I just wouldn't count on it to help build credit.

If you really want to know, just pull one of your reports.

9/21/2011 10:46:50 PM

I'm like 87% sure it's on there.

9/22/2011 12:29:02 PM

trying to decide between Blue Cash Erreday, Blue Cash Preferred, and Chase Freedom. thoughts?
I'm gonna be driving 60 miles, one way, to work for the next year. will probably move after that to be closer

10/5/2011 5:01:00 PM

I'm still on the old blue cash. I'm not that impressed with the new versions, so i haven't had it converted.

If you an estimate your bills on grocery and gas, do the math between the two blue cards. But keep in mind, if you go to Walmart for groceries, that won't count

10/5/2011 5:05:00 PM

^ yea i found that out with chase freedom but I do like the 5% for random categories per month..

10/5/2011 5:10:42 PM

Becareful, chase is offering some bigger than ever incentives to get you to upgrade your card, but they slide in an annual membership fee to afford it. Becareful.

10/5/2011 5:15:16 PM

I'm pretty big on the amex cards... extended warranty is nice. Especially for like cell phones. Warranty covers me through my upgrade time. Free insurance on car rentals, cheap baggage insurance for when i fly with my hockey gear (covers sporting goods, standard airline coverage does not, and i have 500 in sticks when I fly... airlines snap them often)

[Edited on October 5, 2011 at 5:18 PM. Reason : .]

10/5/2011 5:17:16 PM

Extended warranty and those other benefits you mention are offered on like 99% of cards out there.

The real area where AmEx has the advantage is chargebacks (customer service in general, really). If you ever have a dispute, or try to get a refund for something they WILL give it to you.

[Edited on October 6, 2011 at 8:20 AM. Reason : d]

10/6/2011 8:18:31 AM

Right now I only carry 1 credit card, a BoA Visa Platinum. I use it monthly on bigger purchases always paying the balance off at the end of the month. But with the new $5/month debit card fee I'd like to apply for a new card to use for all of my purchases that will gain rewards.

I think I would like a travel rewards card but I don't fly much, so i don't think a dedicated airline miles card is best. But i think a good all-around travel rewards card would especially if i could get free hotel nights. What should I look at, and how much monthly spending do i need to realistically gain points?

10/6/2011 8:47:37 AM

I just got a special AMEX Premier Gold refer a friend promotion. You get 25k points and a year of waived fees for the Gold Premier Card ($175). I get 10k points for the referral. Send me a PM if you want it.

10/6/2011 9:20:53 AM

How much are 25K pts worth?

10/6/2011 9:56:33 AM

It all depends how you redeem them. I just purchased a round trip ticket to London for 40k points. Ticket is worth $900-1000 if you look it up online. Using a Citi card I got with a 75k signup bonus. So you could say my signup bonus was almost $1800.

What's the max anyone has ever gotten from signing up for cards all at once? My co-worker signed his wife and him up for 4 AA cards (2 credit and 2 debit) and earned 300k AA points in one swoop (75k each).

10/6/2011 10:01:49 AM

Technically, the points have a cash value of about $250, but you have to look beyond that for AMEX. For example, their transfer partners, like Delta, often have transfer promotions. The most recent one allowed me to turn about 120k amex points to delta to 180k delta points. That allowed me to buy 2 tickets to saint thomas (ticket value was about $650 a pop), and I still had 40k points left over, which is enough to go anywhere in the U.S.

So I turned $1200 worth of points into about $1600 worth of points.

With the premier gold, after you spend 30k, you also get 15k additional points added to your account every calendar year. You still get 2x gas and groceries as well.

[Edited on October 6, 2011 at 10:17 AM. Reason : .]

10/6/2011 10:13:33 AM

Oh, I see. I mainly focus on cash back cards.

10/6/2011 10:14:37 AM

Quote :

"180k"

That's a lot! 40k points gets me $800-900 tickets round trip to most destinations in the world during the off season. 60k-80k for peak season. 180k points right now on AA would be worth almost $4000!

10/6/2011 10:18:16 AM

To each his/her own. If you never travel, I guess thats an option, but its really the worst thing you can do with points. You arent going to get more than 1 penny per point, and you'll end up getting closer to 2 pennys per point with airfare.

10/6/2011 10:18:35 AM

^^ Use to travel AA, but I really prefer Delta. Amex doesnt transfer to AA. So you can only use pay with points, which would make me only able to buy $1200 worth tickets.

