American Express dedicates its financial services typically around travel-plannings, and offers great travel rewards with its credit cards. The Hilton HHonors Platinum Credit Card from American Express is one such service meant for those frequent travelers who wish to grab the lucrative discounts on stays at Hilton Family Hotels.

Hilton Family hotels have a worldwide networking. If you plan for frequent stays at Hilton hotels and enroll in the Hilton HHonors Platinum American Express program, you will obtain points for money spent on purchases and stays at HHonors hotels. These points can be carried forward for free hotel stays, travel rewards, and other benefits.

How Do You Earn The Points?

The key reward program of Hilton HHonors Platinum American Express is the points, which you earn through purchases redeemed at hotels within the Family of Hilton hotels. To know more about the points go through the details:

-Essentially, you can earn five bonus points for each dollar spent in Hilton family of Hotels, along with three points for every dollar, towards hotel stays in future. You can also earn 5 points on eligible purchases from restaurants, grocery stores, drugstores, gas stations, restaurants, the U.S. Postal Service, supermarkets and similar avenues.

-Get 10000 HHonors bonus points after your very first purchase with the Hilton HHonors Platinum Card, which is enough for a free night’s stay at any of the Hilton Hotels.

-For the first 4 stays, you will earn 2500 at a Hilton Family hotel and 500 points for each stay after that. Not only this, you can earn frequent flyer miles along with bonus points for a qualifying hotel stay.

-Your points will be redeemable once you go past the 7500-mark.

-Points never expire as long as the card is active (at least once each year) and there is no yearly-limit for points that can be earned.

The free night will depend on the category of the hotel you choose, normally an opportunity category hotel costs around 10,000 points, whereas a category 6 hotel would take 40,000 points.

Some Features

Have a look at the some of the features of Hilton HHonors Platinum American Express that you would like to be familiar with:

-There is no annual fee
-Get bonus points for free stays at Hilton family of hotels
-Additional benefits and services in hotels for cardholders.
-There is no pre-set spending limit,

-The introductory rate for purchases is low

-No balance transfer fee in the beginning. Although, future balance transfers may incur a fee which is already divulged at the time of the applicable transaction.

The initial APR is 2.90%. This continues for the first six months and then the rate climbs higher.

More Details

Other fees attached to Hilton HHonors Platinum card include:

-Late fee of $19 on balances upto $400 and $38 on balances of $400 and above

-Over limit fee of $35
-Cash advance fee of 3% and $5 minimum for Express Cash transactions

Other benefits

Apart from reward program and signature benefits, Hilton HHonors Platinum American Express does offer you the several common benefits and services which include- auto rental insurance, various services related to protection services, travel accident insurance, and discounts from the Offer Zone (it provides access to discounts, offers, and special events).

Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card - Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com - Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards.

Most people discover the real facts about money, when it is too late for their knowledge to make much difference in their lives. The truth then, is that most people go through life almost completely clueless about how money really works and worse, clueless about how to attract more of it into their lives.

There are certain truths about money that most of us simply gloss over without really examining them for what they are worth. We then fail to apply these truths and learn learn nothing from them.

This article is about money, but not necessarily in the same old boring way that we are used to. Perhaps therein lies the problem, we get bored when people talk about money so we clam up and stop listening. We will take a slightly different approach here.

So here are some things about money that we should learn and remember.

1. Money does not attract money, people do.

True, it seems that money goes where money is, but since it cannot, see, hear, smell, or form emotions, it cannot be attracted to anyone. There is a story about a 20 dollar bill re-uniting with his long time buddy a one dollar bill. The one dollar bill ask. “I have not seen you in a long time friend. What’s up? Where have you been?”.

The twenty dollar replies: Man! I have been having the time of my life, from Las Vegas to the Bahamas, the slopes in Colorado to Paris. I’ve been traveling the world man. how have you been? ask the now giggling twenty dollar bill. “Oh, you know how it is with us dollar bills my friend, church, church, church!”

