A New 'Toy' - The Conair Pro Garment Care Fabric Steamer

Ah, the joys of shopping without having to pay a single sen. I almost redeemed a Fat Free Fryer back in July but didn't think it'd be used enough to warrant owning one and it would probably end up in some dark recess of the kitchen cabinet. I did, however, redeemed something else.

A dust-buster is what I redeemed but more of that later. Let me tell you first about the latest redeemed product. The dust-buster in another post..

The latest redemption item I got for myself (through credit card points) is an implement for ironing clothes. Yes, sort of an iron, if you like, but different. I would be crazy to redeem an iron. I already have two in the house. This gadget is called a Fabric Steamer and works on the concept of steam (duh!) to iron out the creases and lines. Please excuse the bad photos.

This is the box that the steamer was packed in - all black. The fabric steamer is the object on the right, the one with the jacket hanging from. A better image below.

Clothes-ironing or pressing has always been a tedious chore for me and has therefore been outsourced to the local dhobi. With this new Fabric Steamer, I could do the simple pieces such as blouses, t-shirts and scarves. Pants (jeans included) and jackets can still go to the dhobi.

Have always wanted one of these ironing gadgets since I first laid eyes on such a device many years ago but so far have not been able to find one attractive enough to bring home. Found the baby at last.

This labour-saving device is from Conair. The box says Conair Pro Garment Care and it comes with a lot of different interchangeable nozzles for different functions including one for clipping lines for shirts and pants and even one for steaming hard surfaces such as glass windows.

Here is the better picture of the steamer. That's the steam on top right coming out from the nozzle. The container at the bottom is for the water. Steaming or ironing won't work if there is no water in the bottle.

At the Fiesta, two models were being sold, by two different companies. Between the two models, I picked the sturdier and neater (with less cables hanging out) model which of course was more expensive - almost three times the price. And the sales-lady made it look so easy to operate. But true enough, so far so good. Just need to remember not to get scalded by the steam though.

This Conair, model CGS28HWH, a 12-in-One Multi-tasking Garment Steamer comes with 7 attachments for perfect pressing & steaming for different fabrics. It is energy-saving with a pause-feature and it uses 1500 watts as opposed to the conventional iron. One obvious difference between a fabric steamer and a conventional iron is that the former has no need for an ironing board nor table/flat surface. Just set up the pole or clothes-hanger and steam away.

The hanger can be rotated 360deg while the pole is adjustable to the desired height meaning you can even sit down to do the steaming. And a host of other features.. It's claimed to kill dust mites and bedbugs. I suppose at this heat, not many insects will survive.

Conair claims to be USA's No. 1 Brand of Personal Care Appliances - it says there on the box.

What have you bought lately to reduce labour at the home-front or something useful or enjoyable for yourself or the family? I know Sui Tua Pui of Still Crazy After All These Years recently received the BBQ set that he redeemed with his credit card points. Someone's going to have BBQ garden parties again.

The Best Credit Card?

Is there such a thing as "the best credit card"?

I think not because there is no one single credit card that has everything a prospective cardholder is looking for in a credit card. Some credit cards offer rebate for petrol, some for shopping, others enable cardholder to accumulate points in exchange for products, yet some give discounts for movie tickets and the list of features go on.

If you are in the market for your first credit card or are still wondering about the "best" credit card or whether you have the credit card that meets your needs, or whether you are taking full advantage of the features of your credit card(s), here's a thread from the Lowyat forum that has some good information on Credit Cards. Posters on the thread offer some good tips and insights on the various credit cards and debit cards available in Malaysia.

In this day and age, owning a credit card is no longer a luxury. It is now more of a necessity in the way we conduct our day-to-day living. You wouldn't want to be carrying thousands of Ringgit to a travel agency to buy an air-ticket to London, for instance.

One wise poster on the Lowyat forum offers this list of Pros and Cons of having a credit card:

He/She said:

many people still don't understand benefits of credit card if used in the correct manner.

