Many credit cards carry perks customers don't know about

Video
Photo

Regular Photo Size

Posted: 02/17/2011

By: Michelle Lowry

TULSA - Before your next credit card purchase find out what your issuer will do for you.

It's worth the time it takes to brush up on your credit card's offerings to make sure you're getting every benefit you're due.

Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com and author of The Credit Card Guidebook offers this information for consumers:

Take Advantage of Relatively Unknown Credit Card Perks
Cash rebates and reward points receive most of the bold print and attention,
but there are some nice perks that you could be missing from your credit
card. These benefits can save money on tickets, shopping and travel,
guarantee the lowest price on purchases, and provide an extended warrant.
But you can't take advantage of these perks if you don't know about them.
Here are five perks to your credit card you may not be using:
1. Free or Discounted Tickets to Museums and Theme Parks
* Bank Of America's "Museums on Us" offers free admission to over 100
museums in 24 states with a Bank of America credit card or debit card during
the first full weekend of every month for 2011. States include California,
Florida, New York, and Virginia.
* Discover members save 5% on in-park and online purchases for Six Flag
Season Passes, VIP Tours, daily admission tickets, parking, food and merchandise.
* Citi Private Pass gives discounts to theme parks, such as 25% off on
one-day admission to LegoLand California.
* Chase Ultimate Rewards offers cooking classes or food tours, sports
tickets and outdoor adventures in selected cities. All are available with
rewards or can be charged to your Chase card.
* American Express offers pre-sale tickets and preferred seat
tickets for events and concerts. Recently, American Express provided
pre-sale tickets for the NBA All-Star game, Katie Perry, George Strait &
Reba McEntire and certain Broadway shows.
Credit card issuers may even be able to get you tickets to a sold-out show.
Expect to pay the typical ticket surcharges and fees.

2. Travel Perks
* The Visa Signature card offers many reward perks for travel. It offers 15%
off Luggage Forward service where your luggage is shipped to your hotel,
cruise ship, or home in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. The
card also offers hotel room upgrades, $25 travel vouchers for food, 20%
off every $25 in movie tickets (Fandango), and discounts for car rentals.
Cardholders can also find special offers like 15% off Southwest Wanna
Get Away round trip ticket (these are limited time offers). The 24/7
concierge service can help with travel, entertainment, and business planning.
* Continental One Pass and Delta Skymiles do not charge a fee for the first
checked bag on any flight booked with the card
* Chase Sapphire helps cover expenses for a trip delay or a baggage delay
on a covered trip.

3. Shopping Perks
* Many cards have merchant partners that offer free shipping and discounts
on purchases made with the designated card. Partners may include WalMart,
Macy's, Sears, Pottery Barn, Home Depot, and Apple Online Store.
* Discover offers 5% or 10% cashback bonus for online purchases made with
its merchant partners. Earn 5% cashback from WalMart.com, or 5% cashback
when you buy an Apple iPhone 4 or iPad from ShopDiscover.
* Bank of America WorldPoints and Citi ThankYou offer an online shopping
mall full of merchandise that you can purchase with reward points.
Merchandise includes flat screen TVs, lawn equipment, and kitchen
appliances.

4. Consumer Protections
* Price Protection. Price protection helps you get the best price for your
purchase. If you find a lower price on that item in the designated time
period (typically 60 days), many issuers will refund the price difference on
the same item from the same manufacturer. Issuers may set a refund limit.
For example, Citi refunds the price difference up to $250 per item. Internet
purchases and close out sales are excluded. Price protection does not cover
airline and transportation tickets. To get the price protection, save the
printed advertisement and contact the program administrator for claim
forms and filing procedures.
* Purchase Protection. Purchase protection guards eligible purchases against
accidental damage or theft for up to 90 days from the date of purchase. Your
credit card issuer can repair, replace or reimburse for up to the amount
charged. For example, American Express coverage is limited to $1,000
per occurrence, and up to $50,000 per cardmember account per policy year.
If a retailer will not accept a return within the first 90 days of purchase,
some cards, like Chase Sapphire, will reimburse you for the cost of the
eligible item purchased on your card.
* Extended Warranty Protection. This protection extends the length of the
free repair period under the original manufacturer's U.S. warranty for up to
one additional year. The warranty must be three years or less. Capital One
doubles the original warranty time period and duplicates the coverage of the
original manufacturer's warranty up to a maximum of twelve

months on most
items you purchase. To receive Extended Warranty Protection, you must
submit the store receipt, the credit card receipt and a copy of the
manufacturer's warranty.

5. Car Rental Loss/Damage Insurance
Using your credit card for a car rental may cover damage incurred when
renting the car, so it may not be necessary to purchase extra insurance
coverage from the car rental company. Before renting, check the description
of this coverage in your Cardmember Agreement. To be covered, you must be
the primary renter and use your card to pay for the entire rental. You must
decline the collision damage waiver (CDW) or similar option when you are
reserving and picking up your rental car. Coverage applies for the first 30
days, and is in excess to your other sources of insurance. Coverage may not
be available in some countries.

"All of these perks can save you money and hassle, but you have to know they
are available," says Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com and author of The
Credit Card Guidebook. "The description of the perks and benefits can be
found in the card's welcome packet. Some issuers also post these benefits
online, but you have to dig to find them. If you can't find a list of benefits
for your card, contact your issuer and they can re-send the information to you."

LowCards.com simplifies the confusion of shopping for credit cards. It is a free, independent website that helps consumers easily compare credit cards in a variety of categories such as lowest rates, rewards, rebates, balance transfers and lowest introductory rates. It also gives an unbiased ranking and review for each card. The
LowCards.com Complete Credit Card Index is the most objective
and comprehensive resource on the Internet which allows consumers to compare
rates for over 1000 credit cards offered in this country. Created by Hampton
& Associates, the company has been analyzing the credit card industry and
supplying objective websites on various consumer expenses for eleven years.