There are several lessons to learn from that story. The obvious one is to stop giving one dollar bills in church! But the other point is that the higher value tender ends up in the fun places where people spend a lot of money. Could it be concluded then, that money really attracts more money? I doubt it. People who give more money to tends to get more, but we will come back to that. Then of course, people with a lot of money tend to spend it in the same places as other people with lots of money.

2. Big Money is a relative term.

Bill Gates is worth at least 50 billion dollars. Big money for him may be the cost of buying a small country. For a struggling online entrepreneur who is just starting out in business, it may be the cost of a 97 dollar auto responder. That’s big money, if you are not earning any money yet. The $130,000 a month affiliate marketer will beg to disagree.

The lesson here should be this: Never get stuck on the quantity of the money you are spending for what you really need. Look for the value in what you are getting for your money. If you cannot afford it, move on. Don’t sweat the “big” stuff. A 17.97 a month auto responder will do the job just as well.

3. Money is good servant but a lousy boss.

Ever seen anyone who literally worships money? Oh, they may think they don’t! but if they idolize the things money can buy, and will literally kill you for the stuff, then they worship money. The problem here is that this money-worshiper did not become such a person
overnight.

It happens gradually because he or she became greedy, develop an unhealthy relationship with money; (their’s and other people’s money), and at the end of the day they are controlled by
their own unhealthy desires for money

Money should always be your servant, not your boss. Any deviation from this truth, will place you under the control of money. But the love of money is indeed the root of all evil. People who love money hardly remember that money is just a value placed on a coin or a specially printed paper. It cannot love them back! Even gold is found in the earth. It is inanimate, cold, emotionless, and only derive its value from the people who know it and use it. How unfortunate that people get so hung up these things.

On the other hand, money can be a docile and obedient servant. Yes, you can direct it anywhere you want it to go and do your bidding,
good or bad. Plus, if you have enough money you can get most things done. Ancient scripture actually declares that “money answers all things” Eccl 10:19.

The lesson to be learned here is this. Don’t allow greed or misplaced emotions to put you under the control of money. This will demean your humanity and make you no better than the drunk who is controlled by alcohol, or a lion driven by it’s wild instincts to kill, hunt, or procreate up to 50 times a day!

Let your higher, more noble self control your money so it will be a good servant to you and hopefully do some good in the world.

4. Money is always looking for a conduit. Are you one?

Finally, money always needs a conduit, not a box. Here’s what I mean. The richest people in the world, are huge givers. They usually give away a lot of their money, but they end up getting back more money to give away again! Money needs a conduit. If you hide it in a box, it does nobody any good, not even you!

If on the other hand, you open your hands and let it flow, you will get more money. It’s sowing and reaping at its best. Sow bountifully and you’ll reap bountifully. Most people who are stingy and have a few dollars from their stingiest, will be surprised to know how much more they would have had, had they opened their pocketbooks more. What’s the use in accumulating wealth if does not do somebody some good?

Anthony Chambers writes articles that hit at the heart of today’s marketers, entrepreneurs, and those trying to break into internet marketing. Visit him at: http://bloss2.blogspot.com or get started with your own business at: http://www.YouShouldBeRich.com

American Express Bank has launched for the frequent Costco Shopper a specialty card, named the TrueEarnings from Costco and American Express. Equipped with this very beneficial card, you will enjoy great money back offers, especially on purchases you make at the Costco. Besides, the TrueEarnings from Costco and American Express also serves as an ideal personal card - meeting your personal needs right from business to dining, shopping and travel needs.

The Key Features

The TrueEarnings from Costco and American Express Card offers a 0 percent introductory annual percentage rate (APR). This facility is available for the first three months and is applicable on both purchases and balance transfers.

With the expiration of the first three months, the APR then changes to 17.24 percent. But since the APR is variable it can fluctuate according to the change of the prime rate, to which the APR is tied. The program’s terms and conditions will enable you to calculate the APR precisely and easily.