Pros
a) Bang for your buck - promotions/Discounts specific to issuing bank and also specific to Mastercard/Visa itself

b) Loyalty programs - earn points or rebates

c) Convenience & Safety - Don't need to carry cash around

d) Money management - you can automatically analyze where your money is going as everything is statemented.

e) Leverage on no interests period - which facility borrows you money without any interest for a month? Technically you can leverage on that cash to earn interest in a saving account first or for other investments

f) Fraud protection - For suspected fraud unauthorized transactions or even goods not received related claims, you can raise a dispute without having to pay first. Furthermore the bank is in the power to recall back the payment from the merchant, so it's much easier to "get" your money back instead of giving the merchant hard cold cash in the first place.

Cons
a) causes those with bad money management to overspend

b) Bad forex rates if swiping overseas (Foreign currency to US$ to Local currency billed to you)

And someone else offered:

you miss one important point, INSURANCE on the item you bought.


More info...

One poster said:

I use:

HSBC Visa-shopping discounts/rebates/special promotions

Alliance Visa-Local bank easier to get 0% installment plans with longer period. Eg. got 18 months installment instead of 12 months if use HSBC

CIMB Master-shopping discounts/rebates/special promotions

Must be good at handling finances, I pay promptly every month, credit card interest can kill ur finances if not managed properly.


Another says:

I have used many credit cards over the years.

Here is my experiences.

HSBC Gold credit cards: Very good in term of Travelling Overseas. Cheaper Forex exchange. Many good promotions on discounts. Especially Armani Exchange outlet.. 15% discount. hehe

Citibank Credit Cards:

Gold: Very good. with 30 minutes you charge oversea, they will call you.

Platinum: Very good. with 30 minutes you charge oversea, they will call you. Access to Premium Lounge in KLIA, LCCT for free. Extra benefits. Free stay in YTL hotels. especially for PremierMiles (Platinum Class 1 Credit Credit Card)

Standard Chartered Credit Cards: Very limited and not good points and promotion.

CIMB Credit Cards:

** Free for life platinum:

Visa : Transfer Points very good. Many good promotions on discounts.

Petronas Mastercard: 5% on Petronas. 0.5% for others retails.


RHB Platinum:

Very bad. Difficult to terminate. Lots of hassle.


** If you manage your financial properly, CC is the way to go.. Use 20 days free loan. Pay full every month.



Yet another:

i vote for CItibank Cash Back Platinum
5% on all petrol
2% on telecommunication
and etc


And another:

Think OCBC titanium and Maybank 2 Amex are superior, although the max cashback is 50 per month.

OCBC has 5% on:
1. petrol
2. groceries
3. dining
4. bills

Maybank 2 Amex has 5% on everything on weekends and 5X points and comes up to around 7.5% total discounts.

OCBC doesn't require you to reach blocks of RM50 before they credit you with the cash back, unlike Citibank. Not sure about Maybank.


Another:

I have 2 cards. The main one I am using is Citibank Air Asia. They have promotions on flights every week, and I have priority booking. Which is good for my company staff who wants to book tickets earlier.

Furthermore there is TGV promotion - weekdays each ticket is only RM 10 (ended already sad.gif) and weekend it's buy 1 free 1. biggrin.gif

The other card... HLBB. It's a spare card (just sign up so I can get free items), but now I use the card for online purchases (Paypal).

Lastly..
DEFINATELY AMERICAN EXPRESS PLATINIUM CHARGE CARD, been using for years now.
allow me enter premier lounge whenever i travel, hongkong, usa, tokyo, korea, singapore everywhere. worth every dollar..
although their annual fees is nasty but worth it. can have 5 supplement and all my family member can enter premier lounge and buying business class ticket cathay next one free..buy one free one.


Should you wish to check out more info, visit Lowyat forum..


