I just received the following offer on my Chase Business Rebate card:

Register your Chase Visa Business Rewards Card at chasebizbonus.com/enroll and spend $5,000 or more between May 1 and June 30, 2008 and you’ll get a one-time $100 cash bonus. Your $100 cash bonus will automatically appear as a credit on your statement within 8 weeks of the end of the promotion.

In addition, when you use your card in May and June, you’ll be automatically entered into a sweepstakes to win a Grand Prize of a $30,000 check.

After doing a bit more investigation, I found that any Visa Small Business credit card should be eligible for this promotion. You can see more details about this promo at www.visabizperks.com.

This post is from Credit Card Watcher’s Credit Card Deals Blog.

Visa Business Card Bonus: Earn $100 After Spending $5000 in May and June

Interest rates on credit cards have been steadily increasing, causing individuals with credit card balances to pay even more for their debts.  The rebates being issued by the US Government are meant to be spent to stimulate the economy, but it’s a sure bet that many people plan to use that money to get rid of some of their existing debt.

Using the “free money” to pay off your existing high interest debt can give you a way out, as long as you avoid the most commonly  made mistakes people have after paying off debt:

• Finding the available credit so tempting that you go out and charge some new purchases to replace the money you’ve just paid off!
• Feeling as if you have more money available each month due to paying off a bill or two; and overspending your salary to the point that you’re late making payments on other bills.
• Opening a new account with a higher credit limit after paying off an older account

If you do decide to use the rebate to pay off some of your debt, you will definitely save money on interest payments.  Even if you are unable to pay off all of your credit card debt, applying such a significant payment all at once will help lower what is owed and cause you to pay less interest over time.

Somewhere, hidden in the small print of the credit card disclosure agreement, may be the words “universal default”.  These are words you want to avoid in any credit card you apply for.  Universal Default is the phrase used to describe the practice of raising all interest rates on all of your accounts if you happen to make one of your card payments late. 

You might be late with your MasterCard, and discover that the interest rate on all of your other credit cards (and sometimes even your loans) have increased.  On top of the $29-$39 late fee you’ve paid, now your balances will all receive higher interest rates for the life of the balance!

The perfect solution is to always pay all of your bills on time.  Sometimes this isn’t possible, though.  If you find you are going to be short, sometimes you can avoid late fees and interest rate hikes by contacting the credit card company before the payment is due to explain your situation.