem miles for flights, hotel rooms, car rentals, gift cards and more.
• Signup Bonus
  One-time bonus of 25,000 miles
  once you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months.
• 
  

CreditShout Rating:

( Very Good )

So, you want to increase your credit limit and have no idea how.

This is a familiar problem among credit card users. Just ask any Capital One cardholder who has tried to do so and you’ll get the idea. They feel responsible enough to get a credit limit increase and the issuer balks at their demands. What can be done?

You may be surprised, but you won’t have to walk over hot coals with bare feet to get your credit limit increased. You won’t have to plant the issuer’s flag at the top of Mount Everest, either.

Getting your credit limit increased can be as simple as a phone call. It can also be more difficult than that. Let’s examine what you can do to increase your credit limit.

With attention spans closing in on zero and life becoming more hectic by the day for many people, patience may seem like a thing of the past. However, it can be a great asset when trying to increase your credit limit.

According to Barganeering.com, credit card companies won’t give you a credit limit increase until you’ve had their card for at least 6 months. During that time, it is best to use the card regularly. After all, if you are just using it for emergencies, will they really want to raise your limit so that you can rack up $100,000 in credit card debt after your car rolls into someone’s living room?

Just follow the terms and conditions closely and you should be in prime position to get a credit limit. Also, be sure to put your parking brake on and avoid parking on steep hills!

Some issuers, such as Citi, allow customers to apply for a credit limit increase online. This is the simplest approach out there to doing so, as you can see which information they will want from you and bail out if you are not comfortable with it – thereby avoiding a hard pull on your credit report.

Others, such as Capital One, are much more tricky. Capital One checks accounts on their own to see if they qualify for a credit limit increase. They also indicate that they will not do so based on phone requests. However, business is a 2 way street, so calling and asking them to reconsider that policy can’t hurt. After all, you can just walk away and go to a more responsive issuer.

Of course, it is a good idea to read the terms and conditions carefully and check for mention of credit limit increases. Also, check the issuer’s website, as it may offer information on how to do so.

This applies to all credit card companies, but Capital One is the most notorious for playing hardball with credit limit increases.

If you do not qualify for an immediate credit limit increase, speak with a customer service representative to find out ways to improve your chances. He or she should be able to offer tips on how to do so. Therefore, a few months down the line, you can try again and have better luck.

Even if you do qualify for a credit limit increase immediately, you still may want to find out how you can improve your chances for future increases. You may want an increase a year from now for whatever reason, so it can’t hurt to be prepared.

The customer service representative that you speak to for 45 minutes may be a generalist. He or she may have an idea of what you are talking about, but it is best to speak with a specialist.

It is a good idea to speak with a credit risk specialist. At this point, you could state your case to the specialist. Tell the specialist why you think you have earned a credit limit increase (higher income, incorrect information on file, lower debt, etc.).

If you don’t succeed on your first attempt, trying again won’t hurt. This doesn’t mean that you should call the same customer service representative every 30 minutes until she has a nervous breakdown, it just means that you could try every month or so until it works out.

Ask the issuer if it will run a hard pull on your credit report before making repeated attempts. A hard pull could lower your credit score, so be careful in this regard.

If you are a Capital One customer or a customer of another issuer that has a rigid system of credit limits, you may feel like you are out of luck. However, by being a responsible cardholder and spending a little time on requesting a credit limit, you could do so without much hassle. Of course, it doesn’t always work out this way, but if you need an increased limit, you may as well try.

We’ve all gotten gifts that we don’t like. They are well intentioned, but we just have no use for them. We end up re-gifting them, selling them online or just throwing them away.

With gift cards being popular these days, you may wonder what to do with that gift card to a store that you’ll never visit. You may be a vegetarian who received a gift card to a steak house or maybe you received a gas card, even though you don’t own a vehicle. Whatever the case may be, you’ll probably want to get rid of that card and get something back for it.