The Rewards Program

The TrueEarnings from Costco and American Express Card gets you 1 percent cash back if you use the card at Costco. You also earn 3 percent for using the card at any restaurant or for placing orders for home delivery. Again, if you use the card for airline tickets, car rentals, cruises and hotels, then you can bag 2 percent cash back. Online purchases using the Costco website is also rewarded with cash-back.

The card also helps you to have easy access to the OPENSM, which is a small business team from the American Express. Your OPENSM connection will help you gather necessary information like online expense management reports, savings at FedEx, Hertz and other information about your business.

The other benefits offered by the card incorporate automatic savings with partners when using the card to purchase long distance services, car rentals, shipping services and many more.

The Costco members can avail homeowners insurance services, loans and credit from OPEN, and also financial planning services.

Since the card does not hold any minimal limit to how much you can spend to receive your cash back, so you can earn as much as you want.

The Other Advantages Of The Card

The card offers a sea of benefits, which are truly trustworthy and very lucrative. The card provides coverage for theft, loss or damage, purchase warranty, emergency card replacement, travel accident insurance for up to 100,000 in accidental death. The coverage for the loss is applicable for the first thirty days for renting an auto from the car rental company. With this card, you can also have access to your account online and view the up-to-date billing information like transaction, charges and payments.

Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card - Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com - Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards.

Carrying messages across enemy lines, setting up midnight rendezvous, or secret attacks all have been strengthened by using secret codes. Ciphers and codes have been used since ancient times in many different shapes and forms to protect messages from being intercepted. Ciphers and codes have even crept into many popular mediums from Harry Potter books to the hit movie and book, The Da Vinci Code. (1).

Today, we still see ciphers in the form of encryption. Encryption is the ability to render a message unreadable without special knowledge to decrypt it. It’s everywhere, from encrypted government secrets to emails sent around the office; the use of encryption has become a part of everyday life.

Ciphers and Codes
Though ciphers and codes are often thought to be the same they are, in fact, two separate methods for disguising communication data.

• Codes provide exchanges for pictures, words, or numbers for words or phrases and will only have a set amount of words or phrases that can be decoded.
• Ciphers exchange individual letters for other letters or numbers breaking down messages to a far greater degree (1). a
• Ciphers also have the advantage of being able to be shifted very quickly since instead of having a set number of phrases or words in a code it uses an algorithm to define any possible word or phrase.

Through the complex and systematic nature of ciphers, which are used over codes for encryption. By looking at the history of ciphers we can get a better understanding of how and why encryption works in today’s world.

Atbash - A Basic Cipher
Early religion provided us with some of the most basic ciphers we know about. Judaism brought forth the Atbash. Atbash is a “substitution cipher”, which means that every letter is exchanged for another in the alphabet. In this case, it’s the first letter of the alphabet for the last. While this is very basic, most people couldn’t read let alone break codes at 600BC.

When in Rome, Keep Secrets: The Caesar Shift
Ancient Rome and famed emperor Julius Caesar carried ciphers to new level. Caesar used a cipher as a means to carry commands to his generals and allies. Using what would be later dubbed “Caesar shift”, he made his messages unreadable to those who didn’t have the shift sequence.

Another form of substitution cipher the method was to simply shift the letter wanted by three later for example, A > D, B >E and C >F. If a message said “spy” would look like this in the Caesar Shift:

• S > V, P >S and Y >B. vsb
• The phrase “ad astra,” shoot for the stars would translate to “DG DVWUD” in the Caesar Shift

It was quickly adapted to be any variable amount of places in the shift.

Rot13 - A Cipher Novelty
ROT13 sounds like something Hermione Granger uses on her O.W.L.s.(2) , but is a variation of the Caesar Shift, it uses a 13 letter/character replacement sequence. Rot13 is still used often today, though more as novelty than keeping any secrets.

