Via a specific banner ad, the Chase AARP Visa has a introductory promo of 5% cash back on all purchases for the first 6 months (specifically, 6 billing cycles). There appears to be no limit to their cashback awards and their reported credit limits are about the same as other Chase cards, so if you have the ability to charge a lot of money on your card within the next 6 months, this card is for you. Selected fine print:

For the first 6 billing cycles from your enrollment date in the program, you will earn 4 bonus points in addition to your 1 base point (total 5 points) for each $1 of net purchases. You do not earn points on balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like charges such as travelers checks, foreign currency, and money orders, any checks that are used to access your account, overdraft advances, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, or fees of any kind, including fees for products that protect or insure the balances of your account. There is no maximum number of points that you can accumulate in the program.

Doing the math, if you can charge $2,000 total, you’ll get $100 back. Up that to $20,000, and you’ll get $1,000 back. The usual ideas include charging any medical bills, homeowners/car/life insurance, travel expenses, or large home improvement purchases. Some people even prepay their utility bills. If you haven’t already, you could also pay any income taxes owed on the card, and you’d still come out slightly ahead after their usual ~2.5% fees.

Catches? Well, you’ll have to be a member of AARP first. That costs $16 a year and is actually open to those under 50, and although you won’t get full benefits, reportedly it will let you get this card. Otherwise, just avoid doing any funny business that will close your card before you cash out your rewards.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a rewards credit card offering new cardholders 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. 50,000 points can be redeemed for $625 in travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards™ since they offer a 25% boost towards airfare and hotels. Earn 5,000 additional bonus points after you add the first authorized user and make a purchase in the first 3 months from account opening. No annual fee for the first year, $95 in future years. Additional details here.

New: Earn 2 points per dollar spent on dining & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

(This card is the “big brother” of the regular Chase Sapphire® Card, where you can get 10,000 points after you spend $500 in purchases within the first 3 months, and an additional 2,500 bonus points after you add the first authorized user and make a purchase in the first 3 months from account opening. There is no annual fee in the first year or subsequent years.)

“Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer. This site may be compensated through the issuer’s Affiliate Program.  “The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.”

A reminder that this offer is scheduled to end on February 28th, 2011.

The Discover More Card is available with no balance transfer fee through this online offer link, offering both 0% intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 12 months.

The fact that this card has no balance transfer fee is significant, as other recent offers have had fees of 3% or higher (although they are also up to 24 months). You can literally borrow money for free and pay it back in 12 months (keeping in mind you’ll still need to satisfy the minimum payment each month until then).

When you see the application, be sure to scroll down to the Terms & Conditions and verify that you are getting 0% for 12 months and no balance transfer fee. You should see the following text at the top under “Interest Rates and Interest Charges”:

APR for Balance Transfers: 0.00% introductory APR for 12 months after the first transaction posts to your account under this offer.

And then the following a bit lower under “Fees”:

Transaction Fees * Balance Transfer – 0% of the amount of each transfer made under this offer and with this application; otherwise, either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Application Quick Tips
In order to get the highest credit limit possible, be sure to maximize your reported “household income” as much as you can legitimately by including everything like the income of everyone living with you, alimony, child support, interest income, dividend income, etc.

If you wish to get cash from this balance transfer offer without it being classified as a “cash advance”, one trick is to request money to be transferred to other non-Discover credit cards that you have. This will create a negative balance, after which you request a refund check be sent to you. Citibank and American Express are recommended for this because they have automatic features on their websites to request a credit balance refund.

Finally, it is important to note that Discover has a new policy that you can only have one open Discover card at any time. If you want this 0% for 12 months with no balance transfer fee and you already have a Discover card, you must cancel that card first, and then come back and apply for this new card. You can’t convert your current Discover and still get this promotion. That will avoid any problems.

I’ve written several posts on credit scores, credit reports, and how to minimize your spending on them. While there are times when you might just have to plunk down your hard-earned money on a credit score, most of them time you can avoid it.

Here’s a flowchart that I just whipped up that will help guide you to what you need. No matter what, you’ll pay less than retail. Anything blue is a click-able link to more guidance and information.

The retail price for a FICO credit score from just one credit bureau is now $19.95. That’s a hefty chunk of change, given that there are three credit bureaus and thus three credit scores – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Before paying anything, you check out these ways to get a FREE credit score from all 3 bureaus. No trials required!

If you must have a score from myFICO.com, then here are some coupon codes that’ll save you some bucks. You enter the promo code relatively late in the buying process, right before entering your credit card information. Here’s what it would look like if you got a 25% off coupon code:

Currently Active myFICO.com Coupon Codes
none

Expired myFICO.com Coupon Codes
CPPSAVINGS
TWEET25
SW94608
FICO25
FICOHELP25
MYPOINTS30
DECEMBER26
26UNTIL2010
SURVEY30
NOVEMBER26
FINANCIALHELP25

Note: Experian no longer allows Fair Isaac to sell FICO scores to consumers at all. You can get a free Experian-based credit score from Credit Sesame.

Here’s a quick note for those considering applying for a Discover credit card, which came up after a few folks got rejected from the Discover More Card offering 0% interest on balance transfers for 12 months with no balance transfer fee. The limited time offer is scheduled to last until February 28, 2011.

