With the barrage of credit card reforms in 2009, one of the best cashback credit cards that we all love have had their cashback terms changed. Originally, the Chase Freedom^SM card offered 3% cashback on your top 3 spending categories.

Now, the Chase Freedom has changed the terms to 3% cashback on rotating categories that will be changing quarterly. This system closely resembles that of the Discover® More(SM) Card which offers 5% on rotating categories but a starting cashback percentage of 0.25% on all other purchases.

Upon visiting the Chase Freedom application homepage, there is absolutely no information nor is there a link of any sort that provides the information regarding category calendar that tells customers on which categories they’d be earning 3% cashback.

Only after getting a card was it easier to find the out what the bonus categories were. Including being somewhat difficult to find, cardholders must enroll their Chase Freedom card to receive the bonus cashback on these particular categories.

To find out what the current categories for bonus cashback are and to enroll your Chase Freedom card, visit www.yourchasefreedom.com.Unfortunately, I was not able to find out online what the categories would be for the next quarter.

The Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa Card for College Students is my first credit card that I receive almost 2 years ago during my junior year in college. My experience with this card has been above expectations (compared to the stories I’ve heard about credit cards in general). Without a doubt, it has been a great card to begin building my credit history along with providing my desired perk of getting cashback.

As of 12/1/09, the terms of the Citi Dividend Platinum Select Card for College Students are:

• 5% cashback on purchases at supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations and utilities for the first 6 months, 2% thereafter
• 1% cashback on all other purchases
• Introductory APR of 0% for the first 6 months
• No annual fee
• Does not require proof of income or a co-signer

These terms have not changed ever since I got my card.

I’m afraid that this review would be one-sided because I honestly have no complaints and nothing but praises for this card. This cashback card performed its duties as I intended for it to do without any problems while giving me a flawless customer experience. Short of handing out a higher cashback percentage, these are some of the features that I found to be worth highlighting:

1) Simple Online Web Interface
The CitiCards online account management website is very user friendly. What I like is that everything about your credit card account is laid out in front of you (e.g. balance, APR, available credit, credit limit, and cashback balance). I can just log on, see the status of my account and log off.

2) Someone Is Watching My Card Activity
This is not a compliment to the credit and identity monitoring program (with a fee) that they push onto their customers. I did not sign up for that program and was glad to know that Citibank cared enough to give me a call when I made a purchase for my sister. The $800 order for a keyboard certainly would seem suspicious even to me and knowing that someone is watching my account in case I lose my wallet or card.

3) Is That My Photo On The Card?
Yes, it is. The Citi Platinum Select cards have the option of being a photocard, which asks me to send in a photo of myself that they put on the card. And, they also put your signature on the front side of the card (which I blurred for security reasons). This is a great way to safeguard my identity in the event that my credit card is stolen. It will hopefully alert a cashier that the card doesn’t belong to the person using it. Nice to know that the thief will fear hearing “Hey, this isn’t your signature!” or “Hey, you don’t look Asian!”. I’m surprised that this feature isn’t a standard on all cards – credit and debit.

4) My Citi Card Says “I Will Only Pay You Once”
It is a wonderful feeling to know that when you pay for stuff online, you are sure that the online merchant doesn’t have the liberty of charging you more than once. CitiCards have a nifty tool available to cardholders called a “Virtual Account Number”. It generates a random card number that is linked to your account but it will work with only one merchant at a time and it expires at the end of the month that it is used.

5) Higher Limits and Lower Interest Rates – Yum!
With my goal of building a good credit history, this card has helped me increase my revolving credit limit substantially. Upon first receiving the card, I was offered a credit limit of $3,000 but it has been increasing consistently in $1,000 increments every 6 months. Also, my post-introductory rate has been steadily reduced to 11.249% (at the time this article was written) which is competitive those cards that don’t even offer cashback (as of 12/1/09, the post-introductory rate is stated to be as low as 16.24% at CitiCards).

I am not suggesting that every college student get this card because everyone has different financial habits and responsibilities. It is always smart to take precautions when signing up for a student credit card. Certainly, if one cannot handle a credit card, even the best cards out there pose a danger to one’s financial health – especially that of a college student.

As I hope for this Citi Dividend Platinum Select card to stick with me for a long time to come, I will be updating my experiences with the card whenever possible. If Citibank decides to hike my interest rate after the publishing of this post, I’ll be sure to trash this positive review!

