While talking credit cards over the weekend with an old friend of mine from Michigan, she mentioned that she was going to apply for a Peebles credit card (if you’re not familiar with them, they’re a department store).

Unless you have subpar credit that won’t qualify you for a normal credit card, I see little reason to get a card like this…

Problem #1: You need to earn 750 points for the extra benefits

There’s the Peebles VIP Gold card, Silver card, and Bronze card. However, you don’t start off at any of these levels.

So it’s not until after you’ve earned 750 points with their credit card that you start getting the perks.

• VIP Bronze card – To get this you must have earned 750 or more points within a single year
• VIP Silver card – Have to earn 1,000 or more points annually to get this
• VIP Gold card – Requirement of 1,500 points or higher

Since there’s only 1 point earned per dollar and you only start off with 250 points, that means after you apply for the credit card you will typically need to spend $500+ annually to get the other benefits.

Problem #2: The rewards and benefits suck

So what do you get for these points? Not much.

There will be chances to earn double or triple points during some “special events.” But whether you accumulate a little or a lot of points, the benefits are pretty boring and seem to fall under these two main categories:

(a) Peebles coupons and sales
(b) Discounted or free gift wrapping

With most credit cards, points are converted into cash back or reward certificates. For example at department stores the Blue Cash Preferred earns you 3% rewards.

However that’s not the case with the Peebles credit card. Instead, the number of points just dictates what tier the account is at. There’s no cash back or gift certificate coming your way for all that spending.

Problem #3: The card is of little use

Forget using this thing to finance a purchase. Why? Because the interest rates are way up there at 24.99%.

And because it can only be used for purchases at a Peebles department stores (and affiliated stores) it’s a card that will be taking up real estate in your wallet, while serving little purpose.

And don’t even get me going on the issuing bank’s customer service and how applying for unneeded cards can affect your credit score…

Written or last updated January 2012

Is 730 a good credit score? Yes but it’s not “excellent” as many of the self-proclaimed “leading” credit card websites claim.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but if you have a 730 credit score you are not in the “excellent” category like this top ranking credit card site claims:

In fact, I can’t remember any time when a score of 730 was considered excellent. I remember several years ago (back in ’06 and ‘07 before the crash) my FICO was 729 and even with that, I still had difficulty qualifying for the Citi Dividend and the other best credit cards during that time.

And obviously, approval for credit isn’t any easier these days.

So why is it that so many credit websites and even a few financial pundits still believe 730 is top tier credit?

What 730 can (and cannot) do for you

First of all you should keep in mind that your score is not the only determining factor in whether or not you will get approved for a credit card or loan. Some of the other factors which are weighed heavily are:

• Income: No, I’m not saying you need to be raking it in, but rather you just need to be employed with at least an average income. If you submit an application and put some low figure like $10k for your annual earnings, you will almost certainly get rejected for any half-way decent card (exceptions can be made though for those who have significant assets – i.e. retired or rich).
• Debt: How much debt do you have? How do your debt levels compare to your total available credit? Even if you really do have a high score, a high debt to credit ratio might trigger a denial.
• History: It’s actually possible (and rather easy) to achieve a credit score of 730 at a relatively young age. When you’re 18 if you get a few credit accounts (cards and/or loans) and maintain a perfect payment history and low credit utilization on the card(s), then it’s not unusual to hit 730 by the time you are 20 years old. However you can bet that a 730 score coming from a 2 year old credit file will be scrutinized much more closely by the banks than a 10 year file with the same score.

So any one of the above factors can nix an approval, no matter what your score is. That being said, here’s what you can expect on average with a 730 FICO score…

Most (but not all) reward cards

You should have a good shot at qualifying for many of the hottest cash back and travel cards on the market, but not even 730 is a guarantee of approval.

If you look on the forum you will regularly see posts from people who have scores in the 730 to 750 range and sometimes they still get denied for some of the better reward cards from American Express, Discover, and Chase.

Good (but not the best) mortgage rates

According to MyFICO.com, the average score range to get the best rates is 760 to 850. If you have a 730 FICO score with a few years of history and nothing sketchy (no bankruptcy, delinquencies, etc.) you probably should still be able to get good rates… but they won’t be the best.

The uber-good car loans (hopefully)

You know those car commercials which tout 0% for 60 months – or when 0% isn’t being offered – the advertised rate may be another low number like 1.9% or 2.9%?

So what’s the minimum credit score requirement for a 0% auto loan, or whatever the lowest rate is?

To get the low rates you hear in the commercials, you will need to have what they deem to be “tier 1” credit. Most auto manufacturers have 3 (but sometimes 4) tiers of financing:

• Tier 1 = 720 to 850
• Tier 2 = 700 to 719
• Tier 3 = 670 to 699
• Tier 4 = 639 to 669

These are only examples. Keep in mind different auto manufacturer might have different score ranges for each of their credit tiers.