You may or may not be aware, but there are plenty of websites that offer an eBay-style service for gift cards. Such sites typically offer payment in check and electronic form. They tend to pay higher sums via check, so that is your best bet on such sites if you have the time to wait.

Let’s explore how much you will receive for your gift card with various sites and some other factors that you may want to consider.

The table below shows the highest offer that you’ll receive for a $150 gift card to several major retailers through each of the mentioned websites. Hundreds of other gift cards to different retailers are also accepted on such sites, so these are just examples.

As we can see, Cardpool either offers the highest offer or ties for the highest offer with 8 of the 9 mentioned gift cards. Given our example, below is the average percentage of the total value that you can expect to get back for a gift card with each website. Note that your results may be different if you have gift cards that are not mentioned here:

• Cardpool.com – 83.7 %
• GiftCards.com – 77.8 %
• Ibuygiftcards.com – 65.9 %
• Cardcash.com – 82.1 %
• ABCGiftcards.com – 82.1 %
• Giftcardrescue.com – 77.8 %
• Monstergiftcard.com – 76.8 %

Getting the most cash back for your gift card is probably your highest priority. However, there are other factors to consider before choosing which site will work best for you.

Some sites have gift card limits. They will not purchase gift cards past a certain dollar amount. In other words, if you want to sell a $20,000 gift card, you may have limited options.

Another factor is user-friendliness. If you are busy or just don’t like wasting time, a user-friendly site is key to keeping your stress to a minimum. The lower the number, the better – meaning that you won’t have to spend too much time figuring out how much you’ll get for your card. The table below shows, among other things, how I rank the user-friendliness of each site based on my experiences.

If the site mentions free shipping, I’ve noted it below, as well.

* Cardpool.com has a bulk sales department that handles orders over $5,000, so you may be able to get a higher limit.

I recommend using Cardpool.com. You’ll get the most value for your card and it is the most user-friendly site of it’s kind that I’ve seen. It’s $5,000 limit should cover most gift cards and the free shipping is a nice bonus, as well. This site also allows customers to redeem their gift cards for Amazon.com gift cards. The benefit of going this route is that they offer an additional 5 percent value for such cards. So, if they offer you a $100 check for your gift card, they’ll offer you a $105 Amazon.com gift card.

If this site doesn’t work for you, I suggest going with giftcardrescue.com. It doesn’t offer as much money for your cards as you’ll get with abcgiftcards.com or cardcash.com, but those sites require you to contact them to describe your order and wait a day or two for further instructions. In other words, you won’t have to drag this out over several days to get your end of the deal done with giftcardrescue.

So, check out these websites for the best deal on your unwanted giftcards. Shop around on the other sites, too, if you have the time. While you’ll probably get the best deal with cardpool, it can’t hurt to try to compare it to the other sites to make sure!

Q: I just received a notice explaining that my student loan was bought by Discover. Why did this happen and what should I do?

A: In September, Discover bought about $2.5 billion in student loans that were previously owned by Citi. You’ve probably received a notice in the mail or heard about it on the news, and may be wondering about how it will affect you. While a few things may change, the ownership of your student loan shouldn’t affect you too much—either way you’re still required by law to pay. Your interest rate may change some, but if it was going to, it probably already has.

One small difference between the two companies is their write-off rate. Citi has a higher write-off rate than Discover, meaning that they were willing to cancel more students’ loans and not require any more payments from these lucky borrowers. Still, over 95% of students are required to pay off their student loans with both companies. Only in cases of extreme hardship will this even be an option, so this won’t affect most of you.

The best advice here is to continue paying on your loan. Pay it off as fast as you can, especially if your rate has increased. Of course, if you have credit cards or other debt at a significantly higher rate, it’s best to pay that off first. Your student loan is a high priority too, though, since it’s very unlikely that you’ll be able to get rid of it, even if you go through bankruptcy. As mentioned above, student loans have a very low discharge rate.

If you want any more information about the new owner of your student loan, you can check out some reviews of Discover’s student loan program online. A basic review can be found at this website.

