Kinda the opposite actually.

I've got great credit, no debt (other than a mortgage) and 0 credit cards. I want to start earning "rewards" from a credit card that I could easily pay off each month. What recommendations do you have? I'm currently with Wachovia for checking/saving, but didn't see much that I liked on their CC's.

Flying mileage is a good reward, but anything will do, really.

Which credit cards do you have?

12/1/2010 10:58:22 AM

If you buy a lot from Amazon I have a card from them.

12/1/2010 11:03:29 AM

Do you have a preferred hotel chain? I like my Starwood Amex card a lot. $1 = 1 point, big bonuses when you use the card at the hotel. I think you get automatic upgrades as well.

12/1/2010 11:05:29 AM

I read some reviews that say Wachovia reward plans are a crock of shit. Having to pay to enroll meant that you had so spend over $850 a month just to break even if I remember correctly.

I've seen the gas station cards and sometimes wondered if that would be worth it. If you get a discount and pay off the card all the time, seems like a win-win.

12/1/2010 11:08:11 AM

Wachovia is terrible. Full stop. The only reason I keep them around is I have a payment I'm waiting to receive and I can't change the bank account number while waiting for the processing

United keeps offering me their rewards credit card. Anyone familiar with that one?

12/1/2010 11:18:41 AM

American Express, by far, has the best rewards

You have to pay the balance every month and have a yearly fee, but they give you mad free shit

12/1/2010 11:20:36 AM

I signed up for a Checking/Savings account with Wachovia, pretty much just because that's one of the banks in this tiny town and I'd rather have easy access to my money.

12/1/2010 11:20:55 AM

I didn't really want to pigeonhole myself into a particular kind of rewards card (Amazon, hotel, etc.) so I just went with one that offers cash back. I have the Citi Dividend World MasterCard now. It just changed to MC from Visa because of some technicalities with the cash back, but earns 1 percent on everything and varying 2-5 percent on certain categories that rotate every few months. Probably far from the best cash back card, but I've been happy with it. I put pretty much everything on it, pay it off every month and wind up with a rebate check several times a year.

12/1/2010 11:24:09 AM

Lots of good info here:

http://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards.aspx

12/1/2010 11:28:28 AM

Quote :

"American Express, by far, has the best rewards"

12/1/2010 11:28:56 AM

Just make sure you have a Visa or Mastercard as a backup if your primary card is an Amex.

It can be pretty frustrating when someone tells you that they don't accept Amex.

12/1/2010 11:34:37 AM

chase freedom has 3% cash back

12/1/2010 12:04:47 PM

Good stuff.

Was looking at a AMEX and will look into Chase as well. That's where my car payment is so maybe I could pay the car payment on that.

12/1/2010 12:27:22 PM

I have a Fidelity Retirement Rewards AmEx. For every $2500 I spend, they drop $50 into my Roth IRA.

If you are someone that always maxes out your Roth IRA anyways, it is effectively a 2% return on all transactions.

12/1/2010 12:40:45 PM

I like a few of Chase's cards, and will likely open one up early next year.

I dislike my experience with Wells Fargo Credit (which was a Wachovia credit acct when I opened it)- they have yet to allow me to access any of my rewards points and use them. My Citi card isn't bad, except they haven't dealt with my issue of not being able to access the ExtraPoints program online. I have a ton, just can't use them :-/ When Citi was in a heap of trouble over the past several years, my interest rate skyrocketed, but has since returned to normal.

12/1/2010 12:46:01 PM

I use an Amex Blue Cash. No yearly fees. Annual pay out.

1.25% on gas, groceries, pharmacy and 0.5% on everything else until you spend $6,500 on the card.

5% on gas, groceries, pharmacy and 1% on everything else after $6,500 on the card.

I put EVERYTHING I can on that card and pay it off at the end of each month. It's suprising how fast you can hit that $6,500. I currently have about $300 in cash back with another 5-6 weeks until the pay out.

12/1/2010 1:23:13 PM

Pen Fed Visa Platinum Gas / Cash Rewards Card. There is also a travel version if you travel a lot. Pen Fed has one of the best cash reward card there is. A little hard to get unless you family member of a military person who is a Pen Fed member. They can apply.

Chase Freedom is also up there.

And if you spend a lot of money. Blue Cash from American Express is the one to get.