Message boards that reveal the ending of a book or movie have used the Rot13 method to protect others from accidentally reading spoilers. Harry Potter fans, you may just find out what “he who must not be named” means to do to young Mr. Potter in book seven, the Deathly Hallows.

Modern Encryption
The advent of the computer revolutionized the world of codes. All of the ciphers above could be cracked with computer programs in a matter of seconds with the right software. Both the building and breaking of stronger ciphers have been blazing along as technology provides new tools that have forever changed cryptography. Modern uses of ciphers have led to advanced computer technology that is known as encryption.

One method of encryption is Public Key Encryption (PKE). The PKE cipher is radically stronger than those used in ancient times. Imagine two prime numbers (a number that can only be divided by one and itself) for example 17 and 13. When you multiply these two numbers you come up with 221, and is known as the modulus.

To an outsider, 221 would have no meaning since there are plenty of factors that could be broken down. There also needs to be a random number that has a value somewhere between 1 and the product of the two prime numbers. In a PKE cipher, a formula is made where the a variable will be sought out:

Prime#1 * Prime#2= A

(X * random# )-1 = (Prime#1-1) * (Prime#2-1)

X will be the private key used for the encryption and the two prime numbers will be the public key given out. As you can see, if PKE is Superman, Atbash is an amoeba.

To find each number’s code you would take the value of a number (A=1 and… Z=26) and raise it to the power of the random number used earlier. After that each number is figured out using a system called “modular arithmetic” (3) .

If all this sounds confusing don’t worry that’s the point of cipher! The prime numbers used in software encryptions are hundreds of digits long. Making it dramatically more secure and difficult for someone to try and discover how the code can be broken. It would take the Bat computer, Professor Dumbledore and a legion of Scooby’s to break a PKE cipher.

For encrypting computer files, the same process occurs where the file is broken up into sections of bits. The smaller the number of bits per section, the stronger the level of encryption will be. Instead of letters being converted it is 0 and 1 of binary.

Evolution of Encryption: Email Anti-Theft, Locking Down Your Email
Not only has the strength of encryption increased by leaps and bounds with computer speeds, but it has become used in everyday actions. Email Anti-Theft software can allow individuals who know nothing about encryption to apply heavy protection settings to outbound email files with the same ease as an unencrypted email. Email anti-theft technology allows a system where there’s no manual key exchange, yet the outbound email files don’t lose any encryption strength when sent outside your company.

Importance of Encryption
Computers aren’t the expensive and slow behemoths they were in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Today the even the most affordable PC is able to store countless files and run thousands of scenarios a minute. To protect private information the encryptions has to be strong enough to endure computerized attacks.

A weak cipher can have its algorithm discovered and deciphered quickly; where as strong encryption could withstand almost any length of deciphering assaults (4) . While you may not be sending commands to you armies in the east, your email messages, banking documents and other private bits of data still deserve the highest level of security.

_______________________

End Notes:

4) Ibid

The selection of a CAD/CAM system is an important one for any design or manufacturing company. It has ramifications all the way from the beginning of the product concept phase to the end of the manufacturing process. It is likely that, only a single CAD or CAM vendor will be chosen, (although multiple stations may be procured). For most companies, a CAD/CAM software purchase decision is a one-time event. Because of this fact most companies have somewhat limited experience in the purchase of a CAD CAM system. A reliable CAD CAM consulting firm can be an important ally in the process of system selection.

This review will consider five important criteria. These criteria are listed in order of importance. Most companies place a great emphasis on initial cost and the list of features / benefits first. In this recommendation, ease of use is listed first.