Nowadays, banks have converted bankcards to also act as debit cards. It may be good to note that should your bankcard go missing (or due to fraud), all you have in your bank account (your savings, monthly salary, etc.,) may be lost/withdrawn. On the other hand, a standalone debit card has the advantage of you losing just the amount you have moved to your debit card account, not your entire savings sum. Does that make sense?

In the case of credit card, in the event of a fraud and you have reported it, you may not need to pay anything.

A suggestion on the forum:
The advantage of having debit card is you can leave it with no credit in it. When need to purchase something, only use your online banking to transfer the exact amount of money to it, then only use the debit card to buy. That is the safest online purchase you can do with a debit card.


My personal take is, whatever credit card you opt for, the key is to be able to manage your finances/expenditure. Not spending unnecessarily and spending within ones means is a good practice.

If I were looking for Briefcases for Men..

When I was at a bank card Rewards Fiesta the other day, I was very attracted to the stalls that were selling bags and they sure came in all brands, types and sizes. Interesting colour range too. No shocking pink for me, thank you very much.

If I were in the market for briefcases for men, I would be one happy shopper there at the Fiesta. But what did I buy in the end? You'll have to stay tuned to find out.

CIMB Smart Rewards Fiesta 2012 - Mid Valley

CIMB Smart Rewards Fiesta 2012 promises to be bigger and better.

It is open to CIMB Bank and Direct Access credit cards as well as CIMB Bank Debit MasterCards.

The three-day event will be from 12-14 October 2012 (this weekend) at the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre from 10am – 9pm (Friday and Saturday) or 10am – 8pm (Sunday).

This Rewards Fiesta is good for cardholders to quickly use up their points before they expire. Redemption can be done online but by this time of the year, most good items would have been snapped up.

Need help with Credit Card processing?

Setting up a business involves looking into many aspects. If your business falls in the category of what is generally termed high-risk there is an additional obstacle to tackle pertaining to the credit card processing facility.

High risk businesses including casinos, gaming, tobacco and adult-related industry, just to name a few, may have some difficulty securing credit card processing facilities.

In this day and age, a business that does not accept credit cards stands to lose a lot of business as credit cards are a popular mode of payment. Also, some people prefer to carry credit cards instead of cash. If your business is considered high risk and you are looking for an internet merchant account processing service, you may want to check out Highriskaccount.com. Being in the business for 10 years, their experts will be able to help you with your Credit Card Merchant Account needs.

If your Priority is a Reward Credit Card

Interesting email received yesterday. I quote:

"MEN are all the same - no matter what species!"

"AND WOMEN’S REACTION IS THE SAME; NO MATTER WHAT SPECIES THE MAN IS… YOU CAN SEE HER EXCITEMENT. HEE! HEE! HEE! HEE!"

Does it mean that everything is created equal? Of course not! A colleague was talking about how unattractive the card redemption gifts are from her credit card issuer. I tend to agree that some card issuers provide better options. The moral of the story is before you apply for a credit card, it would be to your advantage to do a good filter so that you end up with the best Mastercard or Visa reward card if your priority is rewards redemption.

Need an Online Payment Processing facility for your business?

Cashless shopping is the norm these days. Credit and charge cards have replaced cash eliminating the need to carry around excessive cash. Fuss-free and convenient shopping by way of cards has enhanced consumer shopping experience.

However, there are still many businesses that are losing out on market share mainly because of their non-acceptance of customer credit or charge cards. They probably think theirs is too small a business to meet the requirement of merchant account providers. If you run a small business and have yet to install credit card processing and is interested to get started, Merchant Perfect may be just the merchant provider for you.

It is not difficult to see why Merchant Perfect has become one of the fastest growing and most highly recommended merchant processing companies. Signing up for a Credit Car Merchant Account with them is Free. There are no hidden fees or low-ball introductory rates and they provide unparalleled customer service. Their swipe rates start at just 1.19%, they provide 24/7 Toll-Free Support, Next Day Funding, Complete Fraud Protection, and many other provisions. They also provide free virtual terminal for online payment processing and if yours is a bricks-and-mortar business, they provide free credit card processor. Do you need a wireless credit card processor for offsite sales? They can help you with that too. If you only take phone orders, you can use their free virtual terminal. How cool is that?! Where other credit card processing companies have left off, Merchant Perfect is able to fulfill the need.

