Holiday Offers and Deals for Credit Cards

The holiday season is a time for family togetherness, warm reunions, great food and gifts. But it is also the time for financial stress. One of the biggest financial fears among consumers is to find their credit card bills on their mailbox come January. All the good times from the holidays seem to vanish instantly as they review all the money they spent buying the Christmas tree, the food, and the gifts. Consumers who experienced this scenario promised themselves that they would prepare better the next year only to find themselves in the same situation one year later.

One way to avoid this financial stress is to prepare early by shopping around for holiday deals, discounts, bank offers, and credit card deals. Around Christmastime, a lot of financial institutions offer cash back offers, discounts at selected stores, Christmas club account offers, and 0% APR credit cards. MyBankTracker.com compiled a list of ways you can enjoy Christmas without the financial hassles that come with it:

Christmas Club Card

Saving your hard-earned money is always a wise decision but putting some money away for special occasions is even wiser. You certainly don’t want to dip into your savings when you suddenly get an irresistible urge to give your parent, husband, or child something special for Christmas.

The Christmas club savings account is a special type of account that consumers can open at their local bank and credit union. Not all banking institutions offer this type of savings account but majority does. The main concept of this account is basically to let consumers have an account they can dip into for Christmas shopping. The account requires very minimal commitment; in fact, some institutions don’t even require a minimum deposit for you to open this account.

It basically functions the same way as a savings account so you may be wondering, what’s so special about this Christmas club account? Well, consider this scenario. If you open an account in January and you manage to put at least $10 into this account each week from the first week of January until the last week of October, you will have saved $420.00 for Christmas shopping. And if you double your deposit to $20.00, then your Christmas shopping budget will likewise double. As a bonus, a lot of financial institutions offer compounded quarterly interest rate because you are agreeing to leave your savings for a definite period of time.

Despite the advantages of Christmas club accounts, many financial experts recommend that your total shopping expenses should not be greater than 1.5% of your income. This will ensure that you’ll be in healthy financial shape even as you enjoy Christmas shopping to the max. Remember that you should also use the Christmas club account for holiday travel so budget it accordingly.

To open a Christmas club savings account, you can contact your local bank or credit union to find out if such program is being offered. If not, you can check with other banks in your area. Majority of banks that has this service offer automatic direct deposit from your existing account to your Christmas club account. Establishing the discipline to save even small amounts throughout the year is better than paying it off at once or being neck-deep in debt come January.

Tips in Choosing Christmas Club Accounts

Using Christmas club accounts is a simple, pain-free ways to indulge in holiday shopping.

• Evaluate your Christmas expenses – before you open a Christmas club account, look into your expenses during the previous years to find out just how much you need to save. Adjust your regular deposit amount to reflect the amount you expect to spend for the holidays.
• Shop around – since the bank will be holding onto your money for a short but definite period, you should be compensated. Check out the amount of service different banking institutions offer their clients.
• Know the terms of service – some banks charge an early withdrawal fee. It is important to determine if your bank has a specific withdrawal date.
• Set up automatic direct deposit – make the saving process easy and convenient. Set up a direct deposit to your Christmas club account through automatic transfer from your checking account.
• Save as a family – try to set up a Christmas club account for each member of the family. This is especially beneficial to the kids because they will learn how to make regular deposits for a specific purpose throughout the year.

Though the Christmas club account is a special type of account for holiday expenses, automatic savings can be used for other purposes as well. You can set up an account to fund your annual vacation, birthday celebration, and other recurring expenses.

Don’t be discouraged if your bank doesn’t offer other special accounts, you can simply set up a new savings account for this specific purpose and fund it regularly. Nobody can deny that it is often difficult to save but the Christmas club account is can help you in this challenge. Another way to save on holiday shopping is to take advantage of credit card offers during this season.

Christmas Credit Card Offers

0% APR Credit Cards

If you failed to set up a Christmas club account, there is no reason to despair. Around October to December, banks try to their best to get more than their fair share of the credit card market. With that being said, there are many 0% credit card deals available during Christmas.

These offers enable you to spread the cost of Christmas shopping throughout the year if you don’t have sufficient savings to cover everything in December. It takes about a month for credit card applications to be approved so if you want a 0% credit card account by Christmas, you need to apply now. We compiled a list of credit card companies that offer great deals for the holidays:

Capital One Balance Transfer Exclusive

It has the longest running 0% interest rate purchase offer in the credit card industry. Its 0% promo will run until November 1, 2009 at which point it goes back to charging you 15.9% APR. If your application gets approved in time for Christmas shopping, you’ll have 10 months to pay off your balance without incurring interest payments.

Another advantage of the Capital One Balance Transfer Exclusive is that it allows you to transfer your existing debts to this card with the same 0% timeframe. Basically, you can pay off your debts until November of next year at zero interest. Take note that there is a balance transfer fee of 3% though.

Bank of Scotland Credit Card and Halifax One Online Special

Both credit card companies offer 0% interest for 10 months on purchases and balance transfers. Typically, both banks charge 15.9% APR and a balance transfer fee of 3%.

Barclaycard Breathe

If you don’t have any existing credit card balance from any bank, your main consideration should be choosing a credit card with the longest 0% purchase period. The Barclaycard Breathe card offers 0% interest for 12 months for a card that typically charges an APR of 12.9%.

First Direct Gold Card

The First Direct Gold Card has almost the same features as the Barclaycard Breathe credit card but it charges a higher typical rate of 16.9%. If you plan to cut off this credit card following the 0% period, then this higher rate need not be a problem.

Barclaycard Simplicity

If you think it will take you longer than 10 months or 12 months to repay all your debts then getting a low standard rate credit card is a good option. The Barclaycard Simplicity is a leader in charging consumers with the lowest interest payments. The credit card company has an APR of 6.8%.

Capital One Fixed Rate Card

The Capital One Fixed Rate Card is an alternative to Barclaycard Simplicity. Though the credit card company charges a higher rate compared to Barclaycard at this point, it is important to take note that Barclaycard Simplicity has a variable rate while Capital One Fixed Rate Card will charge a fixed rate of 8.5% until 2012.

Christmas Rewards Credit Card

If you’re in the position to pay your credit card balance in full each month, then you don’t need to concern yourself with 0% interest offers because you won’t need to pay any interest anyway. In this case, you will need to look into credit card products that reward you for spending.

Capital One No Hassles Miles Reward

Aside from the 0% intro APR offer on purchases until October 2009, this card also allows you to earn 25% more mileage than usual. You are adding 1.25 miles to your card for every dollar you spend. There is no expiration date on the miles you accumulate and there is no limit to the miles you can earn. The Capital One No Hassles Miles Reward charges no annual fee as well.

Discover More Card – American Flag

Shop at top online retailers and the Discover More Card – American Flag credit card offers 5% – 20% cashback on your purchases. The card also offers up to 1% unlimited cashback automatically on other purchases. The Discover More Card charges no annual fees and you can double your rewards when you redeem from bonus partners.