Since I'm spending 4 digits on flight school, I was thinking about getting a CC that offers with some 'reward' incentives. Anybody use one these? Are they worth it? Too -EV against the interest?
If you're going to carry the balance then the interest usually kills any cash back or rewards you get from using the card.
The best way to use any rewards card would be to pay for flight school then immediately pay the balance on the card. If you can't, then it's not worth it.
And does the flight school charge you more if you use a credit card? They might give you a discount if you pay cash, which gives you an obvious immediate benefit.
If you're going to carry the balance then the interest usually kills any cash back or rewards you get from using the card.
The best way to use any rewards card would be to pay for flight school then immediately pay the balance on the card. If you can't, then it's not worth it.
And does the flight school charge you more if you use a credit card? They might give you a discount if you pay cash, which gives you an obvious immediate benefit.
Paying it off is not an issue. The school doesn't care about the method of payment, as long as they get their money.
Depending on income levels, British Airways has a great offer available right now. Enough points for two free flights to anywhere in US. See my separate thread.
Like, Steve I usually get enough points yearly for a free trip. Last year I went to California and this year Florida all on credit card points (family of four).
I use Avion Visa and convert to BA points when they have their 50% promo every year. Depends on how long you want to keep the card.
If you can qualify for the BA card, its a great offer.
I collect Air Miles but they are pretty useless unless you need to travel somewhere other than a tourist destination. This is because if you fly to a location that is serviced by charters, then the domestic flights are pretty cheap as well to compete, whereas the price in Air Miles remains the same. So you spend a lot of miles to go someplace that you can get cheap flights for.
If you are looking for a points card for a limited time (while at flight school), I would look at the BA offer. You just need to spend $5k in the next three months on the card, and then you get the 50,000 BA points. 25,000 points needed for direct flights to Los Angeles, etc. and plenty of flights available. Just pay the annual fee for this year, get the points, book the flight, and cancel the card within a year.
Even at 2% rebate, you only get $100 back in cash on $5k, versus the cost of two flights to US. Its a no brainer.
btw, I would never carry a balance on a credit card. Get a secure line on your home and that way at most you are paying 4% interest, vs 20% on most credit cards.
btw, I would never carry a balance on a credit card. Get a secure line on your home and that way at most you are paying 4% interest, vs 20% on most credit cards.
I know you have good investment knowledge and I agree about never carrying a balance on a credit card, yet taking out a line of credit on your home I think is high risk to get some credit card points. To carry a balance, go for a PLC instead which should be well under 10% and no 2nd mortgage on your home if things go bad (i.e. housing correction) in life.
I know you have good investment knowledge and I agree about never carrying a balance on a credit card, yet taking out a line of credit on your home I think is high risk to get some credit card points. To carry a balance, go for a PLC instead which should be well under 10% and no 2nd mortgage on your home if things go bad (i.e. housing correction) in life.
A secure line of credit (vs a non-secure) basically gives you a better rate of interest as in theory, if you default, the bank has your home as collaterial. Just like a credit card, you can only pay the interest each month, and pay off the principal as needed. Its nothing like a second mortgage. I don't think the bank is going to force you to sell your home if you can't pay the interest on the line. Its more if someone skips off with the full principal on the line of credit.
A secure line of credit (vs a non-secure) basically gives you a better rate of interest as in theory, if you default, the bank has your home as collaterial. Just like a credit card, you can only pay the interest each month, and pay off the principal as needed. Its nothing like a second mortgage. I don't think the bank is going to force you to sell your home if you can't pay the interest on the line. Its more if someone skips off with the full principal on the line of credit.
Reads like risk tolerance to me, I mentioned it due to this:
"A home equity line of credit (often called HELOC and pronounced HEE-lock) is a loan in which the lender agrees to lend a maximum amount within an agreed period (called a term), where the collateral is the borrower's equity in his/her house (akin to a second mortgage)."
A LoC on your house is a second mortgage. On a 1st mortgage the collateral is only your earning power. On a 2nd mortgage the collateral is the equity in your house, so of course the terms of payment are dramatically different.
And I don't think Jah is recommending carrying a LoC in order to earn points on a CC, just secondary information that if you can't pay your CC, it is better to put the balance on a LoC because the interest is lower.
Of course, winning poker players would just be making a withdrawal from the Bank of PokerStars, right?