Apply today, using the form on their website, and you can be accepting credit card payments tomorrow. If you have further questions, you can contact them at 1-855-272-2737.

Don't leave home without a Credit Card

In this day and age, credit cards are no longer a luxury but more of a necessity. Its introduction has added a dimension of convenience in our life.

If you're in the market for a credit card, it's understandable if you are baffled with the many credit cards available. But have no fear, with the help of credit card reviews and ratings, you'd be able to compare credit cards to narrow down your search and make an informed decision. You could even find credit cards by credit score. The higher your credit score, the more choices you'll have.

Want to know more about financial matters or learn more about personal finance? Here's a finance forum you may want to check out where you'd be able to get views and news on the latest on finance, finance tools, credit cards, or simply to network.

Do you pay your credit card bill in full each month?

Some of us take pride in spending within our credit card limit and paying our credit card bill in full each month. We think we are great customers. But in actual fact, card issuers think otherwise.

Here's a good read from The Star today, "Do you know you are not a good customer if you pay debts on time? So ..."

Here's what the article says..

"I AM quite sure the bank that issues me my credit cards (just two) does not consider me a good customer.

I spend way below my credit limit and, save for a few occasions, pay my bill in full and on time.

A friend who works in the industry once told me: “To be honest, you are not the kind of customer we want. A good customer is one who spends more, defaults now and then, and allows us to charge interest on his outstanding balance.”"

..Continue reading..

Credit Cards and Debit Cards are a Necessity

In this day and age, you would find it limiting to be still using cash alone. Even though cash may be king, cash would not get you very far unless you only intend to spend your life at home or just in your little town.

Some of us may not admit it but credit cards or debit cards are the answer to life beyond your comfort zone. They are no longer a luxury but a necessity in contemporary times. Our current environment calls for a safer, more secure means of carrying cash. You wouldn't want to carry those wads of cash shopping for big-ticket items like air-tickets or that diamond ring.

After that 5% government tax to be implemented from Jan next year, we would still require at least two cards, one Mastercard, the other Visa card - should one doesn't work; and a charge-card if you wish.

Credit cards are sometimes used to serve as loans but if the balance is not paid in a timely manner, one would have to bear a higher interest on that loan.

Debit cards are gaining popularity and for the public at large, it is a great way to curb impulsive spending. A prepaid debit card allows you to spend only when you have funds in your account making it an invaluable budgeting tool. More and more banks here are switching to prepaid debit cards replacing ATM cards.

If you are looking for a prepaid Mastercard or a prepaid credit card, check out the AchieveCard. They do not do credit check, no bank account is needed, they are safe and a secure card-issuer, and they approve 100% of the time.

Shopping via Rewards Redemption

I have some bonus points accumulated on a credit card so thought I should do some redemption before the points expire.

I am thinking about redeeming a watch, maybe a purse too (limited choice, unfortunately), that rugged Camel slingbag (I know someone who would love it), a travel bag, a Black & Decker car vacuum, an induction cooker, that lovely pewter coinbox from Royal Selangor (a collector's item) and that cute pair of salt and pepper shakers to spruce up someone's dining table. Alternatively, I could redeem some shopping or dining vouchers. Unfortunately, no voucher for dental discounts. Those would come in handy, I am sure.

Take A Closer Look At Credit Cards

Many people here do not really pay attention to the types of credit cards offered thus not fully benefitting from the credit cards. This is partly due to ignorance of what's available. We need to be more aware of the types of credit cards available in order to take advantage of the special features or benefits.

How many consumers know enough to apply for cards with 0% APR credit card offers as opposed to those without? The next time should you apply for a credit card, you may want to take a closer look at what is being offered. It's to your benefit to be more discerning.