*I am a non-endorsed consumer of this financial product. I am not receiving any form of compensation for providing this review. This review represents my honest opinion based on my own personal experience.

As I am accumulating funds to beef up my Roth IRA , I’ve begun putting some thought into building my investment portfolio. I’ve been reading up and researching on sound investing for retirement.

I love the thought of buy-and-hold-then-forget investing. Because I’m young, I do believe that I should be aggressive but I am considering the current volatile stock market amidst a dangerous economic time.

My primary choices are Dodge & Cox funds and the increasingly popular ETFs by Vanguard (of course, the notorious fund company among the personal finance blogging community). I’d by index investing while using one of two actively managed funds to add growth potential – and risk.

While I’m still figuring out which mutual funds or ETFs to use and the fund allocation, take a look at a few posts around the personal finance blogosphere:

• Triage Your Finances at Consumerism Commentary. I have an EMT-Basic certificate and was intrigued at the thought of applying the process of rapid triage to personal finances. It employs the same idea that we must do the most good with what limited resources we have – in this sense, the limited resource is money.
• The X-Men Guide To Unlocking Your Financial Mutant Powers at Man Vs. Debt. Baker writes an amazing post bringing together finances and some of our favorite comic book heroes. Since I’m set on a path to get rid of my debt, I guess my X-men mutant power is that of Wolverine’s.

Also, visit the recent carnivals in which Realm of Prosperity was featured:

• Carnival of Personal Finance Thanksgiving Survival Edition at Fiscal Geek
• Money Hacks Carnival Thanksgiving Dinner Edition at Being Frugal

Some mention of Realm of Prosperity thanks to:

• Links Roundup: No Credit Needed Edition at Get Rich Slowly
• Weekly Grab Bag: Best of Black Friday at Spend on Life
• Black (Friday) Coffee: My Favorite Blogs, Money News & Opinions #23 at Len Penzo dot Com
• The Ultimate Black Friday Roundup at Fiscal Fizzlettes
• Best of Personal Finance Roundup: Does Your Investment Strategy Need to be on Ritalin? at WiseBread

Much like the need for an annual visit to your doctor it is always wise to give your financial health an annual checkup as well.

In the health report that your doctor gives you, the doctor alerts you to any potential health problems and gives you a diagnosis. Similar to a medical report, your financial reports will reveal any discrepancies that negatively affect your financial well-being.

Regular medical exams are safeguards to good long-term health because any problems will be brought to your attention and reduce the damage that would be done. Regular financial checkups are just as important to long-term financial stability and freedom. If you found fraudulent activity on your credit report, you’d be able to solve the problem early instead of having the identity thief ruin your credit – something that would be detrimental to your financial future.

Fortunately, reviewing your financial reports do not carry the same costs as a medical checkup – in fact, it doesn’t cost you a dime. No insurance, no co-pays, and no fees. Everything is FREE (many thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act).

Start your financial checkup now:

Your Credit Report

• Visit AnnualCreditReport.com.

This is the only place you can obtain all 3 credit reports for free – one each from Transunion, Equifax, and Experian. The numerous ads and jingles for places offering “free” credit reports on TV are all false. You may choose to view all three annual reports at once or spread them out over the course of the year.

Your Credit Score

• Visit CreditKarma.com.

Firstly, you should be aware that the credit score from CreditKarma is not a FICO score. Their credit score is a TransRisk score based on your Transunion credit report. A FICO score, which most financial institutions use, is rarely available for free. Nevertheless, the CreditKarma score serves the purpose of analyzing your credit to point out areas of concern and to show you places where you can improve your credit.

Your Banking Report

• Visit ChexSystems.

Sure there is such a thing called a “banking” report. ChexSystems is a consumer reporting agency just like AnnualCreditReport.com. A ChexSystems consumer report consists of information such as security alerts, bad account history, and inquiries under your name with regards to your deposit accounts such as savings and checking (take a look at a sample ChexSystems report here).

Curing Your Financial Woes
Unlike a medical checkup, you will not have a professional beside you to treat your financial health because you are solely responsible for your financial habits. Luckily, there is a bunch of resources online (e.g. personal finance blogosphere) that can help you if you discover that your financial health isn’t doing too well.

If need be, don’t be afraid to visit a financial professional to answer your questions and solve your problems.