On the upper right hand of the application, there is some light grey print that you might overlook that says “Offer Valid For New Cardmembers only”. However, it wasn’t really clear what this meant. You can’t have a current Discover More card? any current Discover card? any Discover card ever?

It turns out that there is a new Discover policy that anyone can only have one open Discover Card of any type at a time. As long as you don’t have an open Discover card currently, you can apply for a new card.

Below is the text from my Live Chat sessions with Discover. Basically, if you want this no balance transfer fee promotion and you already have a Discover card, you must cancel that card first, and then come back and apply for this new card. You can’t switch cards and still get this promotion.

Patricia: I appreciate your interest in the Discover Card. What questions can I answer regarding your application today?

Jonathan: Hello, I am interested in applying for this Discover More card. I don’t have a Discover More card, but I do have an old Discover Miles card. I am able to be approved for this card?

Patricia: I am sorry but we do have a one account policy at this time so we cannot open an additional account. Would you like us to switch the card type you have with us?

Jonathan: That would be okay, as I don’t use my Discover Miles card anymore. Would I still be able to get the 0% for 12 months with no balance transfer fee?

Patricia: Thank you for your business! This chat is to assist with applying for a Discover Card and we do not have access to any Account information. I will transfer you to our Customer Service chat for assistance with your Account. They will access that account and see what is available on it for transfer for you.

[Result: No, the offers in my account were much worse with higher fees.]

Patricia: I appreciate your interest in the Discover Card. What questions can I answer regarding your application today?

Jonathan: hello… if I recently closed a Discover card but currently do not have one, can I still apply for this new More card iwth 0% for 12 months? Do I still count as a new cardmember?

Patricia: You can apply for this card if that other account is closed.

Jonathan: So basically a person is just allowed to have one open Discover card, of any type, at a time now?

Patricia: Correct

Jonathan: Great, thank you for your help. That’s all for me today.

When you charge something on your credit card, the merchant usually pays about 2-3% in transaction fees for the convenience and benefit of accepting these cards. To get your business, issuers often rebate part of these fees in the form of % cashback rewards or frequent flier miles. Credit cards also offer handy conveniences like easily tracking spending, fraud charge-back protection, and extended warranties, but who doesn’t like cash? Extreme users treat them like Swiss army knives to maximize rewards. New customers also get incentives of up to $100.

Here’s an update for the offers during the first quarter of 2012. There is a slight lean towards a New Year’s resolution theme, but I like the inclusion of everyday spending like grocery stores, drugstores, and restaurants. You can often also see the rewards for the rest of the year on the applications.

Chase Freedom Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back
Reward categories change quarterly. From January 1 to March 31, you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in the following categories:

• Gas Stations
• Amazon.com

From October 1 to December 31, you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,000 spent in the following categories:

• Dining
• Department Stores
• Movie Theaters
• Charitable Organizations

You must enroll at ChaseBonus.com. All other purchases do earn a standard 1%, with no tiers or expiration of rewards. Currently, the Chase Freedom Visa card has a promotion offering a $100 check if you sign up and make $500 in purchases in your first three months.

Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa® Card
Reward categories change quarterly. From October 1st to December 31st, you can earn 5% cash back on

• Department Stores
• Clothing Stores
• Electronics Stores
• Toy Stores

After you get your card, you must enroll by logging into your account or calling 1-800-231-0891. There is no cap on the 5% back, except for the $300 overall cap on all dividend rewards annually. All other purchases do earn a standard 1% with no tiers, and rewards do not expire as long as you have activity once every 12 months. Also, 0% APR on balance transfers for 12 months with 3% fee and on purchases for 12 months.

Discover More Card
Reward categories change quarterly. From January 1 to March 31, you can earn 5% cash back on up to $800 spent in the following categories:

• Travel
• Restaurants

You must enroll online to activate the rewards each quarter. Discover card has a tiered cashback rate (1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on purchases after your total annual purchases exceed $3000; purchases that are part of your first $3000 earn .25%.).

PenFed Platinum Cashback Rewards Card
Bonus categories appear and change regularly for this card, but not on a set schedule. Currently I don’t see anything available. However, the best feature remains – the year-round rewards structure of 5% cash back on gas purchases (must pay at pump), 2% cash back on supermarket purchases, and 1% cash back on everything else. Rewards are credited monthly on your next statement.

Note: To get this card, you must also have membership to the Pentagon Federal Credit Union (you can apply for both at the same time). In general, membership is open to the military, US government employees, or the family or household of existing members. However, anyone can become eligible by joining the National Military Family Association (NMFA) for a $20 one-time fee.

You can also get 100 free Continental Airlines miles by reading about how you can earn miles with a Continental Airlines-branded credit or debit card, and entering your OnePass number by Feb 28, 2011.

Registration is required. Bonus miles will be deposited into the primary Cardmember’s OnePass® account within 4-6 weeks after the end of the promotion. Offer valid for existing Continental Airlines/Chase Credit and Debit Cardmembers.

One card they are promoting is the Continental Airlines OnePass Plus Card, which has improved their sign-up incentive to include a $50 statement credit, 30,000 free miles, and a pretty nice mix of perks for travelers including free checked bags for you and companions.

It’s actually a good time to apply for this card because Continental and United are merging in 2011, and the resulting airline will be called United. Since these Chase-affiliated cards usually only allow one sign-up bonus per lifetime, you might as well apply for the Continental now because it won’t be around anymore after a few more months.