1)Ease of use - productivity

5)Maintenance / upgrade and training costs

1) Ease of use

In practical terms, the ease of use of the system will have the most significant return on investment. It is often forgotten that design or manufacturing personnel may spend anywhere from 100 - 2000 hours per year on the system. (Estimate based on 2 hours part time per week, or 40 hours per week on a full-time basis.) The average cost of this labor is many times greater than the cost of the CAD CAM system itself. Even a 10 % reduction in time spent to complete a particular task could have a savings of over $ 5,000.00 in labor costs, the first year alone ! This is more than the entry price of most CAD systems !

Note: This estimate is based on use of the system on a full-time basis with a conservative calculation of a $ 25.00 / hour labor rate. Ease of use as it relates to productivity, is the single most important criteria to evaluate, and yet it is also the most difficult of the criteria to quantify.

Benchmarks: some companies attempt a timed benchmark between various systems, to evaluate this measure of productivity. This is problematic, however, since these types of competitive benchmarks are just as easily influenced by the individual skills of the CAD or CAM engineer, as they are by the software system itself.

It is wise to ask the vendor to demonstrate the creation of a particular part that is similar to others that you have designed or manufactured in the past. It is much easier for you to compare systems on a part that you are already familiar with than a “canned” demo on a part the vendor chooses.

2)Vendor stability

Make sure that the company chosen has a stable financial base, and has been in the industry for at least 10 years. One of the worst things that can happen to CAD/CAM customers is to lose the support and upgrade path for their software, because their CAD/CAM software vendor has gone out of business. This leaves customers stranded, and eventually their software will become relatively obsolete.

3) Features and functionality

Many prospective CAD/CAM customers try to calculate the value of their software based on a long list of features, and try to compare to other systems. The difficult of this is that the terminology used to describe certain functions varies from system to system. Vendors may also unintentionally or intentionally obfuscate this point, by claiming unique functionality which is really just a question of semantics.

For most customers, the CAD/CAM software industry is sufficiently mature to have more
than enough functionality to satisfy even demanding customers. If your job requirements are highly specialized, or unique to your industry, then you may need to carefully examine specific functionality to make sure the software you choose can meet your needs. In terms of CAD software, this might be libraries of standard components particular to your industry, or it could be a unique type of warpage calculation, etc. For CAM systems, pay particular attention to specialized turning machines that are not simple 2-axis plus C-axis milling. Screw machines, multiple turrets or rotary turrets on a lathe, can be problematic. For milling machines, 4-axis and 5-axis applications can be very tricky to evaluate and can present special challenges for the machine tool manufacturer, and software vendor.

Again, a CAD/CAM consultant can be invaluable to scope out specialized requirements, and assure the the software meets the specific intended application.

4) Cost

This is the easiest criteria to evaluate, but one caveat emptor needs to be addressed. Most CAD/CAM software is sold on a modular basis. No company should purchase more CAD/CAM modules than they need. There should always be an upgrade path open for a later purchase of additional modules if needs expand or change. Buyers also take note that this industry is extremely competitive, and in general customers really do get what they pay for. Prices are stable and well established, and there really are no fire sales, or steep discounts available. One further note: it is usually wise not to purchase software that has been licensed to another company, without expressed written consent from the software vendor. Many software purchase agreements prohibit transfer of a particular license from one company to another, (unless the software has been transferred as a result of a company buyout or merger.

5) Maintenance, Upgrades, and training and support

Users should not be shocked to find that software is regularly upgraded, at additional cost. This is true across the entire software industry. Since CAD/CAM Software is generally more costly than other type of software, is should also be no surprise that software upgrades are also more expensive than other types of software. Upgrades should be available on a regular basis. It is good to ask what the time period was between the last several upgrades. Most CAD/CAM software should have an major upgrade every 12-18 months. Users should not be penalized for failure to upgrade. They may find, however, that reasonable restrictions may be placed on support for badly outdated software.

Support hours should be reasonable, and at cover business hours, with some consideration to start and finish times within the time zones. Training costs should not be exorbitant. Group training for several employees at one time, or on-site training may also be available.

