When I was young, I used credit cards to survive. Today, I’m a bit better off and a lot more educated. Now I pay my balances off at the end of every month – no one gets interest from me. But, I’ve also learned how to squeeze every dime out of my cards. That’s why I track down the best offers, use them to my advantage and move on. Here’s what I look for.

Cash Back and Rewards Programs

First and foremost, I look for the largest cash back rewards I can find. To me, “Cash Is King.” Cash doesn’t expire and it’s yours once you earn it. The more cash back I can get, the happier it makes me. But, I don’t stop there. If I can get cash back and rewards from the same cards or a combination of two cards, I’m on it.

Here’s my current set up. I’m in love with U-Promise. Not because I’ve got kids going to college – that ship has already sailed. It’s because I can build up cash in a U-Promise account and I don’t need to go to college to get it out. I can request periodic withdrawals for any reason.

Before I buy anything, I check the going U-Promise rewards percentage. You’d be amazed how many companies give you money in your U-Promise account – just for buying via through U-Promise on the Internet and on a credit card. I even order whatever I need from Lowe’s online, pay for it with my U-Promise Master Card and pick it up at the store an hour later.

Depending on the current offers, I can reap 1-20% from the value of my purchases and another 1-10% from using my U-Promise credit card. For example, I can go online and buy flowers for Mother’s Day, get 10% of the purchase as cash back into my account from FTD.com and another 3% for using my U-Promise credit card or even higher cash back rewards if I find another credit card with a better offer.

Or I can just go to the grocery store and get 10% back by using my U-Promise credit card everyday. That makes me really happy when Sweetbay Supermarket gives me a “$10 for every $40 spent” coupon in the mail. That means I just purchased groceries at a 32.5% discount. Who would walk away from that?

The combinations are endless and the dollars rack up in my account really quick. I just pay attention to the current cash back and rewards bonuses and make my purchases accordingly.

Purchase Protection and Extended Warranties

I hardly ever pay cash for anything and I try not to use my debit card. Why, you might ask? Because if something goes wrong, a cash purchase doesn’t protect me. For example, if I pay for a car repair with cash or my debit card and I have a problem down the road, I can’t call anyone to come to my aid. If I pay with a credit card, I can lodge a dispute on services rendered and have a chance at a better resolution or refund.

Some companies even offer extended consumer purchase warranties as part of the credit card features. If it’s free, it’s for me.

Life Insurance

Since I travel a good bit, I purchase all of my fares on a credit card that offers $100,000 free travel and accident life insurance. I may not personally reap the benefit; but, I’ve got it documented in my estate papers as just one more potential inheritance for my heirs. Why not?

Convenience

Last, but not least, I use credit cards to my advantage by having one bill to pay at the end of the month – in addition to getting cash back. I pay my phone bill, garbage bill, water bill, cable TV bill, car insurance, club accounts and repair bills on my credit card. Then I write one check and smile as I rack up the rewards points.

I have found that when I am careful and disciplined to pay my credit cards off monthly, I have a world of possibilities available to me. I just keep my eyes open for the best deals and learn to use them all to my advantage.

More from this contributor:

Ten Tips for Decorating and Staging to Help Sell Your House

Save Money with Warm Winter Drapes for Your Windows

Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/first-person-using-credit-cards-advantage-164800731.html

When I was young, I used credit cards to survive. Today, I’m a bit better off and a lot more educated. Now I pay my balances off at the end of every month – no one gets interest from me. But, I’ve also learned how to squeeze every dime out of my cards. That’s why I track down the best offers, use them to my advantage and move on. Here’s what I look for.

Cash Back and Rewards Programs

First and foremost, I look for the largest cash back rewards I can find. To me, “Cash Is King.” Cash doesn’t expire and it’s yours once you earn it. The more cash back I can get, the happier it makes me. But, I don’t stop there. If I can get cash back and rewards from the same cards or a combination of two cards, I’m on it.

Here’s my current set up. I’m in love with U-Promise. Not because I’ve got kids going to college – that ship has already sailed. It’s because I can build up cash in a U-Promise account and I don’t need to go to college to get it out. I can request periodic withdrawals for any reason.

