Best Credit Cards RIGHT NOW – September 2023

Below we list some of the best credit cards on the market right now, with an emphasis on cash back and travel rewards cards:

Best Cash Back Credit Cards

card_name

card_nameWhy We Like It: Maybe the best rewards credit card for grocery purchases with no annual fee, plus a rare 3% reward for general online purchases. EARN: 3% cash back on groceries at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 3% cash back on U.S. online retail purchases on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 3% cash back on gas at U.S. gas stations on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 1% cash back on all other purchases. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit. NEW CARDHOLDER WELCOME BONUS OPPORTUNITY: bonus_miles_full card_name. American Express is a ProudMoney advertiser.

 

card_name

card_name Why We Like It: Good cash-back on everyday categories, and a nice “catch all” reward rate on other purchases, with no annual fee. Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services), 3% on drugstore purchases, and 1.5% on all other purchases. INTRO OFFER FOR NEW CARDHOLDERS: bonus_miles_full 👀

Read more

Best Business Credit Cards – September 2023

The best business credit cards have generous business-focused rewards while allowing you to separate business expenses from personal:

card_name

card_nameWhy We Like It: High reward opportunities (as high as 5%) on common small business categories, big new cardholder bonus opportunity, and no annual fee.

EARN: 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year. Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year. Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.

NEW CARDHOLDER BONUS OPPORTUNITY: bonus_miles_full

 

card_name

card_nameWhy We Like It: Simple rewards formula with no annual fee, big bonus opportunity for new cardholders. EARN: 1.5% cash back on all purchases with the card.

NEW CARDHOLDER BONUS OPPORTUNITY: bonus_miles_full

 

card_name

card_nameWhy We Like It: Your business earns a ton of rewards in common business categories, you get access to Chase’s valuable travel transfer partners or you can enjoy a 25% boost on the value of your points when you redeem them through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. And don’t forget a hefty bonus opportunity for new cardholders.

EARN: 3 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in the following categories each account anniversary year: Shipping purchases, Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines, Internet, cable and phone services, and Travel. You’ll earn 1 Point Per $1 on all other purchases. Annual fee: annual_fees.

NEW CARDHOLDER BONUS OPPORTUNITY: bonus_miles_full

Read more

Denied for a Credit Card with a High Credit Score? Here’s Why.

Sometimes I hear from people who have been rejected for a credit card or other loan despite having a high credit score. The ones who feel the most frustrated are people who know someone else that got approved for the same card with a lower credit score. How can that be? Why would a credit card company turn down a person with better credit and approve someone with lower credit?

There are four possible reasons (or at least four that we consider the most likely):

#1. Not Enough Credit History

It’s very possible to get your credit score up into the 700s even with very little experience in actually using credit. (This is especially true if you’ve been an authorized user on someone else’s credit card.) But many credit card companies treat “newbies” differently than people who have longer track records of paying credit card bills, auto loans, etc.

So, yes, you might have a higher credit score than an older family member (for example), but their longer credit history of on-time payments and no defaults could still make them more attractive to card issuers.

Some credit card lenders won’t even consider you for their cards until you’ve built up at least a year of credit history with a different lender. And in reality you might need five years from the first credit card or loan you open before a card issuer really feels that they can “trust” your credit score as a signal that you are low risk.

Read more

Best Credit Cards for Fair Credit / Average Credit – September 2023

FICO defines fair credit as credit scores between 580-669, but credit card issuers often think of fair credit starting at a 600 credit score and going as high as 700. The cards below may be available to fair credit or average credit customers, but what you qualify for may depend on where you fall in the credit score range.

card_name

– Mission Lane branded credit cards are for people who are still building toward excellent credit. If you’re in that fair credit/average credit zone, this card has no annual fee and offers rewards of up to 1.5% cash back. You’ll get an instant decision on your application, and you could qualify for a higher credit line after making your first 6 payments on time.

The good news: You can see which offer you could prequalify for on the website with NO HARD PULL on your credit report. If you like the terms, you can go ahead and complete a firm application, which would then result in a hard pull.

Worried that your application could still be denied after being prequalified? After prequalification, the only way your application can be declined is if Mission Lane cannot verify your identity or income with the information you’ve provided. Pre-qualify for the now with No Hard Pull.

 

card_name

card_name – This card may be available to those a little higher in the fair credit zone, but probably not for those with credit score in the low 600s. Easy-to-understand cash back credit card gives 1.5% cash back on every purchase you make with the card, so it’s not necessary to think about different purchasing categories. No annual fee to worry about, either. EARLY SPEND BONUS: bonus_miles_full.

 

card_name

card_name – No frills, but this no-annual-fee credit card is often friendly to fair credit credit card customers, even if you’re at the lower end of the credit score scale. If approved, Capital One says you’ll be “automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months.”

Read more

What is my tax bracket? 2023-2024 Federal Tax Brackets and How Marginal Tax Rates Work

Below we offer two tables of Federal income tax brackets for the tax year 2023. (These are the brackets that will be used for the tax return that you file in 2024.) The tables also show what you may expect to pay based on your Taxable Income, which is found on Line 15 of your Form 1040 tax return. (Remember that your taxable income will be less than your regular income due to the standard deduction or other deductions you are able to subtract from your regular income.)

Look below the tables for a further explanation of how your taxes are calculated, because the U.S. uses a marginal tax rate system that means it’s not as simple as multiplying your income by your tax bracket to estimate your taxes!