The use of good buying common sense and informed decision making using the above criteria can make the difference between a smooth CAD/CAM installation and something less than desirable.

John Lombaerde is a CAD/CAM/CNC Specialist with over 20 years experience in advanced manufacturing technologies. He is a Designer, CNC Programmer, CNC Machinist, a CAD/CAM consultant, and a Search Engine (SEO) Strategist.

For additional information contact:

For more information, see CAD CAM Consulting

The year 2005 was a witness to the introduction of ONE from American Express. This was a card equipped with a ‘Savings Accelerator Plan’, depositing 1% of the eligible purchases into your high yielding FDIC insured savings account.

Advantages of ONE from American Express

If you are a compulsive shopper, but love to save, then the American Express ONE Card will help you to save for your future. When making a purchase with this card, you can avail of the ‘Savings Accelerator Plan’, which will automatically open/assign a FDIC-insured High-Yielding Savings Account in your name and remit 1% cash back of the eligible purchases in the account.

The One card offers a special feature known as the Interest Protection, which does not require you to pay interest on the new purchases, irrespective of whether you make full payment of your bill at a time or make payments overtime.

There is no set expenditure limit, and thus you can spend a bit more if you wish. This leaves you free for carrying a balance for the last month’s vacation. The purchases are approved depending on the cardholder’s credit rating. A Spend Tracking Alert will notify you when you have reached the monthly spending amount.

If you are an impulsive buyer, then the ONE from American Express is the right choice for you. The savings accelerator of the card deposits 1% of each buy into your savings account and on the other hand gains an annual percentage yield of 4.25% (the rate is variable). Furthermore, the account has no maintenance fees, no penalties for withdrawals and no minimum balance. The money is all yours and you may save it or use it.

Other Benefits

The cardholders of ONE from American Express are facilitated by its purchase protection program, buyer protection program, travel bonuses, global assist hotline, car rental insurance, emergency card replacement and return protection program.

The card does not have any introductory period, but the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of the card is quite reasonable. It is a great option for you, if you do not much bother about frequent flyer miles and discounts available at the hotels.

The other features include a cash back offer $50 after your first purchase. The first year fee-free option lets you have a $35 savings. The cash back rebate program is the best feature of the One card. You will definitely benefit from Card One from American Express, if you want to use this card at participation merchants and retailers and if you are making full payments at the end of a month. The bonus advantage is that all the new card members will receive a $25 bonus added to their savings account, on their first purchase.

Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card - Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com - Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards.

The American Express was founded in 1850 and its credit cards are known for providing unmatched customer services, extraordinary benefits to their cardholders and instant purchasing ability.

The Gold Delta Skymiles from American Express gives you the great opportunity of gathering frequent flyer miles with the Delta Airlines. Though the fees are high, the program offers a good point accrual rate.

Card Rewards

As a credit cardholder, you will obtain 1 mile for spending each dollar on the card. As an added advantage, the Always Double Miles program lets you earn 2 miles for spending a dollar at retail shops and stores such as drug stores, gas stations, Delta Airlines and their affiliates as well as the United States Postal Service.

As a new applicant for the Gold Delta Skymiles from American Express, you can avail of 10000 bonus miles on making your first purchase. You can also gain an extra 2500 on the approval of a second card (when the application is being processed). The rewards expire at the end of 3 years and the best thing you can do take advantage of the award miles is keep your account active for three years, i.e., travel on the Delta Airlines at least once in every three years.

The best benefit of the credit card is the frequent flyer miles. However, it will not be a good choice for you if you require carrying a balance quite often. It will benefit you greatly and be a wonderful choice for you if you already hold a low-fee and low rate credit card from the American Express. In this case, the card enables you to enjoy the lower annual fee and provides you the chance to make purchases that will allow you to carry a balance.

Features And Benefits

The credit card has an annual fee of $85. This annual fee is waived for the first year. Special concession is offered to the already qualified American Express cardholders and they pay an annual fee of $30.