If you are a fan of United Airlines (which recently merged with Continental), United miles are an excellent tool to save money on future flights. Each mile is worth one cent toward a future flight, so the more the better.

There are a few credit cards that offer a large upfront bonus of United miles. Let’s take a look at some cards that you can use to build up United / Continental miles quickly.

Secure Application

CREDITSHOUT RATING:

Very Good

The 10,000 bonus miles offer is good each year, so you can get up to 10,000 bonus miles in the following years. That’s worth $100 toward a United flight, which certainly can’t hurt these days.

Each purchase from United or Continental with this card qualifies for two points per dollar spent. All others earn one point per dollar spent.

Now, let’s see how having this card in your wallet could work for you. Suppose that you spend $2,500 on United and Continental flights each year with this card and $22,500 on everything else. This is how it would play out:

So, in this example, if you just keep this card for one year, you’ll net $675 worth of miles. As the annual fee is waived in the first year, that is a great deal. Even if you keep it longer, you’ll still receive $375 worth of United flights – a value of $280 more than the $95 annual fee. Overall, this is a solid deal for United customers.

Secure Application

CREDITSHOUT RATING:

Very Good

In addition to the upfront bonuses, 10,000 bonus miles may be earned annually with this card. To earn them, you’ll have to spend at least $25,000 each year with this card. As Continental and United will be merging shortly, these miles can be used to purchase United tickets.

Each Continental purchase with this card is good for two miles per dollar spent. All others qualify for one mile per dollar spent.

You can expect to earn the same amount of points with both this and the United MileagePlus Explorer card.

The annual fee is slightly lower on this card, but only by $10. So, it is basically a toss up as to which card to choose, but this one is slightly better due to the lower annual fee.

It is important to note that Chase, who issues both the United MileagePlus Explorer and Continental OnePass Plus cards, may not extend both bonus offers to you if you decide to apply for both cards.

Secure Application

CREDITSHOUT RATING:

Excellent

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers 50,000 bonus points after $3,000 is spent within the first three months. With the mentioned 1 to 1 ratio, that comes out to 50,000 United miles right off the bat – a $500 value.

Each year, you’ll also receive a 7 percent dividend on your points – even if you’ve already used them.

You’ll receive two points on travel and dining with this card as well as one point per dollar spent on all other items. With the 7 percent annual dividend, this is effectively an offer of 2.14 and 1.07 points, respectively. As you can earn points with any provider of travel, this makes it a good card to keep in your wallet in case you decide to stop using United someday.

So, how do these cards match up to each other?

Below is an illustration of how each card will work for you if you spend $25,000 each year – with $2,500 of that on airfare and the rest on general purchases:

If you plan to keep your card for two years or less, go with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. You’ll get nearly 12,000 more miles than with the other cards in year one and will still be slightly ahead of the others after year two.

If you plan to make your choice for the long term, go with the Continental OnePass Plus card. It will save you $10 per year over the United MileagePlus Explorer card, which is otherwise identical.

Now, you may also be able to apply for several cards. If you do so, you could rack up some major bonus points. However, Chase may not give bonuses on more than one card and will not offer a bonus at all if they notice a trend of cancelling cards after you receive the bonus.

Getting a Second Card? If your spouse or significant other spends a lot of money, you could also have him or her apply for a card to rake in some more bonus points. For example, if you both apply for the Continental OnePass Plus card, your household will get up to 80,000 bonus points upfront and up to 20,000 per year after that.

There may also be other cards out there now or in the future that offer United miles, so see which cards and combinations work for you. Just remember to keep your credit score in mind and spend responsibly!

As you may have heard, American Airlines has filed for bankruptcy. This has caused a lot of uncertainty and anger among AAdvantage cardholders, many of whom have earned tens of thousands of miles only to find out these miles may become worthless. Although there is still much uncertainty, all hope is not yet lost.

According to Forbes, American Airlines sent an email to it’s frequent flyer program members that their miles are safe. They are promising business as usual, so your miles should work normally if you go by what they say.