These three cards are the ones you should look at. Depends where you spend your money on.



[Edited on December 1, 2010 at 1:31 PM. Reason : .]

12/1/2010 1:27:16 PM

Quote :

"If you buy a lot from Amazon I have a card from them. get the Citi Forward card"

12/1/2010 2:03:29 PM

amex >> all others

12/1/2010 2:17:20 PM

REI

12/1/2010 2:36:12 PM

Quote :

"amex >> all others"

I agree, but I always carry an old mastercard for the ~5% of places that don't take amex.

I'm looking at you Cookout

12/1/2010 2:39:07 PM

Quote :

"chase freedom has 3% cash back"

...not on all purchases. i thought they rotated certain categories in 5% every few months, and everything else was 1%?

Quote :

"amex >> all others"

which particular card are you all talking about? hopefully not the blue cash...that one only seems to give 1% on certain categories and .5% on everything else. what else do they offer?


i'm a fan of the Chase BP Visa. 5% on BP gas stations, 2% on travel and dining, and 1% on everything else, with no limit. I get a check for $100 every few months. I'm open to others, but I've been digging this one for the last few years. I have a Chase freedom but don't like having to keep up with whatever the current 5% categories are...


OP there should be some good info for ya here: message_topic.aspx?topic=585466&page=3

12/1/2010 4:16:21 PM

/\ I second the BP card; Ive had mine for years.

I am limited to $300 a year in rewards on BP purchases since I was driving an assload when gas was $4, but I have not quite hit that limit. I still have a long commute, so this is a no brainer for me.

12/1/2010 5:09:51 PM

BP Chase Visa with 1-5% Cash back (which is decent)
First Citizens Visa
First Citizens Gold Visa
Citi Platinum Select with CitiCash (which mostly sucks)
Citi Diamond Preferred with CitiCash (which mostly sucks)
Belk Rewards (Get 15% off purchase when you get the card; points afterwards)
GE Money

12/1/2010 5:12:29 PM

Quote :

"Citi Platinum Select with CitiCash (which mostly sucks)"

Sucks for rewards, yes.

But that 24-months 0% on balance transfers and 12-months 0% on purchases intro period is nice.

12/1/2010 5:36:25 PM

Amex hands down. If you have good credit you can likely qualify for a Gold card, rather than having to suck it up with a Blue or Green card.

If you're a flier, then get the card for your airline of choice. Delta uses Amex, giving you a double win, US Airways's Mastercard is a good option too.

If you funnel all your purchases through the card, you will easily rack up a free flight a year, plus you get tons of perks. Most airline cards have an annual fee, but you get companion tickets and usually club passes that are worth far more than the fee.

12/1/2010 7:25:19 PM

I'm not seeing much of a benefit for the gold card over the blue...maybe if you're a frequent flier. Care to elaborate?

12/1/2010 7:41:18 PM

I like my Costco amex...

3% cash back for annual gasoline purchases of up to $3,000 (1% thereafter)
3% cash back for restaurants
2% cash back for travel
1% cash back everywhere else, including Costco

They pre-qualify you right in the store...you just have to be a member.

12/1/2010 8:00:18 PM

4^yeh, I meant the rewards suck. the 0% APR on purchases is why I got it.

12/1/2010 8:20:08 PM

I had Amex b4 we got married and I loved it. The yearly fee did not appeal to my other half, so I dropped it after I used all the mileage. We have an Amazon card, and that works for us.

I would get Amex again in a heartbeat.

12/1/2010 9:46:55 PM

ok on this topic, i have gotten my credit report before, but is there any way to get a free credit score?

12/1/2010 11:14:00 PM

nope

12/1/2010 11:15:00 PM

The big difference with the Gold and Platinum Amex cards are their travel perks. You get travel insurance for you and your family. You get free companion fares internationally on full-fare tickets, and you can get seat upgrades just as a card holder.

The Gold/Platinum cards also have a different concierge service that opens up more exclusive event and travel deals, which occasionally are really damn good.

12/2/2010 3:38:02 AM

Damn I might have to get a Blue Cash card...

After you get past 6.5k in annual spending, you get:

5% supermarkets, gas stations and drugstores
1.25% on everything else

Questions though:

1) Whats this all about though:

Quote :

"Reward Year is the 12 billing periods in a row beginning with the one in which the anniversary of your card account occurs."

