I'm thinking of getting a card to build some credit. Looking for one with low fees and few surprises...anybody seen anything lately that caught your eye?

2/20/2011 11:26:09 AM

Chase BP Visa still has some of the best rewards programs available out there for a Credit Card. 10% off gas purchases, 4% off travel/dining/entertainment, and 2% off everythign else for the first 60 days, and after that it reduces to 5%/2%/1%, still a good deal

I also enjoy the Discover rewards program but they move around a little too frequently and offer too high on services that i never use.


What they need is a credit card that just offers straight 5% on all grocery restaurant and gas purchases and I'd be on it. Maybe even throw in something fun like movie theater or bowling too

2/20/2011 12:54:15 PM

Just saw this:

http://ca.lifehacker.com/5765094/five-best-rewards-credit-cards

2/20/2011 5:57:32 PM

Chase Freedom had the $150 bonus cash back couple days ago. I applied, still waiting to hear back from the though.

2/20/2011 7:33:55 PM

^^that american express is a pretty nice deal provided you can spend $6500/year.

2/20/2011 8:51:30 PM

^its actually a terrible deal. the high percentage rewards start only after you hit 6500, upto 6500 you only make 1%/0.5%

i'm looking into that fidelity amex though

2/20/2011 9:06:23 PM

I've had the costco Amex for 3 years. Getting a good rebate this year. You can cash it out at costco, or if their out of cash they can write you a check, or you can just get a costco gift card. I opted for the gift card last year and ended up getting about 2 months of gas. I travel from time-to-time for work so I was able to put a lot of purchases on the card and expense it later. I try to tout my card in this type of thread each year.

[Edited on February 21, 2011 at 3:15 AM. Reason : asdf]

2/21/2011 3:11:09 AM

Fidelity Amex - 2% (cashback) on everything
Citi Forward - 5% (ThankYou Points) on restaurants, music, movies, bookstores
PenFed Platinum - 5% (cashback) on gas at the pump
Chase AARP - 5% (cashback) on everything for the first 6 months (AARP membership costs $16, must be member to apply)
Starwood Amex - best card if you like to travel. SPG points can be converted (with bonus) to any airline, or you can use points for hotel stays. Usually has great signup bonuses.


[Edited on February 21, 2011 at 7:33 AM. Reason : d]

2/21/2011 7:32:19 AM

I have several cards but the card I use the most is my Chase Freedom card and the same goes for my wife and her Freedom. We both signed up when they had one of their $150 promotions going on. For any Amazon purchases I use my Chase Amazon card.

FWIW to anyone looking for a new card, I have had great customer service experiences with Chase and crappy customer service with Citi.

2/21/2011 8:19:21 AM

Quote :

"FWIW to anyone looking for a new card, I have had great customer service experiences with Chase and crappy customer service with Citi."

exact opposite of my experience. The only reliably 'good' CC companies are AmEx and Discover, in that order.

2/21/2011 8:52:31 AM

I've never had any major issues with Chase and the few times I did have to call them they were extremely helpful. Their rates and rewards always seem to be better and I have never had any "surprises" with them.

Citi has added random fees to my cards that I had to call to get removed, raised my interest rate to extremely high levels (29%...) for no reason (doesn't affect me since I never carry a balance but still), halted my card's service for using it out of the country when I alerted them about it already etc. They also wouldn't raise my limit even though it is the lowest limit I have on any of my cards now.

I would cancel my Citi card if it wasn't my oldest card. I've had that one for several years longer than any of my other cards so I'm just leaving it open and using it once a month but never plan to get a citi card ever again.

2/21/2011 9:00:18 AM

^ yea that is the same story with me and Citi.

2/21/2011 4:32:46 PM

Quote :

"^its actually a terrible deal. the high percentage rewards start only after you hit 6500, upto 6500 you only make 1%/0.5% i'm looking into that fidelity amex though"

oh i thought it meant if you make the $6500 mark you will get 5% on all that you've already purchased. Nvm

2/23/2011 1:19:29 PM

Quote :

"its actually a terrible deal. "

it's the card I have. I spent $20,900 on my AMEX last year. I spent $2044 on groceries, $2008 on gas, and $64 in drug stores. I received a credit for $385 last year (the calendar year and the benefits year do not exactly overlap, but it's close enough).

Strictly by the numbers, I may not be getting the best deal. However, the blue cash card would beat out the 2% on everything card if I was buying groceries for more than 1 or commuting more than 6 miles a day.

Also, if you travel outside the country, nothing beats the Capital One No Hassle card and its zero fees for overseas transactions. It's also handy having a mastercard for the odd business who won't take american express.