Before I buy anything, I check the going U-Promise rewards percentage. You’d be amazed how many companies give you money in your U-Promise account – just for buying via through U-Promise on the Internet and on a credit card. I even order whatever I need from Lowe’s online, pay for it with my U-Promise Master Card and pick it up at the store an hour later.

Depending on the current offers, I can reap 1-20% from the value of my purchases and another 1-10% from using my U-Promise credit card. For example, I can go online and buy flowers for Mother’s Day, get 10% of the purchase as cash back into my account from FTD.com and another 3% for using my U-Promise credit card or even higher cash back rewards if I find another credit card with a better offer.

Or I can just go to the grocery store and get 10% back by using my U-Promise credit card everyday. That makes me really happy when Sweetbay Supermarket gives me a “$10 for every $40 spent” coupon in the mail. That means I just purchased groceries at a 32.5% discount. Who would walk away from that?

The combinations are endless and the dollars rack up in my account really quick. I just pay attention to the current cash back and rewards bonuses and make my purchases accordingly.

Purchase Protection and Extended Warranties

I hardly ever pay cash for anything and I try not to use my debit card. Why, you might ask? Because if something goes wrong, a cash purchase doesn’t protect me. For example, if I pay for a car repair with cash or my debit card and I have a problem down the road, I can’t call anyone to come to my aid. If I pay with a credit card, I can lodge a dispute on services rendered and have a chance at a better resolution or refund.

Some companies even offer extended consumer purchase warranties as part of the credit card features. If it’s free, it’s for me.

Life Insurance

Since I travel a good bit, I purchase all of my fares on a credit card that offers $100,000 free travel and accident life insurance. I may not personally reap the benefit; but, I’ve got it documented in my estate papers as just one more potential inheritance for my heirs. Why not?

Convenience

Last, but not least, I use credit cards to my advantage by having one bill to pay at the end of the month – in addition to getting cash back. I pay my phone bill, garbage bill, water bill, cable TV bill, car insurance, club accounts and repair bills on my credit card. Then I write one check and smile as I rack up the rewards points.

I have found that when I am careful and disciplined to pay my credit cards off monthly, I have a world of possibilities available to me. I just keep my eyes open for the best deals and learn to use them all to my advantage.

More from this contributor:

Ten Tips for Decorating and Staging to Help Sell Your House

Save Money with Warm Winter Drapes for Your Windows

Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/first-person-using-credit-cards-advantage-164800731.html

Frequent travelers probably know that you can get slammed by foreign transaction fees if you use your credit and debit cards overseas.  However, it has become a little easier to avoid these charges in the past year as more card issuers have dropped them in a quest to boost their market share.

Once called currency conversion fees, the average foreign transaction fee is 3 percent for banks and 1 percent for credit unions, according to the Pew Safe Credit Cards Project. Credit cardholders are typically charged the fee when they purchase items while overseas or when they make purchases that use an overseas bank to process the transaction.

But increasingly, there are more credit card offerings that don’t charge transaction fees, says Charles Leocha, publisher of ConsumerTraveler.com. In November 2011, Discover joined Capital One in eliminating foreign transaction fees on all of its credit cards. (See chart below to compare credit card issuers’ foreign transaction fees .)

While other issuers haven’t nixed foreign transaction fees entirely, many have increased their number of no-transaction-fee offerings. For example, Citi Cards teamed up in July 2011 with American Airlines to roll out the Citi Executive AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard , upping its number of cards without transaction fees to three. Chase has been steadily increasing its number of offerings, too, now boasting 10 cards that don’t charge these fees. Credit unions are also getting into the act. Pentagon Federal Credit Union announced in October 2011 that it was cutting foreign transaction fees from all credit card offerings.

A play for customers
So what’s behind all the changes? One reason is to stand out from the crowded credit card field. “The decision to eliminate foreign transaction fees provides clear value to our card members, especially at a time when other issuers are tacking on additional fees,” says Kathryn Henry, a spokeswoman for Discover.

Others are using the cards to tap into certain segments of the market. “We always want to cement the loyalty of our current customers and capture new ones by offering the best card for affluent travelers,” says Desiree C. Fish, a spokeswoman for American Express . The card issuer dropped foreign transaction fees on its Platinum and Centurion cards in March 2011.

