I feel like I am going to have to shop for a new credit card again soon. I've had this Providian Card from the mypoints.com program for a few years now, and I have this feeling the banks are going to discontinue the service. Providian was purchased by Washington Mutual, but as Wamu continued to service the card, all the features were intact. My favorite feature was the free credit score service as Providian worked in conjunction with Trans Union. Well, I just received a notice from Chase, who is working on the transition to take over Wamu services, that I will lose the credit profile feature in a couple of months. I remember back when the mypoints.com credit card was serviced by Citibank. One day, I get a letter saying that they were discontinuing the mypoints card and that my card would become inactive in a few months, and any balance would be due right away or can be transferred to another credit card service. I get the same feeling that this current card is about to get dropped too.

So fellow savers, what are some good rewards based credit cards out there with no annual fees?

I ran some errands today and visited the credit union. I opened a Roth IRA and locked in 4.41% for a year. It was interesting that they offered a 18-month variable rate CD at 4.50%. I inquired about it and the branch says they update the rate weekly. Doesn't seem like a good idea in these declining days. Made another additional payment on the car note.

Now it is time to get ready for the Superbowl.

I was shopping around for a financial institution to open a Roth IRA now that the savings are starting to build. I've decided I wanted to open the IRA at a bank rather than a brokerage firm because I still prefer to visit the banks once in a while because there is something about the inside of a branch that makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

I was getting fed up with banking at WAMU because their locations are not as convenient for me for branch visits as well as ATMs. I've been with WAMU since they came to California by buying out Home Savings of America (Savings of America outside of CA and Ahmanson's elsewhere. Before that, I've been with Home Savings of America since my employment since college.

Last year, I started shopping around for a new bank and noticed that Citibank was expanding their presents in my neighborhood. They were offering a great rate on a savings account so I moved some money over there with an online checking accounting and e-savings account. It was nice to put some money into Citibank and have more convenient ATM's because 7-Eleven ATM's are Citibanks. I just funded a 6-month CD at Citibank just because it was a good rate, but after that 6 months, I will need to make a decision.

A couple of years ago, I was given a membership to a local credit union when I purchased and financed a used car. I was given $5 to open a shared account at the CU as well as a free annual membership to the Surf Riders' Association. Then I was offered $50 to open a checking account at the CU, which I did. I didn't use the services of the credit union much. I just had a portion of my direct deposit there so I can make transfers to my car payment.

So as I shopped around for a bank to open a Roth IRA, I noticed that WAMU charges an annual trustee fee for their IRAs. I noticed that Citibank didn't, and out of curiousity I checked Bank of America online and they didn't charge a trustee fee either. From when I was a new accounts rep, trustee fees for IRA were a norm and there wasn't a way around it. I guess competitive need for customer changes things.

I'm just not going to look into ING anymore because I know they are playing games with Fed to see who can drop their rates faster.

I browsed around my CU's website and noticed that they don't charge a trustee fee either for a Roth IRA, but that shouldn't be a real surprise because CU's hardly charge for anything. I decided to see what my CD options were and the rates are a whole percentage points better. Besides that the CU tends to be more crowded than Citibank and WAMU on Saturdays, but I am seriously wondering why I am not considering banking at the CU. I know some say that they are not FDIC insured but they have a different insurance protection.

I know within the next year, I plan to have the car loan paid off, so I will have to decide to either keep the Citibank or the CU relationship.

What say you fellow savers? Your preference of credit unions or banks?

So I finally was able to reach the minimum reward level to cash out some miles in one of my credit cards. Made the call and got the check. I was unhappy that Capital One reduce that reward but I knew about that last year. Now I put that card away and don't use it anymore and use the free MyPoints cc exclusely. I really hate having to close this account because I have had it for over 8 years, but the $19 annual fee doesn't outway the reward anymore. I know I am going to take a hit on my credit score, when I lose the long standing credit relationship as well as increase in credit usage when lose the credit line for the account. When I make a major purchase and get my monthly credit charges over $1000, I notice that my credit score drops about 20 points. In anticipation of the January annual fee charge, I called CapOne to have the account close and they said they will send me a letter to waive the charge if I keep it open. I decided to keep it open and deal with it until next year.

Another anticipated increase in annual fee is my overdraft line of credit which I never use. Before it was only $10 a year, but I received a notice that it was going to be increased up to $36. Wow, another annual fee for an unused credit. It is nice to have the overdraft there in case of extreme emergencies, it hasn't happened. If I close this account and eventually close the CapOne cc, then I will lose 70% of my total credit lines. Hate to see what my credit score is going to be after that.

Maybe time to start looking at other available credit options. Great more applications, more accounts, more paperwork, and more account management which I am a super micromanager in such regards.

So I finally achieved 20K miles on my Capital One card and was ready to cash out instead of getting a short flight somewhere. The first 2 times, I did this, I was able to get $200 for 20K, now I only got $100. I forgot that they change the conditions for cashing out last year. I've been waiting to get to this treshold to cash out and now I feel like they stole $100 from me. I can't wait to close this account. I don't think the hit will be too high on my credit score. What's their slogan? "What's in your wallet?" $100 less than I thought would be.