[Edited on February 23, 2011 at 2:23 PM. Reason : ]

2/23/2011 2:13:18 PM

Quote :

"Also, if you travel outside the country, nothing beats the Capital One No Hassle card and its zero fees for overseas transactions"

Wrong. The FIA 2% cashback card also has no foreign transaction fees, and [obviously] gives you 2% cashback. And you don't have to deal with Capital One.

2/23/2011 5:07:34 PM

discover FTW

as long as you have a backup card for those places that don't accept discover

also, remember that, when out of the US, "diner's club" is the discover network

2/23/2011 5:12:43 PM

Could have just bumped this thread message_topic.aspx?topic=605636

2/23/2011 7:35:55 PM

Just used an old deal that gives you 75,000 AA airlines points if you sign up for a Citi AA card and spend $1500 within 6 months. I called a customer service rep to double check and it's still valid. $1500 in 6 months is easy.

http://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/free-ticket-award-chart.jsp

Hehehe. That's a lot of free flights. PM me if you want it.

5/3/2011 3:30:14 PM

This is why American Express is often the best choice... Though it isnt obvious.

Right now, if you transfer 50k points from AMEX to Delta, they will give you a 50% point bonus, and give you 25k Medallion points, which automatically gets you Gold status on Delta (eligible for free upgrades). Although this is the best one they have had in a while, they often give you 20-40% bonus when transferring.

5/3/2011 3:40:11 PM

Any good deals out there for a Southwest card?

5/3/2011 4:12:37 PM

So these are my two options:

Capital One Venture card: 2 miles for every $1 spent on everything (probably the best airlines deal out there)

Or the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card:
6% cash back on groceries
3% on gas and department stores
1% on everything else

I REALLY like traveling but the Amex is hard to pass up. I can't decide.

7/28/2011 5:51:54 PM

Quote :

"I spent $20,900 on my AMEX last year. I spent $2044 on groceries, $2008 on gas, and $64 in drug stores. I received a credit for $385 last yea"

THAT'S CRAZY! Mine was almost identical. $20,761 on my CostCo AMEX, $1440 on groceries, $1280 on gas, and $63 in drug stores and I received a credit for $384 with my CostCo AMEX (I get 2% back on Travel and 3% back on Restaurants) with the AMEX Blue Cash I would have only gotten $289.

Even with the CapitalOne miles card it would only equate 41,000 miles which still is only enough for a flight valued between $150-$350, with CostCo AMEX I'd have $389 right now to spend on a flight. CASH is king.

[Edited on July 28, 2011 at 6:12 PM. Reason : .]

7/28/2011 6:04:30 PM

I have the Blue Cash Preferred. It is awesome except for the fact that The Meat House doesn't count as a grocery store

7/28/2011 6:15:06 PM

Amex is the worst company out of visa, master, discover, and amex.

7/28/2011 9:58:10 PM

I just signed up for the amex blue cash preferred

6% back on groceries.

[Edited on July 28, 2011 at 10:03 PM. Reason : .]

7/28/2011 10:02:34 PM

Hope you eat a lot.

7/28/2011 10:04:18 PM

Most people do it 3 times a day.

7/28/2011 10:07:08 PM

i dont know, my family of three only eats $3.43 worth of food in a day so its just enough to pay for the annual fee.

7/28/2011 10:07:36 PM

Quote :

"Even with the CapitalOne miles card it would only equate 41,000 miles which still is only enough for a flight valued between $150-$350"

40k points is typically enough for an international round trip ticket worth anywhere from $800 to $1400. For example using American Airlines most international destinations are only 20k points. So 40k for a round trip ticket in the off season.

The thing about airline points is it varies A LOT. 5-7 years ago when international tickets were only $500-700 then 40k points was only worth that much. Today when international flights are $800+ 40k points gets you A LOT. I'm flying round trip to the UK in December for 40k points. Tickets would usually be about $900.

So if you travel a Venture One card is waaaay better than an Amex or cash rewards card.

If you don't travel get a cash rewards card.

So here's my partially planned vacation for December:

Opened a Marriott card a few months ago. Got 30k points. Obtained another 50k points from business travel over the last 9-10 months. (x5 points at Marriott plus 20% bonus for being Silver status) = 80k points.

Opened a Citi AA card a few months ago and got 75k points. Almost to 80k points now.

2 international round trip tickets to London in December = 80k points.

2 nights at this category 8 hotel in London:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lonch-london-marriott-hotel-county-hall/

$800 US/night or so. = 80k Marriott points (for 2 nights)

~$3400 with points.

The rest of the vacation I'm staying at friends or B&Bs.

My co-worker has been opening/closing credit cards and obtaining points like this for a while. It hasn't negatively affected his credit at all (keeps them open for at least 18-24 months).



[Edited on July 28, 2011 at 10:38 PM. Reason : s]

7/28/2011 10:24:25 PM

Quote :

"i dont know, my family of three only eats $3.43 worth of food in a day so its just enough to pay for the annual fee."