I have status on Delta, so I dont pay baggage fees either, as well as first class upgrades in the right circumstances.

[Edited on October 6, 2011 at 10:21 AM. Reason : .]

10/6/2011 10:20:21 AM

I travel a few times a year, but usually on a whim and usually the flight costs cap out around $300 so I've never really looked into airline mile cards. Right now I avg about 2.5% cash back via Chase. Can xfer pts to cash or xfer them to someone else's account in exchange for cash?

10/6/2011 10:24:02 AM

he has status with delta

10/6/2011 10:27:31 AM

i wonder if i even spend enough on a monthly basis to take advantage of some of these rewards?

10/6/2011 10:55:46 AM

Quote :

"he has status with delta "

That is what its called. Medallion status. I'm the lowest status, all courtesy of AMEX.

10/6/2011 11:12:36 AM

Ok, just got approved, going to need some coaching once I get these pts.

10/6/2011 11:24:58 AM

which card?

10/6/2011 11:49:35 AM

I think I need to get one of these cards. Seems silly to use my debit card for everything. I've thought about the United card but don't know if I'd get much benefit from it.

10/6/2011 11:59:25 AM

Amex gold premier is the only one to get if you are gunning for points.

If I send you a referral, you get 25k and one year fee waived. They sometimes offer that without needing a referral. The only way to get more points for applying is with a targeted mailer.

Just remember, you pay Amex in full every month.

[Edited on October 6, 2011 at 12:04 PM. Reason : H]

10/6/2011 12:02:22 PM

I signed up for the one Carzin has. I'll use it a few months, get my pts, xfer them, and then cancel the card.

10/6/2011 12:07:49 PM

What's the benefit of doing one with an annual fee as opposed to one without?

10/6/2011 12:41:57 PM

Credit cards with annual fees typically offer better benefits, more points, etc.

10/6/2011 12:45:00 PM

CarZin, like Delta, what are some other point partners associated with this card?

10/6/2011 12:50:49 PM

The programs they directly link to are:

Best Western, Hilton HHonoros, Priority Club, Starwood Preferred Guests, AeroMexico, Air Canada, Airtran, British Airways, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Mexicana, Virgin Atlantic.

Seems as though the good points transfers are to delta, Hilton, and Starwood (I see these most often mentioned as having transfer promotions/etc).

I suggest going to flyertalk.com and going to the amex forum.

this thread as well:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1248102-best-use-amex-points-travel-cash-giftcards.html

[Edited on October 6, 2011 at 1:16 PM. Reason : .]

10/6/2011 1:14:23 PM

as a quick aside, i'd like to point out this forum for anyone who hasn't used it.

http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php

10/6/2011 2:43:54 PM

^^from looking at the partners website you basically need to sign up for all the partners' rewards programs separately and then link them to your AmEx account, correct?


and what do you think about the 2.7% foreign transaction fee?

10/6/2011 2:57:21 PM

Carzin, how long is that offer good for, I've been considering getting that card.

And say you redeemed points for cash, what's the conversion rate?nvm, think you answered that

[Edited on October 6, 2011 at 3:08 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on October 6, 2011 at 3:11 PM. Reason : .]

10/6/2011 3:02:42 PM

^^ I don't travel internationally enough to really know how I feel about it. We are also getting a Platinum AMEX in additional to the Gold Premier. With the platinum, there are no foreign exchange fees.

AMEX has done something interesting. Each card has its own set of benefits, that dont necessarily include all the benefits of the lower card. For example, the platinum card with Amex, which carries nearly a $500 a year fee, does not include point multipliers, extra points for spending threshholds. But it does include a slew of other features that a big traveler will appreciate and in most cases, completely offset the price of the card. The people on flyer talk that are serious travelers often carry an AMEX Gold, Platinum, and AMEX Delta Platinum card, and spend on the card that will maximize the points.

Quote :

"link them to your AmEx account, correct?"

yes, the ones I mention you can directly link to your account.

Quote :

"Carzin, how long is that offer good for, I've been considering getting that card."

If you are talking about the referral bonus, I think mine is good through October. Sometimes they run that offer without a referral necessary, but I dont think that is the case now. I think its 10,000 points and first year waived instead of 25k points.

10/6/2011 3:27:19 PM

I really like the deals associated with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and it's only $95/yr (first waived). The bonus is 50k upon sign up

but you have to spend $3k in 3 months. I'm not sure I spend that much (i'm frugal) yet with holidays approaching now may be the best opportunity.