But if you don’t have one of those cards, not much has changed, as “consumers get whacked by the foreign transaction fees, bank teller fees and cash withdrawal fees every time they take money from a cash machine overseas,” says Leocha.

The root of the costs
For overseas purchases, Visa and MasterCard, which handle transactions between the foreign merchant or bank and the bank that issued your card, typically charge a 1 percent foreign transaction fee. Then, card-issuing banks may tack on their own charges. For example, Wells Fargo card users pay a 1 percent fee that goes to either Visa or MasterCard, along with a 2 percent fee charged by Wells Fargo, bringing the total fee to 3 percent. American Express doesn’t use the Visa or MasterCard payment system, but the company charges its own foreign transaction fees of typically 2.7 percent.

If you make a lot of purchases, that number can take a toll on your budget. Mikaya Heart, a life coach and author based in northern California, spends about eight months out of the year traveling abroad so she can’t avoid spending money while overseas. “I was appalled when I counted up how much I was paying in foreign transaction fees,” she says. Since she wasn’t ready to give up traveling, Heart checked to see if any of her other cards offered a better deal. Luckily, her Capital One card charged no foreign transaction fees so she uses it whenever she goes abroad.

Even if you decide to leave your credit cards home, you may still be socked with fees when you travel overseas. Many banks charge fees for using debit cards or withdrawing cash at foreign ATMs. For example, Citi charges a 3 percent currency conversion fee when you use an ATM card abroad. Some banks waive certain fees if you withdraw money from partner bank ATMs. For example, Bank of America generally charges 1 percent plus a $5 fee to withdraw cash from a foreign ATM. However, if you use an ATM at one of the company’s Global Alliance Partners, which includes Barclays, Deutsche Bank and China Construction Bank, the $5 fee is waived, says spokeswoman Betty Riess.

Avoiding costly fees
If you plan to travel, you should first check with your bank and credit card issuers to find out what the foreign transaction charges will be, suggests Gregory Karp, author of “Make Your Credit Cards Work for You Instead of You for Them.”  The information should be disclosed in your card agreements. In fact, in recent weeks, 10 million checks started going out to credit card holders as part of a class-action lawsuit filed partly because issuers failed to properly disclose foreign transaction fees between 1996 and 2006. If you can’t find information about foreign transaction fees, pick up the phone and call.

Also check to see if your bank is part of a global ATM network that you can use to access your money overseas at a lower cost.

If you travel frequently, it may make sense to apply for a card that does not charge transaction fees or that charges less than 3 percent. For example, credit unions are more likely to cap foreign transaction fees at the 1 percent Visa/MasterCard charge.

“I didn’t start looking into foreign transaction fees until I realized how much they were costing me,” says Heart. “I didn’t get a Capital One card for that reason initially, but I certainly would have.”

See related: How to save on debit card foreign transaction fees , 6 budget-blowing international travel mistakes to avoid ,   Even domestic purchases can trigger foreign transaction fees

• More issuers cutting credit card foreign transaction fees
• 6 budget-blowing international travel mistakes to avoid
• 3 money lessons from “The Bachelor”

Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/more-issuers-cutting-credit-card-130000865.html

Frequent travelers probably know that you can get slammed by foreign transaction fees if you use your credit and debit cards overseas.  However, it has become a little easier to avoid these charges in the past year as more card issuers have dropped them in a quest to boost their market share.

Once called currency conversion fees, the average foreign transaction fee is 3 percent for banks and 1 percent for credit unions, according to the Pew Safe Credit Cards Project. Credit cardholders are typically charged the fee when they purchase items while overseas or when they make purchases that use an overseas bank to process the transaction.

But increasingly, there are more credit card offerings that don’t charge transaction fees, says Charles Leocha, publisher of ConsumerTraveler.com. In November 2011, Discover joined Capital One in eliminating foreign transaction fees on all of its credit cards. (See chart below to compare credit card issuers’ foreign transaction fees .)

While other issuers haven’t nixed foreign transaction fees entirely, many have increased their number of no-transaction-fee offerings. For example, Citi Cards teamed up in July 2011 with American Airlines to roll out the Citi Executive AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard , upping its number of cards without transaction fees to three. Chase has been steadily increasing its number of offerings, too, now boasting 10 cards that don’t charge these fees. Credit unions are also getting into the act. Pentagon Federal Credit Union announced in October 2011 that it was cutting foreign transaction fees from all credit card offerings.

A play for customers
So what’s behind all the changes? One reason is to stand out from the crowded credit card field. “The decision to eliminate foreign transaction fees provides clear value to our card members, especially at a time when other issuers are tacking on additional fees,” says Kathryn Henry, a spokeswoman for Discover.

Others are using the cards to tap into certain segments of the market. “We always want to cement the loyalty of our current customers and capture new ones by offering the best card for affluent travelers,” says Desiree C. Fish, a spokeswoman for American Express . The card issuer dropped foreign transaction fees on its Platinum and Centurion cards in March 2011.

But if you don’t have one of those cards, not much has changed, as “consumers get whacked by the foreign transaction fees, bank teller fees and cash withdrawal fees every time they take money from a cash machine overseas,” says Leocha.

The root of the costs
For overseas purchases, Visa and MasterCard, which handle transactions between the foreign merchant or bank and the bank that issued your card, typically charge a 1 percent foreign transaction fee. Then, card-issuing banks may tack on their own charges. For example, Wells Fargo card users pay a 1 percent fee that goes to either Visa or MasterCard, along with a 2 percent fee charged by Wells Fargo, bringing the total fee to 3 percent. American Express doesn’t use the Visa or MasterCard payment system, but the company charges its own foreign transaction fees of typically 2.7 percent.

If you make a lot of purchases, that number can take a toll on your budget. Mikaya Heart, a life coach and author based in northern California, spends about eight months out of the year traveling abroad so she can’t avoid spending money while overseas. “I was appalled when I counted up how much I was paying in foreign transaction fees,” she says. Since she wasn’t ready to give up traveling, Heart checked to see if any of her other cards offered a better deal. Luckily, her Capital One card charged no foreign transaction fees so she uses it whenever she goes abroad.

Even if you decide to leave your credit cards home, you may still be socked with fees when you travel overseas. Many banks charge fees for using debit cards or withdrawing cash at foreign ATMs. For example, Citi charges a 3 percent currency conversion fee when you use an ATM card abroad. Some banks waive certain fees if you withdraw money from partner bank ATMs. For example, Bank of America generally charges 1 percent plus a $5 fee to withdraw cash from a foreign ATM. However, if you use an ATM at one of the company’s Global Alliance Partners, which includes Barclays, Deutsche Bank and China Construction Bank, the $5 fee is waived, says spokeswoman Betty Riess.

Avoiding costly fees
If you plan to travel, you should first check with your bank and credit card issuers to find out what the foreign transaction charges will be, suggests Gregory Karp, author of “Make Your Credit Cards Work for You Instead of You for Them.”  The information should be disclosed in your card agreements. In fact, in recent weeks, 10 million checks started going out to credit card holders as part of a class-action lawsuit filed partly because issuers failed to properly disclose foreign transaction fees between 1996 and 2006. If you can’t find information about foreign transaction fees, pick up the phone and call.

Also check to see if your bank is part of a global ATM network that you can use to access your money overseas at a lower cost.

If you travel frequently, it may make sense to apply for a card that does not charge transaction fees or that charges less than 3 percent. For example, credit unions are more likely to cap foreign transaction fees at the 1 percent Visa/MasterCard charge.

“I didn’t start looking into foreign transaction fees until I realized how much they were costing me,” says Heart. “I didn’t get a Capital One card for that reason initially, but I certainly would have.”

See related: How to save on debit card foreign transaction fees , 6 budget-blowing international travel mistakes to avoid ,   Even domestic purchases can trigger foreign transaction fees

• More issuers cutting credit card foreign transaction fees
• 6 budget-blowing international travel mistakes to avoid
• 3 money lessons from “The Bachelor”

Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/more-issuers-cutting-credit-card-130000865.html

The documents, obtained through open record laws, are visa credit card statements under the name of Art Franco representing the town of Anthony. In addition to expected charges of gasoline for city vehicles and party supplies for city holiday gatherings, there is a fair amount of travel funds including airfare, rental cars, and dining out.

“Of course all of these are business trips, they’re not personal, none of them were,” Franco said. “We get per diem and then we’d spend a little more and get dinner. Even if we spent a little more than we were supposed to, the trips were done in an official capacity. I can personally vouch for the council.”

In 2011 alone, the city budget provided funds for more than five trips to Houston, Austin, and Alpine, Texas. Franco said the business trips involved meeting with other city councils to discuss city strategies. An earlier trip in Oct. 2009 lists $2,422 spent between five rooms at a Sheraton hotel for one night in Fort Worth, Texas.

“When we meet with these other cities we learn that we handle our money a lot better than they do,” said Franco. “For the first 14 years I was mayor, I went on two trips that paid for out of my own pocket and I didn’t have a city vehicle. Financially we are better off than we’ve been in a long time.”

Concerned residents who also requested the credit card statements accuse the mayor of holding business lunches at Hooters and the Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino as recently as summer of 2011.

“I’d meet with other local mayors at the racetrack restaurant, we never gambled or anything,” Franco said. “They also said ‘Well, you go to hooters!’ I love hooters, but I don’t buy beer or anything like that when I’m there for work. It’s all part of my mayoral duties. We once met with a man who is involved with Love’s convenience store at Hooters and now they’re building a Love’s in Anthony.”

Just a week ago Texas Rangers and FBI agents raided the home of Anthony, Texas Mayor Art Franco, removing boxes on an executed search warrant. Neither agency has commented on the ongoing investigation.

Article source: http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/news/local/anthony-credit-card-statements-show-frequent-trave/nJQtw/

The documents, obtained through open record laws, are visa credit card statements under the name of Art Franco representing the town of Anthony. In addition to expected charges of gasoline for city vehicles and party supplies for city holiday gatherings, there is a fair amount of travel funds including airfare, rental cars, and dining out.

“Of course all of these are business trips, they’re not personal, none of them were,” Franco said. “We get per diem and then we’d spend a little more and get dinner. Even if we spent a little more than we were supposed to, the trips were done in an official capacity. I can personally vouch for the council.”

In 2011 alone, the city budget provided funds for more than five trips to Houston, Austin, and Alpine, Texas. Franco said the business trips involved meeting with other city councils to discuss city strategies. An earlier trip in Oct. 2009 lists $2,422 spent between five rooms at a Sheraton hotel for one night in Fort Worth, Texas.

“When we meet with these other cities we learn that we handle our money a lot better than they do,” said Franco. “For the first 14 years I was mayor, I went on two trips that paid for out of my own pocket and I didn’t have a city vehicle. Financially we are better off than we’ve been in a long time.”

Concerned residents who also requested the credit card statements accuse the mayor of holding business lunches at Hooters and the Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino as recently as summer of 2011.

“I’d meet with other local mayors at the racetrack restaurant, we never gambled or anything,” Franco said. “They also said ‘Well, you go to hooters!’ I love hooters, but I don’t buy beer or anything like that when I’m there for work. It’s all part of my mayoral duties. We once met with a man who is involved with Love’s convenience store at Hooters and now they’re building a Love’s in Anthony.”

Just a week ago Texas Rangers and FBI agents raided the home of Anthony, Texas Mayor Art Franco, removing boxes on an executed search warrant. Neither agency has commented on the ongoing investigation.

Article source: http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/news/local/anthony-credit-card-statements-show-frequent-trave/nJQtw/

The most successful loyalty reward app will be the one that appeals most to both consumers and merchants, and the arms race is on to get there. Check out what these five services have to offer.

Perkville

Perkville features 464 businesses nationwide, with no startup or installation costs. Perkville makes its money through a mandatory monthly subscription and optional promotions that work much the same as a daily deal site. On the consumer side, Perkville’s attractiveness is its simplicity: your email address is your passport to deals–no app, no card, and nothing else to remember.

Perkville displays search results using a map of your community.Pica Pica Maize Kitchen, in San Francisco and Napa, was one of the first restaurants to sign on with Perkville. Owner Andrea Lopez Vermut says she likes the transparency of Perkville and the fact that it provides her with email addresses so she can do further marketing to her customers.

Vermut had previously signed up with a credit card loyalty reward program, which cost her between 10 to 17 percent of each sale–a huge margin in the restaurant business. For that sum, all she got was the sale itself, no information on the customer, and no way of knowing if her clients were being actively marketed to or just getting a deal for paying with a certain type of credit card.

Foursquare Mobile Loyalty

Location-based service Foursquare kicked off the loyalty app concept with its Check-In Specials, which allow businesses to offer coupons and promotions when users check in at their location from a mobile phone. Once you’ve claimed your business’s location, you can create these specials, and then log in and check your analytics for free. Free has a price, however; you don’t get to use customer email addresses for promotions.

LevelUp

LevelUp offers a glimpse of how loyalty apps may work as more merchants adopt mobile payment systems. LevelUp lets the consumer create their own QR code using a credit or debit card that contains all the information they need to pay for items at participating stores. While it doesn’t offer customer email addresses like Perkville does, you can still get analytics on your customers and offer loyalty incentives through their system. It also offers a flat processing fee for its merchants: 2 percent per transaction. Find out more by getting in touch with LevelUp.LevelUp lets you run customer loyalty programs and provides a mobile payment system.

ShopKick

ShopKick may be familiar to people shopping at major national chains as the loyalty app that Crate Barrel, Old Navy, and Macy’s they use to reward customers. While the service isn’t available to all businesses yet, it aims to drive foot traffic for small and midsize businesses as it’s done for the large chains. Shopkick is running a promotion for Shopkick Local that would allow your business to sign up on its service free for one year.

Chatterfly

Chatterfly is a loyalty app for iPhone and Android, purchased in late 2011 by Plum District, a deal site for moms. There’s no word on any changes yet as a result of that acquisition, but businesses can sign up here to find out more.

Out of the loyalty applications profile, Perkville is the most transparent about what it offers retailers, while Foursquare offers the widest reach at no charge. If you have a retail business of any kind that would lend itself to a rewards program, it can’t hurt to consider one of these.

Angela West is probably the least loyal customer on the face of the earth, and is easily swayed by a good deal. She’s written for big insurance companies, small wildlife control businesses, gourmet food chains, and more. Follow her on Twitter at @angelawest and Facebook.

Article source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/250466/loyalty_apps_get_real_results_five_to_watch.html

The most successful loyalty reward app will be the one that appeals most to both consumers and merchants, and the arms race is on to get there. Check out what these five services have to offer.

Perkville

Perkville features 464 businesses nationwide, with no startup or installation costs. Perkville makes its money through a mandatory monthly subscription and optional promotions that work much the same as a daily deal site. On the consumer side, Perkville’s attractiveness is its simplicity: your email address is your passport to deals–no app, no card, and nothing else to remember.

Perkville displays search results using a map of your community.Pica Pica Maize Kitchen, in San Francisco and Napa, was one of the first restaurants to sign on with Perkville. Owner Andrea Lopez Vermut says she likes the transparency of Perkville and the fact that it provides her with email addresses so she can do further marketing to her customers.

Vermut had previously signed up with a credit card loyalty reward program, which cost her between 10 to 17 percent of each sale–a huge margin in the restaurant business. For that sum, all she got was the sale itself, no information on the customer, and no way of knowing if her clients were being actively marketed to or just getting a deal for paying with a certain type of credit card.

Foursquare Mobile Loyalty

Location-based service Foursquare kicked off the loyalty app concept with its Check-In Specials, which allow businesses to offer coupons and promotions when users check in at their location from a mobile phone. Once you’ve claimed your business’s location, you can create these specials, and then log in and check your analytics for free. Free has a price, however; you don’t get to use customer email addresses for promotions.

LevelUp

LevelUp offers a glimpse of how loyalty apps may work as more merchants adopt mobile payment systems. LevelUp lets the consumer create their own QR code using a credit or debit card that contains all the information they need to pay for items at participating stores. While it doesn’t offer customer email addresses like Perkville does, you can still get analytics on your customers and offer loyalty incentives through their system. It also offers a flat processing fee for its merchants: 2 percent per transaction. Find out more by getting in touch with LevelUp.LevelUp lets you run customer loyalty programs and provides a mobile payment system.

ShopKick

ShopKick may be familiar to people shopping at major national chains as the loyalty app that Crate Barrel, Old Navy, and Macy’s they use to reward customers. While the service isn’t available to all businesses yet, it aims to drive foot traffic for small and midsize businesses as it’s done for the large chains. Shopkick is running a promotion for Shopkick Local that would allow your business to sign up on its service free for one year.

Chatterfly

Chatterfly is a loyalty app for iPhone and Android, purchased in late 2011 by Plum District, a deal site for moms. There’s no word on any changes yet as a result of that acquisition, but businesses can sign up here to find out more.

Out of the loyalty applications profile, Perkville is the most transparent about what it offers retailers, while Foursquare offers the widest reach at no charge. If you have a retail business of any kind that would lend itself to a rewards program, it can’t hurt to consider one of these.

Angela West is probably the least loyal customer on the face of the earth, and is easily swayed by a good deal. She’s written for big insurance companies, small wildlife control businesses, gourmet food chains, and more. Follow her on Twitter at @angelawest and Facebook.

Article source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/250466/loyalty_apps_get_real_results_five_to_watch.html

In a phone interview with The Daily Caller Nate Tyler, Google Global Communications personnel, said, “We feel very strongly that we’ve created a secure product.”

Tech enthusiasts at The Smartphone Champ, however, have identified at least one way in which a person can get access to Google Wallet. If the phone is stolen, the thief can enter the application settings menu, clear the data for Google Wallet and attach the app to a new account. After that, the hacker can create a new pin and log into the account in order to gain access to the funds.

Even on a non-rooted phone, which limits access and should protect the phone from inexperienced users, the app can be hacked, reports Security Watch. A thief can root the phone and steal the funds from Google Wallet.

Google responded to the security breach by temporarily disabling the use of prepaid cards making them not available to users.

Two days later, Google was re-issuing cards claiming they fixed the problem, but the “fix” was having users contact Google to reactivate their Wallet accounts. This means that the technical issue still remains.

Though hackers may be able to access the funds and make purchases, Tyler said, there is no way to retrieve credit card information because only the last four digits of the card number are shown.

A “secure element” chip that’s embedded in the software will securely store all payments, Tyler said.

With these security vulnerabilities surfacing, Verizon, who got heat from its users for “blocking” the app on its phones, may be feeling vindicated.

Verizon had already decided not to feature the app on its phones due to security concerns.

A press release sent out by Verizon in December said that in order for the application to be featured, the app would have to be integrated into a “new, secure, and proprietary hardware element in our phones.”

Security was not the only reason why Verizon chose not to feature the app on its new line of phones.

Verizon said in the statement that “Verizon does not block applications,” but Tyler said that Verizon did in fact ask Google not to include the functionality on the system.

With Verizon not wanting to feature the app on the phones, Google was set to be launch partners with Sprint.

Sprint is the first and only carrier of the application up until this point because, Tyler said, Google decided to build an app and just make it available to get it out on the market.

A Sprint rep said that though the company is proud to be the first carrier of the mobile payment app, it “does not preclude Sprint from offering other mobile payment capabilities to our customers.”

A mobile payment application wouldn’t work without a credit card company involved, so Google launched with MasterCard. After the app has been out for a while, Tyler said, Google will reach out to other banks.

Citi MasterCard is the only credit card company currently available on Google Wallet, but it also offers Google prepaid cards. Users can add money from any one of their credit cards to these prepaid cards.

The application, he said, is compatible with all major credit cards, not just MasterCard, but that option is not available at the moment.

That means that Visa credit card holders may be able to use the app in the future. A representative from Visa told The Daily Caller that the company is licensed to Google.

The press release sent out by Visa on September 19 reads, “The agreement sets the stage for Visa-issuing banks worldwide to enable Visa account holders to add their credit accounts to Google Wallet.”

Nothing has changed, the rep. said, but Google just decided to launch with MasterCard.

Google is free to deploy Visa’s payment application in their wallet and, according to the representative, has plans to do so.

Along with Google, Visa is also licensed to Verizon’s mobile payment plan, ISIS.

A Verizon representative described ISIS as, “a program that will offer mobile payment options and [is] coming in trial markets later this year.”

Visa uses what’s called “Visa payWave.” PayWave is a payment feature that allows users to wave their card in front of a card reader instead of swiping it.

The application is powered by Near Field Communication (NFC) and it, like ISIS, is simply a payment app ?“ it does not monitor the account like Google Wallet.