If you will file as a Single Taxpaper:

 

If your taxable income is… Your tax bracket is… Your taxes due will be…
$1 – $11,000 10% 10% of your taxable income
$11,001 – $44,725 12% $1100.00 + 12% of the amount over $11,000
$44,726 – $95,375 22% $5147.00 + 22% of the amount over $44,725
$95,376 – $182,100 24% $16,290.00 + 24% of the amount over $95,375
$182,101 – $231,250 32% $37,104.00 + 32% of the amount over $182,100
$231,251 – $578,125 35% $52,832.00 + 35% of the amount over $231,250
$578,126 or higher 37% $174,238.25 + 37% of the amount over $578,125

Read more

Why Participation Trophies Are Good

By Adam Jusko, ProudMoney.com, adam@proudmoney.com

I just heard another person give the tired rant about how kids are soft from getting participation trophies, how these trophies make them think they’re great when they’re not, how the kids who excelled got shortchanged by getting the same trophies as the kids who were terrible, blah, blah, blah.

I get it.

But I disagree with it. I think participation trophies are good, and I’ll tell you why:

Participation trophies encourage you to try things.

Kids know the best players on their teams. They know who runs the fastest, who scores the most goals. No participation trophy is going to fool them into believing everyone is the same. Kids start measuring themselves against others before they are out of diapers. Any parent could tell you that, assuming they are paying any attention.

The participation trophy isn’t telling kids, “You’re the best.” It’s telling them, “It’s awesome you tried! Keep trying things!” (Even if you didn’t finish first.)

I don’t know the statistics, but I’m sure less than 1/10 of one percent of us will ever be a professional athlete. The other 99.9%+ will compete in the work world, on playing fields where the rules are ever-changing and the “goal” is more than a little fuzzy. (Other than to make money, of course.) For those of us not literally throwing touchdowns, we could use a few more symbolic participation trophies in our lives.

Read more

Best Cash Back Credit Cards – September 2023

No credit card reward is more flexible than cash. That’s why cash back credit cards are the favorite type of card for most people. Depending on where your purchasing dollars are spent each month, you might consider one or more of these credit cards that return some of your hard-earned cash back to you:

card_name

card_nameWhy We Like It: The Blue Cash Everyday is maybe the best rewards credit card for grocery purchases with no annual fee, plus a rare 3% reward for general online purchases. EARN: 3% cash back on groceries at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 3% cash back on U.S. online retail purchases on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 3% cash back on gas at U.S. gas stations on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 1% cash back on all other purchases. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit.

NEW CARDHOLDER WELCOME BONUS OPPORTUNITY: bonus_miles_full card_name. American Express is a ProudMoney advertiser.

 

card_name

card_nameWhy We Like It: Chase Freedom Unlimited offers good cash-back on everyday categories, and a nice “catch all” reward rate on other purchases, with no annual fee. Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services), 3% on drugstore purchases, and 1.5% on all other purchases. INTRO OFFER FOR NEW CARDHOLDERS: bonus_miles_full 👀

 

card_name

card_nameWhy We Like It: Capital One SavorOne offers generous cash back in everyday categories where you are likely to be doing real spending, with no annual fee! Earn 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), plus 1% on all other purchases.

EARLY SPEND BONUS: bonus_miles_full

Read more

Instant Approval Gas Credit Cards 2023

Based on our research, the following credit cards may give you instant approval (instant approval is never guaranteed), and in some cases you’ll be able to use that gas credit card today. Note that we are including credit cards from specific gas stations as well as general bank credit cards that offer an enhanced reward on gas purchases:

card_name

card_name – This no-annual fee card lets you earn 3% cash back on gas at U.S. gas stations on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), PLUS 3% cash back on groceries at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), PLUS 3% cash back on U.S. online retail purchases on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit.

NEW CARDHOLDER WELCOME BONUS OPPORTUNITY: bonus_miles_full card_name. American Express is a ProudMoney advertiser.

 

card_name

card_name – Offers 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, 6% cash back on up to $6,000 per year in purchases at U.S. supermarkets (then 1%), 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% cash back on transit purchases, 1% cash back on all other purchases. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit.

NEW CARDHOLDER WELCOME BONUS OPPORTUNITY: bonus_miles_full Annual fee: annual_fees card_name. American Express is a ProudMoney advertiser.

Read more

Best CD Rates – September 2023

Certificates of deposit (CDs) don’t get a lot of love in the financial press, but they are one of the safest ways to earn extra interest on your money without increasing your risk (other than the fact that you have to tie up your money for a longer period).

Below we offer a list of the best CD rates as of September 15, 2023. We have evaluated individual banks to show those with both the best short-term and long-term rates, so you can choose based on how long you are willing to commit to a CD (bolded rate = highest for that CD length). As of now, BMO Alto is a strong choice:

BMO Alto: No minimum deposit required. Rates:

  • 5-Year 4.50% APY
  • 3-Year: 4.50% APY
  • 2-Year: 4.75% APY
  • 1-Year: 5.40% APY
  • 6-Month: 5.20 APY

Barclays Bank: No minimum deposit required. Rates:

  • 5-Year 4.50% APY
  • 3-Year: 4.50% APY
  • 2-Year: 4.60% APY
  • 1-Year: 5.15% APY

Read more