Tuesday, January 10, 2012

5 Credit Card Benefits You Probably Didn't Know About



You could also call this article "5 things Mike didn't know about a few days ago".  Now that I know, I will funnel all my purchases through my credit card, and pay it off immediately.  Combined with the travel points, credit cards have never made this much sense.

1.  Extended Warranties.

If you purchased that item on your credit card, the credit card company will extend the manufacturer's warranty by up to one year.  Yes, that is correct.  So if you bought a blu-ray player 18 months ago, and it breaks, call your credit card company.  They will pay you the original cost of the item.  Stop paying for extended warranties you already have!

2.  Return protection up to 90 days.

If you try and return a product to the manufacturer, and they won't let you, your credit card company will refund the purchase price, minus shipping and handling (there are limits on how much they refund; mine was $300).   All you need to do is send the purchased item to your credit card company, along with providing the receipt and the record of charge on your credit card.

3.  Travel accident insurance of $100,000.

This insurance covers death or dismemberment insurance while traveling on common conveyance (plains, trains, automobiles, etc) when the entire fare was purchased on your credit card.  This is also extended to the cardholder's spouses, and dependant children under 23 years of age (good news for those "adults" still living in the basement).  Card members can designate their own beneficiary.  


4.  Purchase protection up to $1000.

This is insurance that protects purchases for 90 days after the date of purchase, as long as it was purchased with the card.  So if a flood destroys your blu-ray player after 58 days, it is likely covered by this insurance.

5.  Rental car insurance.

"Would you like to add insurance to your rental car?" might as well be "would you like me to charge you an extra $20 for no reason?".  This one many already knew about, but it's still worth writing here.  It's a great benefit.

Please be sure to check your card's specific benefits.  What I wrote above is common, but not absolute.  Now, the next time someone is bragging about how they don't own any credit cards (me, last month), you can explain why they are wrong.  The general consensus on credit cards is that they are evil, but they make a whole lot of sense for disciplined users. If your card doesn't have these benefits, I suggest finding one that does immediately.

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