Credit Monitoring Dilemma

January 17, 2008

After months of debate and looking at various products, I decided to move forward and purchase Equifax Credit Watch Gold 3-in-1 for my wife and I.

Yes there are ways to get your credit report free (see my post), but I haven’t been able to wait the 3 months to pull each report and want to know about inquiries to my credit report as they happen. With the recent increase in identity theft, I wanted more piece of mind that I know immediately when something hits my credit report.

With the Equifax Credit Watch Gold 3-in-1 we get unlimited access to our Equifax credit report for a year, a yearly 3 in one credit report which is a consolidated report from the 3 credit bureaus, but more importantly we now get real time email updates when a new account is opened. This was the main reason we went with Equifax. The email alerts are also configurable based on % change on an account or if a card is used that has been dormant for a while. Since I open quite a few credit cards to receive the bonuses, I want to make sure that no one has gotten the account info and has started going on a shopping spree.

Now this security isn’t free, I am going to end up paying $12.95 / month. This is why I was having the dilemma. I wanted to have these real time email alerts, but didn’t want to pay for them! But there was no way to do this for free, so I am just going to eat this cost for some piece of mind. I feel that using this in addition to Yodlee (see my post) will virtually eliminate the risk of identity fraud for us, or at least give us an early warning so we can take care of it before it is too late.

If you don’t want to shell out $13 a month for something like this, at least regularly pull that credit report for free. I’ve seen too many horror stories happen to people that don’t keep an eye on their credit report.

Written by BudgetBoy · Filed Under Credit · 4 Comments

Amex Blue Cash Reward Payout

January 11, 2008

My cash rebate for my American Express Blue Cash Card was paid out in November, but I completely forgot about it until I got my December bill and wondered why I didn’t owe anything. For a minute I thought someone was paying my bill for me since I know I used the card a lot in November but the balance due didn’t account for it. This required some investigation!

After going through my December statement I found this at the bottom:

I was very surprised to see that I received over $800 back since I really wasn’t keeping track. The total return is 1.73% back in my pocket. The percentage is on the lower end since I funded my wedding mainly using this card so those large purchases only rebate back .5% and 1.5% until I passed the $6500 purchase mark. Another reason is that the grocery store we go to does not accept credit cards, so we are missing out on the 5% return there. But the store’s prices are cheaper over all so the difference is negligible.

Here is the rebate break down for this card:

So the key is to get to the $6500 spending limit as soon as possible so for the rest of the year you are earning the higher percentages. Everyday purchases are considered supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations. I use this card for almost EVERYTHING where I can use a credit card. The only time I use another card is if the place I am at doesn’t take American Express. I rarely use checks or a debit card.

I realize that there are other rebate cards out there that offer 5% here, 2% there, 3% for 2 months, etc, but for me the Blue Cash card is easy in the fact that you know exactly what % you are receiving for the year.

One thing to note here is that ff you don’t spend more than $6500 per year then there are other cards out there that are probably better. You might try the Chase Freedom Visa. See here for a $50 credit when applying.

Written by BudgetBoy · Filed Under Credit, Free Money · 6 Comments

Have you checked your Credit Report?

December 10, 2007

If you haven’t been told by now, It is good practice to keep an eye on your credit report with the increase in identity theft.

Don’t be fooled by the many sites out there that offer “Free Credit Reports”. Most of them, when you read the small print, are esentially signing you up for a paid credit check service and giving you the first credit report free.

The only site I recommend is AnnualCreditReport.com
This is the only service authorized by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion for obtaining free credit reports. I really wish the Government would get involved and give it a “.gov” domain so it is clearer to people that this is not a gimmick or spam site.

You can pull one report free from each of the three bureau’s each year through the site. There is no subscription service, no spam email later or anyone trying to call you.

My recommendation is to pull one every for months. Here is the schedule I follow: