Tag Archives: purchases

Capital One No Hassle MILES Rewards vs Capital One No Hassle CASH Rewards

Capital One introduces two reward credit cards that are designed to suit your needs and lifestyle – the Capital One No Hassle Miles (SM) Rewards and the Capital One No Hassle Cash (SM) Rewards. Let’s take a look at what each of these credit card rewards.

Capital One No Hassle Cash (SM) Rewards

This cash-reward credit card from Capital One offers a 1% rebate on purchases and a 25% bonus on the total cash you earned for the previous year. You can earn as much cash back rewards as you can as this credit card does not impose limits, expiration dates or minimum purchases to be eligible for the rewards.

Aside from this cash-reward program, this credit card also comes with privileges that exclusive only to Capital One card holders. Benefits include emergency card replacement, auto rental insurance, and extended warranties for purchases. All card holders are also entitled to exclusive savings from Capital One Saving Zone (SM) on Yahoo! Shopping.

The Capital One No Hassle Miles Rewards

Capital One’s travel reward credit card offers its cardholders 1.25 miles points for every spent on the card. Aside from travel points, a 1% cash back is also given on purchases plus a 25% bonus on the total cash earned the previous year. Just like the Capital One No Hassle Cash (SM) Rewards credit card, there are no limits on the rewards you can earn, no minimum charges required and no blackout dates.

The miles points you earn can be redeemed in five ways. You can exchange it for cash, exchange it for merchandise, donate your points to a charity, exchange them for gift certificate rewards or travel free to your choice of destination. To travel for free, you should have at least gathered 15,000 miles points in your account.

This credit card has no annual fee and it comes with a 0% introductory rate on purchases until July 2008. When the introductory period expires, the interest rate on both purchases and balance transfers still remains reasonable.

Capital One No Hassle Miles Rewards vs Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards

Certainly both cards are worth choosing but which one should you pick? If you’re the type of card holder who wants to carry balances over to the next billing cycle, the Cash Rewards card can also work for you. If you’re interested in a chance to travel for free or if you’re frequent traveler, then you should definitely take advantage of the Capital One No Hassle Miles (SM) Rewards card.

Don’t forget that Capital One’s No Hassle Miles (SM) Rewards card also awards cash points and bonuses aside from travel points. Also, if you don’t want to go on a travel or if you didn’t gather enough miles points, you can always exchange them for cash-back, merchandise, gift certificate or a charity donation. Check out the complete list of their terms and conditions which can be found in Capital One’s website.

Why not to use a Payday Loan to pay for a Vacation

We all run into those financial emergencies at one point in our life. Some people have money saved for these occasions, others use credit cards, and others again use a payday loan to fill the financial gap for the 15 to 30 days where we need the cash. This is what a payday loan is for. Be able to make it to the next paycheck. Pay for the car repair because without a car you will be out of work soon. Situations like this are where the payday loan does its duty.

However, some payday loan lenders advertise their loans to be used for normal consumer needs. Needs? Well, not really. These lenders play with your desire for having a new TV, a new iPhone or iPod, or to go on vacation. Sure, we all like to treat us to those nice things in life, but we need to be able to pay for it and not necessarily to buy these items on credit. Especially, not to buy these items on very expensive credit.

While this article is mainly written with the payday loan situation in mind, it also applies to using a credit card to pay for these items. In both cases you put a consumer purchase onto a very expensive credit account. The initial interest fee on the credit card might be lower, but statistics show that consumers easily need 18-24 months to fully pay off their purchase. That is very expensive at 18%-27% if you ask me. A payday loan is even more expensive, but it forces the customer to re-pay the loan much faster, which is a good thing. The initial interest rate for this type of loan is higher, but the time between when the loan is taken out and when it is paid back is much shorter.

So, while these are the basics the real story is that both types of loans are not designed to be used for normal consumer purchases. We all have seen what the last recession has done to consumers who were in debt way over their head. The number of foreclosures and bankruptcy filings has sky-rocketed. While some blame goes out to the banks and mortgage companies, a lot of blame has to go to those consumers who financed non-critical purchases with very expensive loan type. Everything is good while you have a job, but when the money gets tight these loans are going to destroy your financial status.

Conclusion: Payday loans are a financial product that is designed to be used in a financial emergency. It is expensive, but payday loans are granted faster than a normal bank loan + they do not affect your normal credit history. A fast payday loan is not to be used for normal consumer purchases for gadgets, TVs, iPhones, or cars. Used with the proper understanding of how these loan work is essential to your financial well being.