Managing Debt with Credit Card Bank Transfer

Some of us choose not to have credit cards, yet the majority of us have more than one credit card. Sadly, more often than not, the cards we hold are running up increased balances. Escalating cost of goods and services are partly to blame, the other part, blame ourselves for over-spending. But that's for another post.

There is a way to manage all that debt. As one of the measures, financial experts would recommend a move such as Credit Card Balance Transfer. This would make it easier to manage credit as most bank transfer credit cards offer 0% APR for an introductory period of time.

For anyone who has a need of a bank transfer credit card, CreditCardSearchEngine.com is one of Internet’s longest running sites for online credit card comparison. It allows one to search, compare, and apply for all types of credit card offers, everything from low interest and reward card to cards for people with bad to average credit. They offer a range of credit cards from leading banks and issuers including Citibank, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and many more. One can apply securely online.

How Would You Know Which Credit Card Is Right For You?

Anyone who plans to apply for a credit card these days is spoilt for choice. There are so many available that at times, one can be at a loss. It is advisable to shop around for the credit card that meets your needs.

Creditcardsearchengine.com is a site that provides information on the types of credit cards available for you to make comparisons among credit cards issued by various establishments. No matter what category of Credit Card you are looking for, this site is able to provide the information you need. Whether it's a low interest credit card, a student or business credit card, gas, mileage or rewards credit card, the information here will enable you to choose the credit card that is right for you.

Your Credit Card experience

Just about everyone has a credit card (or two or three or a grand collection), so what kind of experiences, good or bad, have you encountered with your credit card?

We have often heard or read about people running up excessive debt on their Credit Cards and a host of other negatives. At one time, a minimum payable amount of 20% of the outstanding balance was imposed but that was amended down to 10%. The Malaysian government felt 20% would be too taxing to the common folk. Whether it's 20% or 10%, both these have their pros and cons, of course.

Credit card security also poses a problem as credit card fraud seems to be widespread. At the same time, credit cards can make life extremely easy and convenient and many people earn nice rewards each time they use their credit cards. Do you have any interesting story to share on your credit card experience?

Shop around for the Right Credit Card

Many young people come out into society from universities and colleges every year. After awhile they soon realise the need for a credit card to elevate their status. How would they know which credit card to pick? Mostly, they would jump at any credit card offer that comes along but the more discerning would shop around before they commit.

There are different types of credit cards that cater to different needs. What do you look for in a card? If you need some emergency cash for a short term, the 0% Purchase Credit Card would be perfect. Instead of taking out a high interest loan, use the credit card and for the first 6 months take advantage of the 0% interest rate offer. Used correctly, this type of credit card can save you interest.

Another card that can save one money on interest is to sign up for a 0% balance transfer credit card. Transfer the balance from the existing card into the new credit card that offers 0% interest on the balance transferred. This will save one on interest.

Shop around for the best card that suits your needs whether it's balance transfers, cash back, 0% on purchases, cards with rewards, travel reward cards or low APR cards.

Are Credit Cards a Necessity?

Are credit cards a necessity? Perhaps some ten years ago, the answer to this question may be a "No", but these days, not having a credit card could be a handicap. Would anyone think of carrying tens of thousands of dollars in cash around town shopping? Here in Malaysia personal cheques are normally not accepted for walk-in shopping. Generally, shopkeepers do not accept them. They would prefer a credit card instead. No wonder sometimes they are called 'plastic money'.

It is wise to learn about credit cards to tap their full potential as different cards do have different functions. For example, if one already has a few credit cards and would like to consolidate the balances to better manage the accounts, a 0% balance transfer credit card would be suitable. Having different cards for different purposes could be an ideal way to manage spending. The card used for shopping would be well to be charged to a 0% on all purchases or one where credit card loyalty points can be collected. Before you go out to sign up for a card, why not compare credit cards available to make a well-informed choice.