As long as you're over ~$35 a week, you're golden.

7/29/2011 9:18:24 AM

Amex blue cash preferred 75$ annual fee

Earn 6% cash back at supermarkets.
• Earn 3% cash back at gas stations and department stores.
• Earn 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases

hopefully it gets the 1% back at costco too.

7/29/2011 9:32:15 AM

I've been curious about something for a while, but keep getting told it will mess up my credit if I do this.

I've got two credit cards now, one has no cash on it and has a pretty high interest rate (its just there for emergencies), the other has some money on it but also had a 0% APR rate for 12 months (which is going to expire in august and I'll have to start paying interest).

Would it be dumb to get another card that has 12-18 months of 0% interest, transfer my balance from my 2nd card, and then close out my 1st card? Then I could repeat that same process every 12-18 months. Sounds great, but I've heard it will F up my credit if I do it. Thoughts?

7/29/2011 9:33:27 AM

I think Chase Freedom was already mentioned, but I got this when they did the $250 cash back deal. I now charge everything to it. Right now, hotels, flights, and gas are all 5% cash back and then everything else is always 1% back. I've been able to get over a hundred dollars worth in gift cards, which I give as gifts. I also booked a tour of London for a future trip with my points. Not sure of the fees since I pay it off in full each month, but the rewards are great.

7/29/2011 9:53:20 AM

^^ It will lower your score if you close out old cards.

7/29/2011 10:06:15 AM

Quote :

"As long as you're over ~$35 a week, you're golden."

Quoting myself just to mention I was wrong. It's actually like $48.08 a week on just groceries before it becomes worthwhile to have the Blue Cash Preferred over Blue Cash Everyday. 0.06x = 75 + 0.03x

I suck at math.

7/29/2011 10:54:38 AM

Quote :

"^^ It will lower your score if you close out old cards."

so would that plan work if I just left the card open? Obviously I would throw my every 12-18 months plan out the window

7/29/2011 11:39:25 AM

Quote :

"Even with the CapitalOne miles card it would only equate 41,000 miles which still is only enough for a flight valued between $150-$350, with CostCo AMEX I'd have $389 right now to spend on a flight. CASH is king. "

Going to address this again. How? 40k points usually equates to roughly $800. You can even BUY 40k points for roughly $800.

Another reason why the Venture One card is great. If you spend 20k on it each year you get a 40k/$800 flight every year which is enough for an off-season international round trip ticket.

Cash cards are NEVER better than frequent flyer cards (for travelers). Although I guess if you spent close to $14,000/year on groceries and got 6% with the Amex card you'd have $840 at the end of the year.

But who spends $1100-1200/month on groceries?

-So if you travel there's really no substitute for a frequent flyer card because you're always making more money than with a cash rewards card unless you buy ridiculous amounts of groceries or gas.

[Edited on July 29, 2011 at 10:27 PM. Reason : s]

7/29/2011 10:23:14 PM

That's a terrible blanket statement to make, because I can tell you for a fact that Delta's cards blow.

How they can have a card with a $450 annual fee that doesn't even seem to give you automatic status is beyond me.

7/29/2011 11:49:38 PM

I really can't speak for Skymiles but from the research I've done with AA it's pretty straightforward. Off season international flights are usually always 20k/one way unless it's around some holiday.

I think the Venture One card works differently though. Points aren't exactly awarded the same. With an airline card you get a 40k point flight regardless of how much the actual flight costs (be it $600 or $1600) whereas with the Venture card it's more tied to the actual cost of the flight so it might not be as great a deal.

7/30/2011 11:46:03 AM

So what are the best cards now for balance transfers? I'm looking to NOT use credit cards anymore.........but I have one with 5K balance on it right now that I'd like to eliminate. I pay 3x the minimum payment but still going to take some time to pay off.

7/30/2011 5:13:12 PM

The Chase AARP card has 0% on balance transfers for 12 months. I think the fee is something like 3%.

Quote :

"Cash cards are NEVER better than frequent flyer cards (for travelers)"

I have to disagree. I've been getting flat 5% cash back for the past 6 months, hard to beat that.
(on the AARP card, if anyone's interested).

[Edited on July 31, 2011 at 9:30 AM. Reason : c]

7/31/2011 9:25:27 AM

Those with blue cash preferred... what qualifies as a department store? Does target and shit count or does it have to be like sears or something.

7/31/2011 10:32:35 AM

I already have a mainstay credit card (1% cash back, low interest rate, coupled with my normal bank), but I'm looking to get something to help reduce my food and gas expenses.