Reads like risk tolerance to me, I mentioned it due to this:
"A home equity line of credit (often called HELOC and pronounced HEE-lock) is a loan in which the lender agrees to lend a maximum amount within an agreed period (called a term), where the collateral is the borrower's equity in his/her house (akin to a second mortgage)."
I don't think you understand the product or the inherent benefits. If you need $10k to fund flight school, for example, it shouldn't be that difficult to come up with $33/month (($10k x 4%)/12 months), versus $167/month ($10k x 4%)/12 months with a credit card (some credit cards currently charge 29% annually). If you have a total equity plan with your house purchase, you can typically borrow up to 75% of the FMV of your property.
Another option with this plan is you can always turn your current line of credit balance into a separate mortgage at current rates. So if you owe $10k on your line, you can set up a one year fixed mortgage for $10k at 2.59% (current rates). Thereby effectively reducing the interest rates even further.
I often do this with my current mortgage which is at a higher interest rate (approx. 3.6%). I prepay 15% using my line of credit and then set up a separate mortgage at 2.59%, reducing the overall effective interest rate.
If you ever need to borrow money quickly to buy a car, home renovation, etc., it saves going to the bank every time to qualify for a new loan.
If you ever need to borrow money quickly to buy a car, home renovation, etc., it saves going to the bank every time to qualify for a new loan.
Have you found when getting a HELOC the appraisers the bank sends value the home higher then expected? Perhaps I should ask, does your financial institution actually send an appraiser when applying for a HELOC? Ours did.
They always send an appraiser in case your house is actually a smoking hole in the ground. Usually at least once a year, your bank will run a special where they waive the appraisal fee.
yes, they will get it appraised, but I have never been charged for this service. Not many houses have gone down in value in recent years. If you want to increase the total equity plan based on your home's current value, they need to get it appraised.
Since I'm spending 4 digits on flight school, I was thinking about getting a CC that offers with some 'reward' incentives. Anybody use one these? Are they worth it? Too -EV against the interest?
I like a credit card rewarding Aeroplan miles but then we like to travel. It might not be a fit though since you'll be the one doing a lot of flying going forward. Aeroplan gives a 7 year expiry on points instead of the now 5 years for Airmiles. I think people who fly frequently have a love or hate relationship with Air Canada, especially this year. It is possible to get Star Alliance flights with Aeroplan miles too. I wouldn't use Aeroplan miles to buy stuff like movie tickets and small appliances for the home, poor value to me.
We pile everything we can on the credit card, pay it off monthly and get a lot of Aeroplan miles. Then if you watch this section people like pokerJAH will note good deals like this:
I believe most Japanese go into South Korean and Jeju Island to gamble.
Must be lots of underground clubs but little too doggy for me. No casinos in Japan that I could find. Had the same problem when in Rome a couple of years ago. All those Italian cannons, but no poker.
Like I said, I have the money and will pay off the bill as soon as I can. I just want to get extra value out of the the thousands of dollars I'm spending on my PPL.
Been using my Presidents Choice Mastercard for nearly 10 years. Just checked online... I have redeemed $1530 in free groceries. I've never shopped around for another card. I'm happy with my 1% cash back [equivalent in free groceries]. No annual fee.
Been using my Presidents Choice Mastercard for nearly 10 years. Just checked online... I have redeemed $1530 in free groceries. I've never shopped around for another card. I'm happy with my 1% cash back [equivalent in free groceries]. No annual fee.
Comments
The best way to use any rewards card would be to pay for flight school then immediately pay the balance on the card. If you can't, then it's not worth it.
And does the flight school charge you more if you use a credit card? They might give you a discount if you pay cash, which gives you an obvious immediate benefit.
Paying it off is not an issue. The school doesn't care about the method of payment, as long as they get their money.
Pay it off every month. +ev
Gas at shell with CC and AMC
Groceries at Metro with CC and AMC
It does add up pretty quick
Money saved shopping at a store that isn't Metro would pay for the Vegas flight pretty quick too.
It rebates 2% of the bill?
Like, Steve I usually get enough points yearly for a free trip. Last year I went to California and this year Florida all on credit card points (family of four).
I use Avion Visa and convert to BA points when they have their 50% promo every year. Depends on how long you want to keep the card.
If you can qualify for the BA card, its a great offer.
Looks like they lowered it to 1/2% on the 1st 3k and 1% on the next 25k.
Got ours with a better rebate.
