Bonus Card On Balance Transfers

Capital One Venture Card Now Matches up to 100000 Miles

Credit card issuers continue to use reward cards to attract desired cardholders. Now at least one issuer is taking their offer to a new level which can greatly benefit consumers.

Today, Capital One Venture Card is launching “Match My Miles Challenge,” a new rewards program that can help consumers quickly earn free airline tickets.

When a credit card consumer opens a new Capital One Venture Card account, the issuer could match up to 100,000 miles you currently have in any airline credit card rewards program.

When you sign up for the Venture Card, you must provide proof of your current miles. The new cardholder must then spend $1,000 on the Venture Card during the first three months in order to be eligible for the matching miles. In total, Capital One says it plans to match up to one billion miles.

The offer is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

“This is a great deal, especially if you have a large number of current miles,” says Bill Hardekopf CEO of LowCards.com and author of The Credit Card Guidebook. “If you have 98,000 miles in an existing airline credit card program, you will get an additional 98,000 miles on your Venture Card to redeem on any airline at any time. However, this card is only for people with excellent scores. Capital One is trying to attract people with the best credit and who present the lowest risk to the issuer.”

New cardholders will also earn the standard one-time bonus of 10,000 miles after the $1,000 of purchases during the first three months. There is a $59 annual fee for the card, but it is waived during the first year.

This enhanced reward card is one of the most generous new offers to emerge during a season when credit card companies have significantly intensified their marketing efforts. According to Mintel Compermedia, credit card offers have more than doubled from 551 million at the end of 2009 to 1.4 billion at the end of 2010. Consumers with good or excellent credit scores are receiving the majority of these solicitations, and rewards seem to be the bait being used to attract new customers. Eight in ten offers are for rewards cards promoting points, miles or cash rebates, up from six in ten offers in 2008.

LowCards.com ( http://www.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 ( http://www.lowcards.com/CreditCardIndex.aspx ) 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.

March Balance Transfer Credit Card Offer Update

Although March has already proven to be a good month for consumers seeking 0% APR balance transfer credit cards, a recent update to the Citi Platinum Select MasterCard has made this month even better. The updated offer from Citibank extends the 0% introductory period on both balance transfers and purchases to 21 months. This 0% offer is only three months shorter than the 24 month deal currently being offered by Discover, but it has significant advantages.

For starters, the Citi Platinum Select 21 month balance transfer offer comes with an extremely low 3% balance transfer fee. Presently, all major credit card companies that offer 0% rates charge balance transfer fees ranging from three to five percent. In many instances, this fee has nothing to do with the length of an offer; many credit cards that offer 0% balance transfers for a year or less charge four and five percent fees.

Discover’s 24 month offer carries a 5% fee. While on the high end, this fee wasn’t all that bad considering the extreme length of the offer. Until Citi enhanced the Platinum Select Card, Discover’s offer was six months longer than any other on the market.

Now that Citi is offering a 0% APR on balance transfers for 21 months and only charging a 3% fee, this deal is far superior to Discover’s. For example, a person transferring $3,000 to the Citi Platinum Card will pay a $90 fee. Transferring the same amount to the Discover Card will rack up a $150 fee. That’s an extra $60 for a mere three month difference in 0% introductory periods.

The second major advantage is the 0% APR on purchases. Discover’s 24 month balance transfer deal only offers a 0% rate for 6 months on purchases. Citi’s 0% purchase APR lasts 21 months. Consumers who will be using their card for both purchases and balance transfers thus have the ability to save substantially more with the Citi card.

A final advantage is hidden in the fine print of both offers. With the Discover 24 month offer, consumers have less than two months to transfer balances and get the 24 month rate. With the Citi Platinum Card, consumers have four months from the date of account opening to transfer balances.

You can learn more and apply for the Citi Platinum Card here . You can also review details and compare this offer below.