There's the Blue Cash Everyday, similar to the Blue Cash Preferred but has no annual fee

Quote :

"Cash Back • Earn 3% cash back at supermarkets. • Earn 2% cash back at gas stations and department stores. • Earn 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.1 Annual Fee No annual fee "

I'm looking at getting either the Blue Cash Preferred or Everyday, as by myself I spend ~$250 and $120 monthly on average on groceries and gas (counting recent Food Lion purchases to account for new coupon use...thanks Mint ), so I would save about $108 with either the Preferred or Everyday. Hard to say though, if I spend more my savings increase, and I could simply share the card with my girlfriend for at least her gas and split the bill with the Preferred card...hmm. Plus I've been stockpiling and couponing so my grocery bill should be decreasing, which would lean towards getting the Everyday.

With the Preferred there's also a $100 welcome bonus if you spend $500 in the first 90 days. Two grocery shopping trips and gas for 3 months would easily hit that.

Quote :

"Offer valid for first-time American Express Cardmembers only. To qualify for the $100 bonus, you must make purchases with your Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express that total $500 or more within your first 90 days of Cardmembership. "

I also found this

Quote :

"The only issue to be aware of is that gas and grocery purchases don’t earn the higher bonus reward rates at Wholesalers. So if you buy your gas and groceries primarily from Costco, you won’t earn the full 3-6%. So if that’s your main reason for considering a card like this, you may want to look into the Costco American Express Card, where you will earn 3% on the gas instead of just 1% with Blue Cash, and you’ll earn the same 1% base rate on all other Costco purchases."

Seems like these benefits for me would only hit at Food Lion, where I do most of my grocery shopping anyway.

Looks like what might be best for me would be to get the Preferred, spend $75 for the fee, spend $500 in three months for get the $100 and downgrade in a year.

[Edited on July 31, 2011 at 11:17 AM. Reason : /coolstorybro]

Quote :

"Those with blue cash preferred... what qualifies as a department store? Does target and shit count or does it have to be like sears or something."

I was looking around and found this: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/forums/forumtopicprintpage/board-id/creditcard/message-id/273549/print-single-message/false/page/1

Quote :

"Only merchants who code their transactions as 5411? in MCC are eligible for 3% cashback for grocery/supermarket. Only merchants who code their transactions as 5311 in MCC are eligible for 2% cashback for department store. As far as I'm aware of, Walmart codes its transaction as 5310 (discount store) in MCC. https://secure.cmax.americanexpress.com/Internet/US/Corporate/AtWork/Files/atwork_rc_cs_er_mcc_direc...? @OP Why not use Target REDCard? It offers 5% discount right away."

I'm basically seeing that Wal-Mart counts as a discount store, so its neither grocery nor department...maybe the same applies to Target.

Quote :

"nate Says: June 8th, 2011 at 2:08 pm I spoke with an Amex rep earlier today and asked this same question. he said Target and Costco are not defined as supermarkets or department stores. Bummer. So, i would suspect the same would hold true for WalMart and Sam’s Club, but definately call up Amex for confirmation. Some of the names he did throw my way as qualifying supermarkets were Whole Foods, Trader joe’s, Safeway, etc. Kind of Obvious things. As for department stores, he listed Blooming dales (as if normal people shop there), Nordstrums, Macy’s, Kohls, Sears, etc. But apparently, there is no “pubnlished” list online. I only wish this card included some bonuses for resterants as I do tend to eat out quite often. http://www.plasticiq.com/blog/blue-cash-preferred-amex-review/"

[Edited on July 31, 2011 at 11:27 AM. Reason : pwnt]

7/31/2011 11:11:21 AM

Fucked up my math and projected numbers, but my break even point between the two cards looks to be spending $175/$100 on groceries/gas. Looks like I ought to get the Preferred.

7/31/2011 11:45:07 AM

Meat House doesn't count as a grocery store.

I need to call and bitch and see if I can get it added. It is my home away from home.

7/31/2011 12:37:14 PM

^That place is even more expensive than Whole Foods. Why not just go there?

Any thoughts on the Chase Sapphire card?

7/31/2011 10:04:30 PM

Because Whole Foods doesn't sell Boars Head Ovengold Turkey for $7.99/lb.

(They sell something else, that while also good is still like $9.99/lb)

Also, Cajun (and Sweet BBQ) Steak Tips.

Also, I'm a carnivore, not a hippie.

7/31/2011 10:40:20 PM

These cash back rates are nice. But it's the other things that make Amex so much better.

Their warranties on electronics are usually longer then other companies. Also, their customer support is excellent. If you have a dispute with anyone - you almost always win.

8/1/2011 7:59:39 AM

Stein: You need to take it up with The Meat House. They are the ones that categorize their business to Visa/MC.

8/1/2011 12:44:13 PM

Quote :

"Any thoughts on the Chase Sapphire card?"

I just signed up for one. Haven't got it yet. But I did some research and I could not find any negative feedback on the card at all which I found amazing. Everyone had glowing reviews for the card.

8/1/2011 12:49:34 PM