There’s no disputing the fact that credit cards have become a basic necessity today; with all the awareness that’s being raised about the debt problems caused because of credit cards, people are beginning to realize the value of using them judiciously.

But there are other ways in which credit cards can cost you money - ways that are advantageous to your card company and detrimental to your interests (no pun intended). If you’re not careful when you sign up with your provider, you could end up paying a huge amount of money in extra fees and penalties alone.
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Citi is running a bonus offer on their checking account. Sign up and deposit at least $1000 in your account, and fund your account with direct deposit, and Citi will award your account with 16,000 ThankYou points, redeemable for a $150 gift card.

Good news for savers! The Federal Reserve has made it clear that they are actively going to try to fight inflation! This news has sent interest rates on long term certificate of deposits soaring! In the coming months, we should continue to see steady increases in deposit rates all across the board.

Money market and savings account rates are following suit as well. For instance, HSBC has recently been promoting their 3.50% APY online savings account (up from 3.05% APY).

• Fed Funds Futures are now pricing in a 100% chance that the Fed raises rates by a total of 50 bps by the October meeting.
• Futures place a 24% chance of a 75bps increase by October.
• Futures By the January 2009 meeting, we have a 98% chance that Fed Funds rate will be raised by a total of 100 bps to 3%.

Bad News for Home Buyers
While high interest rates are good for savers, it is horrible news for people looking to take out a home loan. National 30 year fixed mortgage rates have skyrocketed from 5.70% APR last month to 6.30% APR on this news.

Because of the success of our last poll, “How are YOU Spending Your Stimulus Check?” we are running another poll this week.

Gas prices are soaring and are showing no signs of letting up as we head into the summer. n

To help save $$ at the pump, consider applying for one of the following credit cards that offer cash back on gasoline.

• Chase Freedom Visa Signature *TOP PICK* - 3% cash back on gas, groceries, fast food & $50 cash back after your first purchase!

ETRADE has launched a FREE $25 bonus offer for their 3.15% APY Max Rate Savings Account.

How to take advantage of this deal

• Apply online for the Max Rate savings account
• A $1 minimum deposit is needed to open an account
• $25 will be credited to your Complete Savings Account within 30 days
• Offer expires June 25, 2008!

High Yield + Trusted Bank + $25 Bonus = Winning Combination!
This is a hot deal. The 3.15% APY is 6x the national average, and the $25 bonus is just icing on the cake!

Sign up now before the offer expires.

Washington Mutual has a very nice 3.30% APY online savings account that comes with a free checking account! Interestingly, my savings account with the brick and mortar WaMu only pays 0.50% interest.

Online savings & checking account features:

• Free ATM cash withdrawals
• $1 opening balance
• Cash back for debit purchases
• Free checks for life
• Free Overdraft/NSF Fee waiver each year
• Free outbound wire transfers and more
• High-yield 4.00% interest savings account

Wamu Online Banking has several great features that come with the services. There is an extremely easy process to sign up for an account. They have several different types of security features in order to better protect your personal data.

With WaMu, you have 24 hour a day 7 days a week access to your account information. So, no longer will you have to wait for your monthly statement to come in before you can balance your checkbook. Easily gain access to all of your important account history at the click of a mouse. Just one of the many wonderful features that are offered to WaMu customers at no charge.

Another feature that many people enjoy having through Wamu is the bill pay online. For added incentive, they offer this feature at no cost to the account holder. Along with this feature, an account holder can schedule days for certain bills to be automatically paid. From one bill one time to all bills every month.

When you are running low on paper checks, as easy as 1 2 3, you can log on and purchase your checks. An ideal feature for those that can not make it to the bank during business hours. A few of the other features that seem to be enjoyed by many Wamu account holders is the online stop payment on a check, get a copy of a paper check that has been written as well as update your address.

With free features and high quality customer service, it is no wonder why so many people are taking their accounts to online banking at WaMu. Regardless of their banking needs, Wamu seems to cater to all individual banking requirements.

Click here to learn more @ WaMu.com

Jim Bruene over at Netbanker has released the March 2008 online banking statistics.

Some interesting observations:

• Many people are tapping into their home equity for $$. This could be a signal that people are strapped for cash.
• Credit card applications have soared since February. Jim Bruene points out that conversion (the percentage of applicants who are approved) has dropped 2%. This could be a sign that banks are a little more careful about who they give credit to.
• Applications for deposits (checking accounts & savings accounts) were relatively flat.

Just got word that there is a new bonus offer where you can get a $100 bonus for applying for the Discover® Business Card.

To get the $100, you must apply and make $1000 in purchases within 3 months of receiving the card. Your $100 bonus will be posted to your account within 8 weeks.

I like this offer because the card has VERY nice cash-back benefits. Get 5% Cashback Bonus® on office supplies, 2% on gasoline, up to 1% on all other purchases!

This is a limited time offer, apply for the Discover® Business Card now!

First National Bank of Omaha, the same bank that brought you the legendary 6.00% APY savings account last year (via FNBO Direct) has gotten into the credit card business.

Their most interesting card is the BucksBack Platinum Visa Card, which offers 1% cash back on all purchases. I like it because you can make an easy $20 by signing up for the card. You get $10 when you’re approved, and another $10 after you make your first purchase.

Click here to sign up for the FNBO BucksBack Platinum Card.