10/6/2011 4:46:45 PM

so, if you're worried about 3k in 3 months, are you going to cover the $9500 spent per year to cover the fee then?


[Edited on October 6, 2011 at 5:02 PM. Reason : w ]

10/6/2011 4:55:39 PM

i dunno, as much money as i've saved and put away in various places I'm still bad with my day-to-day spending and budget. my plan is/was to make the card my primary spending method and get out of using my debit.

I think ultimately it'll somewhat help me balance and understand my spending habits more. Seeing a monthly balance for everything, rather than just free swiping and deducting as it goes with my debit. but you're right, maybe some cards like these aren't quite for me yet. IDK

10/6/2011 5:15:22 PM

With it looking like all banks are going to fee related debit cards, the fee on the credit card will be more justified.

10/6/2011 5:24:10 PM

Was just accepted for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Signature. 50k bonus points with 3k spend in 3 months. Usually a lot for me, but with holidays and stuff coming I figure I can splurge a little.

2 points per dollar on dining/travel
1 point per dollar all other transactions


I figure I'll use this for a year and then downgrade to the standard Chase Sapphire. The partnerships this card has made it a better fit than just going with a hotel or airline partner card.

I also linked all of my cards with my Priority Club membership's dining program so along with the 2 Chase points per dollar on dining I also get 2 PC points to use all their brand of hotels.

10/12/2011 4:24:35 PM

what's that point conversion?

i've never cared for cards that do the points gimmick. i prefer my chase that just gives me money.

10/12/2011 4:28:02 PM

1 point valued at $.01 so 20,000 can be redeemed for $200 value

but Preferred members when booking through the Chase travel program get 25% value so the 50k points is actually $625 for travel

you can also choose cash back as a reward too, so it's got both options.

10/12/2011 4:40:05 PM

ok.

I have a chase that does cash back:
5% @ BP
2% travel/dining
1% everything else

10/12/2011 4:42:19 PM

yeah, i looked real hard into a couple different options.

I was close to getting the Chase Priority Club Visa which is for all IHG hotels (Holiday Inns, Crown Plazas, Staybridge Suites, Indigo, InterContinental) which offered 3 points on dining, gas, groceries and 60k bonus.

But Chase is directly partnered with Priority Club so I can still use my points from the Sapphire at a 1:1 ratio for Priority Club hotels.

10/12/2011 4:46:09 PM

^^^ wait so you're saying they give you a cool $500 (or is it lodging credits or something) for just signing up and spending $3k on the card? whats the catch?

10/12/2011 4:59:54 PM

it's just their signup bonus. the catch is spending 3k in 3 months.

not sure if there is a catch in redeeming those points for cash back, i didn't read into that in particular because i don't plan to use it that way. but it's $500 for most anything through rewards, or $625 for travel.

10/12/2011 5:11:03 PM

Quote :

"1 point valued at $.01 so 20,000 can be redeemed for $200 value but Preferred members when booking through the Chase travel program get 25% value so the 50k points is actually $625 for travel you can also choose cash back as a reward too, so it's got both options."

So it's a flat conversion rate? With most travel cards you pay a certain amount of points for each "leg" of the trip. So I'm flying to London for 40k points (20k each leg). Tickets are roughly $900 online so in that instance my points are valued at $.0225.

[Edited on October 12, 2011 at 8:06 PM. Reason : s]

10/12/2011 8:06:28 PM

what i meant for the 1:1 conversion rate is that for Chase's travel partners you can transfer X amount of Chase points to your other travel club membership for X points. So if you needed more Delta Sky Miles you could transfer 50k chase points and would get 50k sky miles.

now, the chase points and sky miles may differ as far as their fractional dollar value.

10/13/2011 9:02:10 AM

Latest Marriott deal. Stay 2 different stays between July and October and get 10k points plus stay another 2 stays and get Gold Status until 2013. That's concierge lounge, free upgrades, internet, etc.

10/14/2011 9:31:06 AM

They just sent me a $50 bonus if I spend $5000 in 3 months... so that's a free $100.


https://www.chasebizbonus.com/427


I can prepay my cable bill a year in advance and buy that new laptop I was going to buy anyway. Free $50.


If you have chase biz card, you should call and inquire

10/15/2011 5:23:28 PM

well, I went for the Blue Cash Preferred. I figure I'll always put 7500 on it each year, so that should take care of the annual fee...

10/16/2011 9:23:49 PM