Visa is also planning to launch its own virtual wallet. The rep said the company wants to build something that will be a part of electronic and mobile commerce to reach out to more users.

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Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-explains-relationship-mastercard-sprint-future-google-wallet-135342346.html

In a phone interview with The Daily Caller Nate Tyler, Google Global Communications personnel, said, “We feel very strongly that we’ve created a secure product.”

Tech enthusiasts at The Smartphone Champ, however, have identified at least one way in which a person can get access to Google Wallet. If the phone is stolen, the thief can enter the application settings menu, clear the data for Google Wallet and attach the app to a new account. After that, the hacker can create a new pin and log into the account in order to gain access to the funds.

Even on a non-rooted phone, which limits access and should protect the phone from inexperienced users, the app can be hacked, reports Security Watch. A thief can root the phone and steal the funds from Google Wallet.

Google responded to the security breach by temporarily disabling the use of prepaid cards making them not available to users.

Two days later, Google was re-issuing cards claiming they fixed the problem, but the “fix” was having users contact Google to reactivate their Wallet accounts. This means that the technical issue still remains.

Though hackers may be able to access the funds and make purchases, Tyler said, there is no way to retrieve credit card information because only the last four digits of the card number are shown.

A “secure element” chip that’s embedded in the software will securely store all payments, Tyler said.

With these security vulnerabilities surfacing, Verizon, who got heat from its users for “blocking” the app on its phones, may be feeling vindicated.

Verizon had already decided not to feature the app on its phones due to security concerns.

A press release sent out by Verizon in December said that in order for the application to be featured, the app would have to be integrated into a “new, secure, and proprietary hardware element in our phones.”

Security was not the only reason why Verizon chose not to feature the app on its new line of phones.

Verizon said in the statement that “Verizon does not block applications,” but Tyler said that Verizon did in fact ask Google not to include the functionality on the system.

With Verizon not wanting to feature the app on the phones, Google was set to be launch partners with Sprint.

Sprint is the first and only carrier of the application up until this point because, Tyler said, Google decided to build an app and just make it available to get it out on the market.

A Sprint rep said that though the company is proud to be the first carrier of the mobile payment app, it “does not preclude Sprint from offering other mobile payment capabilities to our customers.”

A mobile payment application wouldn’t work without a credit card company involved, so Google launched with MasterCard. After the app has been out for a while, Tyler said, Google will reach out to other banks.

Citi MasterCard is the only credit card company currently available on Google Wallet, but it also offers Google prepaid cards. Users can add money from any one of their credit cards to these prepaid cards.

The application, he said, is compatible with all major credit cards, not just MasterCard, but that option is not available at the moment.

That means that Visa credit card holders may be able to use the app in the future. A representative from Visa told The Daily Caller that the company is licensed to Google.

The press release sent out by Visa on September 19 reads, “The agreement sets the stage for Visa-issuing banks worldwide to enable Visa account holders to add their credit accounts to Google Wallet.”

Nothing has changed, the rep. said, but Google just decided to launch with MasterCard.

Google is free to deploy Visa’s payment application in their wallet and, according to the representative, has plans to do so.

Along with Google, Visa is also licensed to Verizon’s mobile payment plan, ISIS.

A Verizon representative described ISIS as, “a program that will offer mobile payment options and [is] coming in trial markets later this year.”

Visa uses what’s called “Visa payWave.” PayWave is a payment feature that allows users to wave their card in front of a card reader instead of swiping it.

The application is powered by Near Field Communication (NFC) and it, like ISIS, is simply a payment app ?“ it does not monitor the account like Google Wallet.

Visa is also planning to launch its own virtual wallet. The rep said the company wants to build something that will be a part of electronic and mobile commerce to reach out to more users.

Follow Alexandra on Twitter
Join the conversation on The Daily Caller

Read more stories from The Daily Caller

Google explains relationship with MasterCard, Sprint and the future of Google Wallet

The Devil and Rick Santorum

Big Swinging Swingers

Congressional investigations sought over IRS ‘assault’ on tea party groups

White House to pitch business tax ‘framework’ to compete with Romney’s reform announcement

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-explains-relationship-mastercard-sprint-future-google-wallet-135342346.html