Are you still waiting for that package?

You ordered it long before Christmas. It should have arrived in plenty of time, but it didn't. Maybe you wrapped an IOU in a box and put it under the tree. Maybe you never mentioned the present that wasn't there.

You've e-mailed the company. You've called. Maybe they keep promising that it will arrive. Maybe they're not answering. Either way, it's time to take your fight to the next level. This is where you're thankful that you used your credit card.

Let me make it clear that I'm not a fan of carrying a balance on your credit card. I think you should only charge what you can pay off each month. Then why use it, you ask? For protection.

While the wording with each company may vary, they all offer an important feature. If you don't get the goods or services promised, you can dispute the charge. If the item you ordered never arrived, you can dispute it. If you ordered it in blue, and a red one arrived, you can dispute it. If it worked for only a few days and the company won't take it back, dispute it.

There's no guarantee you'll win the dispute, but you get a chance to make your case. The credit-card company will check with the merchant and get its side. If you win, the charge will disappear from your bill.

It's not something you want to use lightly. Every time you file a dispute, that merchant has to pay a fee. But if you think the company hasn't delivered, go for it.

Make sure you pay attention to the time limits. Most credit-card companies allow you 60 days from the time you receive your bill to file a dispute. Wait an extra day, and you may not have a case.

On the other hand, don't assume you can't win if it's more than 60 days.

I once filed a dispute after an airline went out of business. I was stuck with two worthless tickets.

Fortunately, I'd been a cardholder who paid his bill on time for more than 20 years. The credit-card company bent the rules and I got my money back.

So call the merchant one last time. Tell them that if the package doesn't arrive before the 60-day limit, you'll file a dispute.

Then you can finally stop waiting.

azcentral.com

I know of people who have 20 credit cards. They have applied for them just for the sake of it and many times treat them like collectors items.

Personally, Mrs Credit Card and myself carry three credit cards and here are the reasons for us using them.

1. Amex Platinum Card - Years ago, my first card was the Amex Green Card, which was then upgraded to the Gold card. About a year and a half ago, I decided to upgrade to the Platinum Card. There were several reasons : Since I call myself Mr Credit Card, I wanted to write about the Platinum Card. But how could I write about it if I did not have the card. So rather than pay the $150 annual fee for the gold card, I forked out $395 for the card (excluding Mrs Credit Card’s supplementary card!).

Having the card enables me to actually write about my actual experience with the card and their concierge services etc. For example, I wrote about my experiences with the american express domestic companion ticket. I also wrote about how Amex Global Assist helped me when I left my keys in the car.

The second reason I got it was partly because of an ego thing. It actually feels good flashing this card (not always, but sometimes!).

But seriously, I used to travel and fly frequently and the membership rewards points allows me to transfer points to different airmiles. I also like using points for other cool stuff on the program. After some snooping around, I found out that the membership rewards program was the only one that carried the most Apple products compared to other reward programs.

2. Blue Cash - Since I started this website and reviewed credit cards, I’ve come to realize what a cool card the blue cash is. Every since the Citi Dividend card stopped paying 5% rebates with no tiers, I felt that the Blue Cash was probably the best cash back credit card for consumers in the market. Since I felt it was the best, I decided to apply for it and till this day, there are no regrets. After building my cash back credit card calculator, I keyed in my annual expenditure on various items and found that the Blue Cash paid me the most rebate as well. Hence, it was the right decision.

Twice, I accidentally missed my payments and twice Amex waived the late charges and interest charges on the account of my good and long history with them. I also like the fact that the rebates are automatically used to reduce your credit card bill at the end of the last month of your calendar.

Right now (because of the Amex Platinum Card), I’m probably not optimizing my use of this card. But I still use it at gas stations, supermarkets and drugstore to get my 5% rebates!

3.Chase Flexible Rewards Card - I got this card simply because I wanted to review the reward program but Chase does not publish them on the website! I called them for a brochure but they said I could only get one when I have the card. But I told them I need to see the reward program to decide if I wanted to get it! Still they said no. So I applied for the card.

Frankly speaking, I only use this card if a place does not accept Amex. The reward program is actually quite unique in a couple of ways in the airline ticket rewards. As with a typical reward program, you can exchange points for airline tickets. But the Flexible rewards program also allows you to exchange points for Continental One Pass Miles, United Mileage Miles and also British Airways Miles. The ratio isn’t exactly one for one, but given that you do not have to pay any annual fee for this card, it looks like a back door way as an airline card but with no annual fee especially if you are a frequent flier with any of this airline.

So that’s it. These are the three cards I use at the moment. I wanted to get the Capital One and Discover cards but my close friends have that. They give me their passwords so that I can login, check their reward programs and write proper reviews for these card.

askmrcreditcard.com