Of course, corporations tend to paint a rosy picture of their situation, so you should keep that in mind. Imagine if they came out and said that the sky is falling. Not only would their frequent flyers become jittery, but so would their stockholders. You can see where this is going.

This is not to say that American Airlines will not honor frequent flyer miles as usual. However, it is best to look deeper into this, which we will below.

This is American Airlines’ first bankruptcy filing. There is no direct precedent to determine whether or not they will honor their miles.

However, according to Forbes, every major US airline has filed for bankruptcy protection at some point in history. All of them have honored frequent flyer miles in the aftermath.

Also, consider that American Airlines has been in business since 1934. That means that they have a long record of successfully staying afloat (pardon the pun). While the economy is at one of it’s worst points in history, they are likely to survive this difficult time.

The recent bankruptcy filing is likely to cause jitters to those who have an interest in the company. Imagine how you’d feel if your friend owed you $2,000 and just filed for bankruptcy. You’d probably wonder if you were going to get paid and would hesitate to trust his financial stability.

To help offset customer jitters, American Airlines will likely do everything within their power to ensure customer loyalty. As refusing to honor frequent flyer miles could lead to a runaway disaster of customers switching to other carriers, American Airlines will almost certainly honor their miles. After all, if customers leave, revenues will decline and add to the company’s problems, leading the stock market to react negatively and putting the future of the company in serious doubt.

If you are concerned that you will lose your miles, consider using them as soon as possible. If American Airlines does collapse, you’ll have a much better chance of getting the full value of your miles if you use them sooner as opposed to later.

Consider taking that much-needed vacation within the next few months, visiting grandma out of state and use up some of those miles. At least you’ll definitely get something for them if you do so.

If you participate in other frequent flyer programs, hold off on using them until you’ve used up your American Airlines miles. Your other programs are probably on more sturdy ground and your miles are at less of a risk in such programs. Get rid of your American Airlines miles before using any others.

It’s not a good idea to panic if you have American Airlines frequent flyer miles. Chances are that American Airlines will honor them and that they’ll be around for a while.

So, just operate as usual and keep up to date on the situation. If you get too nervous about your miles and just want to get this off your mind, then use them up. Otherwise, they should be relatively safe if you just leave them as is.

How To Get $625 in Free Airfare

Chase Sapphire(SM) Preferred is currently our top choice for earning airline miles. New cardholders can earn 50,000 bonus points (which is equivalent to $625 in free airfare or hotel rooms) after making $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. In addition you earn 2X points on airfare & hotel accommodations booked through Chase and 1 point for every dollar spent. There are no travel restrictions or blackout dates when redeeming points, and the $95 annual fee is waved for the first year.

$625 in Free Airfare with Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

Ever wonder what a credit card thief gets for his troubles? The answer is $3.50.

A European hacker nicknamed Poxxie hacked into the computer network of a US company and stole 1,400 credit card numbers. He then sold them for $3.50 on his own website.

Poxxie sold the numbers to buyers who now trust the quality of his products – AKA stolen card numbers. Ironically, he stated, “The main thing in any business is honesty.” I don’t know about you, but stealing credit card numbers doesn’t seem honest to me!

Sadly, this isn’t the only such case out there – not by a long shot. Other hackers perform similar activities on a routine basis. Credit card theft alone has become a $100 plus billion dollar per year industry. Let’s take a look at some of the stats in the high-stakes business of credit card theft.

It is estimated that thieves steal 8.4 million credit card numbers in the US each year. Many do so on Amazon.com.

Other sites, like Poxxie’s, allow customers to shop by card type, credit limit, bank and zip code. Think of them as illegal versions of eBay.

Credit card numbers are also shared via chat rooms and forums. Basically, once your credit card number is stolen, it is up for grabs.

It is estimated that $114 billion worth of card data is stolen each year. That’s equivalent to nearly one percent of US GDP and is far more than some other well-known crimes haul in. The global cocaine market brings in $85 billion annually and the total amount of money stolen in US bank robberies in 2010 was $43 million – over 2,650 times less than credit card thieves stole.

