Bank of America BankAmericard Cash Rewards

Today I received an offer in the mail from Bank of America saying I am pre-approved for a new credit card! It is the new BankAmericard Cash Rewards credit card that they just launched. They offered me a $50 one time bonus after spending $500 in the first 3 months of opening. It was definitely not as good as Chase Freedom's 30,000 point bonus (equivalent to $300), but it did have some perks.

It had 3% cash back on gas stations, 2% cash back on grocery stores, and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. The differences between Chase Freedom and this, is that the cash back percentage is locked in, and does not rotate category like Chase. However, like Chase Freedom, there is also a cap of $1,500 maximum of combined gas and grocery purchases per quarter for the 3% and 2% cash back, respectively.

Even though I just opened a Chase Freedom account the other week, I knew there is no chance for them to decline me because I was already pre-approved. So, I went online and filled out the application and got another instant approval!

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Chase Freedom Credit Card

Since the economy is starting to recover, banks are more willing to lend money now. After searching on slickdeals.net for some deals, I found a promotion going on for the Chase Freedom credit card. It is offering customers 30,000 points after spending more than $500 in the first 3 months of receiving the card. This is also a cash back card, which means you earn points for every purchase you make. Chase Freedom offers 5% cash back on qualifying purchases up to $1,500 per quarter and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.

This is an awesome deal considering they have been offering only 10,000 points bonus a few months before.

I applied right away and got on instant decision -- approved!

A card was sent home 7 days later. I cannot wait to spend money to get that bonus!

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American Express Costco TrueEarnings Credit Card

After being disappointed by the measly $300 credit limit of the Chase +1 credit card, I was motivated to find a better one!

I wanted a credit card that benefited me when using it and had the potential to increase to higher limits. My research showed me that American Express offer the best customer service and usually did not require a hard pull to increase credit limits. In addition, almost all American Express cards have nice perks whether its miles, cash back, or points. What more not to love?

Even though I just opened a new account, I had to seize this opportunity immediately even if it will hurt my credit score. The next time I went to Costco with my parents, I opened a joint account with my Dad. We were immediately approved!

At age 19 and already owning an American Express credit card feels better cool considering it is pretty exclusive in my group of friends. Yay for bragging rights!

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Chase +1 Student Credit Card

After finding out that my secured BankAmericard had an annual fee, I decided to cancel it. I knew cancelling my first credit card was bad, but I really did not want to pay the annual fee. Shame on me for not reading the contract.

The next card I found was student friendly, so I applied for it. I didn't get an instant decision, but the card did arrive within 10 days of applying. It came in a matte black card with a glossy Chase logo in the center, which looked super cool... until I saw my credit limit.

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How to Calculate Interest with APR

With anything containing numbers, there is a usually a formula to solve it. Here are the steps to calculate the amount of interest you have to pay on your outstanding balance. 

Steps

1. Take your APR and divide it by 365 (numbers of days in a year) to get a daily periodic rate (DPR)
2. The DPR is then multiplied by the amount of days the outstanding balance have incurred 
3. That amount is then multiplied by the amount of outstanding balance you owe
4. The result is the amount of interest that is additional to your outstanding balance

Graphical Steps

Source: Bank of America

Example calculation
Purchase APR: 20% = 0.20
Outstanding balance: $10,000
Days incurred: 1 day

What is an APR

You probably see/hear the word "APR" all the time from credit card offers in the mail or car commercials on TV, but do you know what it means and how it works?

APR stands for annual percentage rate. These APR comes in different ranges depending on the kind of debt and your credit score. These rate are very variable and can fluctuate with the market.

Banks use an annual percentage rate to calculate a daily periodic rate that they will charge compound interest on your outstanding balance (that have no been paid of in full) on a daily basis.

You can usually find these APR towards the end of your banking statements.

Types of APR
Introductory (Promotional) APR
Usually 0%, which means there is no interest on your purchases for a limited amount of time (varies from 9-18 months).

Purchase APR
Usually after the promotional rate that varies from 12-24% depending on credit score.

Balance Transfers APR
Usually the same rate as the Purchase APR.

Cash Advance APR
Usually higher than Purchase and Balance Transfer APR (>24%). This occurs when you withdraw cash from an ATM with your credit card instead of debit card.

Penalty APR
Usually the highest APR due to late payments or violating the card terms and conditions (>24%).