However the short and sweet story here is that fortunately, a 730 credit score should probably qualify you for tier 1 (the lowest advertised rates) or tier 2 (which will likely be couple percentage points higher).

Important warning about checking your score

Ultimately the 730 number doesn’t mean diddly-squat if you are going off of a different scoring model. Did you know that most websites which offer credit scores do not give you a FICO? Read my post about the Experian PLUS Score before you check your score.

A couple years ago on the forum, there was a man who had a Merchant’s Tire credit card account. Even though he lived in Virginia, his soon to be ex-wife allegedly raked up $1,500 in charges on his account in a totally different state, Florida.

How did that happen? Well according to him, she allegedly was able to access his credit account at a Merchant’s Tire location in Florida by just giving them his Social Security number. Fortunately, the credit card’s customer service department eventually refunded him the money and turned the case over to law enforcement.

Whether things happened as he described, that’s impossible to know. But what I do know is that Merchants Tire is fairly aggressive with peddling their credit cards, at least from my experience.

What this card does (and doesn’t) offer

Obviously a credit card from Merchants Tire and Auto isn’t going to be super exciting. Its basic purpose is for financing.

The credit card offers may change periodically but this is what the application listed when I checked…

• 6 months deferred interest on purchases of $250 and up
• 12 months deferred interest on purchase of $750 and up

As I’ve said before with similar cards, keep in mind that these deferred interest plans work different than what you would be getting on a major bank credit card:

• In order to not pay interest the balance must be paid off within the specified promotional time-frame.
• If you don’t pay it in time, then the interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date (same holds true if you make a late payment).

On a $1,000 that would be almost $300 in interest charges after the 12 month “no interest” period is over, when you take into account the 28.99% APR.

On the brightside, there’s sometimes the occasional rebate or coupon offer made available only to those with the Merchants Tire credit card.

One example was a $25 Visa prepaid card for spending $250+ or a $50 card for spending $500+ before taxes. Is that enough of an incentive to apply for the card? I’ll let you be the judge.

Review written or last updated Jan 2012

This is a guest post written by my friend Jon Lal, who is the founder of the coupons and cash back site BeFrugal.com, where shoppers who sign-up for a free cash back account can get a $10 sign-up bonus for a limited time. You can connect with Jon on Twitter @BeFrugal.

As a rewards credit card holder, you should consider yourself ahead of the game, but you may be missing out on additional savings. It’s possible to reap more benefits from most of your purchases without sacrificing the credit card rewards you are already earning. It’s fast, simple and best of all, it’s free.

Most of the items you currently buy can be purchased online. If you do not routinely make purchases online, consider the time and hassle it takes to drive to the store, walk through to select your items, stand in line and drive home. Shopping online is an efficient and less stressful way to make purchases while saving more money.

Many retailers such as these you will not find in the credit card malls for online shopping

When you shop online, you can take advantage of online shopping cash back rewards in addition to the credit card rewards you currently earn. Like credit card earnings, with these programs you will receive a portion of the transactions you make. Your online shopping earnings are deposited into your account. When you are ready to cash in these earnings, you can get a check or Paypal deposit.

Just log into your online shopping cash back rewards account, click a link to your favorite store and shop as usual. Complete the check out process and pay with whichever credit card offers the best rewards for you. By taking this one extra step, you will earn rewards from your credit card and the cash back online shopping site!

An example of one source is the website I founded, BeFrugal.com, which offers an average of 5% Cash Back at 1600 online stores, including well known merchants such as Macy’s, Kohl’s, Target, Dell, and Amazon.com.

Earning two forms of rewards on the same transaction is great, but it’s possible to save even more using an online coupon. You can often use a promo code for a discount plus earn cash back while earning credit card rewards, all on the same transaction. Since many online shopping sites also offer free coupons, it only takes a quick search for an online promo code or free shipping code to get additional savings.

Sites like BeFrugal.com have thousands of deals like this. Just search by store or category to find the best money-saving offer.

In under a minute with a few extra clicks, you can:

1. score extra savings from a coupon code
2. earn cash back from an online shopping program
3. get your credit card rewards, too

They key is to conduct as many purchases online as possible (rather than at brick and mortar stores) to get the most savings.

My thoughts? It fills an important void for a couple of reasons. First of all, the credit card malls typically only have 200-400 merchants, while this site has over 1,600 participating. Secondly, instead of just being another coupon site, it stacks savings by giving the additional percentage rebate. Combine that with a good cash back card and it will add up fast.

First of all I should point out that there are actually two different airlines sharing the Virgin name.

• For flights within the US (i.e. Los Angeles to New York) then you are thinking of the Virgin America credit card. That airline operates flights only in the United States.
• For flights between the US and UK (i.e. Los Angeles to London or vice-versa) then you want the Virgin Atlantic credit card, which this review is about. All international flights are operated by Virgin Atlantic airlines.