All the info you want is right here:
Compare Canadian Credit Cards - CreditCards.RedFlagDeals.com
Even at 2% rebate, you only get $100 back in cash on $5k, versus the cost of two flights to US. Its a no brainer.
http://www.pokerforum.ca/f12/ba-visa-offer-two-flights-la-365-a-27833/
Plus they throw in free travel insurance.
btw, I would never carry a balance on a credit card. Get a secure line on your home and that way at most you are paying 4% interest, vs 20% on most credit cards.
I know you have good investment knowledge and I agree about never carrying a balance on a credit card, yet taking out a line of credit on your home I think is high risk to get some credit card points. To carry a balance, go for a PLC instead which should be well under 10% and no 2nd mortgage on your home if things go bad (i.e. housing correction) in life.
Everything you need to know about the AIR MILES Expiry Policy
https://www.airmiles.ca/arrow/Splash?splashId=15300116
A secure line of credit (vs a non-secure) basically gives you a better rate of interest as in theory, if you default, the bank has your home as collaterial. Just like a credit card, you can only pay the interest each month, and pay off the principal as needed. Its nothing like a second mortgage. I don't think the bank is going to force you to sell your home if you can't pay the interest on the line. Its more if someone skips off with the full principal on the line of credit.
Reads like risk tolerance to me, I mentioned it due to this:
"A home equity line of credit (often called HELOC and pronounced HEE-lock) is a loan in which the lender agrees to lend a maximum amount within an agreed period (called a term), where the collateral is the borrower's equity in his/her house (akin to a second mortgage)."
And I don't think Jah is recommending carrying a LoC in order to earn points on a CC, just secondary information that if you can't pay your CC, it is better to put the balance on a LoC because the interest is lower.
Of course, winning poker players would just be making a withdrawal from the Bank of PokerStars, right?
I don't think you understand the product or the inherent benefits. If you need $10k to fund flight school, for example, it shouldn't be that difficult to come up with $33/month (($10k x 4%)/12 months), versus $167/month ($10k x 4%)/12 months with a credit card (some credit cards currently charge 29% annually). If you have a total equity plan with your house purchase, you can typically borrow up to 75% of the FMV of your property.
Another option with this plan is you can always turn your current line of credit balance into a separate mortgage at current rates. So if you owe $10k on your line, you can set up a one year fixed mortgage for $10k at 2.59% (current rates). Thereby effectively reducing the interest rates even further.
I often do this with my current mortgage which is at a higher interest rate (approx. 3.6%). I prepay 15% using my line of credit and then set up a separate mortgage at 2.59%, reducing the overall effective interest rate.
If you ever need to borrow money quickly to buy a car, home renovation, etc., it saves going to the bank every time to qualify for a new loan.
bingo
Have you found when getting a HELOC the appraisers the bank sends value the home higher then expected? Perhaps I should ask, does your financial institution actually send an appraiser when applying for a HELOC? Ours did.
I like a credit card rewarding Aeroplan miles but then we like to travel. It might not be a fit though since you'll be the one doing a lot of flying going forward. Aeroplan gives a 7 year expiry on points instead of the now 5 years for Airmiles. I think people who fly frequently have a love or hate relationship with Air Canada, especially this year. It is possible to get Star Alliance flights with Aeroplan miles too. I wouldn't use Aeroplan miles to buy stuff like movie tickets and small appliances for the home, poor value to me.
We pile everything we can on the credit card, pay it off monthly and get a lot of Aeroplan miles. Then if you watch this section people like pokerJAH will note good deals like this:
http://www.pokerforum.ca/f12/great-aeroplan-offer-free-business-class-upgrade-27053/
.
Was able to pull off seat A1 in executive class to Tokyo direct on Air Canada for 75,000 Aeroplan points round trip! Too bad no poker in Japan
Asians that don't gamble? LOL
I believe most Japanese go into South Korean and Jeju Island to gamble.
Really? I've never been, but that just sounds a little odd. I guess now that I think about it, I've never seen someone playing on P* from there.
Ya learn something new every day on here.
Must be lots of underground clubs but little too doggy for me. No casinos in Japan that I could find. Had the same problem when in Rome a couple of years ago. All those Italian cannons, but no poker.
Gambling in Japan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Does nobody use the PC card? Canadian Tire?
/g2
I think this might be the wiener.
They still give the free bag of cookies?