The regular APR of 18.24% is undoubtedly above the average but the credit card compensates this with its huge range of travel and shopping benefits. As a shopper, you will very much cherish the card features and benefits like the Buyers Assurance Plan, online fraud protection, purchase protection plan and the access to select events via the Ticketmaster.

As a traveler, you will be happy to find that the card offers certain additional benefits that the other American Express cards do not offer. All the more, the Gold Delta Skymiles from American Express lets you save on your car rentals, offers travel and accident insurance, a $ 2000 travel bonus for vacations and a $100 travel bonus for cruises, if booked through the American Express Travel Services.

Additional Perks

The Gold Delta Skymiles from American Express offers you a number of Internet account related services, extended warranty for purchases, zero liability for unauthorized Internet transactions, financial statement at the end of the year.

You can also take advantage of its insurance and security schemes in the form of auto rental insurance, purchase protection, legal referral services, emergency cash replacement, access to the Offer Zone for various discounts at participating merchants and retailers, medical referral services, a maximum of $100,000 travel accident insurance. The card also makes provision for many travel and emergency assistant services.

Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card - Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com - Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards.

Whenever a discussion of growth takes place, the issue of customer service necessarily comes into play. Why? Because, the simple truth is that an organization only grows when it is effectively communicating with and satisfying the needs of its customers.

You can be the best at what you do, but if your billing is inaccurate or late, if you take too long to produce what you are being paid for, if your calls do not get through to you, if you do not return your messages in a timely fashion, if the person answering your phones is not pleasant, if you are not reachable, if, if, if, if… You may be losing clients and not understand why.

Customers are a strange breed. They either love you or they don’t. If they did, and now they don’t, and you do not know what turned them off, you lose more than that one customer. You lose:

* -current bu$ine$$

*-good will

*-time invested in them

* future busine$$

*-their referrals

You cannot love your customers too much!

When is the last time you called a valued customer just to say, “Hi, how are things going?” Have you ever sent out a birthday or anniversary card? Do you offer current customers opportunities to save money? How many times do you reach out to your customers in any given month? Do you email them articles pertaining to their business? Do you think about ways to help them and let them know what you are doing?

It is absolutely true that it’s easier to keep a valued customer than it is to create a new one. As with other strategic growth, a firm customer service approach requires planning, focus and implementation. Knowing which areas of your business adversely affect client relations is the start to creating an effective plan.

Gail P. Zelitzky is the founder and principal of Silver-Robins Consulting, a business performance coaching firm offering both individual and group coaching. Silver-Robins Consulting helps businesses grow by developing and implementing new sales, marketing and business strategies. The end result is greater revenue and profitability. Gail has 30 years of entrepreneurial experience that offers practical, no-nonsense solutions to the challenges faced by small business owners.

In addition to individual and group coaching, business owners can participate in a Business Performance Roundtable, a peer advisory group format facilitated by Silver-Robins consultants, where participants set realistic goals, focus on priorities and gain objective feedback on the business challenges they face. Only one client per industry may participate.

Silver-Robins Consulting also creates custom-tailored seminars to meet training objectives on sales & marketing, customer service, leadership and management.

For information call 773-665-2340 or email info@silver-robins.com

People know American Express for its credit cards. However, it is not here that the story ends, for American Express is also into traveler’s check and charge cards businesses too. BLUE Sky from American Express is an addition to their extensive list of cards. It is by far the best credit card for frequent international travelers, who are capable of clearing full balance payments monthly.

You can give full credit to BLUE Sky from American Express cards in matters of flexibility in making payments. All you need is a good credit and then you can take full advantage of its significant travel reimbursement facilities.

Blue Sky from American Express Benefits

·Blue Sky credit cards offer you an opportunity to save cash on flights, hotels and car rentals at any point of time and that without any travel restrictions and blackout dates.