What rewards do you earn the first year?

2) Does the Gold card have the same reward/cash back benefits

12/2/2010 8:35:28 AM

1.) I believe that means that you get your cash back reward annually. I know my card will automatically provide a credit in February (my opening month).

2.) I don't think the gold/plat card has any cash back options, which is why I don't think they're worth it unless you are a frequent traveler. Especially when you consider an annual fee.

[Edited on December 2, 2010 at 9:26 AM. Reason : .]

12/2/2010 9:23:02 AM

Quote :

"i'm a fan of the Chase BP Visa. 5% on BP gas stations, 2% on travel and dining, and 1% on everything else, with no limit. "

i got this card a few years ago and it's all i use; i accrue lots of money back and request a check every couple of months. since i have to gas up my car twice a week due to my work commute, i get lots from the gas portion. very easy program and well worth the cash rewards.

12/2/2010 9:32:35 AM

I'm gonna have to run some numbers, but considering I get the lions share of my BP Visa cash back from the 1% on everything category, I'm thinking between getting 1.25% instead and increased percentages on nearly everything else, I'll make much more on a Amex Bluecash.

Two more questions though:

1) How often do you run into places that don't take it?

2) Do you get *anything* back from walmarts/targets etc? I saw something about discount stores and superstores in the fine print.

12/2/2010 10:29:11 AM

These Amex cards sound pretty awesome. Maybe I'll ditch my Visa card finally. Bastards keep upping my credit limit without asking me, but then upping my % as well. And they wonder why I stopped using the card 6 years ago

12/2/2010 10:47:41 AM

my boss funnels a lot of company expenses and such through his amex for the rewards. He likes it.

I hear if you have the "black" amex card you are a baller.

12/2/2010 10:52:40 AM

1.) My Laundromat, gym, and some random mom and pops type restaurants don't accept it. That usually makes up about 5% of my overall number of charges, but probably less than 1% of my monetary charges.

2.) My card shows wal-mart as "General Merchandise". I think they're referring to Costco, Sam's, etc with that caveat.

12/2/2010 10:57:10 AM

Does anyone use a Citi MtVu or City Pay Forward card? If so how exactly do the rewards work on those?

12/2/2010 11:15:47 AM

Quote :

"2.) My card shows wal-mart as "General Merchandise". I think they're referring to Costco, Sam's, etc with that caveat."

That's what I was wondering. I shop at the super Wal-mart for groceries... Do they count as grocery stores at all, anywhere?

12/2/2010 1:58:23 PM

Quote :

"I've got great credit, no debt (other than a mortgage)"

Quote :

"Was looking at a AMEX and will look into Chase as well. That's where my car payment is so maybe I could pay the car payment on that."

Does not compute.

12/2/2010 3:45:36 PM

First World Problems

12/2/2010 3:48:54 PM

I use chase for cash back as well. It works out to be about 2.5% cash back for all my normal purchases.

12/2/2010 5:22:00 PM

is the costco amex good? been thinking about this.

12/2/2010 5:44:31 PM

Does no one like discover?
I've got almost a grand in cash that I've collected over the years.

12/2/2010 7:38:15 PM

Yeah the costco amex is alright, but I think the Blue is better.

Amex is hands down better than any Visa/Mastercard. There are a ton of merchants that get you 5% off purchases (much like the Discover card) in addition to your cash back rewards on everything. The problem with the Discover card is that no one fucking accepts the thing. Online is pretty much the only place you can use it.

My totally subjective experience has been that ~65-70% of places take Amex, and 85+% of online merchants accept Amex.

I actually am friends with a guy who made the machine that presses the Amex Black cards Each one is made of a solid piece of titanium and is hand stamped in the press (that embosses the numbers on the card). You have to be invited by Amex to get a Black card, and it carries a minimum $250k yearly spending requirement.

[Edited on December 2, 2010 at 8:12 PM. Reason : .]

12/2/2010 8:11:46 PM

Hmmm, I use my Discover almost everywhere, and for the rare times that a place doesn't take it I have a mastercard.

12/2/2010 8:44:12 PM

Quote :

"American Express, by far, has the best rewards You have to pay the balance every month and have a yearly fee, but they give you mad free shit"

QFT.

The costco amex is bullshit. Just get the Amex card.

12/2/2010 8:51:21 PM