It’s important to differentiate between the two because even though they both share the Virgin name, they’re independent from one another – totally different frequent flyer mile programs.

With that out of the way, let’s get down to business…

Round 1: Virgin Atlantic credit cards for US residents

The Bank of America Virgin Atlantic credit card comes in two tiers – white and black.

Both have the American Express logo on them, but it’s important to not these are NOT managed by AmEx. Bank of America is the manager and issuer. The American Express logo is on them because that’s the payment network used to process these credit cards.

Virgin America White Card

For a $49 annual fee, this card will net you 1 miles/dollar on regular spending and 3 miles/dollar on Virgin Atlantic purchases.

There’s an anniversary bonus each year too based on how much was spent. 2,500 bonus miles for $5,000 in annual spending, and another 5k miles for spending $15k or more (so the Virgin Atlantic White card can earn up to 7,500 bonus miles per year). For some reason this card is not shown on the BofA website.

Virgin Atlantic Black Card

Touting a $90 annual fee, it gives 1.5 miles/dollar on regular spending and the same 3 miles/dollar on Virgin Atlantic spending.

The anniversary bonus on the Virgin Black Card is a bit more tantalizing at up to 15,000 miles per year. It gives 7,500 miles for spending $15k annually. An additional 7,500 is awarded if spending reaches $25k or more. Cardholders can also earn 1 tier point per $2,500 spent each month (max of 2 tier points per month).

Regardless of which Virgin Atlantic American Express card you fancy, both of them have the following benefits:

• Might qualify to get 2nd reward ticket for half the miles: When at least $25,000 or more in purchases is made per year, one companion ticket will be given. It can only be used when you cash out miles for an Economy reward ticket. When you do so, the companion benefit will let you get a second ticket for half the number of miles as the first ticket. The credit card application on Virgin Atlantic’s site isn’t entirely clear but from what I can tell, you only get one companion perk per year (so spending $50k will NOT earn 2 of them).
• The basic AmEx benefits: Even though these cards are issued by Bank of America, they still come with the basic AmEx benefits since that’s who processes them. These include retail protection, extended warranty, and common carrier travel accident insurance.

Round 2: Virgin Atlantic credit cards for UK residents

These are issued/managed by MBNA Europe Bank. Like the US counterparts, these credit cards also come in a white and black level. You have the choice of Visa or American Express for each.

White Card (Visa)
This comes with a $0 annual fee but with the free price tag comes lower rewards: 1 mile per £2 spent normally and spending with Virgin Atlantic it’s 1 miles per £1.

White Card (American Express)
Same as the above except the AmEx version gives double the rewards: 1 mile per £1 normally and 2 miles per £1 on Virgin Atlantic.

Both of the white give you:

• premium economy reward upgrade for spending £10,000+ per year (limit 2 per year)
• free companion reward flight for spending £15,000+ per year (1 per year)

Black Card (Visa)
For a £140 annual fee you get 1 mile per £1. For purchases on Virgin it’s 2 miles per £1.

Black Card (American Express)
Same fee as above but double the rewards: 2 miles per £2 on regular purchases and 4 miles per £1 when buying from the airline.

Both of the black give you:

• premium economy reward upgrade for spending £5,000+ per year (limit 2 per year)
• free companion reward flight for spending £7,500+ per year (1 per year)

Round 3: How Much Are Virgin Atlantic Miles Worth?

The White Virgin Atlantic credit cards might be lackluster, but the black cards definitely pack some mileage power (on both sides of the pond). But how much are these miles truly worth?

Both the UK and USA Virgin Atlantic credit cards offer Flying Club miles… so the number of miles required for a flight will be the same for both US and UK credit cards.

For flights from the US to UK (and vice-versa) here’s the number of points it will cost you for a roundtrip flight between the following destinations:

The economy flights are slightly cheaper than the other guys (British Airways and many others charge 50,000 miles). However the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has a major drawback, especially for those in the US…

The problem is outrageous redemption fees and taxes

You might have to pay up to $500-800 in taxes, fees, and fuel surcharges for reward flights. This is the achilles heel of the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles.

Winner or Loser?

There’s no denying Virgin is one of the best airlines on the planet. However, their award redemption fees are among the worst. For this reason, I’m not a fan of the Virgin Atlantic American Express cards for US residents. But for those in the UK, the black version is one of the best credit cards you can get since it gives 2 miles per £1.

Here in the US it might make more sense to get the Venture card from Capital One and use the double miles it gives to buy flights on your own (each mile = $0.01 value towards travel).

Why buy tickets instead? Because with Virgin Atlantic the actual airfare is sometimes the cheapest part of the purchase.

So to redeem 47,500 Flying Club miles (from a Virgin Atlantic card) on the above route from Los Angeles to London would be silly, considering there are still taxes and fees to pay. It just doesn’t make sense.