The Internet is like the Wild West. There is a very slim chance of catching credit card thieves on there. Basically, it is nearly lawless, as many hackers reside in safe-haven countries in Eastern Europe. Thus, it is up to you and the financial institutions that you do business with to protect your credit card numbers.

Your credit card issuer likely takes precautions to protect your account. That’s why many such companies require you to provide personal information, use passwords and so on to access your account. Additionally, they may monitor accounts for identity theft and take other precautionary measures.

Antivirus and antispyware programs are good to install on your computer, as well. However, as the past few years have seen rapid advancements in hacker technology, such measures do not always work well.

Obviously, it is not a good idea to share your credit card information with people you don’t know. Never post it in chat rooms, forums or any other online medium.

It is a good idea to shred any credit card statements before recycling or disposing of them, as well. An identity thief could easily scoop them up and steal your credit card numbers if you don’t.

Another good idea is to only share your credit card information through secure websites. That new watch may be cheaper on an unfamiliar site, but you’ll be safer by shopping through a well-known retailer.

Similarly, never share your credit card information via email. Your financial institution will not email you for such information and you should only share it on requests that you initiate via their secure website or telephone.

Basically, it boils down to using common sense. If you are the slightest bit suspicious of giving out your credit card information, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Q: At your recommendation, I applied for the Discover More card. Unfortunately, I was denied. Should I try to apply for the Chase Freedom card instead?

A: First, we should look at who qualifies for each card. For their Discover More card, Discover looks at a number of things, one of the most important being your credit score. The credit score required for Discover More is average or better, so around 650 and up. If you have a score above 650 and no serious black marks on your credit report (such as high utilization, a lot of credit inquiries, or a recent bankruptcy), then you have a good chance of getting the card.

The requirements are similar for Chase Freedom, requiring at least a “fair” credit score, and not too many inquiries, plus they frown on high revolving balances. Chase’s card does appear to be a bit more picky, however. If you were turned down for Discover More, there’s a good chance you’ll be turned down for Chase Freedom also. If you don’t mind another inquiry on your credit report, you can try, but keep in mind that the inquiry will be on your report for two years. If you have too many, you may be turned down for other cards that you apply for.

Let’s talk about some cards that will up your chances of being approved. If your score is in the 600s and you were turned down for Discover More, you might want to try something like the Capital One No Hassle Rewards card. This card is a little bit easier to qualify for. Another card you might want to try is Citi Simplicity. It’s also slightly easier to qualify for than Discover More and Chase Freedom.

Q: I recently filed for bankruptcy. How long must I wait before I start over and apply for a new credit card?

A: Not long at all. Just don’t expect to get an American Express Platinum right out of the gate. After your bankruptcy is discharged, you can qualify for many secured cards almost immediately. One consumer reported getting approved for a secured card only a month after her bankruptcy. Cards like the Capital One Secured MasterCard would be a good choice to start off with. It will take a little longer, probably a year or two, to start qualifying for unsecured cards with decent interest rates.

If you don’t know a lot about secured cards, they work this way. You pay a certain deposit, say $500, and then the credit card company will allow you to charge up to that amount. Sometimes your credit limit will be higher than your security deposit, but with many secured cards, it’s the same number. You may be wondering why you would give a company money to let you borrow your own money. It’s pretty simple. The main reason people use secured cards is to build up credit so that they can qualify for other credit in the future. They can also be useful for a hotel stay or a car rental, both of which often require credit cards.

It’s usually a good idea to get a secured card after bankruptcy, as long as you feel that you can use credit responsibly. Just make sure that your choice reports to the credit reporting agencies. (The card mentioned above does.) If you see yourself needing a credit card or wanting to take out a mortgage or car loan in the next couple of years, now is the time to start building up your credit, and you can’t do that if they don’t report your on-time payments. Once your credit score climbs back up into the 600 range, and you’ve put the bankruptcy a year or two behind you, you should be able to start qualifying for unsecured cards with better rates.