·Your liberty and flexibility will know no bounds with Blue Sky credit cards as you can pay for your purchases in full at a time or in convenient installments overtime.

·With BLUE Sky from American Express credit cards, you can gain unrestrained points and miles. The points program is never a fiscal burden for you

·When and where do you want to go? This is important. Irrespective of the fact that whether you are going for a weekend’s holiday or a peak season vacation, you can always make plans according to your expediency and save cash on several items.

·You do not have to pay an extra charge on additional cards. Thus, the benefits offered by the car can be shared by both you and your family

·Do you want to shop around and compare several travel deals? Decide on the cost and pay with your Blue Sky credit card. Do not worry; you will definitely receive your Blue Sky savings.

Fundamentals of BLUE Sky from American Express

If you hold a Blue Sky credit card, you have to pay an affordable rate of interest for purchases and there is no need for you to pay any annual fee. You will even enjoy the convenience of a zero percent introductory APR for the initial six months.

A low introductory rate of 4.99 % rate in case of balance transfer is the other advantage you can enjoy, provided you plan to commence a transfer while applying online for the credit card.

Savings starts at $100 for just 7500 points, which further builds up gradually. You can follow the rate of your savings, which is generally displayed as credit on your Blue Sky billing statement.

Additional Packages Available With BLUE Sky From American Express

·A guaranteed reservation service - this is to make sure that you will always be provided with rooms even if your arrival in the hotel is delayed for some reason

·You also get an additional auto rental insurance online financial statement at the end of the year along with a unique service-Return Protection (accordingly you get an amount of $300 for purchases and these cannot be refunded within a time period of ninety days)

·The other facilities you receive include accident insurance of up to $100,000, emergency card replacement, car rental loss and damage insurance and an international help online.

In short, you can say that BLUE Sky from American Express is a credit card, which has been exclusively designed to indulge you with boundless travel specifications without any restraint.

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The new card, BLUE CASH from American Express is a great rebate program, presenting you ample opportunities for earning cash back on purchases. The card is apt for you if you make huge expenditure every year on purchases. The yearly credit on your account appears to be a good reward if you do not need frequent discounts on flyer miles or for hotel stays.

Avail the rebate benefit offered as part of the BLUE CASH from American Express and its competitive APR will allow you to carry a balance without getting yourself in a debt-trap.

Benefits Of The American Express’ BLUE CASH Credit Card

The BLUE CASH from American Express offers you anything between 0.5% and 5% cash back on purchases. You can avail of this offer even at gas stations, drugstores and supermarkets. The card provides you 0% introductory Annual Percentage Rate or APR for 6 initial months, offering you the choice of making full or overtime payments. All the more, you can avail of these benefits without any annual fee.

The card also offers a low balance transfer rate and a fixed APR of 4.99% for the balance period. You can also make flexible overtime payment. The regular APR rate is 13.24%.

The BLUE CASH from American Express is renowned for its cash back on purchases. The lowest rebate allowed is 0.5% and the highest rebate allowed is 5%. General purchases makes you eligible for 0.5% rebate if you spend less than or equal to $6,500; as your expenses pass the $6500-mark, you get a discount of 1.5%. ‘Everyday Purchases’ earn you 1% rebate up to the $6500-limit and 5% over $6500.

Like the other American Express cards, the BLUE CASH from American Express is a heavy-duty package offering extra benefits. The shoppers, making use of this card can and do enjoy extended warranties, purchase protection, return protection and fraud protection. If you are a frequent traveler, then you can avail of special travel offers, assured hotel reservations, a global assist hotline and an emergency card replacement service. There are also medical and legal referral services on the offer.

However, there are some regulations involved and thus you are allowed to use the cash-back money only after 14 months have elapsed following your opening of the card. The cash back rewards are a credit on your monthly statement, blessing you with savings, but do not expect the card to regularly put cash into your bank account. To avail the services of the BLUE CASH from American Express, you can apply online.

Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card - Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com - Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards.